Khaya Family Siege Updates
NEW! An updated edition of the report published about the 80 day intervention.
Download our report here.
(Content warning: images and descriptions of torture and abuse)
For background information click here.
Donate to support our ongoing efforts to promote nonviolence in Western Sahara here.
Read more below to see our report and updates from the field team during their deployment from March-June 2022.
June 3, 2022, Democracy Now broadcasts headline video of Sultana Khaya's arrival in Canary Islands.
June 1, 2022, Tim Pluta, Ruth McDonough, Sultana Khaya successfully arrive in Canary Islands Airport to a huge crowd and media conference.
May 28, 2022, NVI and delegation protest against Moroccan deportation and abuses in front of the White House.
May 27, 2022, Amnesty International Report. Morocco/Western Sahara: Investigate targeted assault on Sahrawi women activists.
May 27, 2022 US delegation arrives in DC and protests their Moroccan mistreatment and US policy towards Western Sahara at the White House an Noon.
May 24, 2022 Siege of Khaya home re-intensifies with more agents surrounding the house. These past few weeks we have seen women visitors beaten by Moroccan forces with chains, their hands broken so they can't hold Saharawi flags' and youth visitors arrested and abused. Sultana's niece got beaten in front of Sultana's house trying to enter. Her husband escorted her away from this unsuccessful visit.
May 23, 2022, US Delegation of women, were forcibly put on the plane to Casablanca by unidentified Moroccan men. No legal rationale or basis was provided. One woman felt that her bra and shirt we deliberately lifted up.
May 23, 2022, US delegation of women are deported by Moroccan forces at Laayoune Airport. They are trying to visit their friends in Western Sahara, in particular the Khaya Sisters.
May 21, 2022, Tim and Ruth, release a dove at the front of the Khaya house, calling on the Moroccan forces to stop their siege, lay down their guns as Tim did many years ago and build a society based on consent and justice not on domination.
May 15/16, Large Truck Crashes into Khaya Home at Midnight. See NVI's Facebook page for a video shortly after the attack.
May 13, 2022, Ruth McDonough ends her fast and calls on people around the world to continue fasting for Western Sahara.
May 11, 2022, Ruth McDonough fasts for an eighth day.
May 10, 2022, Morocco sends an unsolicited ambulance to visit the Khaya home. The ambulance was filled with men pretending to be medical workers who had previously attacked and raped the Khaya Sisters. Sultana turned them away. See press release here.
May 9, 2022, Ruth McDonough enters day #6 of a hunger strike. Sultan Khaya holds another protest today calling for human rights and self-determination. Solidarity fasts held around the world including Edward Horgan in Ireland.
May 5, 2022, Visitor Ruth McDonough begins hunger strike to demand an end to the rapes, siege and for a international independent investigation of the abuses of the Khaya sisters.
Please join Ruth and fast for a day in solidarity with her and the need to end the siege!
April 21, 2022 Morocco attacks Sultana Khaya's nephew, Mohammed Fadel Khayamore,yet nonviolent rooftop protests continue. Mohammed is released after two days in an adult jail.
April 20th. Live Report! Breaking a Siege in Occupied Western Sahara:
Full Webinar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ-ThflMV4I
Shortened Version- 23 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ZheGqLl1s
Moderator: Adrienne Kinne, past President and Vice President of the Board of Veterans for Peace USA and Field Volunteer, Presenters: Salka Barca, Co-Founder of Karama Sahara (Nonviolent US-based Advocacy Organization for Western Sahara); Ruth McDonough, Arabic teacher and Field Volunteer; Merwyn De Mello, international peacebuilder and Field Volunteer; Sultana Khaya, Renowned Western Sahara Human Rights Defender; Bill Fletcher Jr., Former President of TransAfrica Forum and Co-Chair of Campaign to End the Moroccan Occupation of Western Sahara.
April 19, 2022 Sultana Khaya installs flagpoles on the roof since the Moroccan government forces broke the hands of her friends who were holding the flag poles in previous days.
April 17, 2022, Brutalization of more activists in the neighborhood by Moroccan forces, yet daily protests on the roof continue.
April 16, 2022, 6 Women who joined the Khaya Sisters yesterday, were brutalized today at their homes. Moroccan forces tried to break their hands to punish them for holding Saharawi flags. Some are needing urgent medical attention.
