Source: Seid, Tim, Quaker Life, November/December 2010, p34, Richmond, Indiana
Quakers who have become accustomed to the acronyms of Friends (FUM, FGC, AFSC) will feast from a different bowl of alphabet soup (AlC, ISM, ICAHD) in this important resource on Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent activism.
Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta is a Quaker-Jewish activist who works among Jews and Quakers in social issues and nonviolence training in the Vancouver area. Her role as a translator for the Alternative Information Center in the Jerusalem
office for seven years (1988-95) has given her insight into the people and groups working in the region for an end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Maxine then traveled to Israel/Palestine three times from 2003-7, to interview over 100 people in consultation with key figures in Israel and Palestine, in order to tell their story about why nonviolent activism is the preferred method for working against the Israeli occupation; how Palestinians, Israelis and internationals have worked together; and what their hopes are for future peace.
The first part of the book begins with two chapters describing the personal choice Palestinians and Israelis made regarding nonviolence and the recent history of those actions since the First Intifada and before. The second part is devoted to the practice of nonviolence and the strategies that have been used.
Part three looks toward the future of creating even more effective strategies and what various individuals think might be the future for the region. Finally, the last section includes some very insightful assessment by individuals like Jeff Halper and Jonathan Kuttab.
This book is not just for activists but for anyone with some knowledge of the history of the region interested in learning more about the people and organizations struggling together for peace and justice in the land. A paperback version is in progress.
Tim Seid
Richmond, Indiana
