Dear Readers, Below is a letter about the recent (August 2022) Israeli attacks on Gaza. NVI has long advocated for a nonviolent resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Please get involved. The status quo is horrible, particularly for the Palestinians. We must stop the violence and move to a just society where Palestinians and Israelis live in harmony.
Israel is currently gloating over its recent operation in Gaza. It succeeded by all measures: Israel initiated the conflict, first by arresting an Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank city of Jenin and dragging him out in humiliation, as he was bitten by a dog; then, anticipating a reaction by his organization, Israel proceeded to bombard Gaza “preemptively.” In three short days, the Israeli military managed to rain death and destruction on Gaza, assassinating another Islamic Jihad leader, killing 46 Palestinians (including 16 children), and wounding 460 others.
Meanwhile, it suffered no casualties itself aside from a few lightly wounded by shrapnel. The world press largely followed the Israeli narrative, giving credit to Israeli lies that it was Palestinian fire that killed its child-victims. Israel succeeded in calculating and limiting the actions it initiated, as Hamas was both bribed and bullied into staying on the sidelines and Egypt quickly moved in to suggest a ceasefire once Israel felt satisfied.
The operation succeeded in further fragmenting the Palestinians by distinguishing Hamas from Islamic Jihad and Gaza from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Palestinians within Israel’s borders, as well as the wider Arab world. Israel suffered no losses, illustrating the power of its iron dome defenses and setting the stage for seeking additional military aid from the supportive US. It achieved a muted response from Arab countries and the international community, which found itself busy elsewhere. Israel successfully used varying tools of influence to “manage” the event, and it got what it wanted at little or no cost. In addition, the Gaza operation served as a useful tool for internal Israeli politics, improving the chances of the interim government ahead of elections. The operation's success was such that Israel did not even need to pretend it was defending itself or only retaliating. Now, the discourse is about Israel’s “right to protect itself” from anticipated Palestinian reactions to Israeli provocations. Its power and military dominance was in full display yet again, as was the weakness and helplessness of the Palestinians.
Israel could now magnanimously turn the faucet and judiciously allow a few droplets of benefits for the imprisoned Gazans: a few more work permits, a few more medical permits, a few more truckloads of food, some fuel for electricity, a bit of water, and some relief aid from Qatar—subject to their continued subservience and “quiet” acceptance of domination and control by Israel. The biggest victory for Israel was in the muted response by the American media. National Public Radio did not even cover the story until the third day when it gave a three minute report that merely parroted the Israeli line, falsely claiming that the bombardment of Gaza was a response to Palestinian rocket fire. Even Israel itself proclaimed that its actions were “preemptive” and not retaliatory. By keeping the operation short, while the attention of the world was diverted elsewhere, it achieved all its objectives and now life could “return to normal.” Israel was even emboldened to step up its arrests, assassinations, raids, and other outrages in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Yet this “success” belies certain realities, which are slowly becoming known to all:
- Gaza is a human made disaster whereby two million people live in an open air prison under the total control of Israel, which can attack at will.
- Gaza is a narrow strip, 3-5 miles wide and 20 miles long. Its skies are constantly buzzing with drones and military aircraft, which in addition to surveillance can at any time rain down death and destruction. The Gazan coastline is also controlled by Israel, which doles out permits for fishing while exploiting its subterranean oil reservoir.
- Over 2/3 of Gazans are refugees whose land, villages, and historic communities are located in what has become Israel. As such, Gazans still dream of a return to their homeland. They are an integral part of the Palestinian people, and no solution for Palestine can exclude them.
- Israel continues to occupy the Gaza Strip, keeping it under siege while “remotely” controlling all aspects of peoples’ lives—just as it does with residents of the West Bank.
- Egypt participates in this siege, in coordination with Israel.
- Israel controls electricity, water, fuel, cyberspace, and food, as well as all entry and exit of people and goods to and from the Strip. It regulates the entry of all aid money and humanitarian assistance, desperately needed after Israel has systematically destroyed the Gazan economy.
