STANDING TOGETHER: THE PEACE MOVEMENT INSIDE ISRAEL  
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Uri Weltmann
January 22, 2024
Morning Star
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_ The biggest demonstration since the beginning of the war on Gaza
defied the police and brought together all those calling for a
ceasefire on the streets of Tel-Aviv _

Standing for peace, credit: @omdimbeyachad

 

ON THURSDAY January 18 more than 2,000 people marched through the
streets of Tel-Aviv, calling for a ceasefire agreement that will end
hostilities in Gaza, in the biggest peace demonstration inside Israel
since the war began.

The march and rally were endorsed by more than 30 organisations, and
organised jointly by Standing Together and Women Wage Peace.

“We are all in pain over the harsh reality we are living. The pain
of the bereaved families, of those kidnapped, of the people we were
uprooted and forced to leave their homes. We are all horrified when we
hear about civilian casualties, including children, in the Gaza Strip
and in the Gaza Envelope,” read the statement calling for the march.

“For many, it is now clear: only a ceasefire agreement can return
the hostages alive to their families and stop the killing of innocent
people.

“But in the extremist government of Netanyahu, Ben Gvir and
Smotrich, they are pushing towards the other direction: they talk
about population transfer and ‘voluntary migration,’ they reject
the possibility of diplomatic negotiations with the PLO and the
Palestinian Authority, and they promise us nothing — except many
more years of war and suffering. For us, the people who live in
Israel, there are two options: either Israeli-Palestinian peace or an
eternal war.”

The protesters — both Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel —
convened in the centre of Tel-Aviv, near Dizengoff centre, and marched
through the streets chanting in Hebrew and Arabic: “Jews and Arabs
refuse to be enemies,” “Peace, equality, social justice,” “In
Gaza and Sderot, children want to live,” “Our answer to the right
wing: Israel and Palestine.” They were holding bilingual signs that
read “Only peace will bring security” and “The majority demands
a ceasefire agreement.”

Originally planned to take place the week before, the police ordered
the protest to be cancelled, citing “concerns over possible
incitement” as the official reason.

The organisers from Standing Together and Women Wage Peace were
supported by the legal department of the Association for Civil Rights
in Israel, threatening the police with legal action at the supreme
court. Eventually, because of public pressure, the police allowed the
demonstration to take place, although changing the route of the march.

Standing Together leaders note encouragingly that those parts of the
peace movement that until now were hesitant to come out in the open
calling for a ceasefire agreement or to question the objectives of the
war, have now officially joined the protests in the streets,
reflecting a broader shift in the public opinion inside Israel.

The march ended in Cinematheque Square, where several Jewish and
Palestinian speakers addressed the crowd.

“I survived the horrors, but far too many of my friends did not,”
said Neta Peleg, from Kibbutz Beeri, which was taken over by Hamas
militants on October 7, and in which more than 90 civilians were
murdered.

“I am incredibly angry at our government for betraying us, for
sacrificing us. Every day that passes, more people are killed. We must
reach a deal that will bring back the hostages — now! We must stop
this war and send this government back home.”

Neta Heiman, an activist with Women Wage Peace, is the daughter of
Ditza Heiman, who was taken captive by Hamas on October 7, and
released in November: “The Kibbutz where I was born, Nir Oz,
suffered a massacre. Over a quarter of its residents were murdered or
kidnapped, the homes were looted, and the army only arrived after the
last terrorists had already left.

“I was incredibly angry over the Hamas monsters who kidnapped my
elderly mother, but also incredibly angry at those at the helm in the
state of Israel, who in the past 20 years failed to see that you
cannot ‘manage the conflict’, you have to end it. Had we taken a
different path, that of peace, October 7 was avoidable.”

Rula Daood, national co-director of Standing Together, said: “As a
Palestinian citizen of Israel, I hear all the eulogies, in Hebrew and
in Arabic, coming from both Israeli society and from the Gaza Strip.

“We must change course. The future of both our peoples depends on
achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace, which is the only way to bring
us all security and safety. This path is long, but we know: where
there is struggle, there is hope.”

_Uri Weltmann is the national field organiser of Standing Together, a
grassroots political movement of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of
Israel that campaigns for peace, equality and social justice._

* Israel
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* Standing Together
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* Israeli peace movement
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* Gaza
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