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From Occupation to Resistance:Interview with an Israeli peace activist

March 5, 2010 by Admin

The Spark March 2010

Anti-Zionists in Wellington recently ran an exhibition of Israeli photography, entitled From Occupation to Resistance. Featuring work by photography collective ActiveStills, this exhibition highlighted the affect occupation has on Palestinians. Spark journalist Ian Anderson interviewed Kerem Blumberg, an Israeli peace activist and co-runner of this event.

Spark: How did you have the idea to hold this exhibition?

KB: Well, a lot of the photographers from ActiveStills are friends of mine in Israel. The idea was to show the NZ public images of daily life under occupation in Palestine, alongside resistance by Palestinian, Israeli and international activists.

Spark: Have you had good feedback?

KB: Really good feedback. The photos moved people, and the texts were easy to understand. We raised about $400.

Spark: How did you get involved in peace activism?
KB: I started going to demonstrations in high school, back in Israel. During the first Intifada there were riots throughout the West Bank, Gaza and in Israel. These were severely repressed. As a reaction to the Intifada, Jewish protesters attacked a mosque near my house, throwing stones at it. So I guess it was a time when you had to start figuring out where you stood. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Israel, Palestine, Uncategorized

Howard Zinn: In Memory of a Radical Historian

March 4, 2010 by Admin

On January 27^th, one of America’s most high profile progressive voices passed away. Howard Zinn, the anti-war activist and historian, wrote the first edition of A People’s History of the United States in 1980 and unlike many radical critiques of conventional history that have been published over the years, his became a bestseller, selling over 2 million copies with many schools and colleges across the country incorporating the book into their curriculum.

A People’s History injected a solid class analysis totally lacking in conventional narratives about US history, discarding the nationalist myth of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution, with the focus instead being on working people, rebelling slaves and farmers, labour radicals and the heavily marginalized indigenous. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Obituary