The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the long-entrenched and systematic oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian population, using non-violent, direct-action methods and principles. Founded in August 2001, ISM aims to support and strengthen the Palestinian popular resistance by working immediately alongside Palestinians in olive groves, on school runs, at demonstrations, within villages being attacked, by houses being demolished or where Palestinians are subject to consistent harassment or attacks from soldiers and settlers as well as numerous other situations.
All ISM volunteers must agree to work within the four founding principles: Palestinian-led, Nonviolence, Consensus & Anti-oppression.
*What do we do?*
ISM’s main objectives in offering support to the Palestinian resistance to the apartheid and their demand for freedom are twofold:
1. DIRECT ACTION: participating in Palestinian-led demonstrations, creatively disrupting activity by the Israeli occupation forces, accompanying children to school and farmers to their fields, residing with or near families whose homes are threatened with eviction, demolition or harassment by settlers and answering Palestinian calls to action.
2. DOCUMENTATION: documenting and reporting to local and international media about the daily life under apartheid and countless human rights and international law violations by the Israeli military and settlers. Activists take photos, write reports and journals, which are shared on our website and social media. The need for documentation is not just to show that there are illegal and unjust actions going on, but also to provide a real means of evidence for accountability to the police and courts, case by case. ISMers are also committed to sharing their experiences when they return to their home countries, through interviews and talks.