April 15, 2022, Security has locked down the neighborhood for some reason unknown to all of us. Not a soul on the street, and the police chief is reported to be driving up and down the streets. Khaya Sisters and friends continue daily protests on the roof of their house. https://www.facebook.com/NonviolenceInternational
In the evening, Khaya family visited, despite barriers to the Khaya home, by prominent women's right and human rights activists, Boulsan Tufa and her sister.
April 12, 2022, Sultana Khaya assaulted by Moroccan settler outside her home. Moroccan settler threatened to kill everyone in the house which currently hosts two US tourists from the Human Rights Action Center.
April 6, 2022 Lilah Mohammed Habibi was released after being in police custody for 2 days where he was beaten. He has returned to his home. Protests continue daily on the roof. Moroccan forces surround the house but have not attacked.
March 31, 2022 On Thursday, March 17, Moroccan security forces abducted 14-year old Lilah Mohammed Habibi and his friend as they walked home after visiting nonviolent activist Sultana Khaya in Boujdour, Western Sahara. They forced the boys into their car and took them to the police station. Lilah was interrogated, yelled at, and violently struck on his arms and hands. He was ordered never to go to the Khaya house again. Later that day, both boys were released.Lilah was then taken back into custody on Wednesday March 30th after being asked to pass a nearby bag to a group of older boys. Moroccan police refuse to release the 14-year old who is being held in an adult detention center.
A call for an international investigation of the Khaya Sister’s abuse in Western Sahara continues from the UCP Volunteers.
March 24, 2022 After a week of visiting with Saharawi activist, Sultana Khaya, two of the international guests have safely returned home with no incident going through borders. They are available for interviews about the horrific human rights violations in Western Sahara. The other two guests remain, continuing to deepen connection, friendship, and solidarity with the Saharawi people.
March 22, 2022 UCP Volunteer delegation calls again for an International Investigation of Khaya Sisters’s abuse in Western Sahara after women and elders are attacked and prevented access to Khaya Home.
March 21, 2022 Sahrawi women are being attacked outside the Khaya family home while international visitors observe human rights abuse. Visitors leaving the house were shoved, stopped, harassed, phones were taken, they are back in the house, others went on the street to protest.
Strong coverage on Democracy Now!
https://youtu.be/WKi3eKnU2Xc
https://youtu.be/cW6gpk0Tpoc
March 19th, 2022 Wife & Husband Reunite During Halt of Moroccan Siege in Western Sahara
WASHINGTON, D.C./Boujdour, Western Sahara – Human rights defender, Mina Abaali, reunited with her long-separated husband at the home of Sultana Khaya which was recently released from a 482-day siege by the arrival of 4 international visitors in Boujdour, Western Sahara. Abaali had been forcibly separated from her exiled husband, Hasanna Dueihi, by the Moroccan Forces for three years due to their nonviolent protests for self-determination. When he heard that the siege had been lifted, he rushed to be with her. He told Khaya’s guests, “I am so grateful for you four volunteers that gave me this gift of finally seeing my wife. You are the other face of America.” Young boys who overheard his comment started chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”
March 18, 2022 - The siege has been broken for three consecutive days now. Sultana Khaya and several other activists were able to meet together and support each other today. Our UCP Volunteers continue to ask that their demands are met:
We call for and end to the rapes.
We call for the freedom of movement for the Khaya Family and all visitors.
We call for an independent international investigation of these human rights abuses.
March 17, 2022 - The Moroccans have halted the siege of the Khaya Sisters for 2 days; good friends and family can reunite after nearly 500 days of separation in Western Sahara. We hope the Moroccan approach will continue to change and that sexual abuse, repression, and dominance will be replaced by humility, friendship and respect.
Saharawi Women and the International Visitors joined the Khaya sisters in their daily vigil on their rooftop. Ruth McDonough said, “Our presence as Americans helped to break the siege but these women are the ones who are leading and all that I hope for them is for their voices to be heard and followed because it’s what they say that everyone needs to hear.”
We are streaming live on FB. Please watch this moving feed, take action, and spread the word. Please see this one page document for specific demands directly from the Khaya family.
