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News from the Region

Palestinian Groups Form Network for Nonviolence

By Kathy Kamphoefner, Quaker International Affairs Representative

Logo for the Committees for Popular Participation, designed by Palestinian artist Samih Abu Zakieh. Photo: Kathy Kamphoefner

Representatives from thirty-five groups active in the Palestinian nonviolence movement recently formed a new network under the name the "Committees for Popular Participation". Formed during a meeting held June 23 and 24 in Ramallah, the creation of the network felt like an historic moment, as no such network of nonviolence organizations has existed for many years.  This new network raises the hope for strategic coordination for the nonviolence movement in the West Bank. 

The meeting participants represented a variety of groups from across the West Bank, including those working with the Quaker Palestine Youth Program, like Ta’awin and Pal Vision, as well as environmental groups and local popular committees organized against the Separation Wall. By the end of the meeting, participants had elected a chairperson and representatives from the 10 West Bank governorates, and begun a spirited discussion on how to structure the network.

Organizers from Bil'in discuss recent nonviolent resistance to the Separation Wall. Photo: Kathy Kamphoefner

One of the highlights of the two-day meeting was a session with leaders from the West Bank towns of Bil’in and Budrus, who discussed their mass action tactics against the Separation Wall.  Representatives from the Popular Committees from both towns told stories of how they have organized nonviolent resistance against the Wall's construction across their agricultural lands, assisted by Israeli and international activists.  The Popular Committees include representatives from the spectrum of political parties in their areas, and hold participatory town meetings to plan their activities with local citizens.

Palestinian artist Samih Abu Zakieh, who was recording the decision-making process on large white paper in front of the meeting in his beautiful handwriting, designed a logo for the group in a matter of minutes during the meeting.

This gathering served as a follow-up meeting to the Conference for Strategic Civil Resistance by Nonviolence, which was held in April, 2005. In the April conference, the participants had formed ten action groups to work on specific issues.  This work is an outgrowth of an 18-month nonviolence organizing project led by the Palestinian organizations, Panorama and Holy Land Trust, in partnership with Quaker Service- Jerusalem (AFSC).

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