(Rome) - A recent poll found that just over half of Palestinians were in favour of peaceful negotiations with Israel – a marked change from a decade ago when the second Intifada was at its height. Palestinians are today said to be wary of another uprising and, according to organisations such as the Holy Land Trust, they are turning more and more to non-violent resistance. To find out more about how much non-violence is becoming more widely accepted, and how much the Holy Land Trust is helping change attitudes, Terrasanta.net spoke with Sami Awad, executive director of the Bethlehem-based charity.

How much would you say the concept of non-violent protest is becoming more accepted among Palestinians?
On a theoretical level it is becoming very accepted, even mainstream in Palestinian discourse. This is of course a big step compared to a few years ago when nonviolent resistance was not seen as a real and viable option, or nonviolence was undermined as not possible to fulfil even the simplest of Palestinian demands.  A big reason for that was not a belief or disbelief in nonviolence as much as many thinking that the reality of the situation, the conflict and the occupation could not be addressed through nonviolence. 

Are Christians more likely to favour non-violent protest than Muslims?
Many assume that nonviolent protest is what the Christians engage in; this is a big misunderstanding and it shows a clear bias in assuming that Muslims only engage in violence. The reality is that when it comes to those who are engaging in nonviolence (as numbers), Muslims greatly outnumber the Christians. Most Christians, like most Muslims, have fallen into a place of resignation and hopelessness, not feeling that anything will work and thus they don't engage in any resistance. At the same time there were Christians at different times of the struggle who also felt that armed resistance was the means to achieve liberation and many practised such tactics. 

It's said that in Palestinian Arab culture, pacifism is seen as a sign of weakness - how is the Holy Land Trust trying to change such attitudes?
The concept is not only seen as weakness in the Palestinian / Arab community alone; those who engage in pacifism are seen in that light in most countries and cultures. And the reason is the sad reality that our current human consciousness has brought [the belief that] the war is the only means of defense and how we relate to the other. When we talk of nonviolence and the concept of pacifism in Palestine we introduce it as as a pragmatic, strategic and holistic approach to confronting and dealing with violence and occupation. It is proactive and it requires great levels of discipline, strategic thinking and willingness to sacrifice. We say that the courage needed to engage in nonviolence and be disciplined in such action greatly outweighs that of violence. 

Some argue that the most serious obstacle to peace is that most Palestinians would rather Israel didn't exist. How can non-violence be effective if that attitude is widespread?
Nonviolence does not seek to bring down individuals, societies, communities, cultures, belief systems, etc. It specifically aims and targets structures and institutions of oppression, not humans, even the ones who control and lead these structures. It seeks to have even within it the understanding that nonviolence also acknowledges that the victimizer is also trapped in a web of violence and, even in their power over the victim, they also need to be liberated and freed from either the same structures of oppression or different ones. In our work with nonviolence we begin and end by insisting that the most basic values of nonviolence are to recognize the humanity of the other and seek to move forward in creating a new reality of peaceful coexistence that is based on equality, respect and justice for all.
It is completely irrational to even listen to those who claim that the Palestinians would rather Israel did not exist and therefore we must control and suppress them. It is like saying: “I am going to keep an innocent person in prison because I am afraid he might harm me when he leaves,” so I keep him in prison and keep suppressing him. The only means to address such fear is through true signs and acts of goodwill that build trust and respect, not just symbolic gestures and rhetorical language. When the Peace Process began in the 90s, the overwhelming majority of the Palestinians were ready to recognize Israel and its right to exist if real peace was achieved. We believe this is true now as much as it was then, when the Palestinians begin to see a future where they and their families will not be confined and suppressed by the occupation.

What are the Holy Land Trust's future plans?
The Holy Land Trust will continue to promote and engage in nonviolence as a systemic and holistic approach to individual and collective issues of equality, respect, rights and freedoms. Through working in specific target areas, i.e. women leadership in nonviolence, joint Israeli-Palestinian nonviolent action initiatives, and in creating international awareness and advocacy programs for real peace (not for just political solutions). The biggest project for this year is to take all this into a new “peace and nonviolence research and learning center” that will be opened in late spring in the holy city of Bethlehem. Where the light of peace was born in the Holy Land, the Holy Land Trust seeks to do its best to bring that light of hope, goodwill and peace to this land again.

© http://www.terrasanta.net/tsx/index.jsp - february 27th 2012