A UCP Volunteer with Sultana Khaya
March 15, 2022 - At the invitation of the Khaya family in Boujdour, Western Sahara, US-based volunteers have arrived at their home to protect them from human rights abuses and break the almost 500-day siege of the house imposed by Moroccan occupation forces.
Supported by the Human Rights Action Center (HRAC) and NVI and a network of other human rights groups, the international unarmed civilian protection (UCP) volunteers, Ruth McDonough, Adrienne Kinne, and others, are currently guests in the Khaya family home. HRAC promotes adherence to the International Declaration of Human Rights.
Since November 2020, the Khaya Sisters have been forcibly confined to their home and the family has faced many forms of abuse, including home invasions, sexual violence and injections of unknown substances. The Khaya sisters have been raped by Moroccan security forces in front of their 84-year-old mother. Furthermore, their water has been poisoned, furniture and property destroyed, and electricity cut-off.
Referring to her experience, Sultana Khaya shared, “I am not the first Saharawi woman to be raped by the occupiers. I am simply the first woman to speak publicly about it. I have to expose the reality of the occupation. And I need to pave the way for the next generation of Saharawi women.”
UCP Volunteer in Western Sahara
Latest posts
(Please see this page for background information, resources, and action steps on Palestine / Israel)
NVI fiscally sponsors groups that work to help Gazans. Please support them.
If you want to hear news and views directly from Gaza, please check the website and social media sites of We Are Not Numbers.
US Boats to Gaza is a member of the global Freedom Flotilla Coalition. They seek to bring humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza and break the siege. Learn more about their important work below.
Here are some photos from the big recent Washington, DC event for Palestinian humanity that was part of much larger global effort.
Don't miss this important event!
In this time of enormous unnecessary suffering, it is vitally important that people of good will everywhere raise up the humanity of Palestinian people.
NVI is grateful to the co-founder of our wonderful fiscally sponsored partner, We Are Not Numbers, Ahmed Alnaouq, who brought this short moving video clip to our attention.
Don’t miss US Representative Rashida Tlaib saying the name and last words of WANN writer, Yousef Dawas.
Then take a moment to watch her powerful video here.
We Are Not Numbers is featured in this moving piece in "In These Times."
“I yearn for our voices to echo across the globe with the truth, reaching out to those who seek it.”
SHERELL BARBEE FEBRUARY 7, 2024
https://inthesetimes.com/article/letters-from-gaza-genocide-palestine-culture-
We are thrilled that Ahmed's powerful voice was included in the Washington Post.
Here is his excerpt and a link (behind a paywall) to the full article, which includes other perspectives - several not rooted in personal experience or basic human compassion for the suffering of others. When militarists are welcomed into the mainstream press, the media doesn't feel a need to provide "balance." But, for some reason, the few times that Palestinian voices are heard, they present another perspective that often negates Palestinian humanity.
The slaughter must end
Ahmed Alnaouq: Last week, Israel bombed my family home in Gaza, killing my father, as well as two brothers, three sisters and all of their children, in an instant. One friend described their bodies as “bags of meat” — an arm here, a leg there.
I write to you in mourning. Even now, we Palestinians are not granted the luxury to grieve. Instead, we are burdened with the responsibility to talk, to communicate the extent of our suffering and the injustice wielded against us.
So, first, I must say this: We demand an immediate cease-fire. We demand a lifting of the Israeli siege of Gaza and the restoration of electricity, fuel, water and food. And we demand unimpeded humanitarian access in line with international law.
Today, the word “genocide” is being widely used. I can’t think of another word that captures the magnitude of what Israel, a nuclear-armed military power, continues to unleash on a captive population of children and refugees. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the quiet part out loud: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before,” he said. “We will eliminate everything.”
But we Palestinians already knew what Gallant had in mind. Corralled in Gaza for the past 17 years, burdened with mass unemployment and poverty — even before white phosphorus filled the skies, or before we lay crushed beneath the rubble — we could not breathe. We were held captive like prisoners who had never committed a crime or shot down when we attempted to peacefully protest our incarceration.
Our 1 million children have never traveled outside Israel’s militarized cage and know nothing but the buzz of drones in the sky tracking their every move.
In the past week, I have lost everything. But I do not seek revenge. There is no “military solution” here, only a collective responsibility to finally grant Palestinians what they have demanded for decades, what they are owed: justice, freedom and their very basic rights as human beings.
