The message was finally heard and the shift in policy toward a ceasefire has begun. Thank you for choosing to stand with us when it felt like our perspective was being silenced.
August 13, 2014
Final supporters
http://israelisforasustainablefuture.com/
An open letter to American Jews,
We are a group of Israelis currently living in the US. We are reaching out to
you because we oppose the actions of the Israeli government in operation
“Protective Edge.”
This does not mean we don’t recognize the threat presented by Hamas to the
Israeli people. We oppose firing of weapons into civilian population and the
sacrifice of civilians by the regimes of both Hamas and the Israeli government.
Calling to stop the bombing of Gaza does not mean we don’t realize the
impossible conditions imposed on the residents of southern Israel. Nor does it
mean we don’t demand security for them. But we also recognize that their plight
is consistently ignored by the Israeli government until it becomes convenient for
exploitation. We have seen three major military operations in less than six years.
They repeat themselves because they don't work. Yes, Hamas reserves are
temporary depleted and the group is temporarily hindered. But this is not a moral
price worth paying. Even if it were, killing thousands of civilians and displacing of
hundreds of thousands doesn't weaken Hamas in the long run. This bloodshed
only feeds the one resource it can't go without: hate. Only meaningful peace talks
and an end to the ongoing occupation in the West Bank and in Gaza (a blockade
is still occupation) will prevent both the next round of rockets into Israel and the
next round of indiscriminate killings in Gaza.
We are reaching out to you because we want to re-examine what it means to be
pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. We argue that these terms might be one and the
same. We believe that supporting equal rights for both peoples is the only way to
build a better Israel and a better Palestine and we want the American Jewish
community to stand behind that message.
The belief that being “pro-Israel” means uncritically supporting the actions of the
Israeli government and military does not help the Israeli people. The Israeli
people do not benefit from being oppressors. Israeli society does not benefit from
ruling over 4 million Palestinians. The Israeli soldier does not benefit from risking
his or her life in wars that could have been avoided.
The Israeli people gain nothing from perpetuating the occupation. Israeli children
learn nothing from being taught everybody wants to kill them. And the Israeli
population does not grow stronger from rising aggression within it, from a loss of tolerance and from a surge of violent racism against the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
But maintaining the occupation is what this war is all about. Unfortunately, the
regimes in Israel are becoming increasingly cynical, willing to sacrifice as many
people as necessary to maintain their position of power and their control over the
Palestinian people.
We believe this war could have been avoided. We don’t believe all Palestinians
want to kill us. And we are happy to explain where we are coming from.
We believe that a biased media attempts to draw symmetry that does not exist.
Just look at the numbers. Look at the pictures. Throwing blame at international criticism isn’t making Israel look any better. Taking action to stop human rights violation would. We obviously do not condone any form of anti-Semitism in this discourse, but we also feel that dismissing the entire discourse as anti-Semitism is not helpful to anyone.
Most of all, we believe that blood is blood, all equal and all worth the same. And
we are well aware of what happens when the lives of one people are deemed to
be worth less than those of others.
Israel needs your support to break out of the cycle of violence:
We encourage you to tell your community leaders to critically examine the Israeli
government policies they rally behind. We urge you to support the moderate
voices in Israel, forces that find themselves increasingly under attack by their
own government and the Israeli media, and even physically assaulted by right winged
vigilantes. We ask you to write to your congressional representatives to share
your conviction that Israel can only be safe and prosperous if it stops the killing of
civilians, ends the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and guarantees
freedom and equality to all of its citizens. We invite you to start a fruitful dialogue
with us.
Thank you,
IFSF | Israelis For a Sustainable Future
Updates
August 6, 2014
The emails I receive from families back home remind me that this cycle of violence is unsustainable for everyone involved. I am currently working on a way to organize our next steps to ensure these messages reach the people in power who need to hear them most.
August 6, 2014
Seeing this community grow makes me feel less alone in the grief I carry for my home. It is a relief to know that so many of you see the same cycle of violence that I cannot stop thinking about.
8 Comments
so glad you guys wrote this. its just heartbreaking to watch from here.
Thank you for speaking up. Needed to hear this right now.
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. STOP THE BOMBING.
Really hope people actually read this. The status quo is just destroying everyone involved.
Finally someone said it. The cycle has to stop.
Everyone can help in small and large ways to support moderate governments who care about people, even in this most complex situation. The key is not that violence makes the situation unsolvable. The key is that groups of people, like us, like you, must act to solve it by working to reach out to others--human beings too, neighbors whose suffering we see, whose desire for a real life we read about, whose friends we should work toward being. This was the dream of Israel’s most moral founders, not the hellish violence that extreme governments and groups cause in our name. Ours is the generation that can break the cycle of despair, if we press for it now. There are people who believe in real government among the Palestinians as well. It is time to move forward, despite setbacks, anger, loss, and pain. If Germany, France, and England, at war for millennia, can be allies, can be moderate places where humans flourish no matter their religion, there is no reason why Israel, full of good people, cannot reach out its hand to its neighbor. Israel has been at peace, even cooperating with several of its Arab neighbors, former invaders, and that should be a first step in a long process with the Palestinians. From cooling the violence down, to making practical concessions on both sides, to cooperating on the economy for the benefit of each, to becoming real partners—similarly to what those of past generations who worked with Palestinians remember, with even more equality for our children to experience. The international community can help reward moderate Palestinians as well. There is no theoretical obstacle, only the need to act to support moderate governments and groups—those who care about people more than about violence for absolute ideas, more than about biblical borders. You can do your part by pressing for a way forward in a modern world, where people can be good to each other, which will be a cycle of a positive sort. It starts with little things.
