CJNV is bringing 6 to 8 Jewish justice-seekers to spend four months living in Masafer Yatta / the South Hebron Hills engaging in daily solidarity activities in coordination with our Palestinian partners.

They will accompany local residents while they are shepherding, farming, commuting, and engaging in a variety of activities in which they may face military or settler violence. Participants will be available to act in coordination with our partners in the event of home demolitions or other efforts to displace residents, to document ongoing settler and military violence and land seizure, and to participate in nonviolent direct action and solidarity work in the region.

For communities in Masafer Yatta, shepherding is the primary economic driver and way of life. Late-Winter/Early-Spring is an essential period in the region when the grasses and hillsides are in full bloom and the shepherds are out everyday with their flocks. Because of this, it is also a time of increased tension and violence as settlers and the army try to prevent Palestinians from accessing their lands. Over the last years we have come to learn more intimately how vital this time of year is for the communities of Masafer Yatta and how significant it can be for there to be a presence of international activists accompanying and standing with shepherds and their communities. This year, in response to the asks of our partners and needs of the shepherding season, we have expanded Hineinu to four months to cover the entirety of the shepherding season, from the beginning of February through the end of May.

 Participants will work with Palestinian activists to highlight their stories and experiences living and resisting under occupation, serving to further amplify partners’ voices. They will also work to communicate their experiences to transnational audiences, crafting narratives that can advance coresistance efforts. As a part of a network of activists and organizations, Hineinu activists will support legal, media, and archival efforts to resist the ongoing displacement and violence targeted at Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta. Over the course of the program, participants will build relationships that will expand and strengthen CJNV’s working network of solidarity and coresistance.

We know from our experience that the presence of solidarity activists mitigates settler and military violence against local activists and community residents in Area C of the occupied West Bank. Over the last seven years, CJNV has forged dynamic, sustained, and trusting relationships in solidarity with communities in Masafer Yatta which facilitate our stepping into this daily solidarity.
 

We invite you to join us in this endeavor in solidarity.

 

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Those who join CJNV hold a range of different political commitments and affiliations. We come together under a common banner of solidarity and co-resistance. We believe that in coming together across these differences we gain greater collective power. We know this isn’t always easy and requires us to be in deep and vulnerable relationship with each other.

Our participating activists represent many genders, sexualities, races, nationalities, socio-economic classes, ages, levels of formal education, forms of religious observance, abilities, and organizational affiliations. We embrace this diversity and expect that all participating activists will act with openness and respect toward all other participating activists at all times.

•  Application Deadline: Applications are due October 20th, 2023. Once applications are submitted, we will set up a call with likely candidates to discuss the program and next steps further.

 

Applications due: Friday, October 20th, 2023

$180 deposit to confirm participation due: Friday, November 17th 2023

Project fee due (more information below): Friday, December 15th, 2023

•  Please note that applications must be completed in one sitting and your answers will not be saved if you close out of the internet browser window. Applications should take about 20-30 minutes to fill out.

 

Additional information about the Center for Jewish Nonviolence and its work can be found at cjnv.org or feel free to contact dina@cjnv.org or oriel@cjnv.org. Thank you for your time and interest.

Basic Information

Values Checklist

Community Agreements

 

During our time together on the ground, we will have the opportunity to build meaningful cross-movement connections in the service of showing up for and with our Palestinian and Israeli partners resisting the Occupation. To do so, we uphold our highest values of equity and justice for all people in our work and within the CJNV community. Cultivating a culture that rejects oppression in all its forms and uplifts a beautiful spectrum of identities within the Jewish community and beyond is critical to fulfilling our mission of transformation. During CJNV programs, holding ourselves accountable to our values enables us to be effective allies to our partners and maintain a safe and thriving environment for all participants.

As a group, we will develop intentions and expectations that speak to the transformative culture we will create together. We recognize that even with set agreements, breaches and harm can still occur, and we are committed to addressing any issues that arise from a place of tikkun and teshuva--repair and restoration--when possible. If you have any questions about any of this or would like to discuss further with someone on our team, please just let us know. 

Passport Information

(All passports must be valid for at least six months from the date you are departing Israel-Palestine)

General Questions

Motivation for Participation

Personal and Professional Background

The purpose of this section is to learn a little about your professional background, community connections, and organizational affiliations. We recognize that your day job is not the entirety of who you are, whether you work outside the home, are unemployed, are a full-time caregiver, are a student or retired. Please answer in a way that is applicable to your life.

Your unique skills, contributions and leadership

All participating activists will have the opportunity to support the project in their own unique way. Please let us know what skills and interests you have that might strengthen this program, such as media, group facilitation, medical training, photography, video work, editing, archiving, legal training, etc.

Language Skills

Arabic and/or Hebrew knowledge are helpful for communicating with our partners on-the-ground (particularly Arabic).

Physical & Emotional Preparedness

Days, nights, weeks, and months doing solidarity work in the South Hebron Hills can be draining and intense! Some days/nights will involve time outside in the heat and/or cold, different weather is to be expected, and some activities may include physical labor. Participating activists will likely be climbing staircases without railings as well as walking on dirt roads and over rocky landscapes. Sleeping and housing conditions will be comfortable, but it is important to note that we will be staying in rural communities with limited electricity and water access, also comfort and amenity standards may be different than what you are used to. No one will be asked to overexert themselves, and participating activists will be encouraged to set a work pace that is comfortable for them.

Additionally, spending 4 months in a group of new people under intense political conditions can be emotionally draining.

We are committed to creating an environment that is comfortable, safe and supportive for all participating activists, but individuals must decide for themselves if this kind of activity is within their capability. 

Food

Shabbat

Health Waiver

We *require* that all participating activists carry health and travelers' insurance, especially during a time of global pandemic. Your provider may cover you (you should ask!), or you can purchase third-party insurance. During our follow-up conversation with you we will discuss all of these options in greater detail. The Center for Jewish Nonviolence does not take responsibility for any medical or travel-related insurance costs during or as a result of participation.

Cost

Fee for participation is offered on a sliding scale. The program cost is all-inclusive and subsidized. Fees cover housing, transportation, food, insurance, projects, training, and supplies. Please note that the cost DOES NOT include airfare. Participating activists are responsible for making their own international travel arrangements to and from the region. 

• Scholarship rate is $3000 ($750/mo). This is a subsidized rate that we offer in an effort to make this important solidarity work financially accessible both for us as an organization and for interested activists. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship rate, please fill out the following questions in the application.
• Base rate is $4800 ($1200/mo). This rate covers program costs such as housing, food, transportation on the ground, and equipment, but it does not cover CJNV’s operational expenses.
• Solidarity rate is $7200 ($1800/mo). This rate covers program costs and contributes toward CJNV's operational expenses, as well as supporting our scholarship fund for participating activists. We ask all those who are able to pay the solidarity rate to help subsidize the cost of participation for those with fewer financial resources.

CJNV is committed to making solidarity activism financially accessible. We do not turn participants away based on ability to pay, though we do ask that participants pay as close to the top of the slide scale as is possible for them. Our sliding scale programming is sustained by grassroots fundraising and volunteer support. If you are unable to pay any of these rates, please be in touch.

Participating activists are encouraged to utilize grassroots sources and online crowd-fundraising to help offset the costs of their participation. In the past, participating activists have been able to raise the entire cost of their program through these platforms. CJNV organizers will support individuals with their grassroots and online fundraising initiatives.