Boycotting and supporting the resistance from within

Dear Friend,

Mattan here. In 2017, I refused to take part in the Israeli occupation, and I spent 110 days in prison. A couple of weeks ago, the United Kingdom announced that it will implement sanctions and a trade ban on products from Israeli settlements and companies which operate in the Occupied West Bank over the upcoming months. Boycotting can be a very effective action against the occupation. Personally, I see this as a welcomed move by the UK. However, international pressure will be much stronger if it’s coupled with strong resistance from within — to disrupt and end the occupation. That is why Resistance Solidarity Network builds a community to support the Jewish and Palestinians who resist the Israeli occupation.

The Israeli occupation does not exist in a vacuum. It exists because of passive and active cooperation from Israeli society and the international community. Israel depends on international trade, from appliances, cars, and food to weapons. Without imports and exports, it will be hard to sustain the occupation. It will put strong pressure on Israel to end the occupation. Although boycotting the settlements is an effective action, it has many problems: it is narrow, it may take years to implement, it could be changed by a new government, and it leaves much of the economic infrastructure that sustains the occupation untouched.

The fight against apartheid in South Africa taught us the importance of resisting oppression from outside and within. Anti-apartheid South African activists resisted from within and cracked their society's cooperation with the regime. They led massive disobedience actions that disrupted the regime and made it hard for the international community to ignore it and not take action. Together, they made it impossible for the apartheid regime to continue.

This is why we, in the Resistance Solidarity Network, put so much emphasis on amplifying, voices of resisters. By sharing their stories, people hear about their actions, get inspired to act in their home country and support the resisters in Israeli/Palestine. Like that, we support growing the resistance from within and from without so we can end the occupation.

The more we are, the more people hear the resisters' stories, the more action people take in their home countries, the more support the resisters receive, the closer we get to ending the occupation.

In solidarity,

Mattan Helman

Team Coordinator

Resistance Solidarity Network