Over 5,000 attend peace conference in Tel Aviv

Manar Abu Shakra Qaedan, one of the Palestinian leaders of Standing Together, reports on the It’s Time! conference, which took place on 1 July.

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I’m thrilled beyond words to have spoken at a massive peace rally in Tel Aviv last night. Together with some amazing organizations like Women Wage Peace, the New Israel Fund, and Zazim, we convened the biggest peace conference in Israel since the beginning of the war with over 5,000 Jewish and Palestinian attendees calling for an end to the war, an end to the occupation, and for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Look at the pictures from this event. These are pictures of hope!

We are so proud of the members of Standing Together who spoke on the stage about their experiences being Palestinians, their connection to their peoples, their hopes for the war to come to an end, and why solidarity is crucial for the future of everyone on this land. We are so proud of our members and partners that worked tirelessly for the success of this rally.

But with this hope, we are still extremely worried. Last week, we placed an advertisement in Yediot Ahronot, the biggest Israeli newspaper, warning the Israeli public on the dangers of entering an all-out war with Hezbollah that would lead to more death and destruction for all people in the region.

We need a deal to release the hostages, to stop the horrific war on Gaza, and to ensure that a full on war does not break out with Hezbollah. In the end – this war will end through a deal – and we can reach this deal now.