See also http://israelisforasustainablefuture.com/
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
The message was finally heard and the shift in policy toward a ceasefire has begun. Thank you for choosing to stand with us when it felt like our perspective was being silenced.
August 13, 2014
Final supporters
http://israelisforasustainablefuture.com/
An open letter to American Jews,
We are a group of Israelis currently living in the US. We are reaching out to
you because we oppose the actions of the Israeli government in operation
“Protective Edge.”
This does not mean we don’t recognize the threat presented by Hamas to the
Israeli people. We oppose firing of weapons into civilian population and the
sacrifice of civilians by the regimes of both Hamas and the Israeli government.
Calling to stop the bombing of Gaza does not mean we don’t realize the
impossible conditions imposed on the residents of southern Israel. Nor does it
mean we don’t demand security for them. But we also recognize that their plight
is consistently ignored by the Israeli government until it becomes convenient for
exploitation. We have seen three major military operations in less than six years.
They repeat themselves because they don't work. Yes, Hamas reserves are
temporary depleted and the group is temporarily hindered. But this is not a moral
price worth paying. Even if it were, killing thousands of civilians and displacing of
hundreds of thousands doesn't weaken Hamas in the long run. This bloodshed
only feeds the one resource it can't go without: hate. Only meaningful peace talks
and an end to the ongoing occupation in the West Bank and in Gaza (a blockade
is still occupation) will prevent both the next round of rockets into Israel and the
next round of indiscriminate killings in Gaza.
We are reaching out to you because we want to re-examine what it means to be
pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. We argue that these terms might be one and the
same. We believe that supporting equal rights for both peoples is the only way to
build a better Israel and a better Palestine and we want the American Jewish
community to stand behind that message.
The belief that being “pro-Israel” means uncritically supporting the actions of the
Israeli government and military does not help the Israeli people. The Israeli
people do not benefit from being oppressors. Israeli society does not benefit from
ruling over 4 million Palestinians. The Israeli soldier does not benefit from risking
his or her life in wars that could have been avoided.
The Israeli people gain nothing from perpetuating the occupation. Israeli children
learn nothing from being taught everybody wants to kill them. And the Israeli
population does not grow stronger from rising aggression within it, from a loss of tolerance and from a surge of violent racism against the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
But maintaining the occupation is what this war is all about. Unfortunately, the
regimes in Israel are becoming increasingly cynical, willing to sacrifice as many
people as necessary to maintain their position of power and their control over the
Palestinian people.
We believe this war could have been avoided. We don’t believe all Palestinians
want to kill us. And we are happy to explain where we are coming from.
We believe that a biased media attempts to draw symmetry that does not exist.
Just look at the numbers. Look at the pictures. Throwing blame at international criticism isn’t making Israel look any better. Taking action to stop human rights violation would. We obviously do not condone any form of anti-Semitism in this discourse, but we also feel that dismissing the entire discourse as anti-Semitism is not helpful to anyone.
Most of all, we believe that blood is blood, all equal and all worth the same. And
we are well aware of what happens when the lives of one people are deemed to
be worth less than those of others.
Israel needs your support to break out of the cycle of violence:
We encourage you to tell your community leaders to critically examine the Israeli
government policies they rally behind. We urge you to support the moderate
voices in Israel, forces that find themselves increasingly under attack by their
own government and the Israeli media, and even physically assaulted by right winged
vigilantes. We ask you to write to your congressional representatives to share
your conviction that Israel can only be safe and prosperous if it stops the killing of
civilians, ends the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and guarantees
freedom and equality to all of its citizens. We invite you to start a fruitful dialogue
with us.
Thank you,
IFSF | Israelis For a Sustainable Future
Updates
August 6, 2014
The emails I receive from families back home remind me that this cycle of violence is unsustainable for everyone involved. I am currently working on a way to organize our next steps to ensure these messages reach the people in power who need to hear them most.
August 6, 2014
Seeing this community grow makes me feel less alone in the grief I carry for my home. It is a relief to know that so many of you see the same cycle of violence that I cannot stop thinking about.
8 Comments
Enough is enough. Peace is the only way.
so glad you guys wrote this. its just heartbreaking to watch from here.
Thank you for speaking up. Needed to hear this right now.
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. STOP THE BOMBING.
Really hope people actually read this. The status quo is just destroying everyone involved.
Finally someone said it. The cycle has to stop.
Everyone can help in small and large ways to support moderate governments who care about people, even in this most complex situation. The key is not that violence makes the situation unsolvable. The key is that groups of people, like us, like you, must act to solve it by working to reach out to others--human beings too, neighbors whose suffering we see, whose desire for a real life we read about, whose friends we should work toward being. This was the dream of Israel’s most moral founders, not the hellish violence that extreme governments and groups cause in our name. Ours is the generation that can break the cycle of despair, if we press for it now. There are people who believe in real government among the Palestinians as well. It is time to move forward, despite setbacks, anger, loss, and pain. If Germany, France, and England, at war for millennia, can be allies, can be moderate places where humans flourish no matter their religion, there is no reason why Israel, full of good people, cannot reach out its hand to its neighbor. Israel has been at peace, even cooperating with several of its Arab neighbors, former invaders, and that should be a first step in a long process with the Palestinians. From cooling the violence down, to making practical concessions on both sides, to cooperating on the economy for the benefit of each, to becoming real partners—similarly to what those of past generations who worked with Palestinians remember, with even more equality for our children to experience. The international community can help reward moderate Palestinians as well. There is no theoretical obstacle, only the need to act to support moderate governments and groups—those who care about people more than about violence for absolute ideas, more than about biblical borders. You can do your part by pressing for a way forward in a modern world, where people can be good to each other, which will be a cycle of a positive sort. It starts with little things.
See also http://israelisforasustainablefuture.com/
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Enough is enough. Peace is the only way.