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An Open Letter to NOW, from Starhawk

June, 2003

Dear Rita M. Haley, NOW-NYC [National Organization for Women, New York City] Natalie Burrows, Leslie Kaufman, and UFPJ [United for Peace and Justice]:

I am writing in response to Rita Haley's query about the call to action for an International Day of Action for Justice in Palestine.

I'm sorry not to have written before June 5, as you requested, but in fact I only received a forward of your email on June 4, and I felt it deserved a thoughtful and complete rather than a hasty response.

I write as one of the primary drafters of the call, and as a lifelong feminist and longtime NOW supporter. I am also a Jew who has spent a good part of the last year in the occupied territories of Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement. I was a support person for the teams who saw Rachel Corrie killed by an Israeli army bulldozer, and Tom Hurndall and Brian Avery shot by Israeli forces. I have spent time in refugee camps under siege and cities under curfew. And I have also spent time in Israel proper, feeling the nervousness in the pit of my stomach whenever I boarded a bus, and the constant concern for the lives and safety of my many friends and my allies in the Israeli peace movement.

The call was not merely endorsed, but discussed at length by the Middle East committee of United for Peace and Justice, and consensus was reached on a national conference phonecall that UFPJ would issue the call. That discussion included Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center, whose opinions were solicited and who approved of the final language of the call. The call has also been endorsed by many Jewish organizations, from Jews Against the Occupation to Tikkun. Israeli peace groups, including Women in Black and Bat Shalom, participated in organizing actions, alongside the Israeli-Palestinian feminist organization the Jerusalem Council for Women.

I can't tell from the various pastes and forwards I've received, but it seems that you may have received an incomplete version of the full call to action, which I have included below. The section below explains our position in regards to violence perpetrated against both Palestinian and Israeli civilians: "Jewish and Israeli peace groups are part of this campaign, and allies in this struggle. Charges of anti-Semitism are often hurled at anyone who challenges the Israeli government. We refuse to be silenced or intimidated by those charges, while we also recognize that some recent attacks on Jewish institutions do betoken a resurgence of actual anti-semitism. Our campaign is directed against the policies of the Sharon-led Israeli government and military, and the U.S. funding and support for those policies, not against Jews or Israelis as a people.

"Only justice for Palestinians can assure real security in either Palestine or Israel. We cherish the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. While we especially condemn attacks on civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, we understand that attacks on Israeli civilians are a response to the conditions of the occupation, that are only furthered by the policies of collective punishment and brutality practiced by the Sharon government. At the same time, we understand that such attacks stir fear and rage among Israelis that lends a spurious legitimacy to brutal actions of the Sharon Government. We encourage participating groups to be proactive in reaching out to their local Jewish communities to begin dialogues and discussions around this issue, and to hold out the hope that even those who are now our opponents may change their views." Simona Sharoni, one of the main framers of this call, is an Israeli Jew and daughter of holocaust survivors. I am an American Jew who grew up saving my pennies to buy trees in Israel, who spent the summer of my fifteenth year on a Hebrew High School Ulpan trip working at a youth village and learning to love the land. I well understand the wrenching emotions, the internal shudder that even seeing the word "Palestine" can produce in those of us who were raised to see Israel as our salvation from the holocaust. The emotional charge around this issue is so strong that it is hard to think about it with clarity.

But it is vital that as feminists and as women who care about justice that we do strive for clarity. If not, we fail in our solidarity with both our Palestinian and Israeli sisters.

The easy response to this issue is to say, "There's wrong on both sides, so we should not take a position." Certainly there is wrong on both sides: no one would argue with that. But there is also a huge, structural imbalance of power that needs to be redressed.

The structural oppression of the occupation is akin to the structural oppression of patriarchy--it impacts every aspect of life, imposing restrictions that affect the emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical development and well-being of the oppressed. For women in the Occupied Territories, military occupation is antithetical to liberation. Occupation restricts freedom of movement. Women cannot have reliable access to health care or emergency services. Children often cannot get to school, and schools are often closed under curfew. Women who work to provide for their families cannot get to their jobs--when their jobs have not simply been eliminated by the economic restrictions of occupation. Palestinian society values higher education for women as well as men. Many women, including married women, pursue college degrees and aspire to professional jobs--but the checkpoints, roadblocks, and curfews of the occupation often make it impossible to study.

Occupation means violence against women, putting women at risk of being shot, tear-gassed, wounded, shelled, bombed, maimed, and killed. Women live in daily fear of losing their children, husbands, friends, and family members. Palestinian women can be arrested and jailed for up to six months without charges or representation. Their husbands, sons, and brothers are regularly rounded up, arrested, beaten, and tortured. Their homes can be entered and searched without warrants, their possessions damaged or destroyed, their houses blown up or bulldozed. Their land can be confiscated without compensation.

