Three reasons for hope
Standing Together’s national co-director Alon-Lee Green writes to supporters.
These are days of bloodshed and extreme pain. As we come to celebrate the Jewish holiday of freedom, Passover, we at Standing Together want to send you and your family a blessing of real freedom, of ending the killing here on our land, and of peace and hope. And believe me, I know it’s hard to see beyond the suffering and despair, but that’s exactly why I insist on taking a moment to share our important wins this week with you. Hope is not something we wait for, hope is something we build through collective action.
This week we launched a campaign to place a massive billboard on Israel’s main highway to highlight the horrific execution of 15 emergency and aid workers by Israeli forces in Gaza and call on Israeli society to refuse this brutal war.
As soon as we announced our billboard, right wing extremist groups attempted to block our effort by pressuring the mayor of Tel Aviv to deny us the permit. Despite this attack, we refused to back down, put our own pressure on the municipality, and nearly 600 people rallied to fund the billboard.
We were overwhelmed to exceed our fundraising goal in just a few days, which shows that many in our society reject the far right’s endless war and stand for an end to the destruction in Gaza.
| If you’d like to contribute to the billboard, your support would be greatly appreciated and help amplify this message: |
For the first time ever, and after a major campaign by Standing Together’s student department – 7 Bedouin representatives were elected to the student union at Kaye College in Be’er Sheva!
Rabea Alasam, one of our student leaders and a Bedouin-Palestinian citizen, sent this exciting message to our national leadership today:
“Two years ago, I made a decision that changed my life. We decided to open a door for me and other Bedouin students into a world of partnership, hope, and shared struggle. When I joined Standing Together and found my place I didn’t expect it would also bring victories. Together, we went through a tough journey fighting against a powerful right-wing student union, and today, after two years of struggle – we made history! For the first time ever, we have 7 Bedouin representatives in the student union for Kaye College in Be’er Sheva! This isn’t just my personal victory; it’s the movement’s victory, and a victory for all of us in the Negev.”
| Please consider supporting our student chapters all across Israel and help us strengthen the Palestinian and Jewish students fighting together for equality and peace: |
Another very important event this week, which gives me a lot of hope, is that more than 1,000 Air Force reservists signed their names onto letters declaring that they refuse this politically motivated war and that they refuse abandoning the hostages and killing innocent people in Gaza. After them, hundreds of other reservists signed onto other letters written by different units declaring the same. These reservists know that the horrors being carried out will never save the hostages. Instead, they seal their fate and ensure that Palestinians in Gaza will not be able to recover from unbearable hunger, displacement, and bombardment. Within one hour, the Israeli army’s chief of staff had fired them – a level of hysteria that shows us they are really afraid. They are afraid that more people will rise up against this brutality and refuse. This is how we defeat them and overthrow the extremists in power.
Want some more hope? As you might have heard, earlier in the week, our screening of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” took place at the University of Haifa after it was originally canceled under right-wing pressure. We managed to fight the decision and flip it. We’re proud that a full auditorium of students was able to see the film – and the occupation in action. We’ve already organized more than 40 screenings across Israel of this important movie, while no cinema in Israel is willing to screen it. Our government wants to censor the movie, so we’re not stopping.
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Organizing to win means that we’re not going to wake up one day in a perfect world, it means that we are committed to a long and difficult struggle toward peace and justice, but along the way, there will be moments that prove that we’re on the right track. We know that it’s possible to change our reality, and we know that we, the people on the ground, have the power to do it .
As Jews around the world get ready to mark Passover, I sincerely hope it is a meaningful holiday of reflection for those who celebrate, a reminder of the importance of reinforcing our fight against injustice everywhere, and strengthening our solidarity with one another.
Happy Passover!
Alon-Lee Green
National Co-Director of Standing Together
Posted 12 April 2025