Here are some more pix of the Hyatt civil disobedience actions that took place across the country last Thursday. The first two come from the Chicago demonstration, next down are demonstrators on the red carpet in (where else?) Hollywood, CA.
Click here to see my good friend and brave colleague Rabbi Toba Spitzer getting arrested at the demonstration in Boston.
It was my honor to participate yesterday in a civil disobedience action in front of the Chicago Hyatt Regency Hotel. The action was part of a 15-city North American campaign targeting the Hyatt and other hotel corporations who have been squeezing workers and cutting staff across the country.
I’ve written about the Hyatt’s increasingly draconian labor practices before. Last August, Hyatt fired its longtime housekeeping staff at its three Boston-area hotels, many of whom had worked for their hotels for over 20 years. Many were required to train their replacements, who are being paid minimum wage. Hyatt defended its action by claiming it was a “business decision” and to this day the workers have not been rehired.
Meanwhile, Hyatt and other hotel chains are using the recession as an excuse to lock in employees to new long-term contracts that will freeze salaries and require workers to contribute to their own health care benefits. Blaming these actions on the recession is dubious at best, as the Hotel Workers Rising website points out:
Nationwide, the hotel industry is rebounding faster and stronger than expected, with a hearty rebound projected in 2011 and 2012. In the six months following Hyatt’s November initial public offering, Hyatt’s shares were up over 65%. In one day, majority owners of Hyatt Hotels, the Pritzker family, cashed out over $900 million in an initial public offering of the company’s stock.
Yesterday’s Chicago action in front of the Hyatt Regency took place on the busy intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. In the presence of hundreds of cheering supporters, two hundred hotel employees, allies, and clergy locked arms and sat down in rows in the middle of the street, and chanted “Enough is enough!”
Though we were all prepared to be arrested, Unite Here Local 1 leaders decided at the last minute that the majority of us would leave the scene before arrests took place, out of respect for the recently slain Chicago police officer Michael Bailey, whose wake was taking place that day. In the end, only 25 protesters were formally taken into custody.
It was a profound experience to send this public message of solidarity to the Hyatt company – and it was moving indeed to witness the mutual respect exchanged by protesters and police, which is obviously not always the case when it comes to acts of civil disobedience.
Click above to see a clip from the Chicago demonstration. I’m the one in the third row, in the light blue shirt. To my right is Cantor Michael Davis of Lakeside Congregation, Highland Park. That’s me and Michael in the pic below.
Fellow Jewish clergy and community leaders: I enourage you to sign this statement of support for Hyatt workers.
Can a demonstration be truly “nonviolent” if there is stone-throwing involved? I’ve heard many claim that the growing Palestinian nonviolence movement is no such thing by pointing to the presence of stone-throwing youths at many demonstrations.
This assertion was even made by the liberal NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who filed several reports on his recent trip to Israel/Palestine. Here is his description of his experience at one of the weekly nonviolent demonstrations in Bi’lin:
Most of the marchers were Palestinians, but some were also Israeli Jews and foreigners who support the Palestinian cause. They chanted slogans and waved placards as photographers snapped photos. At first the mood was festive and peaceful, and you could glimpse the potential of this approach.
But then a group of Palestinian youths began to throw rocks at Israeli troops. That’s the biggest challenge: many Palestinians define “nonviolence” to include stone-throwing.
Soon after, the Israeli forces fired volleys of tear gas at us, and then charged. The protesters fled, some throwing rocks backward as they ran. It’s a far cry from the heroism of Gandhi’s followers, who refused even to raise their arms to ward off blows as they were clubbed.
Does stone-throwing – which is invariably carried out by angry, frustrated youths – necessarily nullify the nonviolent nature of these demonstrations? For Kristof, who sets the bar at highly principled Ghandian nonviolent resistance, clearly the answer is yes. But according to nonviolence experts, it may not quite be that simple.
