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To read this January 22, 2010 examiner.com article by Deborah Dupre’,  please click on the link: examiner

Join us on March 5th and 6th at the AFSC for Awaken Your Imagination, an experiential workshop for anyone seeking personal or social change.

For details and registration information, click on the link: AFSC Workshop

Click on the links below to hear the corresponding radio interviews.

Hector Aristizabal on KPFK – 11th January, 2010

Vivien Sansour on Raising Sand Radio – 18th October, 2009

Coming Soon

Beneath the Blindfold is a human rights documentary that tells the personal stories of four torture survivors from around the world. It is hoped that through the voices of these survivors, torture will not remain an abstract practice, but will become a part of our everyday conscious.

Co-directed by independent filmmakers Ines Sommer and Kathy Berger, Beneath the Blindfold follows these courageous survivors in their daily lives, allowing viewers to witness the long-term impact that torture has had on them individually, as well as on their families and communities.  Beneath the Blindfold sensitively paints a holistic portrait of the survivors’ experiences, their path to healing, and life after torture.

For more information, please click on the link below:

Beneath the Blindfold

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, cofounder of Shomer Shalom Network for Jewish Nonviolence and The Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center, NY, talks about her decision to attend the Gaza Freedom March in Cairo.

Operation Cast Lead was a massacre filled with thousands of heart breaking stories. Each of the 1400 persons killed represents an entire world. Yes, it is also a war crime to fire kassam rockets into Israel with the intention to kill civilians. Over 2,000 rockets and 1,600 mortar shells were fired into Israel in 2008 alone. Some among the Palestinian population use armed force to resist Israeli’s military occupation and blockade of Gaza and the West Bank. According to international law, armed resistance against illegal occupation can be considered a just cause, as long as the rules of war are observed. However, as a person committed to nonviolence, I view the use of militarism by states or non-state actors to ensure security or resist occupation as a self-defeating strategy that promotes more violence and suffering and does not, in the end, result in well-being or peace for beleaguered populations. However, for those who believe in the use of military force as a viable option, Israel’s response to kassam attacks went far beyond legal and ethical boundaries. The much maligned Goldstone report proved beyond reasonable doubt that Israel intentionally targeted civilians and civilian institutions with deadly weapons. This is nothing new.

Operation Cast Lead made clear that the sixty year Israeli military siege of the people of Palestine has increased in brutality and ferocity. Sixty years of evidence that includes eye-witness reports, analysis of video, satellite and photographic images, medical reports, forensic analysis of weapons and ammunition remnants, and the written observations and testimony of thousands of witnesses from Palestine, Israel and the international community reveal a continual pattern of continuous assault that has very little to do with Israel’s claim of ‘security’. Rather, the end game is creating ‘facts on the ground’ that establish a Jewish state from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea which limits Palestinians to 20% of the national population. Israel employs forced displacement, blockade, air strike, land mines, rubber bullets, white phosphorous, dime bombs, torture, beating and sexual humiliation, arbitrary arrest and administrative detention of minors and adults, water and land theft, Jewish only roads, hundreds of military checkpoints, security fences, nightly incursions, human shields, collaborators, deportation, permit systems, denial of access to economic opportunity, health care, culture and education, targeting of sewage and electricity plants and water installations, uprooting of thousands of trees and the destruction of thousands of homes to force the remaining Palestinian population into small enclosed areas that can only be described as open air prisons. Ariel Sharon described these enclaves designated as the future Palestinian State as ‘bantustans’. In short, all these tactics amount to what is considered the crime of apartheid for the sake of creating a state that awards national and civil privileges based on Jewish identity while confining the excess non-Jewish population to their own ‘homeland’. This is the ugly truth that is so hard for Jewish people and millions of so-called Christian Zionists to face. Anyone who spends a day in Palestinian territories sees this truth immediately. The so-called two state solution which is based on this vision of reality is hardly viable or legal. People will not and cannot endure oppression forever. Our own history should teach us this lesson. The question is, how does an oppressed people change the situation on the ground and open history to new possibilities.

Those who both decry Palestinian armed resistance and the option of boycott, divestment and sanctions can’t have it both ways. Once you accept the fact that Israel’s behavior toward Palestinians falls into the category of the crime of apartheid, BDS is the logical and ethical nonviolent response. If any other state were engaged in similar behavior, BDS would be an acceptable form of resistance, as it was in the case of South Africa. Forty years of dialogue and negotiation with Israelis and Jews clearly has not worked to advance the cause of self-determination for Palestinians. The situation on the ground is far worse than ever before. The two state solution and all the peace plans and road maps have been undermined by the systematic effort to enclose Palestinians in bantustans and deny them civil and national rights. In this context, further efforts at dialogue only benefit those with privilege, unless they are accompanied by strategies of resistance to the systematic inequality Palestinians face on a daily basis.