Ahmed Alnaouq is the head of We Are Not Numbers, which pairs Palestinian writers with mentors overseas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/02/gaza-ceasefire-civilian-military-humanitarian/
Click here to donate to support NVI's fiscally sponsored partner WANN.
Ahmed was also featured in this recent New York Times piece.
After the Israeli military killed his older brother in an airstrike in Gaza in 2014, Ahmed Alnaouq says, he almost lost his will to live. “I sank into a deep depression,” he told me in a recent phone call. But an American friend convinced him to write about his brother and channel his grief into something productive. Together, they founded We Are Not Numbers, a project that trains young writers in Gaza and publishes their personal essays in English.
The name is a nod to how numbing numbers can be. The higher the death toll, the less we are inclined to care, since the scale of human suffering can feel overwhelming. Statistics don’t trigger empathy and action. Personal stories do.
“This project changed my life because for the first time, I thought that some people can care about us,” Mr. Alnaouq said, describing the response it got outside Gaza.
We Are Not Numbers began as a way to memorialize the dead, but it quickly turned into a lifeline for the living. For young people in Gaza, stuck in a political system with few rights and a blockaded economy with few jobs, it provides a vital outlet for self-expression...
“After losing my family, I did not stop believing in what I believe in,” he told me. “I don’t want other people to feel what I am feeling. Not the Israelis, not the Palestinians.”
These very painful, honest, meaningful videos feature WANN's co-founder.
Trigger / harsh reality warning.
Mubarak Awad speaks on KKFI radio about Palestine
Moussa Elbayoumy, Yara Salamed, and NVI President Mubarak Awad discuss calls for a ceasefire in the current Israel-Hamas war. Moussa is an MD and chair of the board of the Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Kansas). Yara is studying Law at UMKC and is President of Students for Justice in Palestine there. Mubarak is a Palestinian born in Jerusalem in 1943, influenced by Mennonite and Quaker missionaries. He received bachelors, masters and PhD degrees from universities in the US. He became a US citizen in 1978 and returned to Jerusalem in 1983 to found the Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence. He was expelled from Palestine in 1988 during the First Intifada for organizing nonviolent protests against mistreatment of Palestinians by Israeli military and settlers. Back in the US, he founded Nonviolence International. Moussa, Yara and Mubarak are calling for a ceasefire in the current Israel-Gaza war. KKFI.ORG
Sadly, this short NVI video clip from two years ago is still relevant.
Refaat Alareer, WANN's co-founder, killing featured in major media outlets.
In this episode of Mondoweiss’s podcast Culture Editor Mohammed El-Kurd
speaks with journalist and co-founder of We Are Not Numbers Ahmad Alnaouq.
Michael Beer quoted in LA Times article on effective activism.
Please see these articles:
Writing while expecting to die “Can you kindly publish the attached stories if I die?” This is what we have been hearing from the young writers we work with from Gaza in the We Are Not Numbers project.
7 steps to end the cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine:
The path to peace requires nonviolent action not just from Israelis and Palestinians, but also Americans, the media, aid organizations and others.
By NVI Founder, Mubarak Awad. We are pleased to announce this piece was selected as Waging Nonviolence's top story of the year! https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/12/waging-nonviolence-top-stories-2023/
When will we learn that violence doesn’t lead to security?
To support Israelis and Palestinians is to insist on their right to equally live in peace and freedom — not help structures of state violence and cultures of militarization.
By NVI Board member, Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Solidarity with Palestinians and Jews Sign on Statement.
By Jonathan Kuttab, NVI co-founder. Cat Zavis, Jewish Civil/Women's Rights Lawyer, Mediator, and Rabbi: Beyt Tikkun. Michael Lerner, Rabbi and Editor of Tikkun magazine.
Esther Azar, Arab Jewish Trauma Activist, and Rabbi: Trauma Informed Rabbinics.
Recent attacks by Israel on Gaza and Hamas fighters on Israel are tragic and will not resolve bring peace and justice to all.
NVI believes that nonviolence is the only way to end the savagery, brutality and cycle of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.
NVI urges all parties to cease all military attacks and prevent further escalation of violence that will only harm innocent civilians on both sides.
Call for an immediate ceasefire and end to all violence, including an immediate halt to attacks towards Israel and Israeli military attacks on Gaza.
