JVP: What happened to Ezra Nawi?

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Dear David

I was there the day Ezra Nawi was to be put on trial in Jerusalem.

Along with many remarkable Israelis, I planned to go to witness and provide support on the day of Ezra Nawi's trial. Fourteen thousand JVP supporters had already watched the dramatic video of Nawi resisting the demolition of a Palestinian Bedouin home- the action for which he was being put on trial - and had determined he was a hero and not a criminal. Fourteen thousand people had already been moved by a letter from Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and Neve Gordon saying that Ezra Nawi needed help. But we need more.

This is my moment-by-moment account of what happened that day.

3 hours before Ezra Nawi's trial:
I met with Danny Feldsteiner, the organizer who has been coordinating things in Israel and (coincidentally!) our guide, in the East Jerusalem area of Silwan. Danny gets off the phone with Nawi's lawyer, Leah Tsempel, the legendary Israeli civil rights attorney. She wants all 14,000 names of the Jewish Voice for Peace supporters who signed the letters on behalf of Nawi, but Danny is unable to extract them. "We can do that for you," I announce, glad to be able to do more today than just witness and document.

2 hours before:
We're in the offices of the Silwan community center that Danny helped start, and we don't have a lot of time. Internet access is iffy. The printer appears to run out of ink. We're scared we won't have enough paper to print out the seemingly endless list of names.

1 hour before:
Danny gets off the phone with Leah again. "She wants to know if you'll testify," he says to me. "You represent the international campaign to free Ezra." "Sure," I say. But Leah wants us there now.

We run (literally!) to the Jerusalem courthouse. We go through security, none of Nawi's supporters are outside yet. Inside, we decide to Twitter the hearing. Adrenaline pumping, awash in a jumble of passwords and wireless attachments, we work to get our cell phones and laptops working, so we can provide witness to the world, thanks to technology.

30 minutes before:
We sit on a windowsill in the hallway. Leah, the world-famous attorney, looks me up and down and says, "So. you are my witness." Then she starts interrogating me brusquely. "This is what they will do to you in the court." I don't know what I was thinking, that it would be easy? Talking about someone like Ezra Nawi seemed so easy. I prepared for the challenge.

Outside, we hear at least one person has been arrested. They aren't letting anyone in. Maybe 50 people are gathered outside.

3:00pm The time of the trial:
Nawi is nowhere to be found. He has announced that if his supporters, who include a who's who of Israeli peace activists, cannot come in, then he won't come in. The judge grows impatient. She allows the next case to go first: A settler has brought charges against his rabbi for slapping him. One of Nawi's supporters comments to the rabbi, "You spend so much time slapping Palestinians around, no wonder you've started slapping each other." The rabbi's son, dressed in military uniform, responds, "We don't slap Palestinians, we kill them."

Finally, there's Nawi.

I get a text message from Naomi Klein and her husband Avi Lewis from Haifa, who had just met him, saying meeting him was one of the highlights of their trip. Ezra is visibly moved.

The whole time we are waiting in the hallway, Ezra is smiling. Beaming really. He seems fearless.

The judge decides to postpone the trial.

Leah speaks to her. "Ezra Nawi is known throughout the world. The New York Times just did a profile of him and I have 14,000 character witnesses who produced over 100,000 letters in his defense." "Wow," responds the judge. "That many?"

Leah is thrilled about the signatures, and asks me if I'll be there to testify August 16th. I won't but someone from Jewish Voice for Peace will be. She tells me we need to double the number of signatures by August 16th. I promise her we can do that- we can do better.

We all go outside.

Nawi is greeted with huge cheers and warm hugs. He stops for a moment to thank all of you, the 14,000.

Everyone seems to know him personally. He's happy. They've postponed the date, which means that much more time free. That much more time to stand in front of a bulldozer, advocate for a Palestinian family or an Israeli single mother. That much more time for the rest of us to bask in the warmth and courage of a man named Ezra Nawi.