Resistance and the Evolution of Nonviolent Activism | Issa Amro

Issa Amro never wanted to be an activist. But when his university was occupied by the Israeli army and his dream of becoming an engineer came to a halt, Issa’s journey as a human rights defender and leader of nonviolent activist groups began.

Issa is among a growing number of Palestinians who have embraced non-violent means of protesting Israel’s military occupation and expanding settlements, and who are increasingly finding those avenues of dissent blocked. 

The right to freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sets out in broad terms the human rights of all people. Exercising these rights - without fear or unlawful interference - is central to living in an open and fair society; one in which people can access justice and enjoy their human rights. Yet governments around the world routinely punish and imprison people for speaking out, even though almost every country’s constitution refers to the value of ‘free speech’. 

In this episode, we lay down the backdrop of Issa’s story: the history of the Palestine-Israeli conflict and how the establishment and expansion of the State of Israel resulted in the expulsion of 325,000 Palestinian residents. We dive into trends in silencing non-violent resistance, and unpack how ‘active citizenship’ is fundamental to building a just, peaceful and prosperous society for all.

Featuring policy and advocacy insights from expert: Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch and Avner Gvaryahu, Executive Director at Breaking the Silence.

The Elders Special Segment Guest: Hina Jilani, Member of The Elders, Pioneering Lawyer and Human Rights Advocate.

Hosted by: Hazami Barmada, Founder & CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation.

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FOR ADDITIONAL LEARNING ON THIS TOPIC, download our free educational toolkit and "policy deep-dive" document. We invite you to use this episode/toolkit for continued learning, advocacy and activism.

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Speaker Biographies:

ISSA AMRO is a Human Rights Defender, Activist & Founder of Youth Against Settlements

Issa Amro is a human rights defender from the West Bank city of Hebron, where violent extremist Israeli settlers have occupied the heart of the Palestinian city since 1967. Just in 2012, he was arrested more than 20 times for his human rights work, and Amro is currently facing 18 charges in Israeli military court for his nonviolent activism against the Israeli occupation, for which he may spend years in Israeli prison. In 2017, he was arrested and tortured by the Palestinian Authority over the questionable Electronic Crimes Act, yet was released after hunger strike and international campaigning. Currently, the Israel as well as the PA are attempting to persecute and imprison Amro. In 2017, 36 British MP's and 30 Members of the U.S. Congress including Senator Bernie Sanders wrote letters calling on Israel to end its persecution of Amro. Amro trains youth in Hebron to document human right abuses and engage in nonviolent direct action resistance. In 2007, he established the Youth Against Settlements center, after preventing settlers from occupying the property, and in 2014, he helped establish a kindergarten for children who otherwise had to cross a checkpoint to reach school. In 2019, he established a group of volunteers to monitor kids going to school and to protect them from harassment from soldiers and settlers. Same year, he founded the Karamti women's empowerment community center in a heavily occupied part of Hebron. Amro has been campaigning continuously to challenge the closures, restrictions and human rights violations in the city. Amro has been officially recognized as a Human Rights Defender by the UN, EU, Amnesty International and more. Amnesty International is calling on Israel to drop the charges against Amro and says if convicted he will be declared a prisoner of conscience. Amro has been published in the Guardian, the Nation, the Hill, the Forward and more. Twitter: @Issaamro 

OMAR SHAKIR is Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, investigates human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Prior to his current role, he was a Bertha Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he focused on US counterterrorism policies, including legal representation of Guantanamo detainees. As the 2013-14 Arthur R. and Barbara D. Finberg Fellow at Human Rights Watch, he investigated human rights violations in Egypt, including the Rab’a massacre, one of the largest killings of protesters in a single day. A former Fulbright Scholar in Syria, Omar holds a JD from Stanford Law School, where he co-authored a report on the civilian consequences of US drone strikes in Pakistan as a part of the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic, an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Affairs, and a BA in International Relations from Stanford. He speaks English and Arabic. Twitter: @omarsshakir, @hrw

AVNER GVARYAHU is Executive Director of Breaking the Silence

Avner Gvaryahu, 1985 , was born in the Israeli city of Rehovot and raised in the religious- Zionist community. During his army service, he served in the special forces of the paratroopers brigade, where he attained the rank of staff sergeant. A year after he was discharged he joined Breaking the Silence as a researcher and tour guide with a focus on working with world Jewry and later became director of the Public Outreach. Since August of 2017 he is the organization's Executive Director. Avner holds a B.A. in Social Work from Tel Aviv University and an M.A from the Institute for the Study of Human Rights in Columbia University NY. Twitter: @AGvaryahu, @BtSIsrael

HINA JILANI is a member of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.

Hina Jilani is a pioneering lawyer and human rights defender. As an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, she has conducted many landmark cases setting new human rights standards in the country. She created Pakistan’s first all-women law firm and co-founded Pakistan’s first legal aid centre. She also founded its national Human Rights Commission and the Women's Action Forum, a prominent pressure group at the heart of Pakistan's democracy movement. She was the first Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders from 2000 to 2008. Hina Jilani currently serves as President of the World Organisation Against Torture, co-chair of the World Refugee Council and co-chair of the Task Force on Justice.

HAZAMI BARMADA is the Founder and CEO of the Humanity Lab Foundation and Executive Producer and Host of the Finding Humanity Podcast

Hazami is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and public affairs and social impact expert recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for many leading global brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Aspen Institute, and the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. She served as the Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit, an Advisor to the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Envoy, as as a member of the UN's SDG Strategy Hub. Hazami has a Masters from Harvard University where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA from Rhodes College in Anthropology and Sociology. Twitter @hazamibarmada; Instagram @hazami

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