A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of watching Palestinians successfully graze their sheep near Avigail settlement, on land where they are regularly attacked and harassed. The joy I felt in seeing my friends and partners grazing on their land was overwhelming. Sitting on the hill and eating lunch together felt like having a party.

As the day drew to an end, one of the Palestinian leaders excitedly explained to me the strategy he had used in dealing with the army and settlers that morning. Mahmoud told me how, even though the army had declared the area a closed military zone, he firmly stood up for his rights. He explained how he pretended to slowly begin to comply with the military order, all the while challenging the soldiers and insisting on his right to graze his sheep. Eventually, he said, the army lost control of the situation and gave in. When he finished his description, Mahmoud turned to me and grinned. "I read in a book that this is called nonviolence," he said, laughing.

When President Obama called on Palestinians to practice nonviolence, I laughed just like Mahmoud. Palestinians like Mahmoud have never needed to be told about nonviolence. The English word may be unfamiliar but the steadfast, daily acts of resistance known as nonviolence are nothing new. In the South Hebron hills, Palestinians face Israeli soldiers and violent Israeli settlers who are illegally expanding their settlements and attacking Palestinians, including children walking to school. In response to this profound injustice, Palestinians are organizing demonstrations, refusing to comply with military orders, filing complaints against settlers, and courageously working their land despite the risk of arrest and attack. They don't need President Obama to tell them to practice nonviolence.

From the British Mandate to the first intifada, to the loose-knit but powerful community-based movement of today, Palestinians have practiced nonviolent resistance for the last 60 years. Certainly, it's inaccurate to omit armed resistance from Palestinian history, but it is equally false to claim that Palestinians are unfamiliar with nonviolence. President Obama missed the point in his Ciaro speech - Palestinians do not need to admonished towards peacefulness. It's radical settlers and Israel's government who do.

Instead of preaching to Palestinians, Obama should insist emphatically on the dismantlement of illegal Israeli settlements and law enforcement against violent settlers, like those living in the South Hebron Hills. After decades of Israeli military occupation, it is time for a US president to call on Israel to stop its violence towards Palestinians.

Shameless Self-Promotion

On Friday April 25th, at 6:30, please join the BroadArts Theatre artists, board and volunteers for the first in our series of "Conversations With Extraordinary Women" Salons. BroadArts is creating this series of Salons, featuring local 'wonderbroads' who are making our world more equal, peaceful, compassionate and just.This first Salon will focus on community peacemaking and peacemakers, and will feature members of BroadArts Theatre's BroadBand singing satirical and serious social justice songs, along with conversation with the audience and our special guest.

Our special guest April 25th is Joy Ellison, of Vancouver, Washington, who is currently serving her second year as a Christian Peacemaker Team member in the south Hebron hills of At-Tuwani. CPT in At-Tuwani. CPT accompanies Palestinian shepherds, farmers and school children in the area around Israel's Ma’on settlement and its outposts.

The first "Conversations With Extraordinary Women" Salon will be held at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Center, 1131 SE Oak at SE 12th and Pine Street, (in between Burnside and Stark Streets) in the Che' Room. The event is a potluck- please bring something to share that doesn't need to be heated nor kept cold. Recyclable plates and flatware, and locally produced juice will be provided. There is a wheelchair ramp into the building and an accessible parking space in the church parking lot. Street parking is also available: St Francis is also accessible by bus.

Other "Conversations With Extraordinary Women" Salons will be held in May and June in various quadrants of the city.

Please join us, meet this remarkable young woman and join in a conversation as to how Joy and others are participating in creating a more peaceful world.

Hello. My name is Joy and welcome to At-Tuwani!



This is a short video that I've put together introducing myself, Christian Peacemaker Teams, and the village of At-Tuwani, where I hope to be working. (It's my first video editing project, so be kind.)

I'll be working in Palestine with CPT full-time for the next few years. I will be returning home periodically and when I'm here, I'm always excited to speak. If you're interested in scheduling a presentation, send an email to bltreyn AT hevanet DOT com

Announcing:

The Pacifist PotentialA Presentation of Blackfish Gallery in Portland's Pearl District

As a part of a month long art show called "The Pacifist Potential," I'll be speaking in a panel entitled "Challenging & Questioning Pacifism"

Here's the description and details:

Tuesday, June 19, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Challenging & Questioning Pacifism. A diverse panel to pose challenges to pacifism. Can it really work in solving the types of global conflicts we now face? What might our approach be to the crises in the Middle East from a pacifist mindset?

