Protective Presence is an activist practice used in conflict zones from Minneapolis to Palestine and beyond. In most cases, unarmed civilian protectors aim to protect vulnerable people by putting their privileged bodies between regular people and violent actors of the state. In some cases it works, but far too often activist presence fails to protect, and activists end up observing and documenting criminals acting with impunity.

olives & sheep is developing this Presence map, as a specific use case of our larger Atlas project, in coordination with Palestinian communities in the Occupied West Bank, who are facing even more threats and attacks in recent weeks, as war continues to escalate in the region. Presence, like our more comprehensive Atlas, is a visual aid and learning tool, in this case, designed in collaboration with and in service to solidarity activists, journalists and conscientious researchers on the ground and abroad.

We invite you to sign up to see more place-based data and documentation specific to Protective Presence in Palestine!

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