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Israeli and Palestinian women must raise the banner of revolt

By Alon Ben-Meir - posted Thursday, 4 May 2017


Civil disobedience should include, but is not limited to, mass crowding of public spaces (airports, city squares, malls, etc.), as the general society needs to feel the tangible effects of these protests in real time. Many of the demonstrators can expect to be arrested; they should not resist arrest but welcome it, making it impossible for the authorities to cope with hundreds if not thousands of detainees.

Sit-ins at military checkpoints on both sides will greatly hinder security personnel from processing the movement of Israelis and Palestinians from one side to the other, making it especially difficult for Palestinian laborers to work in Israel where they are needed. This not only has an impact on Palestinian laborers, but negatively impacts the Israeli industries in which they work.

Protests at the separation wall will make it all but abundantly clear that peace will not rest on separation between the two sides, but on collaboration and full cooperation on all civilian and security interactions.

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Protests at the Israeli Knesset and the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in Ramallah will send a clear message to legislators and those in a position to shape policy that the current deadlock cannot and must not continue, as there is no alternative to coexistence and peace.

Any and all symbols of the occupation need to be specifically targeted (e.g. separation wall, settlements) – possibly creating works of art on the wall that highlights the irony that Israel is in fact building a prison for itself while acting as prison guards against the Palestinians under siege.

To ensure peaceful marches, organizers should have a clear plan of action about any of the civil disobedience activity, have contingency plans on hand, and enlist volunteers to act as 'crowd control' to prevent any confrontation with police officers.

Israeli and Palestinian women should use their formidable power to demand an end to the conflict. They will have far greater sway than men if they join hands, go out in force, and remain consistent with the message to end the occupation.

After 70 years, the tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must come to an end. Israeli and Palestinian women have the power to raise the banner of peaceful revolt, and ought to use it now to bring peace to the land that both sides must inevitably share.

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About the Author

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.

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