By Luisa Morgantini
The human chain around Jerusalem in December 1989 was an historic event that was strongly supported by the Italian peace movement. We called it Time for Peace, and it was organized by PLO Palestinians, Israelis from Peace Now, Hadash, Women in Black, and various internationals, mainly Italians (over 1,200 Italians out of 1,300 internationals). They called for recognition of the PLO and self-determination for the Palestinian people: two states for two peoples. The police violently attacked the demonstration: an Italian woman activist lost an eye, and dozens were injured. In Italy, in the last major demonstrations, more than 100,000 people paraded through the streets of Rome, driven by the same motivation that had prompted the human chain in Jerusalem. The following years brought the Gulf wars, divisions in the pacifist world, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Oslo Accords. At some point, peace was thought to have broken out. Instead, we entered a period that opened the door to wars in the Middle East and the continuing policy of colonization and apartheid in occupied Palestine. The Oslo Accords showed their reality, a trap for the Palestinians, closure of Jerusalem for the Palestinians, abundant checkpoints, and the division into areas A, B, and C that created de facto bantustans.
Meanwhile, Israeli hasbara intensified and lobbied the institutional arena and the media with a narrative that presented an upside-down world: Israelis were always victims who had to defend themselves against the terrorist actions of Palestinian extremist groups. With the advent of the second Intifada and after Sharon’s provocative walk on Al-Haram al-Sharif, we organized Action for Peace, in which hundreds of Italians came to Palestine to make peaceful interpositions to defend the civilian population from soldier attacks. We were present in nearly all the cities under curfew.
Hamas’s nefarious choice to organize suicide bombing actions against civilians contributed greatly to the reduction of the solidarity movement with Palestine. But the growth of populism and the turn to the right in Italy and Europe have also been instrumental.
In 2010, we founded AssoPacePalestina
and continued to support the movement of Palestinian Popular Committees that opposed the construction of the Wall. Through their nonviolent popular resistance, the Palestinian narrative came to the fore. Bilin, Nabi Saleh, Budros, the Jordan Valley, and the hills south of Hebron with At-Tuwani became, through the testimonies of the protagonists we invited to Italy, witnesses of Palestinian resilience and resistance.
AssoPacePalestina has since become a national organization, which is very important because the solidarity committees – except for the BDS campaign of which we are a part – are usually local committees.
We support the self-determination of the Palestinian people, and we try to make known the truth, helped by those who join us on knowledge and solidarity trips to Palestine. Participants have numbered in the thousands over all these years. A pillar of our activities is to raise awareness of the vibrant Palestinian culture: we organize exhibitions, film screenings, theater performances, and events, thereby aiming to break the stereotype that depicts Palestinians as either victims or extremists.
Our campaigns revolve around denouncing Israel’s violations of international law, settler aggression, and pogroms. We demand freedom for Palestinian prisoners and protest house demolitions, extraterritorial assaults, and extrajudicial executions. We advocate for an end to the Gaza embargo and for Israel and its rulers to finally be brought before the International Criminal Court.
We will continue on this path, lobbying our governments, aware of the complicity of the European Union, the United Nations, and our government with Israel’s policies of colonization, occupation, and apartheid.
The path is not easy, and we have not yet had many successes. But we are on the right side, and thus it’s worth it!
