PePa - U
PePa - Contact Details - https://justpaste.it/pepa-cdi
Before the PePa Telegram group was around introductions were made to all or some - maybe by now obsolete - PePa channels.
As a service introductions were made available here, via this web-directory.
Please use the PePa Telegram group section "Introductions" to post your introduction.
This web-directory might no longer be kept up to date. [August 2025]
Uri Noy Meir
Dear friends,
I wish to begin by acknowledging that I was born on colonised Palestinian land, near the Sea of Galilee — a region shaped by dispossession and ongoing injustice. I recognise the deep history, rights, and sovereignty of the Palestinian people, and I stand for the urgent work of decolonisation: of land, of narratives, and of our relationships with each other and the Earth. I call for an immediate end to the violence and atrocities enacted by the Israeli government and army.
I have lived in Italy since 2012. In my youth, I served in the Israeli army, part of that time in and around Gaza as a “tunnel rat.” I never took a life or injured anyone, but I was part of the machinery of war. Since my release from mandatory service in 2005, I have refused all reserve duty. I chose the path of social and political activism, becoming involved with Combatants for Peace and Breaking the Silence, where I gave public testimony without concealing my identity — it can be seen here: Breaking the Silence.
Over the past two years, I have watched with horror and heartbreak as Israel’s war machine has reawakened with unprecedented cruelty. I name what is happening as ethnic cleansing, genocide, and ecocide. I have dear Palestinian friends and colleagues who have lost their homes, loved ones, and whose sons are imprisoned. From where I stand, I may have little power to stop this — but I have no privilege to ignore it. I write when and how I can on my personal Substack and hold conversation spaces there and on the ImaginAction Substack with activists. Some of these include a conversation with Maoz Inon and one from last year with Sulaiman Khatib and Dr. Daniel Foor.
My path to permaculture grew out of seeking ways to weave ecology into activism, art, and community practice. I do not assume my presence here will be welcomed; I understand there may be members of this group for whom my presence feels unsafe or unacceptable. If so, I will respectfully step back.
I also want to recognise and honour those resisting from within Israel — activists, artists, and organisers in movements such as Standing Together and Combatants for Peace — who protest, raise their voices, and work for justice despite repression and hostility. At the same time, I wonder if it might be useful to create a dedicated thematic group for those of us — Palestinians, Israelis, ex-Israelis, and pro-Palestine allies — who are open and willing to walk this hard and often painful path of dialogue. Such a space could allow for honest, respectful, and brave conversation, while fully respecting that others may not feel comfortable engaging in it at this time, for whatever personal or political reasons.
My prayer is that one day Gaza, and all of Palestine, may thrive — recognised for its dignity, rights, and resilience — and that reconciliation may be possible. My own family history carries the displacement of my grandparents from Germany and Romania, and the loss of over 60 relatives to Nazi extermination camps. I know wounds can endure for generations, and yet I also have friends whose grandparents were both victims and perpetrators. I believe true healing is possible — but only when the killing ends.
In solidarity and with humility,
Uri Noy Meir
Artist, Weaver, Facilitator
---
PePa - Contact Details - https://justpaste.it/pepa-cdi
PePA - Communication Tools - https://justpaste.it/pepa-c