Anti-war activists in Gaza and Israel stand in solidarity
An update from Standing Together.
We’ve experienced so much death and destruction across our homeland for 634 days. The two ceasefires that were reached since the war started, which briefly stopped the bombings and allowed many hostages to return, were glimmers of hope. Recently, reports of a potential ceasefire in the coming days or weeks have surfaced. We’re in urgent need of a true end to this horror – which is what we have been fighting for since the beginning – and for a path that can guarantee all of us peace, safety, and freedom, not forever war.
But the last few days in Gaza have been devastating, with constant bombardment and hundreds of people killed, including at the seaside Al Baqa Cafeteria which was a gathering spot for students and journalists. We’ve watched these brutal 48 hours in the Strip with particular horror.
So we’re channeling our pain into action and building hope and solidarity for an end to this annihilation and abandonment. We’re continuing to protest each week for an end to this government’s catastrophic war in Gaza and for the hostages, and we continue to hold silent vigils in memory of the Palestinian children killed.
This week, we received a moving message from a protest organizer in Gaza, Ramez, who sent images of activists in Gaza holding photos of Israeli children who were killed on October 7th and after. The initiative is part of a campaign by the Gazan Youth Committee called “Live Together, Die Together,” which calls to end the war of annihilation, release the hostages, and stop the killing of all civilians. It was inspired by the solidarity action of holding images of Palestinian children killed in the war, which many activists as well as Standing Together have done for months.
The activists shared this message: “Even though we live under siege, hunger, death, and displacement, we do not turn our backs on peace. Even when the world turns its back on us, we do not give up on our responsibility to speak in the name of peace. We don’t want anyone to be the next victim. We want all of us to be the next hope.”
And Ramez, whose three children and several cousins were killed since the start of the war, said “we mourn with every Jewish, Christian, or Muslim family that lost a child in this war.”
We are proud to stand with these activists in their call for a future of peace and dignity, and we are humbled by their bravery in protesting under relentless Israeli bombardment and Hamas’ repressive regime.
And we’re still busy installing mobile bomb shelters in dozens of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev/Naqab. Just a few days ago, we installed four more shelters in four villages, and we plan to have 20 installed by the end of this week. Because while the war with Iran is over, our government’s racist neglect of Bedouin citizens isn’t, and they’re still at risk of fire from Yemen and Gaza. This is a statement of solidarity for everyone in our society. Thank you to the more than 3,000 donors – Jews, Palestinians, allies in Israel and around the world – for helping us raise the funds to make it happen.
Please consider becoming a Friend of Standing Together with a monthly donation of your choice and help us continue to act to change our reality on this land. We all deserve so much more, and we’re grateful to have your support as we plan long-term change for everyone, Jews and Palestinians, who live here.
Posted 4 July 2025