- Israel’s continued control over Gaza requires it to employ increasingly harsh and more cruel measures, occasionally erupting in huge losses of life for civilians, women, and children. While Israel controls this pressure cooker, “managing” it as it did again this time, the situation cannot be sustainable in the long run.
- In any military confrontation, the primitive rockets Palestinians use are no match for Israel’s massive firepower, but serve as a wonderful excuse for Israel to attack Gazans with massive bombardments from air, land, and sea.
- Palestinians have no real offensive or defensive power, and their civilians have no shelters or anywhere else to run or escape.
- Even when there is no bombardment, Gazans suffer daily from massive deprivations in all aspects of life, to the point that the UN declared the Strip would be unlivable by 2020! (I know, I know. It is already 2022!) Unemployment is over 50% and mental problems have been detected in over 80% of its children.
- The residents of Gaza are in fact human, children of God, and deserving of equal dignity as much as anyone else.
- Finally, while Gazan lives and livelihood may be worth nothing to Israelis, their continued oppression will continue to exact a toll on Israel’s soul, its morality, and more and more so its image.
Strategically, Israel has no plans for Gaza or the Gazans. It believes it can use its power and influence to continuously “manage” the situation, while its connections, influence, and clever hasbara (“propaganda”) will continue to ensure that it faces no consequences for its actions. The world will conveniently look away and forget or ignore Gaza and its Gazans.
For this situation to persist in perpetuity, it is necessary that a number of things continue to happen:
- The world must continue to look away from the crisis, pretending that Gaza does not exist
- All prospects of a just peace must be abandoned, and talk of peace must be limited to empty platitudes and the maintenance of an oppressive status quo.
- International law must continue to remain impotent, and the US veto must continue to ensure that the United Nations cannot act when it comes to Israel.
- The International Criminal Court must be kept in check, prevented from addressing Israel’s crimes.
- The Arab world must continue to be ruled by autocratic regimes and corrupt elites who do not reflect the wishes or interests of its people.
- People in the rest of the world must continue to do nothing, and Israel’s actions must continue to enjoy impunity.
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And mostly you, my dear readers, would need to do absolutely nothing.
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Take two minutes right now to call your parliamentarians and legislators and demand that they denounce Israel's attacks on Gaza over the weekend, call for an end to Israel's siege, and stop funding this violence.
- Listen to Gazan voices in particular young people with We Are Not Numbers. They are always looking for English language writing mentors for aspiring Gazan journalists.
- Listen and get involved with other NVI groups working to support Gazans such as the Freedom Flotilla/US Boat to Gaza and Hebron International Resource Network.
- And please start a book group or write a book review about my book, Beyond the Two-State Solution, which provides a hopeful path forward.
With Peace and Justice for All,
Jonathan Kuttab
Co-Founder of Nonviolence International and Executive Director of FOSNA
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Sami Awad giving a NLD training in Palestine, 2010
Are you in a leadership position but find yourself struggling to move forward efficiently and effectively?
Are you an activist striving to make a difference but feel stuck?
Do you want to have a breakthrough and lead with more clarity and confidence?
Are you seeking to achieve greater results in your life and for those around you?
Join Nonviolence International in the launch of their first online training program to develop strong and effective leadership in order to face the challenges we are facing in the world today.
Nonlinear Leadership Development promotes leadership paradigms that inspire leaders to think beyond traditional frameworks, by empowering individuals and communities to navigate complexities, embrace innovation, and drive positive change.
What is the Nonlinear Leadership Development Program?
It is a deep personal development program to enhance inner skills of leadership. The purpose of the program is to provide leaders with the tools that help them make the impossible possible at the level of their personal life, their work, community, and for their country.
The unique contribution of the nonlinear methodology is that it begins at the individual level, providing a methodology that can successfully put people in touch with their innate leadership potential by unleashing their self-responsibility, creativity, intelligence and commitment, and by giving them a voice and direct access to action through nonlinear thinking and the power of language.