In this regard, I highly recommend a trenchant and extremely thorough reasearch paper entitled “The Road to Nonviolent Coexistence in Palestine/Israel” written by Michael N. Nagler, PhD., Tal Palter-Palman, and Matthew A. Taylor of UC Berkeley’s Peace and Conflict Studies program. Among other things, they point out that the role of stone throwing has been discussed and debated by Palestinians as far back as the First Intifada in 1988:
Stone throwing was one of the more controversial aspects of the Intifada, mainly practiced by Palestinian youths age 10-20 (called the shabab). Some Palestinians have argued that stone throwing is more an act of defiance than an intention to injure (the literal meaning of himsa, violence), saying that stones (in most cases) cannot hurt well-equipped helmeted soldiers. The shabab resort to stone throwing to protest the presence of the army on their lands. For Palestinian youngsters suffering from a deep feeling of humiliation and hopelessness, this simple yet concrete act of resistance is often a way to survive psychologically, by reclaiming a feeling of empowerment in an otherwise forlorn and depressive environment. Accordingly, different scholars note that stone throwing falls into a gray area between violence and nonviolence. Dr. Abu-Nimer of American University refers to it as nonlethal force or unarmed resistance.
However it is described, and whatever the motives of the youth who engage in the activity, unfortunately it does have a real potential to injure. For instance, during the time we visited the Holy Land in the summer of 2005, one Israeli soldier reportedly lost use of an eye due to a stone. Even if such incidents are rare, the media tends to focus on them, leading to misconstrual of the movement by the ‘reference publics.’
On the other hand, a well-known right-wing Israeli military spokesperson and veteran of the first Intifada recently stated at a public event that he had respect for the kids who threw stones at him, because he understood that they were not out to hurt him, but simply send a message: get off our lands. (He directly contrasted that with the violence of the second Intifada.) In assessing the effect of stone throwing, we can recognize that those who are the targets are likely to perceive the act in different ways: this is a difficulty with all symbolic acts.
Here’s Nagler, Palter-Palman, and Taylor’s description of the Bi’lin demonstrations (note the contrast with Kristof’s more simplistic portrayal):
Bil’in’s demonstrations have taken place every Friday for the past two years and represent a complex mix of principled (Gandhian) nonviolence, strategic nonviolence a la Gene Sharpe, and at times stone throwing. The shabab at times throws stones while standing behind the peaceful demonstrators — usually of the older generation, who tend to disapprove of the stoning. This debate takes place during rallies and everyday life. After one of the weekly demonstrations in July of 2005, for example, a long, meaningful and very-much-needed discussion took place between Israelis, Palestinians, and international activists about stone throwing in particular and nonviolence in general. Some of the activists argued — correctly, in our view — that stone throwing provokes the army to use tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, and live ammunition. Additionally, they stated that the violent conclusion of each demonstration is the only part that gets media coverage, and draws public attention away from any meaningful discussion about the issue of the wall. In conclusion, although the village council affirmed a desire to stop stone throwing, they simultaneously justified and understood the youths’ need to release their anger through throwing stones.
My two cents? I believe that the Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement has deep historical roots – and that its current growth is significant and undeniable. I also believe it is all too easy to dismiss its significance by pointing to the presence of frustrated stone-throwing youths at demonstrations.
Yes, as Kristof points out it will be a “challenge” for Palestinian popular movement leaders to reign in the stone-throwers. But the challenge is just as equally Israel’s to understand that no matter how it tries, it will never break Palestinian resistance through the means of brutal military force.
Joseph Dana is an American-Israeli freelance journalist, filmmaker and photographer who has been relentlessly tracking settler violence, IDF misconduct and settlement expansion in the Occupied Territories. I’ve long considered Dana’s reports to be mandatory reading/viewing – and if you are at all concerned about the reality of life on the ground in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, then you should too.
His latest blog post includes footage (taken by fellow blogger/reporter Max Blumenthal) of a demonstration this past Friday in the West Bank village of Nabi Salih. During the action, two Israeli demonstrators, Matan Cohen and Yonatan Shapira were violently arrested by IDF soliders. Though the IDF later reported that the demonstrators attacked a soldier, the clip above clearly shows that this claim is a blatant lie.
