Jackson Free Press

It was one of those gatherings you don't see very often in Jackson. Three young international peace protesters—"radicals," you could call them—carried copies of "World War III," a radical New York comic zine, into First Christian Church, where they talked to a couple dozen rapt, and maybe radical, Jacksonians about why the U.S. should not support the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

"In the U.S., you hear from mostly 'Christian Zionists,'" said George Qassi, a Palestinian Christian resident of Bethlehem who promotes non-violence. "They believe you're helping God by supporting the state of Israel." Qassi and friends were passing through Jackson on a multi-city Palestine Truth Tour 2003 to try to convince Americans to withdraw support for Israel's occupation of Palestine, which has grown by 34 new settlements since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took office. They described Palestinians as living in "apartheid" conditions.

The young Israeli woman did most of the talking. Ora Wise has hip, unrestrained, frizzy hair, and she toys with her thumb ring as she demonstrates her wisdom about the crisis in Israel. The daughter of a Rabbi, she was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Ohio and now lives in New York City.

Wise blasted the U.S. media for what she said is a skewed view of the Middle Eastern conflict: "You see few images of Israeli brutality in the press here." Wise was blunt about compulsory military service in Israel: "We never talk about how Israeli parents dress up their kids in uniforms, give them Uzis and send them out into stolen land." She argued that too many Israelis—but not all—use the beliefs of being "chosen people" in their "promised land" for the wrong reason: "That doesn't justify brutality."

The speakers responded to the suggestion that criticizing Israeli policies can easily get one branded an anti-Semite. "No, I'm doing all I can to prevent anti-Semitism," Wise said. She emphasized that being a proud Jew doesn't mean accepting Israel's occupation of Palestinian land. She encouraged people who question the occupation to speak out even in face of the type of anger she had faced from some Jewish listeners the day before when speaking in Pensacola, Fla., but not that day in Jackson. "You can't back down. Those of us with a complex analysis of race, who are right on, must be involved and speak out," she said after the talk. "Critical thinkers must speak out."

The trio ended up in Jackson thanks to the efforts of Sharry Mathews, 33, who has been in Jackson with her husband, Jihad Abbasi, since 1997. The couple met in Jerusalem where she was working with the Methodist Church and he, a Palestinian, was trying to start a pro-Democracy newspaper. They ended up in Jackson when she came here to work for her former employer, Habitat for Humanity. The couple is a strong advocate for Palestine, and she found the Solidarity protesters through the Internet, started corresponding and became friends. When she heard they would be in the South to speak, she invited them to pass through Jackson to spread some seeds here as well. "Most people don't realize this is a growing movement. I'd like to piggyback on this," she said as her toddler daughter ran around the room.

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— Donna Ladd