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The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) website contains a Frequently Asked Questions section which attempts to portray them in a positive light. However, their answers confirm that they fully support the PLO Arab campaign of terror against Israel, and have scant regard for Israelis.

Here is a sample.

What is the ISM Position on Suicide Bombings?

Attacks on innocent civilians, be they Israeli or Palestinian, are forbidden under most understandings of international law and ISM seeks nothing more for Israelis and Palestinians than the implementation of international law. But besides stopping Israeli and Palestinian attacks on innocent civilians, compliance with international law requires ending a long list of Israeli violations, starting with Israelís 36 year military occupation of Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and including the occupationís cornerstones ñ construction of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, seizure and destruction of Palestinian land and homes, restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement within the Occupied Territories with checkpoints, road blocks and curfews, denial of Palestinian rights to health, education and employment, arbitrary detention and multiple forms of collective punishment.

In order to stop attacks on Israeli civilians this kind of violence, we must look at the source of violence and address that, instead of arguing about whether one act of violence is worse than another. We need to treat the disease of all the violence and not just one of its symptoms.

Occupation forces and policies are degrading and dehumanizing; they injure, kill the soul and make life near impossible for Palestinians, and this is all this even when the Israeli army is not actively attacking (e.g.,a.k.a. carrying out operations in Palestinian villages, towns and cities). We oppose the tactic of suicide bombings, especially those that have been carried out against civilian targets. We don’t however think that it is a more brutal tactic than dropping a bomb from a fighter plane on a civilian-occupied apartment building, firing a tank shell down a crowded city street, or placing dynamite in a family home. They are all brutal and repulsive acts.

That some Palestinians have turned themselves into weapons is not something inherent to Palestinians or Muslims. Rather, it is a tragic weapon of those who have nothing else to fight with. This does not justify the action, but we are certain that if the Palestinians had F-16s or Apache helicopters, they would not use their bodies and explode themselves. This does not mean the ISM calls for an escalation of weapons armament, rather the ISM maintains that all military tactics should be stopped by all sides in favor of nonviolent alternatives. Most importantly, weíve concluded from experience that as long as occupation remains, and the Palestinian people are denied freedom, human rights and self-determination, there will be those who will use violence against the underlying, systematic basic and foundational violence of the occupation

The Palestinian community is almost completely united its call for an end to violence on all sides, starting with an end to occupation. Even Hamas, the Palestinian political party that has carried out the most attacks against Israelis targets, has offered Israel a 10-year truce if Israel pulls out of Palestinian cities, towns and villages and stops attacking Palestinians.

However, anyone that decries the violence without decrying the violence of occupation is attacking symptoms instead of root causes and accepting violence in the form of occupation. The ISM seeks to bring about an end to violence by actively resisting the occupation through nonviolent means. The Israeli government has long worked to crush peaceful resistance, making it very difficult for Palestinians to act nonviolently on a large scale. We’re working to develop an alternate way of resisting (nonviolently) that can be effective. We will continue and we invite all to join us.

Summary: Suicide bombings are against international law, but so are a lot of things Israel does. It is irrelevant which form of violence is worse. We oppose suicide bombings, not on moral grounds, but only as a tactic. But for the record, Israeli actions in self-defence which do not deliberately target civilians are just as bad as the suicide bombings.

Suicide bombings are a last resort by a desperate people. It is just a shame that they do not have more sophisticated weapons, because then they wouldn’t have to explode themselves. All Israel has to do is stop acting in self-defence.

Almost all PLO Arabs are against violence, as evidenced by Hamas’s genuine offer for a ten-year truce so they can re-arm themselves.

What is the ISM doing to protect Israeli civilians?

We believe that in order for the violence and counter-violence to stop, the root cause of the conflict, Israeli military occupation and violence must be addressed. We cannot run around trying to “protect” people, be they Israelis or Palestinians, as that does not deal with the real problem. What we can do is unite our efforts against the policies that breed the violence.

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We believe that ending the occupation and achieving justice for Palestinians will bring peace for Israeli civilians. Also stronger, more successful Palestinian non-violent movement to end of the occupation similarly will provide Palestinians with a viable option to achieving justice that does not involve attacks on civilians. Unfortunately, the Israeli government does all in its power to crush Palestinian non-violent resistance, endangering Israeli civilians by leaving Palestinians with little hope and few options.

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Many Israeli citizens, realizing that their society has been misled and that this occupation is not only detrimental to Palestinians, but also for Israelis, have joined our efforts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Only by working, proactively to end the occupation, with its colonialist, racist, and discriminatory policies, and working towards the implementation of UN Resolutions and respect for international law can we ensure the protection of Israelis and Palestinians and begin working towards to peaceful future for all in this region.

Summary: We do not protect anyone, be they PLO Arabs or Israelis (although we admit in other places that we are trying to protect PLO Arabs – like here, here and here).

But we do protect Israelis by trying to sabotage their efforts at self-defence, which are the root cause of the attacks on them against which they are trying to defend themselves in the first place.

On your web-site, you give advice to volunteers on how to lie to the Israeli authorities so you can get into the country and the occupied areas. Why tell lies?

Despite the fact that the ISM is not an illegal organization in Israel, the Israeli border control authorities automatically deport anyone they suspect of having pro-Palestinian sympathies. Under both Israeli and International law, we should have the right, as international observers, to visit both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. If Israel was not preventing access, there would be no need for these deceptions which we do find distasteful. You may wonder if Israel has nothing to hide, why it is so keen to keep us out?

Summary: Our lying is Israel’s fault, like everything else. We have no other choice, just like the PLO Arabs have no other choice but to blow themselves up. The fact that we lie proves that Israel has something to hide.

You’re just anti-Semitic, aren’t you?

No. Our number of active volunteers varies, but approximately 15-20% of them are Jewish. Many Jewish organizations, both within and outside Israel, support the aims and efforts of the ISM. Two of the ISM’s founders, Neta Golan (Israeli) and Adam Shapiro (USA) are Jewish.

Summary: We are not anti-Semitic since some of our best friends are Jewish. Besides, who has ever heard of a Jewish anti-Semite?

About the author

Picture of David Lange

David Lange

A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
Picture of David Lange

David Lange

A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
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