International Solidarity Movement

I think very highly of the ISM, but that is probably because I've been to Palestine twice with the ISM. ISM doesn't have an ideology of non-violence. The use of non-violence and non-violent intervention is based on a very careful analysis of the conflict. ISM doesn't pass moral judgement on the violent Palestinian resistance

ISM on Palsestinian resistance:

In effect ISM believes that in the context of the I-P conflict non-violence can be a very powerful tool. That they recognize the armed resistance can also be down to political efficacy - you don't want the militant groups on your bad side.

Some ISM activists are non-violent ideologues and discussions about e.g. stone throwing can be quite fierce. Also if you do partake in violence you will get thrown out of ISM if it is noticed by people who care (this has happened several times). Personally I am not a non-violent ideologue at all, though in the case of Palestine I am in almost full agreement with the ISM. In other contexts however, I believe that violence is our would be necessary.

The training given to volunteers is pretty good, though it can be better. For me the training was very good the first time I went (you have to do every time you go regardless). I was pretty anxious about what I would experience, but the training prepared me pretty well for what I did encounter. You get some very good info on what to do in certain situations such as how to de-arrest someone, how to recognize various weapons (e.g. the difference in the sound of a round of live or rubber ammo), how to deal with interrogation if you're arrested and so on and so forth.

The important thing about being in Palestine as an international is this IMO

ISM does this through

To join the ISM in Palestine, you must adhere to the following principles:

Tactically nvda makes a lot of sense in lots of places in Palestine, sometimes even strategically. E.g. the village of Budrus managed to move the wall away from the planned route so that they lost very little land compared to almost all of it. In Bil'in the protests have also been successful on a legal level - the Israeli Supreme Court has said that the wall must be moved (of course in practice nothing has changed, which is not a big surprise). In Qawawis, a small village south of Hebron, the presence of internationals made it possible for villagers to move back and feel safe.

If you have any more specific questions about my views on and experience of the ISM I'd be happy to try to answer them.

I have just come back from two months with ISM over Feb and March which was a difficult time considering the Gaza demos and all. I really enjoyed the time and had some amazing times, as well as some really fucking dodgy times.
The non-violent attitude of ISM is definately a huge help, in fact i dont think ISM could operate if it took part in violent activities. The army would kill, stop and deport every ISM activist in Palestine. So from a practicial point of view it helps. However ISM does seem to be at the very edge between violent and non-violent. Every group i worked with recognised ISM as the most extreme activist group. ISM sleeps in suicide bombers houses, confronts soldiers with physical means, bodies, barricades etc and helps any palestinian regardless of their standpoint on the violent spectrum.
But since the justification for everything happening to the Palestinians is security being non-violent highlights the nature of the conflict.

The issue of stone throwing is difficult and i have been in some dodgy situations were kids start throwing stones and the army response is fierce, part of the training and ideology of ISM is that we are Palestinian led and this means accepting anything the Palestinians want to do, regardless of wether we feel it could be done better like this... etc. It is their struggle and their liberation not ours, and we shouldnt tell them what to do, we can offer advice, resources, assistance and solidarity.

The training is good but rather short, CPT (christian peacemaker teams) who incidentally are very good, have a months training beforehand. ISM gives two days, and although there is no real way to understand the conflict and our role other than to jump in and do it, some more thorough training would be better.

Im interested in when and what you did Khawaga in palestine, how was the organisation back then?

Regarding this specifically, a recent inquiry into the subject showed that the Defense Ministry has no room in its 2008 budget for moving the fence in order to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling.

The ISM seem to be an incredible organisation, as much as I am in solidarity with the Palestinian people, I don't think I would have the guts to deal with Israeli soldiers and settlers. How scary has it been for you guys? I know the ISM has had a couple of members murdered, most notably Rachel Corrie.

Tell me about it, i spent most of my time in Hebron. I am also terrified of settlers, around Purim time we had to stay in a school to help protect it from drunken, masked settlers. Nasty times!!
They do have a strange mentality, a bit fucked really. I also nearly got shot with live ammunition, by settlers this time. I dont mind dealing with them but they are definately more unpredicatable than the soldiers which makes them more dangerous. I have heard some real horrer stroies of settlers though. People i met out there had been attacked by settlers armed with axes, bike chains and pickaxes. Also a couple of palestinians had been fire bombed.

But soldiers, they are different. Easier to deal with than settlers by far. Except for border police. bane of my life. Fucking hate them, especially the volunteer kids who come over to Israel on a gap year to volunteer to be a border cop. Bastards. But i agree once you get over the initial fear of being around armed 18 year olds they can be a source of great entertainment. One particular encounter where the soldiers were trying to stop a media group from filming we ensured that they could film. But the soldiers decided on the strategy of singing very loudly- John Lennon's Imagine. The irony of a soldier singing that song was not lost on us!

Khawaga, did you start realising that there are many funny situations in Palestine but no-one at home gets the jokes. Occupation jokes we called them.

Its to be expected, but it makes going home that little bit more lonely, people dont understand what happens anyway, so when you tell a joke its even worse. See, i found the fact that a soldier told me to stand away from the checkpoint i was watching for my own safety in case a palestinian starts to shoot at me. From a rooftop in Tel Rumeida! Only I find that funny at home, shame...

In response to the initail question, I think ISM is almost unique in Palestine. The work it does at the people that join are different to the rest of Palestinian NGO's. It seems that although not all of ISM is made up of Anarchists, all the anarchists in Palestine join ISM.

P.S Khawaga, how is Jack?