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November 2005

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Arab-Jewish Partnership for Peace

By Sonia Nettnin
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November 2005
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Ta’ayush is a grassroots, political movement in Israel that responds to the military occupation of Palestinians through nonviolent resistance and humanitarian relief. For the last five years Ta’ayush, an Arabic word that means “life in common,” has been building longstanding relationships between Israelis and Palestinians in the region. The network consists of thousands of Israeli-Jews and Arab-Israelis who bring food, water, blankets, and labor resources to Palestinian villages in Israel and the Occupied Territories. They demonstrate against the wall as well. 

After the second Intifada began in September 2000, Israeli-Jews and Arab-Israelis established Ta’ayush. “We moved from a protest culture to a resistance culture,” Yigal Bronner—an activist in the group who teaches South Asian Studies at Tel Aviv University and the University of Chicago—explained.  

The movement creates long-term relationships with Palestinian communities. First, Ta’ayush sends an envoy to the Palestinian community and they decide with the residents what would be most helpful and effective. Then they establish an ongoing presence in these Palestinian communities. If needed, Ta’ayush participants rotate sleep shifts in the Palestinian communities. These Israelis and Palestinians maintain ongoing dialog—even if they are on opposite sides of the wall. “We’re going to be together and not let the policies separate us,” Bronner said. “To exist is to resist.” 

For several years Ta’ayush has been working in the South Hebron Hills where violent settlers attack Palestinians, bringing food and water to the Palestinians, who live primarily in caves. Israeli forces have a history of destroying the caves and water cisterns in these communities, leaving the people homeless and without drinking water. 

In January 2002 Ta’ayush established a “blanket convoy” for the Palestinians who lost their homes. The Ta’ayush convoy consisted of hundreds of people in scores of cars carrying blankets for the homeless. 

In most cases the Israeli military finds out about the upcoming events, so the soldiers have a signed form declaring the area a military zone. On arrival, the resisters are told to go back. In the case of the blanket convoy some people were arrested, but most walked with the blankets to the homeless residents. 

When Ta’ayush found out that settlers near the Maon farms were leaving barley containing rat poison for the Palestinians’ livestock, Ta’ayush participants collected the poison and disposed of it. 

Ta’ayush sees such activities as a way to highlight the injustices taking place. “We don’t have the ability to solve the problem, but let’s attract attention to this situation,” Bronner said. People cannot imagine how much damage one settler does to an entire Palestinian community. During a presentation, Bronner showed a photo from South Hebron of a group of settlers carrying semiautomatic weapons toward the camera. “This is a picture of the settlers before they attacked us,” he added. 

The settlers shoot livestock and people, yet the Israeli military does not stop them. The Israeli military uses tear gas, water cannons, and shock grenades against Ta’ayush because the participants are considered a public threat. When asked if the settlers fire their weapons at Israelis also, Bronner said they shoot at Ta’ayush participants with rubber-coated metal bullets. He explained that the settlers in this area like the extremists to attack the Palestinians and wreak havoc, but the settlers do not want the extremists living in their communities. 

As a result of expanding settlements Israel is annexing South Hebron in a massive effort to brutally transfer the Palestinian cave dwellers. In the West Bank, the wall is having the same social and geopolitical impact. “The Palestinian people are becoming a landless people through the wall,” Bronner said. 

Bronner noted the cement blocks of the wall are dated with the day of their erection. During the week of the Gaza withdrawal, Bronner noticed overwhelming construction of the wall around East Jerusalem. Many sections had completion dates corresponding to the time of the Gaza withdrawal. 

Since the wall annexed thousands of dunums of Palestinian land, thousands of trees have also been uprooted. Ta’ayush has planted tree saplings in several communities where tree razing took place. For several farmers who could not reach their land Ta’ayush sent envoys during harvest time. 

Ta’ayush has several chapters throughout the region so people participate in various activities near their own homes at different levels of commitment. For example some people attend meetings and activities while others attend the activities only. 

In mixed Israeli and Palestinian communities, such as Haifa, Lod, and Ramleh, local municipalities discriminate against Palestinians through lack of housing permits and they allow Palestinian neighborhoods to deteriorate. Ta’ayush participants go to these areas and renovate the streets. 

Within Israel there are many Palestinian villages that Israel does not recognize geographically and financially. Israel will not allow the people in these villages to have running water, electricity, or to perform infrastructure construction. Ta’ayush participants have gone to these communities and helped to pave roads. When Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian home of a widow and her nine children, Ta’ayush rebuilt it. 

Although the group formed to cross psychological barriers, the occupation and the wall made the movement about crossing physical boundaries as well. Bronner expressed concern for the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories because he foresees the wall’s completed construction will turn these communities into ghettoes, with life at subterranean levels. 

However, he believes the planting of olive tree saplings is most symbolic of the Ta’ayush movement. As the trees have grown, so has the potential for change. 

Sonia Nettnin is a journalist who writes about social, political, economic, and cultural issues. Her focus is the Middle East.
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