After the interview a few days ago with the Israeli pacifist Maoz Inon, we continue in our ‘behind the scenes’ reporting leading to the It’s Now Event in Jerusalem (May 8th – 9th) which promises to be the biggest Peace Assembly ever attempted in the Middle East. This is a telephone interview with the Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah, co-organiser of the Peace Summit and brother ‘in heart’ of Maoz.
Born 45 years ago in Al-Eizariya, not far from East Jerusalem in the West Bank, Aziz has spoken in several interviews about his adolescence during the times of the first intifada. ‘Like everyone else I was busy threwing stones too, once I accidentally hit a neighbour’s car. We did it to express our frustration, the only Jews we knew were those soldiers who were regularly stopping us at the checkpoints, and of course the settlers, who were already quite a legion in those times…”
Aziz was nine years old when his eldest brother Tayseer was arrested by the IDF and taken to prison. He was detained for a year, but a few weeks after his release Tayseer died from what were diagnosed as ‘internal injuries’ – the result of the tortures he had received behind bars. A wound that has never really healed, in all these years. But it helped to get involved with the Parent Circle Families Forum, the Israeli-Palestinian organisation that since 1995 has been helping families like that of Aziz, Maoz and many others who have lost loved ones in the conflict, alleviating the trauma of loss through self-awareness programmes of admirable courage and value.
But in a recent post on Facebook that pain resurfaces with a double photo: one of him next to his brother Tayseer, both children, and one below, of a 17-year-old Palestinian named Walid, the 63rd to die in an Israeli prison after the events of October 7th. And only a few lines of text to accompany it: “some news hits particularly hard: since my brother Tayseer died 34 years ago, due to torture in an Israeli prison, every death in detention hits me deep in my heart. As in the case of this boy, Walid, whose death we learnt about for the usual reasons: routine torture, no investigation, bodies returned to the families with difficulty, crimes that are repeated with impunity…”
Aziz and his brother Tayseer
And it was precisely in the wake of this loss that Aziz felt the need to write that touching message of condolences to Maoz Inon, immediately after the death of both his parents in the massacre of October 7th. And this is how this beautiful partnership of pacifist activism was set in motion in the name of brotherhood, most often together in front of important audiences such as the various Ted Talks or the Peace Arena in Verona, guests of Pope Francis a year ago; or even alone when necessary, as will be the case for Maoz’s trip to Paris in a few days, but always united in the urgency ‘to promote anything possible to change the situation’, and in the broadest possible alliance with so many other organisations that have been active on the same front for a long time.
Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah
What these two pacifists have also in common is a background as entrepreneurs in the field of so-called ‘peace tourism’ that Aziz Abu Sarah pursued after training at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and then founding Mejdi Tours about fifteen years ago, specialising in ‘socially conscious’ journeys in areas characterised by a ‘dual narrative’ (i.e. an ex-conflict that has since been resolved) and always accompanied infact by two guides/interpreters. Journeys that will take you not only in the Middle East, but also in Colombia, Afghanistan, with upcoming tours to the Balkans, an later Ireland. A passion more than a job, a passion that often has seen Aziz in the role of journalist (for National Geographic, various radio programmes, + 972 and other media outlets) as well as author.
Indeed a very rich and interesting professional and personal profile! We caught up with Aziz a few days ago at his place in South Carolina, his residence when not in his first home in Palestine.
When this idea of organising a Peace Summit was conceived and with so many organisations involved?
There was a moment, after October 7th and when the bombings had been going on for some time, when there was a gathering of settlers in Jerusalem. They had already started to raid the food and aid destined for Gaza, but on that occasion the message was clear: ‘We are here and we intend to settle in Gaza too’. It was on that occasion that someone among us underlined the urgency of doing something, in the very words that later provided the title of that first big event at the Menorah Stadium in Tel Aviv: It’s time! It’s time… to react, and to respond, in the best possible way. At the very least to show that we exist, that not everyone is in favour of the bombings and the killings. It’s time to break the silence, to make it clear that what they are saying is not true, that not everyone wants this war. It’s time to count ourselves, and to see that we are not few. In fact, there were so many of us attending that It’s time Event on July 1st, which marked the first stage of this journey.
And yet here we are, 18 months after October 7th and less than a month before your Peace Summit in Jerusalem, contemplating extermination far beyond the worst predictions, after Trump and Netanyahu met in the Oval Office to confirm business as usual. The coexistence of these two diametrically opposed realities is so impressive…
This is why we are doing our best to ensure the utmost success to this Peace Summit, not only in terms of participation, but also of visibility, and for that we need everybody’s help. Because no acceptable perspective can come from the leadership we have. So it’s up to us to take action and do something to counter this totally hopeless drift. This is why it’s important to unite and reaffirm what we believe in, to envisage the only possible future that is co-existence, to offer ourselves as an example… Because what they’ve been selling us all along is that Palestinians and Israelis will never be able to live together, work together, co-exist together, that it’s too dangerous, an unimaginable madness… And instead we keep saying: it’s not true, look at us, look at these dozens of Israeli-Palestinian organisations, we are the proof positive that it’s possible to live together, work together, plan things together, achieve results together. Only on this basis there will be a future for both our communities.
