Portion below; whole thing (via Palestinian Pundit) here: http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14471
You founded the Israeli Committee Against House demolitions (ICAHD)(2) in 1997. What was the goal of this organization at the time? What is it now and what is ICAHD going to focus on in the next few months?
I was one of the founders of ICAHD in 1997, in the wake of Benjamin Netanyahu’s election and the final collapse of the Oslo peace process. After several years of dormancy, ICAHD’s formation was part of the re-engagement of the Israeli peace camp in resisting the Occupation, which emerged from the Oslo process much more entrenched than it has been at the start.
ICAHD is an Israeli political organization dedicated to resisting the Israeli Occupation until its total end, and to a seeking of just peace with the Palestinians, in one state, two states, a regional confederation or whatever political arrangement best serves our two peoples. Since “occupation” is such an abstract concept to most people, we decided to take the issue of Israel’s policy of demolishing Palestinian homes – almost 20,000 in the Occupied Territories since 1967 – as the focus of our activities. ICAHD activists and members of other Israeli peace groups, together with Palestinians and international activists, resist demolitions and rebuild homes demolished by the Israeli authorities – 162 in the past decade. Since we rebuild as political acts of resistance and not as humanitarian gestures, 162 such acts of Israeli and Palestinians against the Occupation (so far) is significant.
Acts of resistance alone will not end the Occupation, however. Activism has to be balanced with strategic advocacy. The grassroots has to be mobilized and effective lobbying done among political decision-makers. The Israeli public, for many reasons I will not go into here, has taken itself out of the political equation: it is apathetic vis-a-vis the Palestinians and refuses to take responsibility (indeed, Netanyahu will likely come back as Prime Minister in February). The focus of ICAHD’s advocacy, then, is international, towards peace and human rights groups, trade unions, universities, churches, Jewish peace groups and other grassroots constituencies, as well as towards government officials and parliamentarians (Americans being the most influential and the most difficult to reach).
In the next few months ICAHD will concentrate on developing working relations with the Obama Administration. We are also involved in launching an anti-apartheid campaign. With Jimmy Johnson, a long-time ICAHD activist, I am also writing a book on Israel’s involvement in the world’s arms industry. Though we must continue to look “down” at Israel’s actions in the Occupied Territories, we must also start to look “up” at Israel’s role in what we call the Pacification Industry to understand why it receives the support from the US and other governments that it does.
How being a peace activist fighting for Palestinian rights in Israel feels like? Also, could you give us an overview of the Israeli peace movement today?
Although ICAHD cooperates with other critical Israeli peace and human rights organizations, I stand somewhat apart from many activists for several reasons. Unlike most of my comrades, I do not think that activism by itself can achieve political results. The Israeli peace movement in general seems to think it cannot influence policy or events, and if it is limited merely to protest and symbolic solidarity acts, then there is no need to even try and participate in the political process. ICAHD considers itself an actor, a political player. We believe we can influence events, and so we seek to work with international partners, governments and civil society alike. I do not think it is worthwhile to try and reach the Israeli public. Unlike most Israeli peace activists, again, I again prefer to dedicate ICAHD’s limited energy and resources to international advocacy. Finally, I define myself politically as an Israeli; an ideology like Zionism cannot determine the life of a country. Thus we at ICAHD belong to a small coterie of Israeli peace groups – together with the Alternative Information Center, the anarchists and ’48 Palestinians – who can envision Israeli national expression within a single political entity shared with the Palestinians.
The Zionist peace movement is largely paralyzed today. Peace Now, the largest and best known of this camp, is non-functional except in its important monitoring of settlement activity. The Zionist left party, Meretz, has only five seats in the parliament out of 120. The critical (or “radical,” if you like) left of the Israeli peace movement to which ICAHD belongs is, it is true, even smaller in numbers and unable to elect a single member to the parliament. Nevertheless, we do unflinching actions and analysis from the ground and make our voices heard in many international forums.
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