You mentioned one of your goals as a group is to influence the community. How far away from the Israeli and Palestinian mainstream do you consider yourselves to be? | Just Vision Skip to main content

You mentioned one of your goals as a group is to influence the community. How far away from the Israeli and Palestinian mainstream do you consider yourselves to be?

Usually Palestinians view any contact with Israelis with total mistrust, and any dialogue with the Israelis is automatically labeled as "normalization", but when we made our principles and ideas clear, we were widely accepted. You may have noticed in our activity in Anata that people taking part for the first time were skeptical about meeting Israelis. Young Palestinian fighters expressed some real concern when I first made contact with them, but after they attended the meeting their tone was very different. Nearly all of them told me how wonderful an idea it was and agreed that it was a way to achieve the goals and ambitions of the majority of Palestinians. Raed Hadar 13

You mentioned one of your goals as a group is to influence the community. How far away from the Israeli and Palestinian mainstream do you consider yourselves to be?

We don't consider ourselves a part of the political left or right. We believe in certain principles and have certain ideas, and try to pursue them. In the past, many people, especially in Israel, viewed us as members of the political right because we were involved in many kinds of violent activities, but I think our group isn't related to a certain political orientation. When talking to my friends and family about the group, its principles, goals and the way it was created, I noticed they were expressing support for the group in a way I could never have anticipated. In most cases people very strongly supported the very existence of our group. Usually Palestinians view any contact with Israelis with total mistrust, and any dialogue with the Israelis is automatically labeled as "normalization", but when we made our principles and ideas clear, we were widely accepted. You may have noticed in our activity in Anata that people taking part for the first time were skeptical about meeting Israelis. Young Palestinian fighters expressed some real concern when I first made contact with them, but after they attended the meeting their tone was very different. Nearly all of them told me how wonderful an idea it was and agreed that it was a way to achieve the goals and ambitions of the majority of Palestinians. I also met with many Israelis and took part in lectures about the nature and goals of our group. Some Israelis accepted the idea and supported it, but there were also those who were more conservative. The difficulties we face on the Israeli side are greater than on the Palestinian side. All the Palestinians are asking for is a right to determine their own future-- an independent state, an end to the occupation and to be allowed to live peacefully and securely. We have come across many conservative Israelis and our work over there will be more demanding. We want Israelis to accept the idea of a Palestinian state and that there is a people on the other side. We want Israelis to realize that their government is occupying the Palestinian people. Israelis are the ones who determine their government and its fate; therefore we must influence them. Israelis are strongly affected when they realize they are talking to people who have resisted the occupation and suffered at its hands but still found the strength to change their views. When I tell my personal story about the occupation, resistance and prison, I see their fear. Our goal is to destroy that fear. I tell them with the utmost honesty that I used to think in a certain way, but have adopted a new understanding of the way to solve this complicated situation. Usually fear is dominant, but trust is gradually built. We need to invest in gaining the support of ordinary Israelis. Israeli citizens are in most cases simple people who are greatly influenced by the one-sided Israeli media. I talk to them in order to establish some kind of trust.