Subject: CfP Newsletter May 2020

Dear Friends

  

We hope you are safe. It is time again that we share some news with you.

  

With the COVID-19 threat (still forcing the Palestinians of the West Bank and many in Israel to a strict lockdown), the terrible episodes of violence exerted by settlers on unarmed Palestinian shepherds, regular military operations, and the perspectives of annexation, our daily reality is worrying. The occupation continues, despite the health emergency.

  

But we have learned to be resilient. Within Combatants for Peace, we aim to do what we can: transform the mindsets and speak up for dignity and freedom.

  

In this spirit, our next big event is coming up: a live streamed commemoration of the “Nakba Day” this Thursday May 14th. Please join us for this first-ever public event organized by Combatants for Peace. You will find more information below.

  

We are grateful for your ongoing support.

  

In Peace & Solidarity from Israel/Palestine,

  

Your Combatants for Peace

This week the Nakba is commemorated. The Nakba (in English the Catastrophe) is the Arabic term for the events which took place in 1948 when more than half a million Palestinians were displaced from their homeland as a result of the creation of the new State of Israel. Combatants for Peace will for the first time observe this day as a public event.


We will mark the 72nd year since the Palestinian Nakba this Thursday May 14th in a broadcast ceremony during which Palestinians and Israelis will speak and present testimonies from 1948. The event will be live streamed on our Facebook pages, beginning at 9pm Israel/Palestine time, 8pm Western Europe time, 2pm New York time.

Join us on Facebook

After the event the public will be invited to join, via Zoom, two Palestinian families and other participants to listen to personal stories and engage in an open discussion. Translation to English and Hebrew will be available.


Link to join the Zoom conversation

We decided to hold this event following many conversations that took place over the past few years. These discussions stressed the need to hear personal stories related to the Nakba. Many of the members of Combatants for Peace are refugees, and, indeed, the refugee problem is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as is the Occupation. Out of our commitment to end the conflict, we feel it is important to open our ears and hearts, to hear the Palestinian narrative. The Nakba is an important part of this story. We are confident in our ability to listen; our movement was founded on listening. We have learned that hearing and acknowledging personal stories is the basis for seeing “the other” as an equal, in one’s full humanity.


Your presence is important to all of us -- to the Palestinians and the Israelis who worked hard, together, on producing this event and bringing it to the public. Please join us!

The special circumstances of the current period have taught us how productive online presentations and conversations can be. As we look back to the last two months, we can be proud of our activism. The 15th Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony of April 27th was by far the most impressive event organized (watch here a very nice TV report published by the Real News Network), reaching some 200'000 viewers. But there were numerous other activities: a series of webinars organized in March and April, three screenings of the documentary “Disturbing the Peace” followed by live discussions, several Zoom sessions with Israeli youngsters, a live streamed conference organized with Palestinian citizen of Israel, Dr. Abdullah Abu Ma'aruf, and countless appearances of our activists in various online events, including a unique initiative of storytelling on the occasion of last Sunday’s Mother Day! (watch the broadcast)


With or without lockdown, we shall continue to use on-line encounters for some of our activities. These online events allow to transcend the borders, unite Palestinians and Israelis, work together, and to reach out to audiences from all parts of the world. In early June, we hope to launch a new cycle of “Learning for Peace” discussions beginning with the theme “What does it take to be effective activists?” More information on this soon.


Finally, many have expressed the wish to watch the Zoom conversations that followed the 15th Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony. These are now all uploaded in the playlist dedicated to the event on our Youtube channel.


We conclude this newsletter with a book recommendation: "I Am Not Your Enemy", written by American writer and story-practitioner Michael T. McRay. The book takes the reader to Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. McRay uses personal narrative to amplify the voices of courageous peace builders from all around the world. Among them are CfP activist Moran Zamir, as well as one of our co-founders, Bassam Aramin, and many of our friends from the Parents Circle – Families Forum.


As Michael McRay puts it: "Stories are powerful, muscular devices. Storytelling can transform us, whether toward better or worse versions of ourselves. The stories we tell and the ones we listen to change us all the time, in large and little ways, and we'd do well to consider carefully which stories win our attention." More information about the book here.


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