6 new tactics for a just peace in Palestine and Israel

Israeli forces waging genocidal mass violence in Gaza and the West Bank have destroyed Gaza and many Palestinian towns in the West Bank. However, this brute force did not bring Israeli safety or destroy Hamas. Pro-Palestinian protests and BDS have broadened public support for Palestinians. However, these tactics have not slowed Israeli violence or the annexation of Palestinian land in the ongoing Nakba. The war is generating lose/lose outcomes for Palestinians and Israelis.

This dire scenario prompted me to write a 15-page report on “Winning Coexistence,” which draws on nonviolent theorist Gene Sharp’s toolbox to offer a path toward a win/win solution. The report describes six nonviolent strategies to shift power away from extremists and overcome barriers to forming coalitions that build on shared goals for safety, dignity and justice.

Binary thinking creates the false impression that for Israeli Jews to be safe, Palestinians must be unfree, or for Palestinians to be free, Israel must collapse, and Jews must leave. Binary thinking advantages extremists. Most Palestinians and most Israelis reject the extremist view that their opponents should be killed or leave the region. The “us vs. them” frame is an obstacle to successfully stopping the ongoing Nakba and reaching a political settlement for a just peace with coexistence.

Drawing on the spectrum of allies tool, the “Winning Coexistence” report invites activists to explore additional tactics to move stakeholder segments away from active opposition and toward active support for the movement for coexistence. The first three coercive tactics seek to shift power away from the opposition, while the latter three seek to broaden coalitions. New tactics could help move passive allies — especially those concerned with antisemitism — to become active allies working in coalitions with Palestinian and Israeli peace groups. What follows is a summary of the report’s six tactics.

1. Engage in tax resistance and a tourist boycott. This first tactic seeks to tie U.S. military aid to Israel to international human rights law. From Oct. 7, 2023 through the end of 2024, the United States increased its direct military aid to Israel from a pre-Oct. 7 annual level of $3.4 billion to at least $17.9 billion. The U.S. Leahy law restricts U.S. aid to any nation that violates human rights. Currently, the U.S. exempts Israel from this law through various loopholes. With roughly 164 million Americans paying taxes annually, that works out to each taxpayer spending approximately $100 for U.S. weapons and military aid to Israel. This tactic would urge U.S. taxpayers to withhold $100 each. Allies in other countries could boycott travel to — and tourism in — the U.S. until U.S. military aid targeting Palestinians ends. A hashtag and swag with “#NotInMyNameUSA” could help unite this global movement. This could slow or stop the U.S. flow of weapons necessary to stop Israeli mass violence against Palestinians.

2. Hold public tribunals as teach-ins on international law and Palestinian sovereignty. This tactic seeks to move passive opponents to a moveable middle through public tribunals on international law and Palestinian sovereignty. Tribunals could feature victim testimonies, giving a platform to hear directly from affected civilians. Experts could present evidence, assess treaty compliance and assign responsibility for breaches of laws like the Geneva Conventions. Tribunals could also enhance Palestinians’ diplomatic leverage in international negotiations and demonstrate a commitment to coexistence.

3. Engage with Christian Zionists to counter theological justifications for harm to Palestinians. This tactic aims to defuse the power and influence of Christian Zionists, who are the backbone of U.S. political support for Israeli annexation of Palestinian land. Tactics for shifting power away from Christian Zionist policies and persuading the public to abandon this ideology could include hosting theological debates at universities between Christian Zionists and Christians supportive of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, hosting Palestinian speakers at community events while inviting Christian Zionist churches to attend, protesting outside of churches sending money to expand Israeli settlements, and writing letters to the editors of local papers about the negative impact on Palestinians of Christian Zionism’s support of Jewish settlements.

4. Form a “coexistence coalition” with explicit goals for a just peace by using deliberative technologies. This tactic aims to broaden coalitions, a condition for the success of any nonviolent movement. It invites the “moveable middle” into a more inclusive movement to shift power away from far-right Israeli and U.S. leaders. While Jewish peace groups such as If Not Now, Standing Together, and Jewish Voice for Peace use inclusive narratives of safety and coexistence for both Palestinians and Israelis, many non-Jewish groups — including many Christian groups in support of Palestinians — rarely mention Jewish safety or coexistence in their goals. This confusion over movement goals undermines the movement’s ability to grow and achieve its goals. New deliberative technologies enable large-scale public input to identify shared goals, values and principles. Building a global dialogue among different organizations via deliberative tech platforms could help build a “coexistence coalition” to heighten their collective voice and media attention.

5. Offer teach-ins on antisemitism tropes and different versions of Zionism to build trust. This tactic seeks to move passive allies toward being active allies in the movement. Every serious study of nonviolent strategy, peacebuilding and even war-making insists that understanding opponents’ views is essential to success. Many see antisemitism or concern for Jewish safety or attention to versions of Zionism as a distraction from the cause of Palestinian liberation, arguing that including concern for Jews smacks of “both sides-ism” and ignores the power dynamics between Israelis and Palestinians. Both the weaponization of antisemitism and the left’s dismissal of antisemitism disrupt solidarity and coalition building. While many Jews inside and outside of Israel identify as Zionists, many are not aware of the impact of militant Zionism on Palestinians. Movement success requires addressing antisemitism and understanding different versions of Zionism, given its importance to most Jews. Tactics to bring more Jews into the movement could include more training on antisemitic tropes that show up in the movement, hosting conversations with Jewish organizations to broaden the awareness of different forms of Zionism, encouraging the rejection of militant Zionism, and inviting exploration of cultural, pluralistic, and conditional Zionism in alignment with coexistence and a just peace.

6. Use “virtual civilian peacekeeping” pairing Palestinian communities with international witnesses. This final tactic gives active allies a new way to strengthen their power and enables international allies to operationalize coalitions with Palestinian organizations and communities. For activists already actively engaged in the movement, virtual civilian peacekeeping is an easy and accessible tactic to keep people engaged in meaningful actions. For decades, activists have used in-person unarmed civilian peacekeeping to deter violence with their presence. Social media check-ins now allow many more people to participate through digital platforms by being virtual witnesses, helping to deter aggression through international presence and garnering public attention to land grabs. By tagging specific villages or towns and using relevant hashtags, activists can help counter narratives that attempt to silence or minimize the experiences of Palestinians. Additionally, sharing updates, stories, and visuals from trusted sources in these communities can foster a greater understanding and empathy among international audiences. Virtual observers can deter abuses by making it harder for violations to go unnoticed, while real-time alerts can demand immediate action from international organizations and governments. A global “coexistence coalition’ could organize a mass online movement with this tactic, and mapping tools could track and share the locations of incidents, such as demolitions or forced displacements. Crowdsourced information gathering from verified Palestinian accounts, local NGOs, and on-the-ground reporters could allow for real-time tracking of developments and threats.

These six tactics could work synergistically by combining coercive and persuasive tactics to shift power and build coalitions necessary for winning coexistence. By tailoring approaches to specific audiences and leveraging tools like the “Spectrum of Allies,” activists can expand their sphere of influence and move key stakeholders toward a more effective movement for a just peace.