On August 16, Israeli peace activist Ezra Nawi will be sentenced and face possible jail time for the "crime" of non-violently resisting the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank. As we approach this date, MADRE supporter, cantorial soloist and writer Jessi Roemer wrote a piece remembering him from her time in Jerusalem--and she tells you how you can act to support Ezra.
I first knew Ezra Nawi as the man with the roses. He was not a florist. He was a plumber, a gentle Jerusalemite who would show up every Friday at French Square, his rucksack brimming with bouquets of long-stemmed roses. He would cross the moat of Friday traffic to where we stood: 20 or so women, wearing black and holding little hand-shaped signs that read, "Stop the Occupation" in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Smiling, Ezra would slowly circle the low wall on which we perched, stopping to hand a rose to each and every one of us.
A video camera was rolling the day that Ezra stood before the bulldozers to stop a home from being destroyed. You can watch it here:
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