Sumud: Resistance by Existence
Stories on the 'Wall Museum' of the Sumud Story House in Bethlehem. Source: Wall in Bethlehem
Note: Use for subversion diaries.
For 75 years and counting, Palestine has been resisting colonialism and military occupation, catalysed by a white man, Arthur Balfour, in a 67-word-long letter that gave away their land without their consent. This resistance has been a journey of embodiment, of every day existence in spite of a collective pool of oppressors mutually reinforcing each other’s violence through weapons, concocted histories, and the demonization of a whole population. Underpinning this resistance is a philosophical ideology of steadfastness or steadfast perseverance, called sumud in Arabic.
The term entered political discourse as a national symbol in the 1960s, although the practice in itself is a vital component of collective Palestinian consciousness of struggle for remaining on Palestinian land as an act of resisting colonialism, oppression, dispossession, and displacement (Johanessen, n.d.). Specific moments in history that manifested Sumud explicitly include, but aren’t limited to the revolt against the British Mandate (1936-1939) and the Nakba (1947-1949).
Understanding Sumud
Sumud is resistance against ethnic erasure and genocide. It is, however, much more than a word, a concept, and an idea. It is a whole “continuum of goals and practices of resistance that have been responsive to changes in the dialectic of oppression and resistance” (Johanessen, n.d.). Specific acts of Sumud include building and rebuilding houses despite the constant threat and actual instances of demolition; moving around despite the increase in the number of checkpoints and the prevalence of violative practices in these spaces; sustaining self-reliance by investing in economic projects; engaging in activism; continuing to practice, participate in, and enable the proliferation of Palestinian culture; reviving and retaining longstanding Indigenous practices such as tatreez and Palestinian cooking; and sustaining activism world over through the BDS movement, for example. There are also specific establishments to sustain the practice of Sumud – such as the Sumud Story House in Bethlehem, the Finnish Palestinian network called Sumud, and several books by the same name that help explain the concept and bring to life literature and poetry in line with the idea and action.
The practice of Samud resulted in the use of the word “samidu” to refer to the Palestinians who lived in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, and in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and West Bank. The original emphasis was on remaining on Palestinian land or in refugee camps despite hardship – including a commitment to continue to resist forced displacement and expulsion and to continue to rely on reproduction as a strategy in a democratic struggle (Johanessen, n.d.). However, this drew criticisms, particularly of the PLO for engaging in passive non-resistance, and focusing heavily on the reproductive capacity of Palestinian women. With time, the money made available through the Sumud Aid Fund, established in 1978 as an initiative of the Jordanian-Palestinian Joint Committee, evoked criticisms for corruption. This paved the way for a distinction between active and passive Sumud. As articulated by Ibrahim Dakkak (1988), passive or static Sumud emerged from diaspora groups and groups with vested interests, whereas Palestinians in Palestine were more inclined toward a “less orthodox and more aggressive approach” to resistance (Johanessen, n.d.). This division led to the evolution of Resistance Sumud, or Sumud Muqawim, which expanded the scope of Sumud to an activist concept in around the early 1980s. With this, it broadened to include a variety of acts of resistance and civil disobedience that transcended symbolism. With time, the Sumud Muqawim built momentum toward the First Intifada in 1987. It gave the people of Palestine the capacity to work to destabilize the systemic and structural underpinnings of the military occupation (Farsoun & Landis, 1989; Halper, 2005/6).
Some also consider Sumud a state of mind. As lawyer Raja Shehadeh (1982) spoke of the term in his 1982 work, The Third Way: A Journal of Life on the West Bank, it is seen as a “third way” between violent resistance and passive acceptance and has been practiced by anyone living under and coping with occupation long before it entered political discourse. He called it the rejection of making a choice between exile and submissive capitulation and blind, consuming hate. This third way is not an alternative – but also a form of resistance that differs from violent resistance and submission to the occupation. Edward Said (1986) described it as a tactical solution to a predicament for which one has no clear strategy for the moment. However, it is important to bear in mind a valuable critique of Sumud, which considers it a non-strategy that is not consciously formulated (Salih & Richter-Devroe, 2014).
Sumud as Subversion
Sumud embodies the spirit of opposition. From street art and grafitti to practicing agriculture, these acts of resistance take different forms. Sumud is an expression of weaving the resisting subject into the object of resistance – where, as Runa Johannessen explains, “the body itself is a site of resistance from which resistance emanates.” With Sumud, those who could not resist in confrontational ways found a path to hold the occupier to account. This set the stage for a cultural movement where words like portugal (orange), zeitun (olives), shajar zeitun (olive trees), and el-hassad (harvest), among others, became part of the political discourse (Cesran International, 2018).
Israel justifies its military occupation and colonization of Palestine by leaning on a non-existent right in international law, the right to exist. Sumud speaks directly to this by enacting existence as resistance. It calls on its people to hold onto their land as part of their existing and guaranteed right to self-determination. It is a consistent and constant effort to fight the politics of erasure, the imposition of displacement and dispossession, and the jarring, unending continuation of military occupation and colonialism.
Sumud has evolved as a concept, embracing shifts over time. It remains a reminder that there is no single way to resist, and even remaining committed to ensuring survival in itself is inherently resistance. It has been seen as a call for action, a state of mind, and a way of life: Through it all, it remains an act of steadfast subversion.
References
Cesran International (2018). Lifestyle of resistance: Palestinian Sumud in Israel as a form of transformative resistance. https://cesran.org/lifestyle-of-resistance-palestinian-sumud-in-israel-as-a-form-of-transformative-resistance.html
Dakkak, I. (1988) “Development from Within: A Strategy for Survival.” In George T. Abed, ed., The Palestinian Economy: Studies in Development under Prolonged Occupation. London: Routledge.
Farsoun, S. K., & Landis, J. M. (1989). “Structures of Resistance and the 'War of Position': A Case Study of the Palestinian Uprising.” Arab Studies Quarterly, 11(4), 59–86.
Halper, J. (2005/6) “A Strategy within a Non-Strategy: Sumud, Resistance, Attrition, and Advocacy.” Journal of Palestine Studies, 35(3).
Johanessen, R. (n.d.) Sumud: Steadfastness as Everyday Resistance. https://www.palquest.org/en/highlight/33633/sumud
Said, E. W. (1986). After the Last Sky: Palestinian Lives. London: Faber & Faber, 1986.
Salih, R., & Richter-Devroe, S. (2014). “Cultures of Resistance in Palestine and Beyond: On the Politics of Art, Aesthetics, and Affect.” Arab Studies Journal 22(1), 8–27.
Shehadeh, R. (1982). The Third Way: A Journal of Life on the West Bank. London: Quartet, 1982.
NOTE:
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