I am a 26 year-old woman from Philadelphia who decided to go to Palestine. Why? Because Palestine is one of the most important struggles going on today against colonialism. Many of the things we are fighting in the United States: racism and environmental racism, poverty and unemployment, are happening in Palestine. There it is easy to see the cause of these problems: Israeli occupation. Here, it is more difficult because we operate under the illusion that we are one nation of people with common interests, although that is not the case.

I traveled to Palestine and lived there from November 2002 to February 2003. A lot of my preconceptions were shattered. It does get cold in that part of the world. I never could have imagined the actual conditions of occupation and its effect on people’s daily lives. The restriction on their movement, the confiscation of their land and water resources, the killing that takes place, on a daily basis that isn’t even permitted into our newspapers. Everyday that I was there, between 2 and 10 Palestinians would be killed by the army, including Palestinian children.

If we compare what is taking place in Palestine to what that would mean in the US, it is clearly atrocious. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestine scholar, says, “We have now reached a watershed – more than 2,000 Palestinians, 85% of them civilians, have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces [between September 2001 and September 2003]. Three hundred and seventy – seven of those killed were children. If the Palestinians had the population of the USA, this would translate into 175,000 Americans killed in two years – that is 263 American deaths every single day, and 3.7 million people injured.”

What did I do in Palestine? The Palestinian people put out a call for international observers which was vetoed by the United States and Israel. So regular people from all over the world decided to get together, train ourselves, and respond to that call as nonviolent activist. Palestinians believe, and I also believe, that the presence of internationals in all sectors helps prevent human rights abuses and generally minimizes harm. With no outside eyes to observe and intervene, the Israeli army and Israeli settlers have free license to do as they please. It’s tough when your oppressor is your perpetrator, judge, jury, and executioner. But we know something about that in this country.

Anyway, I and other internationals attended demonstrations so that the army wouldn’t shoot into the crowd. I helped many families find out where their loved ones ad been taken by the army or police. I stratagized with many groups about actions and coordinated internationals to assist in maintaining a presence in key areas. I documented what I saw, with hundreds of still photographs and some digital video for the purpose of educating my fellow U.S.ers about what our tax dollars go to support.

Ultimately, the movement to end the Occupation cannot be complete until this country is radically changed. The Occupation of Palestine is happening in our name, but most people don’t even know about it. The majority of this country would much rather have our tax dollars spent on good healthcare and education for everyone, and not on funding the military infrastructure of the Israeli Occupation forces that causes a Palestinian mother to die in childbirth in an ambulance because the Israeli army won’t let her through a checkpoint.

What is international Law?
International law rose out of the ashes of World War Two. It was a concerned effort on the part of many countries in the world to ensure that the atrocities committed during that time would never happen again. It is an international body of laws and ideas that are geared toward protecting needless death and destruction. They are the result of a world taking a look at itself, realizing that something is terribly wrong, and attempting to make an effort to bring about a change. They were a very good idea and they need to be resurrected and followed.

Where is Palestine?
Palestine is in the Middle East. This is a map of Palestine showing the 1967 borders. During the war of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza and they became “occupied territories”.

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