Budrus is a documentary about a West Bank village in which villagers succeeded in saving their land from Israeli annexation through non-violent demonstrations. The film serves as an excellent example of what effective Palestinian popular struggle should look like: inclusive of all groups including women and all political parties.
In 2004, the villagers of Budrus resisted for 10 months non-violently against the building of the Israeli annexation wall on their lands. At their peak, the demonstrations had 500 out of 1,200 villagers in attendance. In the end, the villagers successfully managed to get the wall rerouted, and saving 95% of their territory.
I recently saw the film at a live screening in the West Bank. Following the film, there was a question and answer session between the audience and Ayed Morrar, the protagonist and lead Budrus organizer. I asked a question that has been with me at all the protests I have attended in the past five months while in Palestine: why do certain villages employing non-violent strategies succeed while others fail? In this case, I asked Morrar why he thought that Budrus was able to reach its ultimate goal of re-routing the wall, while the other villages engaged in non-violent struggle have not been able to do the same.
Morrar pointed to a few reasons, namely women’s prominent role in the village’s demonstrations, as well as the ability of villagers to work together across party lines.
Morrar’s 15 year old daughter Iltezam, encapsulates the strength and determination of the village’s women. She was the first villager to succeed in getting past the Israeli border police and stopping a bulldozer from razing agricultural land by courageously jumping in front of it. This act was able to inspire the rest of the village and was important in motivating others to join the struggle.
Iltezam was responsible for organizing the women’s contingent and rallying other women to join the protests. Many women participated in the demonstrations in various ways; they threw stones at military jeeps, and stood alongside Palestinian men confronting soldiers.
Women’s presence reduced the amount of violence used by the military. Since women had not been involved since the beginning, their sudden appearance put soldiers in an unusual and awkward situation, which made them think twice about using force on the demonstrators. Soldiers were surprised and unprepared, and did not know how to deal with them. Their presence psychologically manipulated soldier’s power and might have been one of the factors that led to the eventual success of the demonstration.
Morrar’s observation rings true with my thoughts regarding other protests I have attended while in the West Bank, including Bil’in, Al Masara, Silwan (East Jerusalem), Nabi Saleh, and Beit Ommar. Only a couple of Palestinian women have been present at the demonstrations, usually one or two among fifty or more protesters. The only visible Palestinian women have been village bystanders watching as the action unfolds.
The lack of participation by half of the village’s female population diminishes the power and effectiveness of such an action. If women are not getting involved or are not encouraged to do so, it is much harder to amass a large pool of people, and confront the Israeli oppressor with enough force.
Additionally, women’s participation lessens or at least delays the use of violence by the military. Their presence plays with soldiers’ notions about who they are permitted to be rough and violent with. If other Palestinian villages exploited this reluctance and weakness on the part of the military, perhaps less force would be used, and more leeway would be given to demonstrators.
Morrar’s other point was that Budrus was able to unite across political lines, and form a broad based political movement. The film features Ahmed Awwad, a local Hamas leader who plays a major role in rallying Hamas villagers for the demonstration. This made it possible for villagers from Hamas, and Fatah to work together.
This unity is something that might be lacking at the other villages engaging in demonstrations. I often see a sea of Fatah flags, and some demonstrations have even felt like Fatah rallies. Rarely do I notice Hamas and PFLP flags represented. Could it be that other villages are not able to bridge the party divide?
It’s significant to keep in mind that Budrus’ success came way before Hamas won the election in Gaza in January 2006. Since then, tensions have dramatically risen between not only Israel and Hamas, but also the PA and Hamas. The PA has also become tremendously repressive towards non-Fatah party members. This means that the political landscape has become enormously fragmented and polarized, making it harder for different political parties to work together.
This has many implications for the unity of Palestinian society, especially in times of crisis. If Palestinians are so polarized, and fear dissent, how can they work in harmony when confronting the biggest enemy of all, Israel?
When analyzing the success and failures of social movements one has to look at both internal and external factors, and in this case I have only tackled some of the internal movement dynamics.
External factors also play a huge role in determining success, namely the strength and determination of an occupying power willing to do whatever it takes to crush opposition. It would therefore be too simplistic to assume that the lack of women’s role and unity are the only factors affecting the success of demonstrations, as these are only internal factors.
This is a complicated matter, and there are many other variables that should be taken into consideration. Some of these include: the nature of the demands, the strategic significance of the village’s location for Israel, timing (maybe more were involved when the demonstrations first started), escalation of Israeli violence and repression against demonstrators, etc.
Amidst these countless complexities, there are key lessons that one can obtain from the film. One is that popular resistance must include a wide array of village residents if it is to be effective. Half of the village’s female population cannot be excluded, nor can party affiliation impede unity. These obstacles are hard to overcome, especially with a new political landscape. However, new strategies should be devised in order to truly create a broad based grassroots movement against the occupation.
Ramona is an activist currently living in the West Bank.
