Jehad Abu Sneineh is a worldly and well-traveled man.
Perusing his social media, one can find no shortage of posts featuring him in different cities around the world. In between posts about fitness, Abu Sneineh can be seen traversing such exotic locales as Georgia, Turkey, and Japan.
But no matter where he goes, Jerusalem is always in his heart. It is where he was born, and it is where he always returns. He knows just how unique Jerusalem is: Its diversity and its historic and cultural importance set this place apart. And, as such, he is a passionate advocate for equality among all those who live here.
Abu Sneineh is a mainstay in the Jerusalem activist scene. Whether it’s going to protests on the streets with the Israeli Jewish-Arab grassroots organization Standing Together (“organizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against the occupation and for peace, equality, and social justice”) or getting together with writers at Kotvim B’Yachad (“a community bringing together Jewish and Palestinian writers”), he’s there, fighting for the causes he believes in, in the city of his birth. And he was very eager to talk about it all.
In Jerusalem sat down with him to hear all about it. As always, the opinions expressed by the interviewee are his own.
What brought you to Jerusalem?
I was born in Jerusalem, and I’m from the Mount of Olives area.
What got you into activism?
I was following the activist organization Standing Together on Instagram because of what they promote: equality and stopping the wars, specifically in Gaza.
At the time, I was really depressed because of all of the videos coming out of Gaza. It was inhumane, and I felt that I needed to do something about it.
I started going to protests with them, which let me meet them and become acquainted with more activist groups.
They are some incredible human beings, and we bonded over some of our shared beliefs.
The first protest I went to was one of the most brutal protests in terms of how the police clashed with the demonstrators. That helped me see that we [Jewish and Arab Israelis] were even more alike than I thought. We Arabs get the same severe treatment from the police whenever we try to protest, if not worse.
Since then, I started to go out more and more and was committed to going to every Saturday night protest during the war.
I went to protests against the demolitions of Palestinian houses in Silwan, issues relating to the Arab communities in the West Bank, and land theft. I attended protective presence activities in some West Bank communities, peace memorials, and, just recently, I went to a protest against the war in Iran and Lebanon. Many of the slogans at that protest were about that and settler violence that is supported by the government.
I also recently went to a protest in front of the Knesset against the death penalty [for terrorists]. That protest, as usual, got repressed by the police.
You’re a very well-traveled person. What’s something about Jerusalem that makes it different from everywhere else in the world?
Take everything you can think of and multiply it by four. Everything gets impacted by the different religions, languages, ethnicities, and cultures. And that’s without mentioning the political situation.
Many people here speak at least two to four languages. And when you deal with someone, you need to figure out their background.
To me, Jerusalem feels like the center of the world. It’s so central to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As a result, so many different important events happen here.
Jerusalem is the city of ends and beginnings. It might cause a world war, or world peace. That’s what makes it different from everywhere else.
Why should more people pay attention to activist efforts in Jerusalem?
The work we do here is important and is especially impactful because this city is the center of the issues. We may not be so many in number, but we could be more effective than thousands of other activists somewhere else who show compassion to the causes here.
And on the other hand, being at the center of the issues also puts us at the most risk.
What advice do you have for anyone trying to get involved in activism and coexistence efforts in the city?
Without activism, there’s no social justice. It doesn’t matter how big or small the numbers are, because showing up is already a sign that someone cares.
We welcome everyone regardless of their background. Whether Jewish or Palestinian, Christian or Muslim, it doesn’t matter. So long as they have values and humanity in their heart.
At a small scale, we fight for coexistence and for equal rights. And we wish that one day, we can take it to a larger scale and achieve the true peaceful life we all strive for.