This reportage is particularly essential not least because it documents the systematic policy of the IDF to violently repress growing acts of Palestinian civil disobedience – only to justify their actions later by claiming their soldiers were “under attack.” The flotilla tragedy is certainly the most well-known example of this tactic, but as Dana and other reporters are showing us, it actually occurring on a regular basis in the Occupied Territories.
Here’s Blumenthal’s description of what he actually witnessed at the July 2 demonstration:
On July 2, at the weekly demonstration in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli army troops violently arrested Israeli activists Yonatan Shapira and Matan Cohen. I witnessed the incident that led to the arrests and filmed them as they took place. As a group of soldiers pursued children up a small hill, then began firing teargas shells and percussion grenades at them, presumably in response to a few stones the children had thrown, Cohen and Shapira mocked the soldiers. “Shooting at children! You are so brave!” Cohen exclaimed.
Within a few seconds the commander of the IDF division (an oleh named Danny) charged Cohen and Shapira, then headlocked Cohen and dragged him into a jeep. When Shapira protested, he was thrown to the ground, violently subdued and dragged into a jeep. At no point did Cohen or Shapira attack any soldier.
The IDF Spokesman’s Unit issued a statement on Twitter claiming Cohen and Shapira — “two arrested rioters” — had “attacked an IDF soldier.” However, my footage of the incident completely discredits the IDF’s claim. As I said in the wake of the flotilla massacre, nothing the IDF Spokesman’s Office says can be trusted. Ever. The IDF’s intention is to smear human rights activists as violent terrorists while portraying itself as the blameless victim. Anyone who spends a day in Nabi Saleh or any Palestinian village engaged in popular protest against the occupation will see that the complete reverse is true.
BTW: you may remember that I reported on my meeting with Yonatan Shapira last May. He is a helicopter pilot and former officer in the Israeli Air Force who is now actively participating in Palestinian non-violent actions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (I know Yonatan would be the first to say that it is the Palestinians themselves who are bearing the brunt of this oppression week after week in demonstrations such as this.)
Postscript 7/5: Max Blumenthal has now posted a more complete version of the clip, below:
More odds and ends re the flotilla fallout:
– In contrast to the Israeli characterization of flotilla participants as jihadist thugs, pictures released by Turkish newspaper Hürriyet show activists actually protecting and aiding injured Israeli Navy commandos. (H/T to Ali Abunimah for the link).
– Flotilla participant Jamal Elshayyal (a British citizen and producer for Al Jazeera English) has written an extensive account of his experiences on the night of the raid. While there no way to verify his testimony, it does square with numerous other eyewitness reports. At the very least, it underscores the need for a credible international investigation to get to the bottom of what actually happened aboard the Mavi Marmara:
After spotting the warships at a distance, (at roughly 11pm) the organisers called for passengers to wear their life vests and remain indoors as they monitored the situation. The naval warships together with helicopters remained at a distance for several hours.
At 2am local time the organisers informed me that they had re-routed the ship, as far away from Israel as possible, as deep into international waters as they could. They did not want a confrontation with the Israeli military, at least not by night.
Just after 4am local time, the Israeli military attacked the ship, in international waters. It was an unprovoked attack. Tear gas was used, sound grenades were launched, and rubber coated steel bullets were fired from almost every direction.
Dozens of speed boats carrying about 15-20 masked Israeli soldiers, armed to the teeth surrounded the Mavi Marmara which was carrying 600 or so unarmed civilians. Two helicopters at a time hovered above the vessel. Commandos on board the choppers joined the firing, using live ammunition, before any of the soldiers had descended onto the ship.
Two unarmed civilians were killed just metres away from me. Dozens of unarmed civilians were injured right before my eyes.
One Israeli soldier, armed with a large automatic gun and a side pistol, was overpowered by several passengers. They disarmed him. They did not use his weapons or fire them; instead they threw his weapons over board and into the sea.
