The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions

While watching the film Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, I came across the interview of Major Stav Adivi, Reserves, a supporter of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) in Israel.

The ICAHD is a non-violent organisation which was established in 1997 to resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories. Its main role is to rebuild the demolished Palestinian homes as the constructive way of resisting occupation. Major Adivi says, “We’re going to Palestinian villages and we are standing hand to hand with Palestinian people who wish to have peace with Israelis. That way a lot of Palestinians are seeing that there are other Israelis, not the ones who demolishes, but others who are rebuilding. This keeps a flame of hope for a better future.”

ICAHD estimates that more than 25 thousand Palestinian homes have been demolished in the Occupied Territories since 1967. There are mainly four types of demolitions: Punitive demolitions (houses demolished as punishment for the actions of people associated with the houses), Administrative demolitions (houses demolished for lack of a building permit), Land-clearing operations/Military demolitions (houses demolished by the IDF in the course of military operations), Undefined demolitions (many demolitions carried out between 1967-82. These include demolitions from all categories).

In January 2001, 53 Israeli reserve officers in the Israeli Defense Force publically refused to serve beyond the 1967 borders. They signed a petition stating that they would not serve in the occupied territories in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire population. Since then hundreds of Israeli officers and soldiers have joined the movement, Ometz LeSarev,Courage to Refuse. For their refusal they have paid a heavy price including serving jail time and often being labelled as traitors.

Major Adivi says that he is an Israeli patriot, “I have served for more than 25 years in the Israeli army, as a Major in the IDF. We were volunteering to do the army service in dangerous places and earned the right to say that the Occupation doesn’t serve the security of Israel. We are the military, we know what provides security. We paid with our time and energy, some of us even with our blood in order to keep Israel safe. We are saying, as patriots, as Zionist, as officers in the Israeli army, that the occupation has nothing to do with security. We have the right to say it.”

The ICAHD supports the Palestinian civil society call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions on Israel until the Occupation ends.

Since 1997, ICAHD has rebuilt 185 Palestinian homes. Since 2003 hundreds of internationals have joined ICAHD in its annual summer rebuilding camp. They have worked with Palestinians and Israelis who stand side by side, refusing to be enemies, and showing the world that they are all partners for peace.

On 23 January 2012, Israeli authorities demolished a house which was rebuilt by ICAHD with a team of international volunteers in the summer of 2011. They also demolished structures in the East Anata Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin community, displacing 52 people including 29 children. (To read what their schedule for rebuilding is, go here)