Non-Violent Activist Training Report
January 18, 2018
An Interview with CFP Activist Moran Zamir
January 26, 2018
by Iris Keltz
Combatants for Peace: Beyond Combat–A Reason to Hope
A Palestinian and Israeli member of Combatants for Peace will speak at the SUB Ballroom B on the UNM Campus. Monday, Feb. 19th. They will share their personal stories and show a 25 minute clip from the film, Disturbing the Peace. There will be time for questions. Light refreshments at 6. Event to start at 6:30-8:30. A $10 donation is suggested but no one will be turned away.
Combatants for Peace (CFP), founded in 2006, is a bi-national, grassroots organization based on the belief that the cycle of violence can only be broken when Israelis and Palestinians who had taken an active role in the conflict, lay down their weapons. CFP remains committed to ending the Israeli occupation and all forms of violence between the two sides. For more info: https://afcfp.org/get-involved/stories/ https://afcfp.org
Noga Harpaz; As a child of the 1990’s Noga grew up believing that a lasting peace was would be brought to her by government leaders. After a two year mandatory service in the Israeli army, she became increasingly critical of her government’s claim that “we have no choice but to control the Palestinians.” But the human toll in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge filled her with shame. A year later she became an activist. She believes “war is not a decree of fate, but an act of man.” So she works for peace.
Raed al-Hadar is a founding member of Combatants for Peace. As a child his cousin who was working on his land, was killed by a settler. The murderer was never brought to justice. When Raed got older, soldiers stationed outside his high school killed one of his friends who had picked up a stone. Again, no justice. Raed served time in prison for building a failed bomb that only injured himself and his friend. Upon his release Raed joined a non-violent resistance workshop in Ramallah. This was the first time he met Israelis who were not soldiers.
Funding this organization will help build a Palestinian-Israeli activist community that promotes freedom and security for both peoples though nonviolent activity. It can change public attitudes within the Israeli and Palestinian public as well as the international community.
“We refuse to be enemies, and both Jews and Arabs who used to be enemies do not need to be anymore.”
“The children of Israel and Palestine can no longer imagine what peace looks like. Please, help us create a different future for them.”
This event is sponsored by the Muslim Student Association.
