Building an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots peace movement

Published: 5 July 2016

Last updated: 4 March 2024

Fathom's Calev Ben-Dor looks into what happens when a leading Palestinian activist and a Jewish Israeli come together to build a grassroots peace movement. Ali Abu Awwad and Shaul Judelman are the founders of Roots – an Israeli-Palestinian project in the West Bank that works for co-existence by changing peoples’ narratives and by transforming the relationship between the two peoples. Ali Abu Awwad discusses imprisonment, bereavement, and the missing Palestinian non-violent movement. Shaul Judelman talks about his journey to non-violent peace activism and his thoughts about the political future.

We are weak because there is no Palestinian non-violent movement – Ali Abu Awwad – Fathom 04.07.16
‘If people think that we learn how to hate in schools they are mistaken. Whoever lives here doesn’t need anyone to teach them how to hate. Our hate is a product of our conditions.’

We must not be afraid to talk about the roots of the conflict – Shaul Yudelman – Fathom 04.07.16
‘Unfortunately one of the fruits of the Oslo Accords is that two generations (of both sides) have no experience of the other than as a soldier/settler/terrorist/murderer. And both sides are sure there is no partner for peace… When he moved to the West Bank in the mid-1970s, Rabbi Froman said a very powerful thing - that our people’s story of redemption cannot become another people’s story of exile.’