“Now is the Time to Fight Harder”
A message from Standing Together to international supporters.
What a tough week. It began with Netanyahu firing the defence minister Yoav Gallant, and is ending with the terrifying news that Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. While Gallant is of course a war criminal, and has been instrumental in the annihilation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu choosing to fire him was another step in the dangerous direction that him and his extremist government have been dragging us down. Gallant’s replacement, Israel Katz, will no doubt be even more submissive to Netanyahu’s demands, and it’s going to make reaching a ceasefire and hostage deal even more challenging. With Trump in power it seems like the Israeli government will continue to be given blank cheques, and the hope we had for Netanyahu to be held accountable by the US government is fading.
Once again, our reality proves what we have been fighting to make clear for so long: the political establishment does not act with our interests in mind, and the majority of ordinary people are losing out while a small minority is benefitting. In Israel-Palestine, the United States, and around the world, we must remember that we cannot simply rely on the people in power to protect us and act in accordance with what is best for us. We need to build enough political power within our society to be able to demand what we know we deserve–we need a critical mass of people who are committed to fighting for equality and social justice. History proves that the power is in the people, and if we organize effectively we are able to fundamentally change our reality.
Last Saturday night we held an emergency protest in Tel Aviv for a ceasefire & hostage deal, drawing hundreds of people together in a loud call to end the war, and we have joined into protests across the country throughout the week. On Wednesday, Standing Together’s Be’er Sheva chapter came out on Wednesday night to demonstrate after the Deputy Mayor of Be’er Sheva Shimon Tubul incited against Arab schoolchildren, calling them “terrorists of the future” and attacked Arab-Palestinian citizens at a gas station just because they were listening to Arabic music. We came out with a clear call that this incitement and racism is unacceptable and he must be removed from office.
Between demonstrations almost every day, we’ve also been bringing groups to participate in olive harvests in villages in the West Bank, to assist with the harvest and provide a protective presence for local Palestinian farmers under threat from settler and army violence.
We know that we cannot rely on the people in power to do what’s right, but we can rely on solidarity with one another, and our ability to organise the people around us for a better future. When it feels like everything is spinning out of control, we look to our community to understand what we are able to control, what small and large acts we can do as a collective to bring us one step closer to the world we want to see.
| Support Transformative Change At Standing Together we know that our best chance at truly creating an alternative to authoritarianism and fear mongering is through building political power on a grassroots level. We are building a movement that is based on solidarity, that has a vision of peace, and that caters to the people and not just to the elites. Support us in our work to help us prove that together we can overcome. Send a one-time donation to help us in our current organising campaign to shift public opinion against the war, or become a Friend of Standing Together to affirm your commitment to long term change and join a global community of monthly supporters. |
Posted 8 November