While J Street and associated partners are a much appreciated alternative voice within the Jewish community to the AIPAC machine, they have thus far failed to address the concerns nor partner with Palestinians in their own struggle for human and equal rights. As Jews, we have to recognize that we are not going to be the ones who determine the direction of the Palestinian nonviolent struggle for freedom. What we can and should do, is find ways of acting in solidarity with that struggle by joining the Palestinian initiated international effort to use boycott, divestment and sanctions to force Israel to comply with international law and end the siege of Gaza and the illegal occupation of Palestine. We can also support those within Israel who are resisting the oppressive actions of their own state. We cannot truly work on this issue without understanding the meaning of resistance in our lives.  For Jews, I believe resistance requires serious study and practice of the Torah of Nonviolence. Nonviolence is the only way forward. Accepting the violence perpetrated against Palestinians will destroy our beautiful tradition. By struggling in solidarity with those who oppose militarism and support boycott, divestment and sanctions we are also renewing the most sacred elements of our tradition that require us to protest in the street, pursue justice and peace and avoid violence. It is not an easy road.

Boycott is a strategy capable of being used for good and for bad. In this case, I believe that BDS is the only viable nonviolent method that can impact   ‘facts on the ground’.  All of us who love freedom, justice and peace, all of us who love the people of Israel and the people of Palestine have a profound responsibility to act in alignment with the people who are the actual victims in this situation. They are calling for BDS. That is why I went to Cairo and created the Interfaith Gaza Satyagraha as an affinity group within the Gaza Freedom March, to join my voice with theirs.

As the only rabbi present in Cairo for the entire GFM experience, I was honored to stand with hundreds of other activists from over forty nations, many of whom spoke to me of their commitment to oppose anti-semetism wherever it emerged. I spent ten days planning actions, protesting in the streets, talking about next steps, networking and envisioning. At one point, American Jews organized a protest in front of the Israeli Embassy which is fifteen stories above the street and visible only by the familiar blue and white flag. I was asked to lead a Sabbath service. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Egyptians and internationals of all persuasions stood round a simple kiddish cup, Egyptian flat bread and candles. I invited participants to envision a world where everyone could find a seat at the table and eat, unafraid. We sang and prayed in Hebrew in public and I saw tears flow. Standing among the crowd was a man with a Palestinian father and a Sephardic Israeli mother. He wept in joy because, for one instant, the worlds of conflict stretching across the borders of his soul could dissolve in a single vision of unification and peace.  So may it be for all of us, Palestinian and Jew, living together on the same land in recognition of our common love for place and each other. Palestinians have the right to return to their own land, or receive just compensation.

Only a ‘solution’ which ensures ‘the right to exist’ and universal human rights of all people living on the historic land of Israel/Palestine will suffice. The children of the future will see the world very differently than those of us living now. They will face new challenges and inherit a new sense of globalism which hopefully strengthens the religious, cultural and national heritage of both Palestinians and Israelis in a renewed culture of peace. It is up to us to prepare the way.

Dear Friends of IMAGINACTION,

Happy New Year! As we wrap up 2009 we wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the year. This past year has been exciting and has taken us to new places, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and Ireland. We are proud that our work is part of a global movement that supports peace through justice and alternatives to violence.

This year Hector Aristizabal was invited by several organizations to two European tours where he performed his solo piece “Nightwind” and offered his unique and innovative blend of Theater of The oppressed and Awakening the Imagination trainings.

In October 2009 Hector co-created and co-directed a new Forum theater piece “Under Pressure” with Luc Opdebeeck , director of FORMAAT. “Under Pressure” deals with coma drinking and addiction among the youth in the Netherlands. The play, which premiered in October, has been scheduled for over 200 performances in schools and Juvenal facilities in Holland.

One of the major highlights of this year is the expansion of our work into Afghanistan. Hector was invited to Afghanistan by FES (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung) ICTJ (International Center for Transitional Justice) and AHRDO (Afghan Human Rights & Democracy Organization) for 3 weeks Hector led Theatre for Social Change workshops with women and community activists.  As Hector puts it, “I was honored to meet many courageous Afghan human rights activists working with victims of war, orphans, women, mental health providers, teachers and professional actors.”  While most of the work was in Kabul, Hector also conducted workshop in Herat where he worked with “Voices of Women” the organization founded by Suraya Pakzad, recipient of the 2008 International Women of Courage Award. “Voices of Women” is committed to providing Afghan women shelter, counseling and job training.

In Afghanistan, Hector had the honor of working with his longtime friend and T.O. colleague, Marc Weinblatt from The Mandala Center for Change USA, and Playback Theatre specialist, Karin Gisler, from Switzerland. The 7- week program in Afghanistan was envisioned and organized by Hjalmar Joffre-Eichhorn.