Urgent humanitarian action is needed, including the establishment of a humanitarian corridor inside and out of Gaza, for the safe movement of people and the delivery of essential supplies. This includes opening Erez and Kerem Shalom / Abu Salem crossings to allow for the movement of people and goods and remove the ban on access to the sea.
End violations of international law and impunity, including settlement expansions, forcible transfer, demolitions, settler violence, all part of ongoing and illegal de facto annexation of West Bank territory. Immediately lift all movement restrictions on Palestinian communities in the West Bank to allow the movements of goods and services.
Take action at the UN Security Council to reaffirm UN Security Council resolutions calling for a nonviolent resolution of disputes, the reversal of the annexation of Greater East Jerusalem and the preservation of the status quo at holy sites.
NVI supports nonviolent political resolution of the conflict by ending the systemic policies of oppression and discrimination of Palestinians, including the 16-year siege on Gaza and 56-year military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including. East Jerusalem.
We hope you will find this helpful and will share it with others.
US Boats to Gaza is a fiscally sponsored partner of NVI and a member of the global Freedom Flotilla Coalition. They seek to bring humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza and break the siege. Learn more below.
In this video, Ann Wright, a leader of US Boats to Gaza, Veterans for Peace, and Code Pink interrupts the US Secretary of State to call for a Cease Fire Now. Timestamp 1:45
Check out this powerful video (from before the latest crisis), learn more about their important work, and please consider supporting this creative constructive nonviolent movement.
(Photo from The Day @thedayct - see full article here.)
The Coverage reports 5 individuals arrested and correctly notes this as a follow up to a similar action last November when 9 were arrested during a morning rush hour blockade of the plant, including Isaiah Project coordinator Paul Magno.
The Electric Boat engineering facility is working on design of the new Columbia class ballistic missile submarines to replace the current Ohio class ones. The Ohio class submarines carry 20 Trident II ballistic missiles per sub each deployed with 5 nuclear warheads. A single ballistic missile can travel 6000 miles to its Russian target and precipitate a like response, threatening the lives of millions around the globe and adding a new climate catastrophe, nuclear winter, to our current global climate threats.
The entire Trident weapon system is considered the most destructive weapon in human history and regarded as a patent violation of international treaty law to which the United States is a signatory. The Columbia successor will go into service by the end of the decade and lock humanity into that threat for the balance of the century.
Nonviolent resisters such as those arrested in Monday’s action are affiliated with a regional network in the US northeast, the Atlantic Life Community. Several of the historic Plowshares actions, including 2010’s Disarm Now Plowshares and 2018’s Kings Bay Plowshares disarmament actions have singled out Trident as an immoral and illegal first strike weapon system.
The Isaiah Project hosted the Kings Bay Plowshares support group for five years, sustaining the actors through their trial and subsequent prison sentences during the height of the covid pandemic. We have provided seed money to the No New Tridents grassroots resistance network which focuses on the advent of the Columbia class submarines at Electric Boat in New London & Groton CT and at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virgina, as well as Beyond Trident in southeast Georgia, site of Kings Bay Naval Base Atlantic port for Trident.
The call for continuing nonviolent resistance to such nuclear weapons is clear through such actions.
Besides anti-nuclear protests that are direct action (such as Plowshare actions), there are also social media & public protests that have value.
A new initiative is to try promote the policy of no first-use of a nuclear weapon. NVI Director Michael Beer, along with Alyn Ware of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Disarmament, went to the 7 nuclear weapons embassies in Washington plus the White House to communicate our strong desire these state commit to a no first-use policy. Enclosed here is the letter we sent to the Embassies and the White House. Included here is a Declaration of Public Conscience: Nuclear Taboo-From Norm To Law with the no-first use pledge with prominent signatories.
Here is a previous social media protest by Isaiah Project during the Covid Crisis. Thanks to all who participated.
In this time of crisis, we celebrate the vision, commitment, and bold creative activism of our newest partner The Isaiah Project. This project supports Plowshares actions including the Kings Bay 7 who entered a naval base in Georgia two years ago.
Today, they remind us that our priorities are dangerously upside down. They rightly ask, "Why would we spend valuable resources towards building new bombs when we are completely unprepared to deal with the real threat to our security – pandemic disease?"
Enjoy the warm faces of these wonderful people and please take action with them to declare...
