that gives you much more info than I did previously , she is asking for unity amongst
the protesters
Three Out of Four Israelis Want to End the Gaza War. Here's Why It's Not Happening
Over the past week, Tel Aviv-Jaffa saw a myriad of protests, each with its own message. But the movements must now truly join forces – Gaza's children and Israel's hostages can't wait for us to build the perfect coalition
Nothing in Tel Aviv-Jaffa is guaranteed but constant construction, being dripped on by overhead air conditioning units, and protests. While all of these phenomena ramped up over the past couple of months, the protests seem to have multiplied at a dizzying pace.
In the past seven days alone, you could have attended a mass anti-war demonstration at Habima Square; another anti-war demonstration at Habima Square; a rally to bring home the hostages at Hostage Square; another rally to bring home the hostages, but with more shouting, at Begin Street; a protest against starvation in Gaza organized by Arab community leaders in Jaffa; and a protest against American complicity in the starvation in Gaza outside the U.S. Embassy branch. Then, you could come right back to Habima Square on Thursday night for another round of anti-war demonstrating. This is just within the municipal limits, of course. Other massive protests have also taken place throughout the country – namely the mixed city of Haifa and Arab city of Sakhnin, in Israel's north.
Each of these demonstrations carries its own message. At one, saying "starvation isn't a Jewish value" would be considered provocative; at another, signs declare "end the genocide." Some rail against the government for allowing Haredi youth to dodge the military draft, while others call for wholesale refusal to serve in the military at all.
They all agree the war is killing people – but who? For one group, the 50 hostages are the primary focus; for another, it's Gaza's civilians. And who is expressly responsible? Some say of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition allies, but others say that every Israeli soldier shares the blame.
At the larger protests, where organizers aim to create a "wide tent" of anti-war demonstrators, these ideological discrepancies have sparked tensions. When tens of thousands gathered for last week's anti-war rally, members of the so-called radical bloc grew frustrated by the lack of acknowledgment of Palestinian suffering in the evening's speeches. They started to chant "shame, shame!" – continuing as the mother of a hostage took the stage. The move caused verbal altercations between the young radicals and the veteran anti-Netanyahu protesters. By the rally's end, the radicals seemed more like counter-protesters than participants.
But despite their different politics, different demographics and different organizations backing them up, these demonstrations share a central demand: Israel's war in Gaza must end immediately with a cease-fire deal and the release of the hostages, something that three-quarters of Israeli society believes in. Even if only half of those people take to the streets, it would still be millions.
The many protest movements need now to focus, even if just for a couple of hours, on the root of the most acute suffering – the ongoing war in Gaza – and even the most obstinate objectors will have to listen. This will mean truly joining forces and meeting each other where we are, rather than jamming every cause into each demonstration, however righteous they may be.
We know that ending the war in Gaza won't fix every problem – there will still be an occupation in the West Bank, systemic inequality across the land, a Netanyahu government, perhaps even continued Hamas rule in Gaza. But we don't have the privilege at this time to ruminate on each participating group's ideal outcome for the land. People are dying, and neither the children of Gaza nor Israel's hostages have time for us to build the most perfect coalition. What they need is our combined voices, before it's too late.
Read more about the war:
Link : https://archive.md/wvV0T
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