Sumud: A Steadfast Resistance

 The Palestinian people say the most important word to them is "sumud." It means steadfastness, perseverance, resilience, or "we are going to stay, this is our land." It can mean actions, demonstrations, protests, legal battles, or other confrontations. Entire books have been written about "sumud."

There is, though, another word I hear quite often here that could be spelled "kool yom," or "everyday." On a handful of occasions someone will show you a video of settlers, in Arabic "mustawtan", harassing, attacking, and terrorizing their family home and after three or four videos simply say "everyday." They'll proudly point out their mother, their brothers, their cousin, their father, and how they resist these harassments from settlers and military (mostly by insisting on living their life and caring for their family). They'll slightly grin as they show you a video of their mother cooking bread while a settler stares down at them. "How often does this happen?" we ask. The response: "Everyday." A settler will herd sheep trespassing on Palestinian land past a burnt car through gates the settlers probably cut. The owner of the house will show you a video of settlers setting a car on fire and say "everyday." They continue, "The settlers, the military, they don't want peace they want Palestine. Why should we leave? My family has been here for 3,000 years." Those last two words come out with such a strident, yet gentle, staccato that you have no trouble believing they could recall ever single day and what happened over the past 3,000 years. Everyday.

But, of course, not every single day is the same. Some days are cliffs. Some days the settler encroachment reaches a water line or settlers bulldoze the power lines. Some days they burn cars. They trespass and cut an olive tree (or the military comes and cuts 150). With the wave of a hand the occupational forces turn your land into a closed military zone. Another hand the occupation can demolish homes. The occupation murders people with the guns they get from the United States. Everyday the same project is being brought forth, the project of enclosure and land theft. The project of settler colonialism. The everyday terror is part of the centrality of violence to capitalism (or/and the US-Israel Zionist project). Ali Kadri, building off of Rosa Luxembourg, calls this "accumulation by waste." In order to get land, resources, and political control at is most profitable (not always cheapest) rate you must "beat up" the community living there, and make beating them up a market to profit off of. You must make the everyday filled with enough terror people feel no choice but to leave.

But everyday will also be filled acts of resistance and "sumud." They will record the settler violence and harassment. They'll call their neighbors to warn them. they'll insist on having strong family ties. They'll resist. They'll be human. Everyday.