After having arrived in Ramallah at 9:00 in the morning, Maria* and I sat down and had some Palestinian breakfast with our trainers and several other new activists who have arrived. It was great to see Neta Golan again- she is an Israeli activist who I met last year, and one of the founders of ISM. Her stories and great sense of humour make her not only fun to hang out with, but helps the hours long training sessions to go by quicker. It was also nice to meet the new people,who include several Americans as well as people from the Netherlands. Among the volunteers there are also Jewish activists, who oppose what Israel is doing in their name.
The training has lasted all day, and as usual was very long, yet detailed and practical.
We began by going over our hopes and fears. I like how ISM encourages its new members and trainees (yes, even if you are back the umpteenth time you do need to be retrained) to write down and discuss not only what we hope to achieve, but also what we fear. The hopes were pretty down to earth, which I think is good. No one is hoping to free Palestine by the time September is finished, but the hopes that were written down do include things like helping others, spreading the word about what is happening, and learning. Fears that people mentioned are also very real ones- getting deported, becoming embittered, getting hurt. ISM actively discourages people from pretending they are heroes.
In the words of Neta, "it is good to be scared. You are scared means that you are sane. Don't take risks you are not willing to live with, or that your family will not be able to live with. If something were to happen to you because you wanted to show off, that would be pretty sad".
We later discussed the four ISM principles- Non-violent, Palestinian-led, Consensus-based, Anti-oppression. To learn more about them, check out the ISM website, www.palsolidarity.org
We discussed the ISM structure- not only the places in the West Bank and Gaza where we operate, but also costs. ISM is very careful to ensure that money is used wisely, since we are an all-volunteer organization and reject money from governments, in order to remain independent.The longer that ISM members stay in Palestine, the less they pay. The reason is because ISM encourages people to stay as long as possible.
During the first month of one' stay in Palestine, an ISM member pays 50 shekels a day, 40 to cover rent and 10 to cover food- people in an apartment chip in communally to buy food and take turns cooking. After one month, the ISMer does not pay for rent anymore, only the food. After 3 months, people are eligible for stipends.
Due to my work, I will only be staying a few weeks but it is good how volunteer longevity is encouraged.
We learned also about the Israeli legal system in the West Bank. There are separate laws for internationals (us), separate laws for Israelis, and separate laws for Palestinians. An Israeli who gets arrested can only be arrested by a police officer, and is held for not more than 24 hours before seeing a judge. The same applies to internationals. Soldiers can detain us and hold us, but only the Border Police can make an arrest.
Palestinians can be arrested by soldiers as well as police, and held for 4 days before seeing a judge.
An Israeli or international who is arrested will normally be granted bail, unless it can be proven that he or she is either a flight risk or a danger. An arrested Palestinian is automatically assumed to be both.
Prolonged detentions are possible, and happen often.
An arrested Israeli must be released if 30 days pass without charges. Palestinians have been held for months. Once charges are pressed, many Palestinians often will confess, whether or not they are guilty, in hopes of getting less jail time.
If internationals are arrested, the biggest threat that we face is deportation, and being put on a black list that will ban one from ever visiting again for the next 5-10 years. ISM internationals have never been charged with any crime because of our activism, and I am unaware if other internationals have from other groups. As internationals, we face no likelihood of prison time, unless we resist deportation. Israeli activists have been imprisoned, and leading activists (many of the Israeli organizations are anarchist, so the term "leader" is best avoided) face months in prison. Palestinians who have been using acts of non-violent resistance have been locked away for up to two years.
Although there is a risk of being manhandled by soldiers during an arrest, internationals face very little prospect of being seriously physically harmed by soldiers. In contrast, some arrested Israeli activists and many Palestinian activists have faced very serious beatings. A few months ago, a Palestinian leader who helped organize a peaceful demonstration in the village of Beit Umar had his arm broken by soldiers as they were arresting him. Neta, who is Israeli, also was seriously hurt once by soldiers, although this happened many years ago.
We discussed what to say and not say to interrogators and what to do if one of us gets arrested or detained.
We discussed also how to write reports, and talk to the media.
It has been a very busy day, but worthwhile.
* Most ISM volunteers use pseudonyms, this is the name my wife chose.
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