Participants start by creating the visions and strategies for leadership within themselves - understanding what it means to be a leader - and then from there they move on to serving the larger community. Furthermore, this methodology is designed to ensure sustainability through the building of a dynamic, growing network of self-organising communities.
This approach emphasizes distinguishing between interpretations and facts, enabling individuals to move beyond past traumas and make decisions aligned with future possibilities. By adopting NLT, participants are encouraged to engage in deep self-reflection, challenge existing mindsets, and cultivate self-awareness, thereby fostering environments where teams can thrive amidst uncertainty and change.
The training will be provided by our co-director, Sami Awad.
What will you learn?
- Deal effectively with breakdowns and problems on the personal, professional, community and national levels.
- Build relationships of mutual trust and respect.
- Deal effectively with what’s happening here and now.
- Build powerful networks to support you in the future.
- Create a bold future which is informed by, and honours the past, but is independent from the past.
- Accomplish breakthrough results.
- Have effective, purposeful meetings which support you in delivering on intended results.
- Understand the power and importance of creating and managing context.
What will you accomplish?
- You will get access to powerful action and result oriented language.
- You will get access to nonlinear tools that can be applied in different dimensions.
- You will unlock yourself from the constraints of the past.
- You will create a future for yourself, family and community that will be inspiring and transforming.
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You will build growing dynamic networks of self organising communities which give voice to making the impossible possible.
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You will engage in the phenomena of nonlinearity, self organisation, and emergence.
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You will ask yourself: “what allows for self responsibility?”
- You will get a clear vision on decision making.
What are the requirements to participate in the training program?
- Leaders committed to a future founded on the principles of nonviolence, justice, equality and peace within society and in relation to others.
- Leaders who want to have a breakthrough in their lives.
- Leaders who want to engage in making the impossible possible in their lives.
- Leaders who are ready to challenge what they know in order to create new opportunities.
- Be open and interested in learning, especially different approaches to leadership.
- Commit to all sessions.
- Selection-based process, since the attendance for this training is limited to a maximum of 25 participants, ensuring an exclusive and unique learning experience.
- The full training program costs $600, however, our organization is committed to making this training accessible to everyone who feels they need it and is ready to fully commit. Therefore, we welcome voluntary contributions based on each participant's ability to give.
To apply, please fill in the following form: APPLY NOW
Join us on April 23, for a webinar that delves into current Syrian realities and the impact of sanctions. Our experts include long time Syrian human rights leader Bassam Ishak, NVI Board Chair Rafif Jouejati (now in Syria), and our NVI Co-Director Michael Beer who has just returned from Syria.
Guests will share their thoughts— and those of the people they represent - on what rebuilding the nation and fostering reconciliation, unity, and justice look like. This discussion will shed light on the paths to recovery and the steps needed to ensure sustainable stability, dignity, and hope for millions of Syrians.
This webinar is a unique opportunity to gain deep insights from sources who have played an important part in the struggle against tyranny and who offer valuable knowledge so you, as part of the global family committed to peace and justice, can contribute to Syria’s bright future.
Don’t miss out—register now to be part of this important conversation!
You can RSVP to attend this webinar via our sign-up page here!
David Hartsough on left, along with Laurence Henry face down neo-Nazis at Arlington Virginia desegregation sit-in in 1961. Photo by Gene Abbott. Courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection © Washington Post.
We share the passing of David Hartsough, a long-time supporter of Nonviolence International and the global nonviolence movement. David died at the age of 84 after a battle with cancer. He was a loving husband of Jan and of 2 children. He co-founded Nonviolent Peaceforce, Nonviolent Peaceworks, and World Beyond War, David was a Quaker who dedicated his life to nonviolence and a just world. His vision and commitment to nonviolence shaped countless movements. His memoir, Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist, tells the remarkable story of his decades spent on the front lines of nonviolent action. Can you believe he drove to Red Square in 1961 in a VW Bug from Berlin and protested against nuclear weapons?
