National Day of Action for Palestine

This coming Sunday is the National Day of Action for Palestine.

My heart goes out to all Palestinians in these devastating times - while I wish you all support and strength, I acknowledge that the rest of the world needs to do better. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, but we can’t just freeze (or just grieve) in the face of this gross injustice.

Firstly, for those who feel like they’re not quite across what’s going on (though I realise I’m repeating myself a bit from my last post):

  • What’s happening right now is genocide. This description has been accepted by both Palestinians and Jews, and indeed called out clearly by an Israeli scholar of both genocide and the Holocaust.
  • What’s been happening well beyond the past few months is apartheid. This description has been backed by Amnesty International, by Human Rights Watch, by the South African government, and by Palestinians themselves.
  • More than 20,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed. Almost 10,000 of those are children. Just today there are reports today of Palestinian men and boys being stripped, beaten, some killed, and the rest taken away - again these are civilians.
  • Health workers, journalists, aid workers have all been killed by Israeli forces. Hospitals, schools, refugee camps have all been bombed. Entire family lines have been wiped out.

This cannot be described as self-defence. We must call it what it is. Genocide. And yet, many Western governments still aren’t calling for a permanent ceasefire.

So, with this Day of Action in mind - what action can we take?

  • Acknowledge that you can support Palestine and Palestinians without supporting Hamas, just like we can (and do!) support Jewish folks without supporting the Israeli government. Criticising Israel is not anti-semitic. (And spare a thought for Jewish folks who must be absolutely devastated seeing this continued violence carried out in their name).
  • Do not reduce the situation down to a religious war. There are many, many Jewish folks speaking out against the actions of Israel, and standing in support of Palestine.
  • Do not retreat into a “both sides are at fault” dismissal of the situation. One side is committing genocide. One side is imposing apartheid. One side is building illegal settlements and dispossessing others from their homes.
  • Don’t use the label ‘conflict’ - this sidesteps the historical context, the long-standing abuses of international law, the genocide. The horrific attack on Oct 7th did not come out of nowhere.
  • Ask your politicians (again!) to speak strongly in support of a ceasefire - both in the media, and at the UN.
  • If you’re able to, go to the rallies (the physical showing of support matters - and yes, Jewish folks are there too!)
  • Donate to organisations and support groups, such as the following:
  • Keep listening and learning.

And if you’re feeling exhausted by this: I get it. I am too. But also, we can’t give into the despair - I’m taking solace and strength from seeing so many communities and organisations stepping up their efforts to demand a ceasefire, and calling for a liberated Palestine.