In the time I've spent in the occupied territories working with the International Solidarity Movement, I've seen Israeli soldiers smash through the walls of women's homes in order to search them. I've seen women and men regularly harassed and intimidated. I've sat in a house full of bullet holes and shell holes watching a lovely young mother help her six children with their homework while a tank fired bursts of bullets into the walls of her home. And I've heard the many, many stories of those who have lost loved ones. Over 2000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the Second Intifada in October of 2000. A high proportion of the victims are children.

When we challenge patriarchy, we name and protest the inherent violence of a structural system. We do so even though we know that some women also commit violent acts, that some women batter men or abuse children. But we see those acts of violence in the context of a system that awards structural power to men over women and to some men over others. We do not feel obligated to preface every objection we make to patriarchy by first condemning acts of violence committed by women--no matter how much we abhor such acts.

We strongly believe that the only way to end suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilians is to end the conditions that produce the rage and despair which fuel such attacks. When we name and challenge the structural oppression inherent in the occupation, we are calling for the changes in policy that will ultimately create more true security for civilians on both sides.

Calling for justice in Palestine is not a "unilateral attack on Israel." To frame it in that way makes invisible the many Israelis who do not support the policies of the Sharon government. When all Israelis are lumped together and differences are erased, Israelis and by extension, Jews, become invisible as distinct human beings with differing perspectives and positions, and anti-Israel sentiment as well as anti-Semitism is inflamed.

And framing our call as taking the "Arab" side is also inaccurate. "Arab" is an ethnicity that applies to hundreds of millions of people of many different nationalities and countries which have a wide range of positions on this issue. Lumping together "Palestinians" and "Arabs" erases the real distinctions among groups and individuals, and furthers anti-Arab racism.

Anti-Arab racism is one reason that it is vital for feminists to take a stand on this issue. Too often, a shallow pseudo-regard for women's rights is used very cynically to fan the flames of racism. The Bush administration cares about women only when an excuse is needed to invade an Arab country. Certainly, discrimination against women exists in Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian societies, as it does in virtually every society. Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian societies also have strengths and offer gifts to women which must be acknowledged in any effective struggle for change. Many Palestinians women in the occupied territories and Israel proper are struggling for liberation both as women and as Palestinians. We cannot support our Palestinian sisters when we take positions that further oppression, violence, or racism of any kind.

Israeli women are also struggling for liberation. Discriminatory practices that derive from the influence of ultra-Orthodox Jewish fundamentalism are enshrined in Israeli law and restrict women's opportunities and development within Israel proper. We cannot support our Israeli sisters if we make invisible the real differences and disagreements within Israeli society.

The occupation of Palestine warps Israeli society, fostering militarism and exalting the rule of force, which has a profound impact on women's lives. Men who learn to brutalize in the army are likely to be brutal at home. No other issue of liberation can be fully addressed while the occupation persists, including the liberation of women.

We firmly believe that ending the occupation and bringing about justice for Palestinians is ultimately the way to assure real security and liberation for Israelis. But when a situation of structural oppression exists, we must name it clearly. I imagine you believe as I do that the liberation of women is the only way to truly liberate men. Yet "The National Organization of Women and Men" would not have the same clarity and power that the National Organization of Women does.

Calling for justice in Palestine is risky. No other issue is so likely to arouse anger, hatred, and backlash. And yet this is a vital issue for both the feminist and peace movements to address. The Middle East will continue to be the world's hot spot in the time ahead of us. Until there is justice in Palestine, there cannot be true peace in the Middle East. The U.S. is funding, arming, and supporting the occupation of Palestine, and we have a moral obligation as peacemakers to call for an end to that support.

The issue of justice for Palestine was among the top five priorities identified at the recent United for Peace and Justice conference in Chicago, attended by over five hundred delegates of organizations representing a broad range of political positions and orientations and including both national groups such as Peace Action to local groups like the Peoria Peace Center. The conference agreed to call for another International Day of Action, on a date to be determined. The broad support for UFPJ taking up this issue means that it is moving to the forefront of the peace movement's agenda.

I hear your concern about UFPJ taking a stand on this issue. A stand on any controversial issue can lose us support. But it is our job as a movement to move--to shift and shape public opinion, to take unsafe positions in the service of justice even when they evoke controversy. And I believe that United for Peace and Justice can play a vitally important role on this issue. Because UFPJ is a broad coalition of groups holding many divergent views, we have the opportunity and resources to frame a dialogue that upholds the principles of justice and peace for all the people involved.