We need ventilators not bombs.
To take action in support of their vital work, please visit this page.
To donate, please visit this page on the NVI site.
NVI Director, Michael Beer, pled guilty to Unlawful Entry for his climate protest action in September of 2023. He faces a 4 month stay away sentence from the White House area. Here is his sentencing statement that he shared with the court.
Dear Judge, prosecutor and those who supported my climate protest.
I have pled guilty to unlawful entry for protesting the weak response from President Biden and his administration to the crisis of climate chaos. It was not my intention to get arrested. And spending about 28 hours in lock-up was not fun.
I chose not to pursue a jury trial. Although I believe my arrest was unwarranted and designed to stop a legitimate protest that was not causing any security or safety concerns to the public, I decided that my chances of persuading a Jury of my innocence was possible but not likely. I also came to the conclusion that given the strain that the current judicial system has in processing many more serious crimes, that it was almost self-indulgent for me to afford myself this opportunity. I am a fervent supporter of the jury system and I am grateful that in this country, these trials are available to people like me, even on misdemeanor charges.
My purpose in protesting, with other citizens, was to call on President Biden to declare a climate emergency. Although a declaration has risks, we need to face the crisis of carbon pollution with urgent action including building a massive electric grid here and around the world, stopping fossil fuel exports, and producing renewable energy for the globe. We are by far the world’s biggest historical polluter, and we have much to do in the form of global reparations. We of course need strong congressional action and I look forward to encouraging support for a Green New Deal..
Many of us live an extravagant lifestyle made possible by fossil fuels, and our next generations are likely to experience the damaging results. This very building is near the flood plain and could face serious flooding. But beyond the infrastructure, it is the tremendous famines, floods, heat waves, and severe weather that will cause havoc particularly among the less privileged and fortunate.
I try to limit my carbon footprint, by bicycling most places, eating a mostly vegetarian diet, and refraining from flying often. Yet I know I can do better to limit the damage that my life is having on this earth.
My life’s work as Director of Nonviolence International is to support nonviolent social mobilization and action around the world to engage mass engagement to the existential threats of our lifetimes such as nuclear war and climate chaos,. While keeping our eyes on the existential threats we need to support social justice and support human rights around the world. We need to build greater support for the rule of law as a foundation of civilization and deeper reverence for it is needed particularly for international law and governance which is vital for human survival.
Future generations will ask, what did you do to stop this profligate burning of fossil fuels? I ask all of you here to regularly ask yourselves this question?
I thank you for listening to my words and I thank you for your service to our communities. I ask that you not impose further punishment, penalties or consequences other than the stay away order to which we have agreed.
NVI Director, Michael Beer, spent the night of September 7th in the notorious DC Central Cellblock. He was arrested at the White House as part of an effort to use nonviolent direct action to urge US President Biden to declare a climate emergency. He was arrested with Kai Newkirk and Justin Blake.
Michael Beer, speaking to the crowd in front of the white house inviting them to speak up and demand a climate emergency declaration.
Protests Continue for a Climate Emergency Declaration
September 12th, inspired by our action, new activists from around the country again put a climate emergency sign on the fence and were arrested.
September 13th, another set of activists protested at the White House Fence!
September 14th, yet another wave of activists protested at the White House.
September 19th, more citizens put the sign up on the fence and were arrested again.
September 20th, four more citizens arrested including Dr. Paul Dietz, Rev. Redeem Robinson both of whom were kept overnight at the appalling DC Central Cell Block.
Here is a LINK to video of their protest!
September 22nd, more protests led by Native Americans at White House Fence
September 23rd Media Release LINK
September 28th, Kai Newkirk interrupted President Joe Biden's speech in Arizona.
Various outlets covered Kai's disruption:
Democracy Now: Activist Disrupts Biden Speech, Urges Him to Declare Climate Emergency
MarketWatch: Biden interrupted by climate activist during speech, promises to meet
The Hill: Biden heckled by climate activist in Arizona during speech honoring McCain
The Independent: Biden faces down climate activist hecklers during Arizona speech
October 1st, Mehdi Hasan covered Kai's disruption and put it into conversation with the narrative in climate scientist, Michael Mann's recent book.
