A joint Jewish-Arab declaration for peace 06.11.2023
The brutal massacre carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7 left us all - Jews and Arabs - stunned and shocked. In the weeks that have passed since that cursed Sabbath, additional atrocities have been added to the atrocities committed by Hamas: thousands of people have been killed, and are still being killed, by the Israeli bombings in Gaza, many of whose residents have even been cut off from water and electricity.
Countless innocent children, women and elderly, lost their lives on both sides; hundreds of thousands lost their homes and their world - harming innocents on one side does not balance the pain of the killing on the other side, it just adds more pain to the immense pain.
Why is this important?
We - movements, organizations and activists, Jews and Arabs - write these words out of heavy mourning for the thousands of people killed in recent weeks, and out of terrible anxiety for the safety of the abducted and those who will still be harmed in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
The brutal massacre carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7 left us all - Jews and Arabs - stunned and shocked. In the weeks that have passed since that cursed Sabbath, additional atrocities have been added to the atrocities committed by Hamas: thousands of people have been killed, and are still being killed, by the Israeli bombings in Gaza, many of whose residents have even been cut off from water and electricity.
Countless innocent children, women and elderly, lost their lives on both sides; hundreds of thousands lost their homes and their world - harming innocents on one side does not balance the pain of the killing on the other side, it just adds more pain to the immense pain.
The occupation, the siege, the wars, the terrorism, the oppression, the racism and the violence, the violation of democracy and human rights - all these brought the two peoples who live between the sea and the Jordan River to an unimaginable disaster, which has no measure. Precisely in these terrible days, the simple truth is clearer than ever: the freedom, security and life of all living in this land depend on each other.
In memory of the murdered and for the sake of the living, we must act together - Jews and Arabs - for the release of the kidnapped and captives, for the end of the war, for the end of the occupation and the conflict, for peace.
We, who believe in the way of democracy and peace, call to:
1. Strive for a stable ceasefire, within which negotiations for a political agreement will be started immediately based on mutual recognition of the right of the two peoples to self-determination - an agreement that will guarantee security, freedom and well-being for both peoples.
2. Immediately promote a broad prisoner deal ("all for all").
3. Immediately stop harming innocent civilians. There isn’t and cannot be any justification for harming the innocent.
4. Act immediately to curb the rampant settler violence in the West Bank with the backing of the army, and to curb the transfer that this violence is trying to promote.
5. Stop the persecution and oppression of Palestinian Citizens of Israel and of those who express solidarity with the residents of Gaza and oppose the war. Stop the violation of basic rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of demonstration, and more.
We have all experienced the rounds of violence. Timen and time again it is evident that there is no military solution to this conflict, nor can there ever be one. The only way to stop the bloodshed is a political agreement that will guarantee security, justice and freedom for both nations.
There are no winners in war. Only peace will bring security.
Signed:
Academia for Equality; Arava Institute for Environmental Studies; Banki; Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights; Combatants for Peace; Druze Initiative Committee; The Forum for the Fight Against Incitement; Hadash; Hands of Peace; Horiya; Jahalin Solidarity; Jordan Valley Activists; Kaa”- political working group; Looking the Occupation in the Eye; MachsomWatch; Mesarvot; Mothers Against Violence; Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality; New Profile; On the way to Sulha; Parents Against Child Detention; Parents Circle Families Forum; PsychoActive; Rabbis for Human Rights; Social Workers for Peace and Welfare; Tandi; Tomorrow’s Women; Torat Tzedek; Women in Black; Woman to Woman; Yesh Gvul; Your Neighbor as Yourself; Youth
Against Dictatorship; Zazim - Community Action; Zochrot ; Itach Ma’aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice
Declaration by peace organizations 15.10.2023
In this war
We, members of the undersigned human rights organizations in Israel, are shocked and horrified in these dreadful days.
Hamas’ horrific crimes against innocent civilians - including children, women, and the elderly - have shaken us all, and we are struggling to recover from the unbearable sights and sounds. Some of us were in the Israeli communities on the Gaza border during the assault; many of us have family, friends, and colleagues who endured and are still in the midst of the harrowing events; and we all know people who were murdered, injured, or abducted. It will take time to fully understand the implications and consequences of Hamas’ heinous attack, for which there can be no justification.
Most of our teams include Israelis and Palestinians; therefore, some of us have relatives and colleagues in Gaza currently living under the ongoing assault of the Israeli military. Children, women, and the elderly are being indiscriminately attacked with nowhere to hide.
Even now – especially now – we must maintain our moral and humane position and refuse to give in to despair or the urge for vengeance. Keeping our faith in the human spirit and its inherent goodness is more vital than ever. One thing is clear: We will never surrender our belief in humanity - even now, when doing so is more challenging than ever.
- Having always opposed the harming of innocent civilians, it remains our duty in these terrible times - as we count our dead on the Israeli side and worry about wounded, missing, and abducted loved ones, and as bombs are being dropped on residential neighborhoods in Gaza, wiping out entire families with no possibility of burying the dead – to raise our voices loud and clear against the harming of all innocent civilians, both in Israel and Gaza.
- We call for the immediate release of all hostages and an end to the bombardment of civilians in Israel and in Gaza. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach civilian populations, medical facilities and places of refuge must not be harmed, and vital resources such as water and electricity must not be cut off. The killing of additional civilians will not bring back those who were lost. Indiscriminate destruction and a siege harming innocents will not bring relief, justice, or calm.
- As individuals working to promote human rights and who believe in the sanctity of life, we urgently call for an end to all indiscriminate harming of civilian lives and infrastructure. We call for negotiations and all possible action to be taken to bring about the release of the hostages - while prioritizing the civilians held by Hamas. It is the only humane and rational thing to do, and it must be done now.
Mothers Against Violence | Itach Ma’aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice | Amnesty International Israel | BIMKOM – Planners for Planning Rights | B'Tselem | Gisha | The Association for Civil Rights in Israel | Public Committee Against Torture in Israel | Parents Against Child Detention | Hamoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual | Zazim - Community Action | Haqel – In Defense of Human Rights | Yesh Din | Combatants for Peace | Mehazkim | Machsom Watch | Women Wage Peace | Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research | Standing Together | Ir Amim | Emek Shaveh | The Parents Circle-Families Forum | Rabbis for Human Rights | Physicians for Human Rights–Israel | Breaking the Silence | Torat Tzedek | A Land for All - Two States One Homeland | Academia for Equality | Your Neighbor As Yourself