I'm planning on talking about Palestinian nonviolence and I hope that will fit in well to the panel. There are lots of other interesting panels going on, not to mention art exhibits. More details here. I feel oh so cosmopolitan for getting invited to speak at an art gallery!

I'm currently in the process of giving presentations on my experiences living in Palestine. As always, I'm looking for venues and audiences. Got any ideas?

Below is a description of my work and the presentation formats I'm comfortable with. Check it out and make note of what I am and am not willing to do. I've decided to post this information just to give potential hosts a better idea of what I can do and what I can't – I've been getting a number of requests for formats that I'm not able to provide, so I thought this might be helpful for everyone.

Thanks for helping to get the story of Palestine out to the world!

Coming Soon! Hopefully, after a bug in my blog is ironed out, I'll be embedding a calendar in the side bar to show when I am available for presentations. Check it out, comment, call or send me an email and we'll get a presentation scheduled for you!

Presentation description:

Portland resident Joy Ellison has returned from spending three months
in the West Bank supporting Palestinian nonviolent resistance. Joy
Ellison is an Earlham College graduate with a degree in Peace and
Global Studies and has traveled to many places besides Palestine,
including Northern Ireland and Bolivia. This summer marked her second
trip to Palestine, where she has spent a total of 5 and half months
working with Christian Peacemaker Teams, International Women's Peace
Service, and the Holy Land Trust. She is planning to return to
Palestine this year to continue working with Christian Peacemaker
Teams.

With photographs, maps, and video clips, Joy's presentations attempt
to bring her experiences in Palestine to life for other Americans.
She focuses on explaining the basics mechanisms of the Israeli
military occupation of Palestine and sharing how Palestinians,
Israelis and international partners are building peace through
nonviolent resistance.

I'm happy to give presentations in the following formats:
· Formal presentations: I have prepared a 45 minute – hour long powerpoint presentation with pictures and map to illustrate my experiences. I am very happy to give this presentation to groups of any size and answer questions. I think that this presentation is the most clear and informative and works well for groups with considerable or very little knowledge of the situation.

· Informal question and answer secessions: I'm very happy to speak about my work very briefly (5-10 minutes) and answer questions or participate in a discussion with a group of any size. I find that this is a good format for discussing both the political and the personal aspects of my work and works well in college classrooms, Sunday Schools, and homes.

· Host a video presentation: I have a small selection of videos about Palestine and I am very happy to introduce myself, show a video and answer questions afterwards.

· Elementary school classrooms/children's religious classes: I have designed an hour-long presentation about live in Palestine appropriate for first graders through 5th grade. The presentation focuses on the lives of Palestinian children and Palestinian culture, religion, and food. Presentations can be shortened if needed.

· Spoken messages/sermons, etc.: I am willing to prepare a message, sermon or other talk for religious gatherings or other large gatherings.

· Nonviolence trainings: I love to give nonviolence trainings focused on exploring what it means to use nonviolence to build peace and justice. Trainings, however, always require preparation, so I do request an honorarium based on the amount of preparation time I spend.

· Interviews: I am always willing to give interviews. I have selection of articles that I have written on Palestine that I can provide for publication and re-publication.

· Table/present information: I am occasionally willing to set up information and flyers about my work and the situation in Palestine, but I am selective when choosing a venue/schedule for such an event. I am, however, always very happy to pass on information so that other people can pass out information themselves.

I prefer not to:

· Lead people in mediations/prayers/silence: I'm often asked to lead times of reflection or mediation, but I strongly prefer not to do so. Because I take these times of reflection seriously, I find preparations for them to be very time consuming. I have one pre-prepared outline for such a presentation. I am only willing to led mediations if this outline will fit the desired format.

· Participate in a debate/panel discussion on Israel/Palestine: My work is focused on sharing my experiences and discussing nonviolent peacemaking, not debating the issues. I feel that there are other people who are better suited to that and I'm not sure that the format gets us anywhere. I have presented alongside other peace activists in an informal question-and-answer session and I am happy to do similar presentations.

· Tap-dance :-)