The climate crisis is obvious and not some far off future we must fear, but instead a current reality we must face. This effort at the White House is led by our fiscally sponsored partner For All. Together we are urging the US President to take action to end all new fossil fuel infrastructure. We also call on every country to declare a climate emergency.
You can play a key role in this work wherever you are in the world. Connect with local groups especially those led by frontline communities and young leaders who will inherit the mess we have created.
For those in the US, please join our actions and civil disobedience protests at the White House over the coming weeks. You can learn more about that here.
There is a huge end fossil fuels march in New York City at the UN on September 17, 2023. Large civil disobedience street protests will happen on September 18. Please come to New York and participate in these historic actions. There are over 400 protests around the world this week. Please join one.
To learn more about Nonviolent Tactics, please see Michael Beer’s book and NVI’s database.
NVI has been active on this issue. For those wanting to learn more or be inspired by creative youth-led action, please see:
Spotlight on NV - Jamie Margolin
Beyond Changing Light Bulbs: 21 Ways You Can Stop the Climate Crisis
Apartheid in Palestine and Israel is intensifying. Nonviolent mobilization is needed now more than ever.
In the face of increased repression and violence, our friends and allies are continuing and expanding their bold, creative, constructive nonviolent resistance. Join them in resisting the occupation and Israeli apartheid system and take action with us, NVI’s partners, and movements leading the struggle for justice in Palestine below.
Please spread the word about the reality of the situation and urge others to visit this page, learn more, and take action with you.
Action Items
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Demand accountability and action for Palestine in the US:
- Reach congress and other public figures with USCPR Action Alerts.
- Reject AIPAC! Sign on to show our political leaders, community leaders, and the public that American Jews and allies believe AIPAC has no place in our communities or in our politics. You do not have to identify as Jewish to sign.
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Support NVI’s fiscally sponsored partners
- We Are Not Numbers continues to humanize Gazan Palestinians with its youth-led media training program.
- Holy Land Trust mobilizes Palestinians, Israelis and foreigners to work together for a future based on equality. They re-build homes, engage in dialogue, and challenge the fear of the other.
- The US Advisory Committee for the Hebron International Resource Network rebuilds wells, playgrounds, schools, homes in areas threatened by land confiscation.
- The Center for Jewish Nonviolence engages in direct action and co-resistance in support of Palestinians struggling for dignity and equal rights.
- The US Boat To Gaza supports the global flotilla to challenge the blockade of Gaza this summer.
- SOUL, a project of HIRN uses the power of music to promote change in difficult circumstances.
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Engage with Palestinian leaders of NVI
- Read and share Jonathan Kuttab’s inspiring free book Beyond the Two-State Solution.
- Invite Palestinians to speak to your congregation or group. See our Speaker's Bureau.
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Get involved in a movement or organization working for justice in Palestine–please reach out if we can help guide or connect you. Here are some of the many movements and organizations we admire:
- American Muslims for Palestine (USA)
- Palestinian Youth Movement (USA)
- US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USA)
- Rebuilding Alliance (USA)
- Adalah Justice Project (USA)
- Within Our Lifetime (USA)
- IfNotNow Movement (USA)
- Jewish Voice for Peace (USA)
- Community Peacemaker Teams (USA)
- Eyewitness Palestine (USA)
- Just Peace Advocates (CA)
- Independent Jewish Voice (CA)
- Palestine Action (UK)
- Na'amod (UK)
- Sabeel (Palestine and global affiliates)
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Commit to changing the conversation towards a realistic solution. Israel’s new extreme government puts to rest any lingering debate about the viability of the Two-State Solution.
- Sign this statement.
Follow these social media accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/youthofsumud/
https://www.instagram.com/ali_awad98/
https://www.instagram.com/basilaladraa/
https://www.instagram.com/samihuraini/
https://twitter.com/YouthOfSumud
https://twitter.com/SoHebronWatch
https://twitter.com/masaferyatta
https://twitter.com/Cjnvtweets
https://twitter.com/holylandtrust
Background Information
For those wanting to learn more about the Palestinian struggle for freedom, please see these NVI resources below. Below the NVI resources are primers welcoming people who are not yet immersed in the conversation.
