Palestinian peace activist promotes nonviolence, compromise

Nonviolence, open dialogue and compromise are the way to freedom for the Palestinian nation, Ali Abu Awwad, a Palestinian nonviolent peace activist in the West Bank, said in a lecture Sunday.

The lecture was cosponsored by the Center for Jewish Life, the Muslim Student Association, Tigers for Israel, J Street U and the Princeton Committee on Palestine.

Maya Rosen ’17 and Joshua Leifer ’17 helped bring Awwad to the University through personal connections. They met with Awwad while taking a gap year in Israel through a program that brings Jewish students to meet with Palestinian leaders.

Rosen said it is the first time so many groups have come together to host an event and was glad for the high turnout rate.

Awwad, born in 1972, grew up in the West Bank with a Palestinian refugee family. His mother was an activist and inspired him to be politically aware from a young age.

He was first arrested at the age of 17 for throwing stones and, while in prison, took part in a hunger strike for 17 days with his mother. They striked with 5,000 Palestinian women to demand better prison conditions.

Awwad said that the hunger strike taught him the power of nonviolence.

“You don’t attack him physically, you fight his thoughts, his anger, his fear," Awwad said. "You don’t fight him as a person, you fight his value.”

Awwad said the prison was his university because he sat in a circle with other inmates every day to discuss international issues.He also studied politics, psychology, English, Hebrew and came under the influence of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela.

After he was released, Awwad worked to transform the Palestinian nation. He said nonviolent movement by the Palestinians would lead the way to freedom.

“Violence is not the language. I promise you, violence is the consequences of suffering and fear,” Awwad said. “I refuse to be part of continuation of suffering because I know what does it mean to lose someone.”

After his brother, Yousef, was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier, Awwad joined the Bereaved Families Forum, which brings together people from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who have lost loved ones. While we cannot forgive the past, he said, we also cannot be stuck in it.

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Awwad said a lasting solution requires open dialogue and compromises on both sides.

“It’s a place for two truths to fit. We want peace. We don’t want to and we can’t keep killing each other,” Awwad said. “It’s the mission of both nations to create peace. It’s not just about politicians, I promise you.”

He concluded his talk by encouraging the audience to participate in the mass movement by writing to their congressmen and becoming messengers by visiting the Middle East.

“You can do anything. Yes, I will advise you to create a campaign, a joint campaign here,” Awwad said. “It’s so important for you, for us, because your joint voices can be listened, especially for these congressmen.”

Awwad spoke in Whig Senate Chamber at 1 p.m. to an audience of 60 students and community members. He is currently on a speaking tour and will remain in the United States until Oct. 14.