Making your Capoeira school Palestine friendly

While the criterias that Palestine friendly Capoeira schools adhere to are fairly straightforward, experience has shown that it isn’t possible to completely encapsulate all the possible requirements.

It is important that participating groups apply common sense when taking certain decisions with regards to events and other aspects. As such we have written this guide to complement the criterias.

Which teachers should I not invite?

You will probably know the backgrounds of the teachers that you are considering inviting to teach at events or even for a single class at your school. You should therefore not invite any teachers that:

• Are part of any group based in Israel that is a target group.
• Have participated at Capoeira events or Rodas, whether paid or unpaid, organised by Israel based groups since October 7th
• Have been known to be involved or called for violence against Palestinians, or have expressed hateful rhetoric towards Palestinians.
• Have served in the IDF in combat duty.

Because human rights violations by the IDF have been documented by third party sources such as the ICJ, the ICC, and the United Nations, boycotting former and current IDF soldiers who play capoeira is a critical moral stance as it sends the message that we will not continue with business as usual.

If you are unsure, you can ask directly, or email us and we’ll do our best to look into it. The list above would apply to non-Israeli teachers who support (in word or actions) former and current IDF.

When in doubt, ask questions and have conversations with any players who might be questionable and whose presence might cause Palestinians to feel unsafe.

Are there any exceptions?

In the same way as American veterans became integral part of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War and during and after the US war with Iraq it is important to make room for this development in the current Palestine ethnic cleansing. IDF, both former or current, who stand with the Palestinian fight for independence and equality should be accepted as a component of the anti-Zionist movement.

As a general rule, an Israeli Capoeira teacher that qualifies for an exemption would be expected to have:

• Called for a ceasefire
• Recognised the actions of Israel as possible war crimes, as defined by the ICC arrest warrants
• Called for an end to settler violence in the West Bank
• Called for the end of the occupation, illegal settlements and a just settlement for Palestinians as per international law
• Are judged to be active in upholding the above
• Have stopped participating with Israeli Capoeira groups
• Expressed regret for any participation in the IDF, if any.

This will also depend on whether you have Palestinian people present at the event or class. Having the presence of potentially from IDF members, even if they have anti zionist views, present might trigger trauma, so best to discuss with them beforehand and exercise careful judgement.

What if the teacher has expressed opposition against the current government or asked for a ceasefire?

While that is an important first step, it is not synonymous with Palestinian liberation. The occupation of Palestine and the persecution of the Palestinians has spanned multiple governments since before Israel’s creation.

Calling for the release of the hostages usually means only the Israeli ones, and ignores the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children that are often held without charges and in inhuman conditions.

What other things do I need to think about?

Besides the presence of teachers, there are other considerations and we’ll try to list as many as we can.

For example, having the US flag displayed at your school or event might be considered unfriendly, especially to a Palestinian, due to the unequivocal military and diplomatic support that the United States gives Israel. Try to think how a person who might have lost family members due to US munitions would feel at the class or event, or even seeing pictures of it on your school’s social media.

Another issue might be the relationship with your Mestre or Mestra or people above you in your hierarchy and their stance towards the issue of Palestinian liberation. Depending on how much independence you have and your relationship with them, there might be actions you can take on that front. Again, having conversation, even if difficult, is usually the first step to take before making any decision that would help keep your school a safe space.