[Peace-discuss] Help the Palestinians. Go See This Movie

[Robert Naiman]

In your analogy to the Israeli occupation, who exactly is "Mister
Shark"? Is it an individual Israeli soldier, his commander, the
Israeli government? Does "Mister Shark," in the case of the Israeli
occupation, also include the Israeli public? The US government? The US
public? Does it include us? Relative to the Palestinians, are we also
"Mister Shark"?

What's the context here? Some folks have made a *documentary* about
the *successful* nonviolent struggle of a Palestinian village to save
their land from confiscation for the Separation Barrier. It's a
strange context in which to say "nonviolence never works." It did
work. Not in some far away time and place, but in the Palestinian
village of Budrus, in the occupied West Bank.

Now, the fact that it worked in Budrus is no guarantee that it will
work in some other Palestinian village. In particular, the Israeli
occupation could escalate its repression. Indeed, it has.

But: the occupier is not the only side that has the possibility of
escalation. The nonviolent resistance could also escalate.

How do you escalate nonviolent resistance?

One way is to involve more people.

And that's the point, for me, of promoting the movie Budrus in the
United States: to get more people involved on the side of the
Palestinian nonviolent resistance, so that it stands a better chance
of succeeding.

On Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 11:14 PM, E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag> wrote:
> Seriously, Bob, I am quite interested in non-violent action and positively
> detest violent action.
> I am repulsed by the notion of violence almost as much as I am by the threat
> thereof.
>
> But, I perceive that the concept of any captive people being freed from an
> occupation by nonviolent
> action is ridiculous.
>
> Hey!  Mister Shark!  I'm being nice and non-violent.  Would you like to spit
> my leg out now?  I'm going to be late for Oprah if you don't let me go real
> soon.
>
> The only problem with your suggestion (as I see it), Bob, is that it fails
> to take into
> account the characteristics of sharks, the theoretical fundamentals of
> communication with sharks, and the characteristics of ostensibly bitable
> appendages, among other things, perhaps...
>
> However, other than that, I am sure that Palestine can be freed quickly and
> the whole world can participate in a historic rewrite of the future - at
> home, on the couch, in front of their TV sets, when this movie comes out on
> DeeVeeDee.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Naiman" <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com>
> To: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 6:17 AM
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Help the Palestinians. Go See This Movie
>
>
>> If many Americans see the movie Budrus, about the successful
>> nonviolent resistance of Palestinians and Israelis against the route
>> of the Israeli "separation barrier" and its confiscation of
>> Palestinian land in the West Bank village of Budrus, it could lead to
>> concrete changes in U.S. policy that would lead to real improvement in
>> the ability of Palestinians in the West Bank to free themselves from
>> the occupation by nonviolent action.
>>
>>
>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/help-the-palestinians-go_b_780609.html
>>
>> --
>> Robert Naiman
>> Policy Director
>> Just Foreign Policy
>> www.justforeignpolicy.org
>> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>>
>> Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from
>> Afghanistan
>> http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern
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>
>



-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern