Nonviolent resistance during occupation

By guest author Cindy Newman

People often ask “where is the Palestinian Gandhi”? Perhaps he is in Bil’in.

The film “5 Broken Cameras” is a story not often told, if at all, through corporate media.

Camera number one was acquired to chronicle the life of Gibril, the infant son of director Emad Burnat. Camera number one, and the other four cameras, follows the nonviolent struggle of the people of Bil’in against the apartheid wall, land confiscation, curfews and arbitrarily made “military zones” (which can sometimes be a Bil’iners home) of the Israeli Army.5 Broken Cameras

Thankfully, cameras one through five survive long enough to show us the resilience, creativity, humor, and courage that generally make an audience root for the good guy.

The film shows images of Palestinians dancing and singing in the streets during curfew, only five feet away from the crush of an Israeli settler’s new trailer home; subsequent beatings; and a constant cloud of tear gas peppered with rubber bullets and live ammunition. Yet the people of Bil’in remain steadfast in their commitment to nonviolence.

“5 Broken Cameras” left me wondering who I am, what am I made of, and who do I want to be.

It clearly has this effect on others as well. Please watch the brief video showing the reactions of Israeli youth to “5 Broken Cameras.”

As explained on that webpage: “Engaging Israeli youth with this intimate, personal story of Palestinian nonviolent resistance offers a critical intervention before many of them find themselves stationed in a village like Bil’in, facing unarmed demonstrators. This generation offers a new opportunity for political change, in the face of diplomatic stalemate, growing extremism, and escalated settlement expansion.”

Cindy Newman,  activist with the Israel Divestment campaign and BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Los Angeles

Evil by any other name

Review of Simon Baron-Cohen’s The science of evil: On empathy and the origins of cruelty

Science of EvilIn his Acknowledgments, Baron-Cohen begins by saying, “This book isn’t for people with a sensitive disposition” (p. xi). It is a fair warning.

His first chapter is particularly distressing, with descriptions of numerous barbarities. If you need to be persuaded that human beings have provided many examples of man’s inhumanity to man besides those of the Nazi Holocaust, then read it all; otherwise you may prefer to skip some details.

Probably all of us can give examples of human behavior that we view as “evil,” but Baron-Simon suggests that by calling a behavior “evil” we tend to shunt it off into the moral domain rather than recognizing that evil behavior, like other behavior, can be studied scientifically and perhaps thereby become modifiable or preventable.

The key to understanding why people behave cruelly, according to Baron-Cohen, is empathy—and particularly deficits in empathy. To explain how “empathizing mechanisms” work,  Baron-Cohen takes readers on a tour of the “empathy circuit” in the brain.

Although he uses scientific language to identify parts of the brain that provide a neurological basis for empathy deficits, his book is not overly technical; it is accessible to the educated lay reader.

Baron-Cohen describes three types of personality disorder associated with deficits in empathy—psychopathic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. The development of each type of personality disorder is associated with some form of abuse, neglect, or rejection in childhood.

Although Baron-Cohen emphasizes the strong link between childhood maltreatment and empathy deficits, he also suggests that empathy can and should be developed, and concludes with the story of two men, a Palestinian and an Israeli, both of whom lost their sons in the Intifada. Together the two of them tour synagogues and mosques promoting the importance of empathy and raising funds for their charity, The Parents Circle – Families Forum for Israelis and Palestinians.

This is a very readable book despite the frequent references to brain structures and circuitry. The message is crucial: empathy is probably essential to human survival.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

A light in the darkness

By guest author San’aa Sultan

Candlelight vigil in support of Palestinian prisoners
Photo by Sabiha Mahmoud; used with permission

Over the past few weeks we have heard stories of bravery, courage, hope, happiness, and grief from Palestine. The stories accompanied the news that just over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli IDF officer who was  kidnapped from his tank in the Gaza strip and kept captive by the Palestinians.

As the news spread across the globe and different opinions were voiced, youth in the UK were planning something very different to send hope to those illegally detained by Israel.

Students, activists, and solidarity societies all over the UK planned a candlelight vigil, “A light in the darkness: A vigil for peace.”  The intention was to send light to those who had none.

A silent gesture of solidarity, peace, and compassion was being whispered about in the cold streets of Preston, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, and London by people who valued their freedom and that of the oppressed.

On Sunday evening the 30th of October, people all over the UK came together to light their candles, say prayers, send off Chinese lanterns and relight the flame of hope amongst those whose hope was stolen.  The vigil in London is set to take place later in the week.

Simple acts of solidarity like this work wonders to bring a touch of humanity to the struggles of those whom our systems work so hard to dehumanise.