Col. Ann Wright called him the “Forrest Gump” of the US Peace Movement implying that he had a knack for being present at so many historic anti-war events for 70 years. In addition to ubiquitous protesting he actively worked on numerous campaigns for peace and justice. In the late 1950’s, he was arrested for nuclear & chemical weapons ban protests, in the 1960’s, he was among the earliest to oppose the Vietnam War, through the then newly created Washington Peace Center and the Friends Committee on National Legislation. In the 1970’s he worked for the American Friends Service Committee where he opposed US wars in Central America and supported the pioneering use of nonviolence intervention by Peace Brigades and Witness for Peace. He became so enamored with nonviolent intervention that In 1996 he presented his idea of a large scale nonviolent army to intervene in conflicts around the world at NVI’s global conference Mainstreaming Peace Teams. His dream later came to fruition at the 1999 Hague Appeal for Peace where he met Michael Beer, Mel Duncan and Timmon Wallis and Nonviolent Peaceforce was provisionally born.
In 1996, he traveled to Kosovo to support and train the nonviolent student movement in its resistance to Serbian rule and repression. He then encouraged NVI Director, Michael Beer to follow to provide more coaching and training on nonviolent resistance. In the 2000’s, he was repeatedly arrested for opposing US wars against Muslim countries and co-led a peace delegation to Iran. He then helped David Swanson start the World Beyond War, for which NVI, through David’s suggestion, served briefly as a fiscal sponsor. He was a life-long war-tax resister and supporter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
But his legacy was not just about ending war. He met Dr. King in Alabama as a young teenager and was a courageous activist in the sit-in movement that ended segregation in the DC area. He was arrested uncountable times for environmental, poverty alleviation, anti-racism, and social justice issues. In 2011, he was one of the co-founders of the Occupy Movement in Washington DC. Although not a wealthy man, he was a generous financial supporter of all NVI initiatives including our projects in Russia, Iran, Kosovo, Tibet, Palestine, Burma, and Western Sahara. He donated his massive nonviolent training collection that has been partially digitized and uploaded to NVI’s Nonviolence Training Archives.
NVI is sad to see him leave us but grateful for his relentless support and encouragement. What a remarkable nonviolent life!
Job Fair at the US Senate Victory: Some Workers Getting Jobs Restored...
Co-Director Michael Beer helped lead some of the initial protests by Federal Workers in the Senate. Much work remains to reinstate workers and to challenge the illegal firings of tens of thousands of government workers and contractors. NVI remains committed to nonviolently mobilizing public support in the US and globally against criminal actions by the Trump administration.
Article on reinstating fired workers
https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-administration-reinstating-24500-fired-workers-after-court-order-2025-03-18/
Job Fair at the US Senate to Protest Illegal Firings
This week, NVI Director Michael Beer, helped launch a “Job Fair” at the US Senate. Each day this week, illegally fired federal workers have walked into senate offices with resumes asking for jobs. These federal workers meet with Senators and staff and tell their stories of being fired from US Aid for International Development, Social Security, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Energy and many others.
Many of them had worked in the government for less than 2 years. Many have worked for decades and had strong job performance evaluations. All were highly skilled and some had previously worked for much higher salaries in the private sector. They fear that the vital work of their agencies will be dismantled and that people around the world will suffer because of the damage done to health and energy research or a sudden halt in humanitarian aid.
Here are some articles about the unconventional lobbying.
Here is a Washington Post Article.
You can hear some of these workers in their own words.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGV7h1Gx2sR/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGdvjVExh0L/
Most of these folks have never lobbied before. But they are angry and want to do something. Hopefully they can persuade/pressure Senators to stand up to Musk and Trump and stop these attacks on federal workers and on these congressionally funded agencies.
These firings are an attempt to cripple government services and force them to be privatized. Other agencies like the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau are cops who prevent and reverse financial fraud perpetrated by big firms and the oligarchs.
Others are doing a sit-in as we do this write-up.
Here is a good primer for those looking for something to do.
https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/
Also, take a look at NVI’s huge database of 346 nonviolent tactics and get inspired and the number of things you can do.