After what seemed at the time as roughly 30 minutes, passengers on board the ship raised a white flag. The Israeli army continued to fire live ammunition. The ships organisers made a loud speaker announcement saying they have surrendered the ship. The Israeli army continued to fire live ammunition.
– Finally, click above for a deeply disturbing clip of journalist Max Blumenthal interviewing participants at a recent Israeli rally in front of the Turkish embassy. I’m not sure what made me sadder: the callous celebration of an incident that led to the deaths of nine civilians or the “us against the world” siege mentality expressed by so many Israelis on the street.
This just in from Daoud Nasser:
Dear Friends of Tent of Nations all over the world,
Our Lawyer appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to stop the demolishing of our renovations which is planned to take place this coming Sunday or Monday. I believe, because of all the pressure and the reactions from all of you through writing letters to your governments and to the Israeli officers, the Supreme Court of Israel granted an injunction to stop the military from taking any demolishing actions until the Supreme Court takes a decision. The military authority was given 60 days time to send their objection to the Supreme Court. This means that we will have to go for a trial in the Supreme Court.
We, and with all your prayers and support and with the help of your advocacy letters, managed to freeze the demolishing orders and to bring this case to the Supreme Court. It is a victory for justice even if it is a small one for now but it is a victory.
I want to thank you for all your prayers, for the many E-mails we received from you and for the solidarity visits. I will keep you updated about the development of this case in front of the Supreme court.
Our efforts together made a difference.
Thank you for your friendship.
Blessings and Salaam,
Daoud
From a piece I’ve just posted in the Huffington Post:
As I read the myriad of reactions to the Gaza Freedom Flotilla tragedy last Sunday, I’m struck by one recurring theme: the sense of astonishment that these activists responded to the Israeli Navy with violence.
In other words, they didn’t act according to the script. They didn’t behave like proper practitioners of civil disobedience. The implication: if they had responded like the non-violent activists they were purported to be, this whole tragedy could well have been avoided.
There’s only problem with this calculus: non-violent Palestinian protests have actually been ongoing throughout the Occupied Territories for years – and the Israeli military has been responding to them with much the same kind of brutality that was used against the passengers of the Mavi Marmara.
Click here to read the article.
Friends of Tent of Nations has just released this statement from Daoud Nassar. The situation on the Nassar family farm is growing dire. Please sign the petition, if you haven’t already.
We pray for better news in five days time…
Dear Friends of Tent of Nations all over the world,
Two hours ago, I received a phone call from our Lawyers Mr. Sani Khoury and Mr. Jonathan Kuttab. they received a Fax from the Israeli Military Authority says that our Appeal against the demolishing orders of our renovations has been refused . They wanted to come today to demolish the renovations, but they gave us “because of their generosity” another five days time, before coming to demolish those renovations. What can we do with five days time?!
At this moment, we have two options: the first one is to accept the situation as it is and just wait for the Israeli Military to come and destroy the place OR to continue the legal battle by bringing this case in front of the Supreme Court in Israel which might rule to freeze the demolishing orders until it takes a decision. Usually court cases like this will take a year or two, if the Supreme Court decides to freeze the demolishing orders.
Bringing this case to the Supreme Court will cost us a lot of money and this will increase our financial burden.We are defending our land from being confiscated for more than twenty years, we paid a lot for legal expenses, BUT without getting tired.
We are people who believe in Justice, we will continue our just struggle and will bring this case in front of the Israeli Supreme Court challenging the injustice we are facing. In the meanwhile we ask you to keep us in your prayers, to keep writing advocacy letters and to inform as many people as you can about our story.
I am sure that our efforts together will make a difference. Thank you so much for this support and solidarity.
“But those who wait on the LORD, shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31).
Please find below the letter I received today from our Lawyer Mr. Sani Khoury.
Blessings and Salaam,
Daoud
Here’s an alert from Friends of Tent of Nations North America (see my previous post). Please sign the petition and look for a variety of additional action opportunities after the jump.
