By David Hart

NVI Intern Jules Slater Wins Prestigious Oration Competition

NVI is blessed with the volunteer leadership of three amazing interns. Those who follow our social media are starting to get to know Katherine Whiteside who is hosting our Spotlight on Nonviolence series on our new YouTube channel. Sam Lynch has been taking substantial leadership on a range of essential nonprofit management tasks. Working with each of them is a joy. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to Jules Slater who just won a 111 year old competition at their college.

Jules won with a powerful speech on what I consider the single most important topic of our time. What do we do with our anger about the state of the world? Can we find ways to allow ourselves to feel whatever we are feeling - pain, despair, hope, anger - and channel those emotions into effective action? Check out Jules' insightful and beautifully presented remarks starting 27 minutes in to the video below. And, for those interested see below the video for some of my thoughts on this topic.

1st Place: Jules Slater ’21 - Advocacy Communication

The Bailey Oratorical stands as the oldest ongoing tradition of academic excellence at Juniata.

First Place: $1,000 and the name of the winner is inscribed on an antique Loving Cup.

Regular readers of this website may know of my love and respect for the great nonviolent activist and thinker Barbara Deming. Before coming across her writings, I had read and learned a great deal from Henry David Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, but reading Deming as a kid spoke to me in a way beyond even those esteemed visionaries.

Our successful webinar series is named We Are All Part of One Another after a line from Barbara Deming. See much more about her including fun links here.

I was deeply moved watching Jules' speech. I have had the pleasure of working closely with them and learning together as we dive into many pressing NVI tasks. Jules created and has been updating our new webpage on Burma. So I knew Jules to be smart and could tell from their approach to their work that a deep love of people and planet guided their daily efforts. I didn't know that Jules was pondering some of the same issues I was as a young activist and still am today. Because I've grown to love and respect Jules, it was clear to me watching the competition that they should win, but I also knew I was deeply and understandably biased. I celebrated when the impartial judges agreed and Jules won first prize!

In a world as beautiful and broken as ours how can we not feel despair and anger? I remember that old bumpersticker that seems even more true now... If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention. For those who are brave enough to pay attention today, the painful reality is hard to grapple with. So we understand why so many close themselves off from the suffering - largely unnecessary suffering - all around us. Looking directly at the depth of the intersecting crises facing us is hard, but it is also essential to finding creative, constructive ways to address them and doing so with the fierce urgency they demand. Barbara Deming's essay On Anger spoke to me in deep and transformational ways and helped guide me forward to a lifetime of sustained activism. I hope Jules' remarks and Barbara's essay will be helpful to you as well. As she does with so many of her essays, Barbara says a great deal in a short piece.

After watching Jules impressive speech above, please read Barbara's essay at: http://www.satyagrahafoundation.org/on-anger/

A few years later when I was in college I learned about the work of Joanna Macy. Her book Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age inspired me to teach a course for credit for three semesters. Decades before I arrived at Oberlin college students had pushed through the Experimental College where - if you jump through the right faculty hoops - you can teach other students and they will earn college credit. Doing this three times with a different co-instructor each semester was a deeply meaningful experience for me and came directly out of Barbara and Joanna's work that is now being carried forward by Jules and many other brave young leaders ready to claim their future by facing the reality of the world today and finding ways to act together.

I urge people interested in this kind of work to check out: joannamacy.net. She suggests ways to face our fears and be moved to sustained loving activism. This approach has helped keep me going in this challenging and wonderful work for decades.

Those of us not immersed in the Juniata community may miss a few references in Jules' speech, but the core messages are universal and are being felt by an ever increasing percentage of young people today. Jules asks if 2020 will be remembered as the angriest year ever. They express frustration at being told "this will not be tolerated here... when clearly it is." And, notes a core lesson we all benefit from meditating on regularly..."we are not alone."

We face serious challenges that we have foolishly allowed to go unaddressed for far too long. The intersecting crises are now forcing a great global awakening. The transition to a new and better world will not be easy and vast suffering that we could have avoided is already underway, but our capacity to claim our personal and collective power is directly impacted by our ability to face the reality of our situation. Jules and the other exceptional young leaders I get to work with through NVI give me hope that we may yet create the living loving revolution that has been needed for so long. Thank you Jules for your award winning speech, for all you do, and for giving me hope in hard times.

We are very curious what you think of all this. Jules and I have started talking about co-hosting a team meeting on this topic. Might not be a public webinar, but an internal gathering for those working closely with NVI and new friends interested in this part of our work. Please let us know if you might want to join us.

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EVERY LIFE, A UNIVERSE

Every Life, A Universe

End the Suffering: Global Days of Remembrance and Action

October 6, 7, and 8

#EveryLifeAUniverse

Nonviolence International invites you—communities, congregations, institutions, and individuals throughout the world—to commemorate the one-year mark of October 7th in a way that renews our resolve for justice and peace. Let us remember and honor the sacredness of every life, grief for those lost over decades of violence and oppression, and acknowledge those who are in pain today: those who have lost loved ones, are injured, abducted, displaced, whose homes have been destroyed, and who suffer from hunger and illness.