As part of our culture-bridging work Vivien Sansour offered three successful classes in Arabic language and culture in Los Angeles and Orange County and performed some of her new work at American Friends Service Committee “Colors of the Arab World” exhibit among other places.         Both Vivien Sansour and Hector Aristizabal participated in this year’s encounter of TO practitioners in CTORIO, the center created by Augusto Boal who unfortunately died in May of this year, a few months before this unprecedented encounter of nearly 100 practitioners from all over the world who have been inspired by his revolutionary methods.

As in past years we continued offering basic training and technical assistance to on-going projects in Colombia and Palestine, which we aim to increase in this coming year of 2010.

Hector continued offering his yearly intense trainings at Pendle Hill, the AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) and The Ojai Foundation. He was also invited to do his work at Oberlin College,  DeAnza College, Foothill College, Swarthmore College, and University of Michigan.

Many of us at Imaginaction returned this year to Fort Benning, Georgia to make giant puppets and participate in the SOAW vigil to close the School of the Assassins. We participated in bringing imagination to other similar peace marches in the Los Angeles area including Free Gaza Vigils, The World Peace March, and the Martin Luther King Parade.  Our own Johnny Zeremeh is currently editing a documentary based on Imaginaction’s street theater and activism.

Finally we have participated in several conferences throughout the year doing presentations, performances and Imaginaction workshops. Recently we were in Barcelona at the Teatro y Salud Mental organized by Forn de teatre Pa’tothom, the Social work and Spirituality conference and the 15th Annual PTO conference. We are pleased to announce that Hector is now member of the PTO board of directors helping organize the 2010 PTO conference in Austin, Texas.

What About The New Year?

Vivien Sansour is working with theatre director, Naomi Newman, on a new piece based on dreams, drawings, personal story, and her poetry.

Hector has been invited to return to Derry, Northern Ireland to develop a 4 week intense program working with two different communities (Protestant and Catholic) dealing with the tensions of a the recent violent killing of a Catholic man.

We are working with FORMAAT to create a 4-week intense training in the West Bank and Gaza.

One of Hector’s dreams is to be able to return to his native Medellin, Colombia and continue offering sustainable trainings to the young leaders at Red Juveniles and other community based organizations so we are working on making his dream come true by fundraising and organizing with locals on the ground in Colombia!

In the Spring, Lantern Books will publish The Blessing Next to the Wound by Hector and Diane Lefer, the story of his surviving civil war and torture in Colombia, his exile in the US, and accounts of seeking healing for himself and others through activism and art. They are also contributors to the forthcoming anthology, Peace Movements Worldwide (Greenwood/Praeger) and they have been invited to write about Imaginaction’s theory and practice for an anthology about new approaches inspired by Boal.

Diane has fiction on political themes scheduled for publication this year in The Ampersand, Evening Street Review, Platte Valley Review, and Santa Monica Review. Her articles about prisons and the juvenile justice system appear in LA Progressive. Beginning in January, she will lead creative writing workshops for adjudicated youth in Los Angeles which ties in well with Imaginaction’s upcoming collaboration with the Youth Justice Coalition, a youth-led organization that represents hundreds of thousands of young people who have, at some point, been in the custody of the State.

Finally, we are thrilled to announce that Imaginaction is now officially an incorporated non-profit organization that can receive tax-deductible contributions. If you feel inspired by the work we do and would like to make a tax-deductible contribution please contact us!

We wish all of you a wonderful New Year and we hope that this coming year will bring us closer to a world more just!

Warm Regards,

Imaginaction Board of Directors

If you want to look at photos of this year’s SOAW vigil at Fort Benning Georgia. Please notice the wonderful puppets we were able to bring to life inspired by the Six Jesuit Priests, their housekeeper and her 14 year old daughter. These martyrs were assassinated by the Salvadorian army 20 years ago.

Linda Panetta’s photos

Tom Bottolene’s photos

ImaginAction photos

Hector Aristizabal will be traveling to Afghanistan from September 30 to October 13, 2009 and offering advance Theater of the Oppressed workshops with ICTJ (International Center for Transitional Justice) and FES (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung- Afghanistan) and other Human Rights organizations.

These workshops are for preselected participants but if you wish to participate please contact Hector Aristizabal at haristizabal60@earthlink.net or the organizer Hjalmar Joffre-Eichorn at hjoffre-eichhorn@ictj.org.

1 October – Introductory conference for the ToT
2 October – YLF Workshop
3 October – Performance “Nightwind”
4-8 October – Advanced Theatre of the Oppressed Training
9-13 October – Voice of Women Theatre Workshop in Herat

Update! January 14, 2010

Click here for photos

Augusto Boal’s Legacy Lives On

Posted By admin On May 6, 2009 @ 9:39 am In Feature Stories

URL to article: http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=7650