Lately you have emphasised the decreasing support for the conflict especially in Israel where only a minority now supports the war in Gaza. But also in the Palestinian camp, where recently there have been protests against Hamas, with conflicting interpretations…
There have been recent surveys in Gaza that show a clear drop in popularity for Hamas, even below 10%, which would be incredible but not surprising, given the desperate circumstances in which the people of Gaza have found themselves since October 7th. Apart from the surveys, I often have the opportunity to talk to friends who live there and I realise the reality of this discontent. The main hostility is directed at the IDF and Israel, of course, but many hold Hamas responsible as well for the conditions in which they find themselves, with no possible protection whatsoever, no food, water or shelter, no other prospect than disappearing from the face of the earth. They have lost everything: they have lost their homes, they have lost their family members, every hospital has been bombed… And yet it would be foolish to say that Hamas is finished. Because it is precisely in these circumstances of desperation and siege that its ability to recruit is reinforced, as it always has been in the past: when you have lost everything, your home, your loved ones, any hope for the future, all that remains, at least for some, is the illusion of defending themselves by fighting.
This is why we maintain that Israel will never be able to destroy Hamas, because more and more people will join their brigades in such an extreme situation. In fact, according to a recent estimate the number of active militants is currently the same as it was a year and a half ago, despite the casualties incurred. It’s time to seriously think about an alternative, we must give people the prospect of a political solution. Above all we must put an end to the occupation as soon as possible, give people back their freedom, their capacity for self-determination. Without these minimum conditions of coexistence, equality, justice, nothing will put an end to Hamas.
Will there be Palestinian voices representing this complexity at your Peace Summit? I know it will be difficult for many to be there in person…
Some Palestinians will be there, certainly myself, others will be connected through internet platforms. We have not yet decided what kind of political perspective or evaluations we will share, because as you know, dozens of organisations have joined this Peace Summit call and each one has its own agenda. I can only tell you what we, Maoz and I, will continue to do with our organisation Interact International: we will continue to work in training, communication, public mobilisation, as we have always done, and in ever closer collaboration with other organisations such as Standing Together, the Parents Circle, the Combatants for Peace. And we hope that all this will result in a political proposal, a need that had already arisen before October 7th, because as you know, there were frequent protests against Netanyahu’s government. But just being able to put together such a coalition of organisations and energies means a lot.
Is there a peace movement in Palestine? In Italy we have the impression that it is something quite present in Israel, but is there a Palestinian counterpart?
We must understand that the word peace cannot have the same meaning for both sides of the conflict. When Palestinians talk about peace, they mean liberation, equality, the end of apartheid and occupation, as Gandhi himself pursued in his project of liberation from colonialism: the method was non-violence, but the objectives were very clear and uncompromising.
Another thing to remember is the power structure that reasserts itself in every circumstance: what the Israelis can do and what the Palestinians can do is very different, even in terms of pacifism. I remember the first big demonstrations that the Combatants for Peace, of which I am also a member, organised in 2006 or 2007, in Hebron, in the West Bank, and then in Jerusalem: thousands of Palestinians, I think there were 3000 people, came to Hebron and despite it being a peaceful demonstration the Israeli army attacked with tear gas. The reception in Tel Aviv was very different, which reveals the institutionalised and structural violence that interferes in the dynamics of our movement, although it cannot be perceived from the outside. Not to mention the media, which limit themselves to recording what happens day by day, but rarely cover the news coming from Palestine with the same attention reserved for the Israelis. This applies to pacifists as well as for prisoners, hostages, victims of the attacks. The game is always stacked against us. All this feeds the tendency towards dehumanising the Palestinians, even when it would be worth highlighting positive aspects or personalities. Even the protests against Hamas in Gaza in recent weeks, the way the news was reported, had nothing to do with peace, it was just a way to affirm the unpopularity of Hamas, creating further polarisation.
Reading your biographical notes I discovered that a few years ago you ran for mayor of Jerusalem… but it didn’t go very well.
I can tell you that it was the experience that more than any other made me realise how international institutions only apparently encourage us to do something, but then don’t support us. When I ran for mayor of Jerusalem I contacted all the representatives I could reach at a European level asking them to contribute to the feasibility of fair elections, because in Jerusalem very few people vote for a number of reasons. Many don’t even know they have the right to vote, and the government has no interest in telling them that they do. Until a few years ago there were logistical difficulties to reach the few seats available in the West Bank. It was necessary to pass so many check points, along routes that required two or three buses, you can imagine who wanted to go through this hell. In the last round of consultations something has changed… but to get back to my story: aware of the amount of funding and programmes that the EU spends in our areas for so-called processes of democratisation, I approached the European institutions, not to ask for help with my campaign but to at least improve the situation on the ground, with awareness campaigns, logistical support… Several ambassadors seemed interested, but nothing happened. When they tried to follow up their words with concrete measures, the response from their ministries was: why change the status quo… You see, that’s the problem: nobody wants to change the status quo until it breaks. Now that everything is in a thousand pieces, nobody knows what to do. But when an opportunity presents itself, nobody takes it into consideration, apart from rare cases. We read in the newspapers about ‘the need for Palestinian leaders to rise to the occasion’ but then no one will do anything to help these Palestinian leaders. Everyone is wondering where the Nelson Mandela of Palestine is, and this is the most offensive question, because there are many Nelson Mandelas of Palestine, but they are all in jail! This is the hypocrisy that I often find around the world.
And what Maoz and I are trying to do in our visits to the highest levels we can reach around the world, is to push Europeans, Americans, Arabs and global leaders to at least listen and if possible encourage these young leaders, and give legitimacy, support and recognition to these voices. This should be the task of politics, and what I would have pursued if I had become mayor of Jerusalem. I withdrew when I saw that the people who were supporting me were under threat and attacked, and when I realised that my own life was in danger. But it was a hiccup along the way, and it didn’t stop me from continuing to do what I had always done before, in the knowledge that another way is possible.
As Maon often says, Hope is an Action. And it’s up to each and every one of us to take action for change.
To find out more about the Peace Summit in Jerusalem: https://www.timeisnow.co.il/new1-2
For further information or details on how to support the initiative: info@timeisnow.co.il
