Abdallah Abu Rahme

Matthew Yglesias correctly notes that non-violent resistance requires an audience, so I'll call attention to Israel's conviction of Abdallah Abu Rahme:

"One of the leading figures behind a recent wave of non-violent protests against occupation has been sentenced by an Israeli military court to one year in prison.

"The court also ordered Abdallah Abu Rahme this week to pay a fine of 5,000 shekels (Dh5,140) after he was found guilty in August of incitement and organising and participating in illegal demonstrations...

"Permits are required for demonstrations of 10 or more people, according to the Israeli military law that governs much of the West Bank. That law was cited as justification to arrest Mr Rahme and some of the dozens of people who have protested against the separation barrier, which stretches hundreds of kilometres and reaches beyond Israel's internationally recognised boundaries and deep inside the West Bank."

This sort of thing is hardly new among Palestinians, though I suspect many will perceive it as such. Long before intifada there was sumud, or "clinging," which was primarily nonviolent.

(Crossposted to American Footprints)