I ask NOW to be our allies in this work, to be strong allies of Palestinian and Israeli women and men and those of us here in the United States who are struggling for justice and liberation.

I urge you, respectfully, as feminists and women who care about human rights, to help sponsor the dialogue and education that needs to happen on this issue within your organization. There are many resources we can put you in touch with in the New York area: writings, fact sheets, speakers, films, videos, and organizations. Above all, I'd encourage you to see for yourself what life is like in the occupied territories, perhaps by sponsoring a NOW delegation to both Israel and the occupied territories, or by joining another delegation. Global Exchange is arranging a women's delegation in September. There will also be an International Human Rights March in September sponsored by WILPF that will go through both Israel proper and the occupied territories--if the military allows access.

When we can come together around these issues as allies, when we allow ourselves to see the real distinctions among people and connect in sisterhood across our differences, we bring a fresh breath of hope into a situation which often seems hopeless to the point of despair. As women, as feminists who analyze power relations and oppose structural oppressions of any sort, we have a special vision and voice that we can bring to bear on this issue. We owe it to all those who hunger for justice and peace to be both sensitive and courageous, and to take a strong stand calling for justice in Palestine.

In sisterhood,
Starhawk


On Tue, 03 Jun 2003 12:17:20 -0400
NOW-NYC President wrote:

> On May 30 I received a message (see below) from the UFPJ list
> delineating actions, apparently endorsed by UFPJ, aimed at
> supporting the Arab side of the Arab-Israeli conflict by condemning
> Israel for violent acts without concomitant condemnation of the
> violence perpetrated by the Palestinians. On May 31, Natalie
> Burrows asked for a response from the UFPJ coordinators group to her
> statement expressing her view that UFPJ should not "pick up the
> Palestine cause unequivocally." No response has appeared.
>
> The New York City Chapter of the National Organization for Women,
> NOW-NYC, opposes a unilateral attack against Israel. NOW-NYC
>cannot and will not be a party to any such attack.
>
> I request, on behalf of the New York City Chapter of the National
> Organization for Women (NOW-NYC), a formal statement, issued before
> the June 5 Day of Action, indicating whether UFPJ is or is not
> endorsing, participating in, or in any other way affiliating itself
> with the actions described below in the post
> Subject: June 5: Day of Action for Justice in Palestine, From:
> list@unitedforpeace.org, Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 09:19:23 -0700.
>
> This post is being sent to the NOW-NYC Board of Directors and I
> shall forward the formal statement to them as well. As you can see
> from the cc line above, I am also copying the officers of national
> NOW as I know that they will be concerned with this issue as well.
> Therefore, kindly copy them on your response as well.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Rita M. Haley
> President, National Organization for Women-New York City
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: NATALIE BURROWS
> Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 12:03 PM
> Subject: Palestinian support
>
> Leslie --- I reread the recent UFPJ email re: events designed to
> support Palestine and saw none of the names I recognize.
> Although I have long opposed the West Bank settlements as inimical
> to "peace and justice," I do NOT think UFPJ should pick up the
> Palestine cause unequivocally. There are tremendous wrongs on both
> sides which need very calm, unbiased heads to overcome.
> I hope you will reply to all of us who are puzzled by this UFPJ
> communication.
> Sincerely,
> Natalie Burrows


Call to Action:

International Day of Action for Justice in Palestine
June 5, 2003
 On June 5, 2003, the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, we call for linked actions by Palestinian, international, and Israeli peace groups to protest the escalating violence against the Palestinian community and international human rights workers in the occupied territories. We demand protection for Palestinian civilians and for internationals, a moratorium on construction of the apartheid wall and its associated land confiscations and home demolitions, and an end to the occupation.

I. Who is Initiating this Call?

The Middle East Committee of United for Peace and Justice is proposing that United for Peace and Justice initiate this call together with Palestinian based, Israeli, and other international peace groups. Committed convening groups include the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), the  International Women's Peace Service, and the International Solidarity (ISM) Movement, which attempts to protect civilians and supports the nonviolent resistance within Palestine, We seek and welcome endorsements by all groups and individuals that support our points of unity.

II. What Would Happen on and around June 5?
III. Why This Call?

There can be no true peace or security in the Middle East without justice for the Palestinian people. In the wake of the war on Iraq, the Sharon government has stepped up a campaign of land confiscation, enclosure and isolation of Palestinian communities, and attacks on nonviolent human rights workers. The Sharon government is rapidly moving ahead on the second phase of construction of a mammoth "security fence" -- in reality an apartheid wall which dwarfs the Berlin wall. A thirty-foot high concrete wall with gun towers in some areas, in others, a giant electrified fence surrounded by a wide swath of "no-man's land", it strays far from the 1967 borders to confiscates more than thirty percent of the proposed Palestinian state. It encloses the illegal settlements that have undermined peace negotiations since Oslo, annexes water resources and the traditional lands of Palestinian villages without compensation, and will turns Palestinian cities into giant, open-air prisons.

