http://indymedia.org.il
Preach through actions
author: Not ISM
But LSMiella,
I am not with ISM, but as an Israeli activist, I do know some of the 'leaders' (as you call them) and I know what they are attempting to accomplish.
ISM preach through action.
You may not agree with this tactic, but it is one which tries to set an example for the Palestinians to shift to non-violent action as the mainstay of anti-occupation activity.
They hope that if they show successful non-violent action, that more and more Palestinians will see it as effective and choose it as a path.
Their focus is, on the one hand to get more international focus on the issues of occupation through their actions, but also (and perhaps more importantly) to be able to influence Palestinian thought towards non-violent action.
An outright stand against the legitimacy of violent struggle, which has been a sizable component of Palestinian resistance since the First Arab Revolt, will ostracize a large part of the community who at this point are socialized to believe that it is not only legitimate, but the only chance for possible success in ending the occupation.
If they spoke directly against these tactics, they would probably find themselves uninvited to a lot of places, just as you say.
However, not speaking against, but showing through practice a different non-violent, yet active, approach to fight the occupation has the ability of opening up Palestinian minds to the possibility of different ways of acting.