Jonathan Kuttab's Book - Beyond the Two-State Solution
David Hart's invitation to Jewish Americans
Normalization and Co-Resistance, Jonathan Kuttab
Safety Isn’t Demolishing a School, Tess Greenwood
The Many Faces of Nonviolence - A Taste of Palestine
Gaza: Cruelty Without Consequences
Important Update: Nonviolence International Stands in Solidarity with Al-Haq
Raising Up Impressive Group Challenging GBV in Palestine
Music is the Healing Force of the Universe!
Our Partner's Powerful Piece in the Forward.
The Many Faces of Nonviolence - Rachel Corrie
Expand our Compassion to Include Palestinians
The Many Faces of Nonviolence - Ann Wright
NVI Videos
Beyond The Two-State Solution, by Jonathan Kuttab. Interactive webinar.
Co-Resistance and Solidarity with Palestine - Webinar
Writer from Gaza Reflects on the Two State Solution
Spotlight on Nonviolence - Huwaida Arraf
A Video Featuring Ahmed Alnaouq, founder of WANN
A Jew Asks Questions of Two Palestinians in a Time of War
Holy Land Trust's Founder Sami Awad's Wonderful Take on Active Nonviolence - Webinar
Courage Along The Divide - Produced and Directed by Victor Schonfeld 1986
Resources from Other Groups
The Popular University of the Palestinian Youth Movement Presents - OUR HISTORY OF POPULAR RESISTANCE: PALESTINE READING LIST
Palestine-Israel Primer - MERIP
Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU)
Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories
A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution | HRW
Not a "vibrant democracy". This is apartheid. | B'Tselem
Visualizing Apartheid through interactive maps | B'Tselem
For those interested in learning more about state by state US legislation, please see this impressive map from Palestine Legal. They tell us, "The right to stand for justice is under attack. Politicians are pushing unconstitutional laws to stop the movement for Palestinian freedom and shield Israel from criticism."
Your Guide to Difficult Conversations About Israel/Palestine
Israel-Palestine animated introduction
Primer on the Arab-Israeli Conflict - TeachMideast
The Israel Apartheid Report Database
Do you have suggestions for other high quality introductory material we should consider including?
If so, please contact us.
And, of course, please help spread the word. Ask people to visit this page, learn, and take action.
(Art Credit - Kayla Ginsburg - from CJNV)
The brutal occupation of Palestine is likely to get even more repressive. The coalition government in Israel includes unrepentant haters and racists. They have wasted no time showing their true colors. The impacts will be immediate, widespread, and as usual those harmed the most will be Palestinians.
People who have been paying attention know that the occupation has been supported by successive governments of all parties. And still we recognize we are entering a new and dangerous moment. We will work to make sure that this is also a time with the potential for real and lasting positive change.
During this time, we will see suffering increase and we must urge people to open their eyes to the reality of the situation. We must find ways to make the power of active nonviolence relevant to this struggle. NVI co-founder Jonathan Kuttab wrote,
"Successive Israeli governments have pursued these goals steadfastly, while pretending that their aim was security and that their aspirations were for peace with Palestinians, not domination over them. The new Israeli government abandons all such pretense, rips off the mask, and dares the world to do something about it.
Acknowledging that reality is the first necessary step towards addressing it. When Israel determined it wanted to be a Jewish state, and further that it wanted to keep all the land of historic Palestine, the results were inevitable. The only two options Israel allows for are ethnic cleansing or apartheid. Calls for democracy and equality (where democracy includes giving Palestinians [50% of the population] the vote and a stake in running the country) are totally rejected.
The good news is that with this new government, the mask is off, and many people can see the reality. This includes a majority of the Jewish people in the United states and their supporters, who have always been liberal, democratic, and in favor of progressive values. Facing the reality of Israel may be painful for many of them, but it is an important first step towards seeking a new solution based on equality and human dignity, and which would also bring healing and peace."
Tallie Ben-Daniel, the managing director of Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), said the new Israeli government has openly embraced apartheid.
“The horrifying actions of this new government, only five days in, prove exactly what Palestinians have been saying all along: Israel is an apartheid state, where Palestinians are treated as inferior. The dangerous escalations by the new Israeli government make clear that now is the time for action.”
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib wrote,
“Not even one week into 2023, the new far-right apartheid government is moving to ethnically cleanse entire communities—which would displace more than 1,000 Palestinian residents, including 500 children. All with American backing, bulldozers, and bullets. #SaveMasaferYatta”