Dear Friends of Tent of Nations,
The Nassar Family Farm/Tent of Nations Project is in immediate jeopardy because of actions taken by Israeli authorities on Thursday afternoon, May 27, when two officers from the Israeli Civil Administration, guarded by Israeli soldiers, came to the farm and gave the family nine demolition orders for structures built without a permit from the Israeli Military Authority during the last two years. The orders are set for execution this Sunday, May 30. The Nassars’s attorney has initiated emergency legal action to stave off disaster.
We are asking you to be prepared to take every possible action, if conditions worsen, demanding that the orders not be executed. In the meantime, please sign this petition with your phone and email and forward this E-mail to your friends asking that they do likewise. We will post updates at the website www.fotonna.org.
Thank you for your solidarity.
Steering Committee
Friends of Tent of Nations North America
I’ve just received a horribly upsetting email from Daoud Nassar, a Palestinian farmer who lives and works in the Palestinian territory just south of Bethlehem. The Nassar’s farm, known to many as “Tent of Nations” has just received nine demolition orders for essential structures on their property.
Some background: Daoud’s farm has been in his family for four generations; his ancestor registered his land with the ruling Ottoman Empire and the Nassar’s still have the original deed. In 1991 – one quarter-century later – the Israeli military initiated proceedings to expropriate the Nasser family farm, which happens to be located between two Jewish settlements in the Gush Etzion Block.
Despite Daoud’s irrefutable proof of his family’s ownership of the land, the legal battle over it has stretched on for well over two decades – and the Nassar family has spent over $140,000 in legal fees to date. Up until now, their case has been essentially stuck in Israeli legal bureaucratic limbo.
In the meantime, the Nassar family has used their land to establish “The Tent of Nations” an inspirational center that provides arts, drama, and education to the children of the villages and refugee camps of the region. Daoud and his family have also established a Women’s Educational Center offering classes in computer literacy, English, and leadership training. (Many rabbis and rabbinical students are familiar with Tent of Nations as a primary destination for Encounter – a well-known educational program that promotes coexistence by introducing Jewish Diaspora leaders to Palestinian life.)
Those of us who know Daoud know him to be a gentle, honorable man, thoroughly dedicated to the cause of a just coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. (On a stone next to the front gate of the Nassar farm are the words “We Will Not Be Enemies.”) Given his personal circumstance, his innate compassion is truly inspirational – and that’s what makes his email all the more heartbreaking.
Please, please read it, send it to friends, and be prepared to act as soon as more news is available. I will provide regular updates.
Let us hope, pray and work to ensure that these unjust demolition orders are overturned.
Dear Friends of Tent of Nations all over the world
Today at 2.00 pm in the afternoon, 2 officers form the Israeli Civil Administration guarded by Israeli soldiers came to our farm and gave us NINE demolishing orders for nine (structures) we built in the last years without a building permit from the Israeli Military Authority. The demolishing orders are for: tents, animals shelters, metal roof in front of both old houses, the restrooms (Shelters) , a water cistern, a metal container and 2 underground renovated cave structures. One officer was writing the demolishing orders and the other was taking pictures with two cameras, Israeli soldiers were following them everywhere and pointing their guns on us.
The demolishing orders were written in Hebrew and I refused to sign receiving them. We have 3 days only to react against those demolishing orders. The timing for delivering the demolishing orders was plant properly and purposely on Thursday, in order to make it difficult for us to try to stop those orders by the Israeli court within 3 days, because of the Jewish weekend (Friday and Saturday). The idea is to make it impossible for us to act quickly. I contacted our Lawyer and he will write an opposition and send it to the military court on Sunday morning. We hope to get a paper from the court through our Lawyer on Sunday morning to stop the demolishing orders.
We would like to ask you to be prepared and alert for actions, if anything might happen. We will keep you updated and will guide you for actions but please forward this E-mail to your friends.
PLEASE be prepared for actions. Thank you for all your solidarity and support.
They are trying to destroy our spirit, but we are determined to resist and overcome the Evil with GOOD and justice will prevail.
Blessings and Salaam,
Daoud
Shalom Rav 
