Solidarity with Palestinian freedom riders
Drawing inspiration from the Freedom Riders of the U.S. civil rights movement, on November 15, Palestinian activists boarded an Israeli commuter bus in the West Bank bound for Jerusalem as an act of protest. At a checkpoint on Jerusalem's northern outskirts, Israeli police boarded the bus, demanded permits from the Palestinian passengers and then arrested them.
"We demand the ability to be able to travel freely on our own land and roads, including the right to travel to Jerusalem," said spokesperson Hurriyah Ziada at a press conference in Ramallah before the activists left via lesser-known roads to make their way to the bus stop. "Although the tactics and methodologies differ, the white supremacists and the Israeli occupiers commit the same crime: They strip a people of freedom, justice and dignity," continued Ziada.
When asked by police for a permit, Palestinian activist and Freedom Rider Badee Dwak asked his own question in response. "Why don't you ask the settlers for a permit?" queried Dwak. "It's my right to ride the bus. This is racism. I'm just like them."
This article, written by Palestinian students at the University of North Texas, calls on U.S. activists to support the new Freedom Riders.
PALESTINIAN FREEDOM Riders reenacted the U.S. civil rights movement's Freedom rides in the American South by boarding segregated Israeli public transportation in the West Bank to travel to Occupied East Jerusalem.
By using nonviolent tactics to challenge the system of segregation and apartheid that governs their lives, Palestinians--with a rich history of popular resistance--are also drawing inspiration from another civil rights movement based on the ideals of justice and freedom.
America's Freedom Riders not only defied Jim Crow segregation, but also white liberals who believed their actions were "too confrontational" and "ill-timed." Likewise, Palestinian Freedom Riders also face naysayers who tout the so-called peace process as the only effective strategy.
However, like those who spoke against the American Freedom Riders, detractors in Washington, Israel and elsewhere are also standing against justice and on the wrong side of history. Twenty years into "peace process" negotiations, it is clear that they have achieved nothing--illegal Israeli settlements have more than doubled, Palestinians still face heavy restrictions on movement throughout their land, and Israel's apartheid wall (officially deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice) has been built.
Rights movements everywhere know one thing: The only way to overcome oppression is to challenge it directly. Freedom rides, organized by Palestinians active in their communities, are an escalation of the nonviolent popular resistance strategy and an attempt to highlight the official and unofficial racism and segregation Palestinians are subjected to every day under Israeli apartheid.
American Freedom Riders began their campaign knowing that they would be arrested, beaten or worse, and despite that they made a decision--"Jail, no bail!"--and rode on. Likewise, the Palestinian Freedom Riders know that their intentional act of defiance of the system of apartheid practiced in the Palestinian territories is dangerous.
They could be arrested and face detention for months or years without trial under Israeli military law; they could be abused by Israeli soldiers or attacked by fanatic Israeli settlers on the rides themselves. They will be risking their lives.
Nonetheless, if we focus our attention on this courageous act, if we stand in solidarity with them, then we will give them momentum. The painful claws of Israeli oppression cannot slice and slash when a global spotlight is focused on its actions. The strength of solidarity lies in our ability to raise our voices with those struggling for justice.
This week, President Obama honored and thanked the American Freedom Riders of 1961. Will you, will he, now honor and support another generation in another struggle against segregation?
