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Publication: The Suffolk Journal, , Suffolk University , Boston, MA
“I was on the list of people that Israel wanted to kill, I was in jail 20 times, I was the youngest prisoner in the jail. I am very lucky that I am among us all today. Because if I had continued with my violent resistance, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” said Jamil Qassas.
Qassas is a part of Combatants for Peace, a “grassroots movement of Israelis and Palestinians, working together to end the occupation and bring peace, equality and freedom to our homeland,” according to its website.
The 2025 documentary, “There is Another Way,” directed and produced by Stephen Apkon, shows the stories and experiences of members of Combatants for Peace during the Oct. 7 attacks and the war in Gaza and West Bank that followed.
This film was screened at Suffolk University April 2, followed by a panel with three members of Combatants for Peace that were featured in the documentary, including Qassas, Elie Avidor and Mai Shahin, as well as the director, Apkon. Qassas spoke in Arabic and during the event, Shahin translated.
“There is Another Way” features interviews with members of Combatants for Peace and footage from the ongoing war.
Born in the Dheisheh refugee camp, Qassas’ family had been displaced due to war and their land was never theirs again. For much of his life, Qassas said that he hated Jewish people because the only ways he had seen them was as military, Israeil Defense Force soldiers and settlers.
“Seeing them only in these three positions creates anger and it brings violence,” said Qassas.
This was until he had to work in Israel after the intifada. When he realized his boss was an Israeli Jew, he thought he would be fired.
“When he heard that my brother was murdered and that I was in jail and my story, he wanted to hear more. And when he first called me, I thought, okay, he will listen to me for two minutes and kick me out, he will say, you cannot work here. But when I went to his office and I shared my story with him, I saw that he had tears, he was crying. And he shook my hand...