Several days ago, I wrote about the Academy Award winning documentary, “No Other Land.” The movie has not found a company to distribute it in this country, which speaks volumes about the repression of news about the genocide in Gaza, and the threat the movie is seen as by those in power.
Settler violence and the destruction of homes in Masafer Yatta continues.
In response to not having a distribution partner, “No Other Land” can be seen in this country for a short time at this link: https://supportmasaferyatta.com/nootherland
Basel Adra, co-director of the film, has a vision to establish a center to support community resilience and empowerment. At the core of this initiative will be youth education programs that support the next generation of storytellers and ambassadors of the region. The center will also support women’s empowerment efforts, food sovereignty projects, and psychological support for the communities. Donate below to be a part of making this vision a reality. We are grateful for your support and excited to update you as we launch this effort.
What follows is the story of the interconnections between “No Other Land”, Masafer Yatta, the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, and the Tent of Nations.
Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV)
In the process of learning more about the ongoing destruction of homes in Masafer Yatta which “No Other Land” is about, I learned about the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. https://cjnv.org/
The Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV) is supporting the Masafer Yatta community. Masafer Yatta is the home of Basel Adra, one of the filmmakers of “No Other Land.” Basel speaks of the importance of the support from CJNV in the video The Story of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence
Founding Story
The entire premise of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence is that there’s power in using our privilege as Jews from the Diaspora to resist the occupation in solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent activists.
On May 19, 2014, the Israeli army uprooted hundreds of fruit trees on Daoud Nassar’s family farm, the Tent of Nations, located just south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The Tent of Nations is an internationally known educational and environmental meeting center where people from around the world come together. The Nassar family has lived on this land for the last century, despite efforts by the Israeli government to displace them.
When Daoud was asked how Jews around the world could support his family, he replied: come replant the trees with us in a show of solidarity, to demonstrate that the Israeli Army’s bulldozers don’t represent your Jewish values.
Nine months later, in February 2015, twenty-five Jews from the US, Canada and Europe spent a week replanting trees on the farm and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence was born.
The Center for Jewish Nonviolence was founded on the idea that solidarity between Jewish and Palestinian communities is both powerful and necessary to build a just future.
These are some of the images related to the Tent of Nations that were on display at the recent Midyear Meeting of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative).
unflinching 