Through our grief and remembrance, let us renew our commitment to never give up on justice and peace between Palestinians and Israelis

We invite you for three days of remembrance and action by doing the following:

Wear a black ribbon or armband during these days. We want to see people all around the world, in our cities and towns, workplaces, and educational institutions, wear black ribbons or armbands in order to create the collective consciousness of grief for lives that haven been lost. You are also welcomed to write "Every life, a Universe" on your ribbons or armbands.
Organizing community vigils, sit-ins, sharing circles, walks, events, fundraisers, days of fasting, and humanitarian efforts for each of the days;

On October 6th, you are invited to remember the decades of the past and decry the mistreatment and suffering of Palestinians caused by Israeli policies of expulsion, imprisonment, apartheid, siege, and occupation.

On October 7th, you are invited to remember and decry the violent attacks by Hamas and others, including the hostage-taking, and the death of over 1,000 Israelis in a single day.

On October 8th, you are invited to remember and decry the launch and continuation of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, the killing of over 40,000 individuals, the injury of over 80,000, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the abduction of thousands from their homes and families.
Use the hashtag: #EveryLifeAUniverse on your social media and share your activities on the following Facebook page so others can join you and for all of us to know what you are doing Facebook Page.

Join us in your own way to say that violence, whether in defense or for liberation, is not the answer. Only nonviolence, which dismantles systems of oppression and violence and calls for collective justice and equality, will ensure that Israelis and Palestinians can live together in safety, peace, and justice.

Goals:

To create global momentum that transcends the dichotomy of right versus wrong and unites us in a collective call to end all suffering. Our aim is to move forward toward achieving peace and justice for everyone.
We seek to establish a unified ritual space where we can come together to acknowledge and process the past. This includes confronting grief, grievances, and the structures and systems of oppression that have perpetuated suffering across decades.
Our objective is to reframe the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in a way that fosters a shared vision of equality, justice, and reconciliation. By doing so, we hope to encourage and mobilize collective actions to end the suffering.
We want to remind everyone that we are the change-makers we have been waiting for. If we don't act now, the suffering will continue and intensify.

Explore our Tool Kit on how to participate in the Global Days of Remembrance and Action, filled with actionable steps and resources: Tool Kit

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." —Rumi

UNARMED CIVILIAN PROTECTION: LATEST UPDATES AND DEVELOPMENTS FROM PALESTINE

The Flotilla ships currently being prevented from leaving port by the Turkish Port Authorities

on September 12 Freedom Flotilla has announced that the demonstration to release the Flotilla ships currently being prevented from leaving port by the Turkish Port Authorities, continues in Istanbul. and they are calling for help;

We need your help in getting international media to cover this historic protest and help put pressure on the government to release the ships, ensuring we can sail towards Gaza.

HOW TO HELP:

1. Call, email and/or demonstrate at Turkish embassies and consulates and demand that the Freedom Flotilla ships be released and allowed to deliver aid to Gaza immediately.

2. Tag mainstream accounts in this post or when you share our photos to your stories.

3. Message the social media page of the Ministry of Transport and Foreign Affairs @tcdisisleri & @uabakanligi on IG and on X

4. Share our videos using the hashtags #WeWillSail and #LetThemSail tagging @tcdisisleri and @uabakanligi

#WeWillSail #LetThemSail #TheFreedomFlotilla #FFC #Istanbul #Turkiye #Turkey #mavimarmara

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi Killed While Peacefully Protecting Palestinians

Nonviolence International has long supported third-party nonviolent action around the world and in Palestine/Israel through training, research, fiscal sponsorship, and advocacy. NVI strongly encourages well-meaning visitors, delegations, and organized solidarity accompaniment and co-resistance to go to Palestine/Israel. This page highlights some of the many activities by courageous international people and groups in Palestine/Israel who seek to protect civilians and human rights.

On September 3, 2024, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi traveled to the occupied West Bank to join the unarmed civilian protection (UCP) group, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)/Faz3a. According to her family, she felt a deep responsibility to stand with Palestinian civilians facing ongoing repression and violence, particularly from settlers. On September 6, 2024, while attending a peaceful protest in Beita, Eygi was tragically shot in the head by an Israeli soldier. Source.

A photo of Aysenur Eygi during her graduation.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was born on July 27, 1998, in Turkey and raised in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Seattle Central College in 2022 with an Associate’s degree in Art and completed her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington in June 2024. She was actively involved in pro-Palestinian activism and was considering pursuing graduate studies in Near Eastern archaeology.

Nonviolence International, an organization dedicated to promoting nonviolent resistance and human rights, strongly condemns the killing of Eygi. We express deep outrage at the violent suppression of peaceful protests towards both Palestinians and internationals. This tragic incident underscores the dangers faced by activists advocating for basic human and civil rights in the occupied territories. Nonviolence International reaffirms its commitment to supporting peaceful activism and standing in solidarity with those resisting oppression.

Please call on the United Nations, Turkey, and the United States of America to launch independent investigations and to take measures to protect everyone.

To support our partners involved in UCP in Palestine, please visit the following:

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/ucpnp_partner

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/ffc_freedom_flotilla_coalition

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/cjnv_partner

ISM Palestine

Faz3a