Solidarity Activism: Power and Democracy Among Israeli and Palestinian Anti-Occupation Activists.

The Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian Territories has reached its 50th anniversary, with no clear end in sight. Since the beginning of the occupation, Israeli and Palestinian activists have tried to challenge the prevailing realities through both normalized institutionalized channels and civil resistance campaigns. As of yet, these efforts have not achieved their ultimate goal of ending the occupation. However, daily resistance activities continue to be waged. Drawing from the literature on civil resistance and fieldwork in Israel/Palestine, this article will analyse the various Israeli anti-occupation campaigns that have been waged in the past seventeen years, since the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada and the collapse of the political peace process.

This study will focus specifically on the Israeli Jewish activists engaged in civil resistance campaigns against their own government, alongside and in solidarity with Palestinians activists. It will explore the power dynamics between Israeli and Palestinian activists, questioning how Israeli activists contribute to the political struggle to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. In doing so, it will consider the role and influence of a privileged group of activists acting in solidarity of an oppressed group and how this affects democracy in decision-making processes. This is relevant to all situations where privileged individuals and groups act in solidarity of others.