Non-violent human rights activist and graduate student Matthew Eddy spoke about his experience volunteering in Israel and Palestine on Friday afternoon in Room 111 in the Lillis Business Complex.
Eddy spoke to a small group of several sociology professors and members of the public about his volunteer experience. He spent six weeks last summer volunteering with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement, a non-violent movement that according to its Web site is “committed to resisting Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.” ISM is an international group, with about half of the volunteers coming from Europe and the other half from the U.S. and other countries.
“There is a big distinction between anti-Semitism and criticizing a government’s policies,” Eddy said. “Human rights groups criticize every nation in the world. It’s na’ve to think a nation would get everything right.”
Eddy talked about his experience with non-violent resistance against the construction of a security wall and Israeli settlements in Palestine, where he said many Palestinians have been kicked out of their homes, separated from friends and family by the wall and harassed by some radical Israeli settlers. He also cited a recent poll which found that 53 percent of Israelis are against the Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
“It’s scary to talk about this issue and for that reason I almost don’t want to talk about this,” he said. “But I have to be a voice for the Palestinians I met.”
Eddy first became interested in volunteering for a peacemaking group after working and living on a communal farm called a Kibbutz in Israel in 1995. He said that being a sociology student and a Christian inspired him to volunteer last summer in the often-dangerous area.
In a journal on the ISM Web site, Palestinian activist Abdullah Abu Rahme wrote about the importance of international volunteers like Eddy.
“One of these means (of defending Palestinian solidarity) includes promoting solidarity with Palestine through international volunteers, whom we consider as ambassadors for our struggle in their own countries.”
“The rewards are big,” Eddy said. “Standing up for human dignity and doing it non-violently – I’m convinced it works.”
Eddy spent most of his six weeks living and volunteering with Palestinians living in or near Israeli settlements. He said his duties often included simply walking Palestinian children to and from school so they would not be harassed. He also participated in non-violent protests, dismantled roadblocks and faced rubber bullets and tear gas from Israeli soldiers.
“I don’t have all the answers,” he said. “I’ve just seen violence not work and destroy people’s lives, and I’ve seen non-violence work.”
Eddy emphasized several times that he was not being anti-Semitic, nor is he anti-Israel. Rather, he wanted to speak about the human rights violations he said he saw in the area and bring more awareness of the Palestinian side of the story to Americans. He said he thinks the American media has not shown the whole story, focusing more on suicide bombings rather than much of the non-violent protest.
“I don’t think this is the biggest problem in the world,” he said. “It’s one among many.”
Although the subject matter of his presentation was serious, audience members chuckled as he showed pictures of himself and the other volunteers. He even talked about the horrible B-list movies they would watch while camping out in a shed in an olive grove.
Eddy also said many Israelis are against the settlements in Palestinian land and the violence occurring in the area. Many Israelis and Palestinians have bonded together in non-violent protest.
“I originally wanted to go over there with Christian Peacemaker Teams because they are more consistently guided by the ideas of Gandhi and King, but ISM is still non-violent and they are widely respected; they’ve been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times,” he said.
“There are big risks, but it is extremely rewarding work,” Eddy said. “There is no substitute for meeting people involved in international conflict. It gives you hope. But it is shocking how many people have a strong opinion about this issue when they’ve never seen for themselves how bad things are in the West Bank. I’m deeply concerned about the quality of life of both Palestinians and Israeli settlers who live in virtual prisons.”
“I think Matthew’s presentation was a wonderful example of the ways in which sociologists and other researchers combine their political and moral interests with their intellectual interests,” said Ellen Scott, associate professor of sociology. “Matthew was thinking about the question of why people agree to participate in high-risk peace activism. This is, of course,, a question that is highly relevant to the world of political activism in general.”
“I found the photos and Matthew’s description of life in the occupied territories to be incredibly moving. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to learn about the world through the experiences of my graduate students,” Scott said.
Graduate Student fights for peace
Daily Emerald
February 19, 2007
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