In Gaza, construction of the security zone along the Egyptian border has resulted in destruction of olive groves and homes. On March 16, Rachel Corrie, a human rights worker with the International Solidarity Movement, was deliberately killed by an Israeli Occupation Forces bulldozer driver while trying to prevent home demolitions. The Israeli military has refused to seriously investigate her death, and the United States government has declined to pressure them.

The result has been tacit encouragement of attacks on nonviolent peace workers and inconvenient witnesses. In Jenin, Brian Avery was shot in the face on April 5 by soldiers in an armored personnel carrier that opened fire on clearly visible, unarmed members of the ISM. On April 12, ISM member Tom Hurndall was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier on the Rafah border as he attempted to rescue children who were under fire from Israeli sniper tower. On April 20, a Palestinian journalist was shot dead by a gunman from an Israeli tank as he attempted to cover an incursion into Nablus.

These attacks on human rights workers make visible the ongoing violence against Palestinian civilians. In Rafah, more than two hundred and fifty people have died since the beginning of the intifada forty-five of them were children.

Unless the international community responds strongly to these attacks, no human rights workers, medical personnel, journalists or NGOs will be able to operate safely in the occupied territories. Without those who are prepared to intervene against, witness, or report on acts of aggression by the Israeli military, the way is open for even further escalations of violence and repression against the Palestinian people.

Linked actions by groups within the territories, within Israel and by the international community would send a powerful message to the Israeli government. Moreover, they would break the isolation of the Palestinians, encourage and support the nonviolent resistance within Palestine, making that aspect of the struggle more visible, highlight the ongoing violence against Palestinian civilians and shift the climate of public opinion that allows this injustice to continue.

IV. Demands:

1. Protection and Accountability:
2. Moratorium on the Wall: 3. End the Occupation:

V. Points of Unity

1.Nonviolence

For this campaign, we ask that groups that participate commit to nonviolent actions that maximize respect for life, and that embody the openness, creativity and compassion we are calling for.

2. Palestinian focus

Attacks on international human rights workers are an important focus of this campaign, but we ask that they always be seen in the context of the overwhelming daily violence directed against the Palestinian population.

3. Diversity

We represent a very broad coalition of groups that may hold out different visions for this issue. As a coalition, we can unite around the specific goals named for this campaign. Individual groups are free to pursue their own broader goals and demands in their own names.

4. Independence

We welcome support from a broad variety of political groups and organizations, but as a coalition we do not identify with or align with any political party or affiliation.

5. Tolerance

Jewish and Israeli peace groups are part of this campaign, and allies in this struggle. Charges of anti-Semitism are often hurled at anyone who challenges the Israeli government. We refuse to be silenced or intimidated by those charges, while we also recognize that some recent attacks on jewish institutions do betoken a resurgence of actual anti-semitism. Our campaign is directed against the policies of the Sharon-led Israeli government and military, and the U.S. funding and support for those policies, not against Jews or Israelis as a people.

Only justice for Palestinians can assure real security in either Palestine or Israel. We cherish the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. While we especially condemn attacks on civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, we understand that attacks on Israeli civilians are a response to the conditions of the occupation, that are only furthered by the policies of collective punishment and brutality practiced by the Sharon government. At the same time, we understand that such attacks stir fear and rage among Israelis that lends a spurious legitimacy to brutal actions of the Sharon Government.

We encourage participating groups to be proactive in reaching out to their local Jewish communities to begin dialogues and discussions around this issue, and to hold out the hope that even those who are now our opponents may change their views.

6. Autonomy

Within the framework of these points of unity, local groups are free to plan their own actions and campaigns. Local groups know best how to organize in their own areas, and how to speak to their own communities.

VI. Structure

The June 5 coalition would be a loose network of affiliated groups, providing coordination and support for autonomous actions within the framework of the points of unity. Convenor groups would take responsiblility for coordination nationally or regionally, in Palestine, Israel, the U.S., Europe, and other regions. A central website would be created and maintained, where support materials could be posted and where a list of planned actions and contacts could be maintained. Media coordination could be centralized regionally.

Funding would be sought for the website and to support media centers.
Groups would fund their own actions independently.

For more information:

Website: http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/palestine.php

(NOTE: page will open in a new browser window)

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