Na'amod

On Wednesday, Na'amodnik Max Hammer will join a panel of experts in Geneva to introduce the 5th annual Don't Buy Into Occupation report, which examines financial & corporate involvement in Israel's violations of international law in Palestine.

Register to join online/in-person: tinyurl.com/4v9cderz

A ceasefire is not enough when our leaders still let Israel's government act with impunity.

Sanctions now. Arms embargo now. UK Jews demand real accountability.

Israel has bombed Gaza again. 104 Palestinians are dead.

Critical aid being let into Gaza remains far below agreed levels.

We are appalled by the Israeli government’s attempt to ban Palestinians from publicly celebrating the return of their relatives and friends - a reminder of the daily cruelty of apartheid and of the fact that our struggle is not over. (4/4)

We share in the pain of those families whose loved ones’ remains have not been returned or who remain buried under the rubble of Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians, moreover, remain in Israeli prisons without due process. (3/4)

It is tremendously moving to see Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, who were held without charge, finally walk free. (2/4)

We are deeply relieved to see Israeli and Palestinian families united today at the end of the horrendous ordeal they have gone through.

While there is profound uncertainty about the future, these families’ indescribable pain is finally over. (1/4)

While we mourn the dead, we will continue fighting for the living – and for a future of peace, justice, and freedom for all.

We are grateful all who attended the vigil to join us in solidarity and in mourning for all those who were killed, captured, or otherwise had their lives torn apart on and since October 7th.

Thank you also to Matan Rosenstrauch of Mi-Neged, who shared the experience of his father in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th, and to Rabbi Jeffrey Newman and Imam Fathi Labidi, who led us through prayers in Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic.

Thank you to the Na’amodniks who shared testimonies of Gazans who have lost loved ones during the genocide or whose lives have been cut tragically short, including the poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed in her own home by an Israeli airstrike on 23 October 2023.

We grieved with Palestinians, who struggle to mourn not only the tens of thousands of men, women, and children murdered in Gaza by Israeli forces, but also the destruction of Gaza’s very society in Israel’s campaign of genocide, mass displacement and deliberate starvation.

Amidst the welcome news of a ceasefire, we paused to mourn and share in the pain of the family and friends of Israelis and other nationals murdered and taken hostage two years ago in the Hamas-led attacks, some of whom have still not returned home.

We are grateful to all who came to be in community with one another as we mourned and remembered the enormity of the universes which we have lost over these past 732 days.

Last night, Na’amodniks came together alongside allies from within and outside of the Jewish community to hold a vigil commemorating the lives of all those lost on and since October 7th in Israel-Palestine.

A protest poster with the headline “JEWISH BLOC” in bold red text, followed by “STOP THE GENOCIDE” in black. In the center, there is a Star of David design made out of watermelon slices with “OCT 11TH” written inside. At the bottom left, it says “JOIN YOUR JEWISH COMRADES” and gives the event details: “SAT 11TH OCTOBER, 11.45AM.” At the bottom right, it lists the meeting point: “VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, WHITEHALL GARDENS / HENRY BARTLE FRERE STATUE, SW1A 2ET.” The background is light grey with a black strip at the bottom.

The fight for accountability and justice isn't over. Join the Jewish Bloc tomorrow.

📍 Henry Bartle Frere Statue, London SW1 2AE
🗓️ Saturday, 11 October
⏰ 11:45am

All those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held accountable.

We cannot afford to turn our attention away now. We must mourn the dead, and continue fighting for the living.

A just and lasting peace must be built on equality, dignity, and respect for international law — not imposed “solutions" which further entrench the root causes of occupation and apartheid.

An immediate ceasefire is just the first step in ending the genocide that has been perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza. While we welcome it, we must remain vocal in our opposition to all parts of Trump's plan which seek to entrench Israel's system of domination & control over Palestinians.

Entire villages have been razed to the ground, and thousands of dead remain hidden under the rubble. Society has been shattered and generations left with the trauma of living through a genocide.

There remains much to be wary of.

While Israel reduced the intensity of its military campaign in recent days, it has not halted strikes. Even if aid surges in via the UN & Red Crescent, 100s of 1000s will still not have enough food & shelter. The scale of devastation in Gaza remains unparalleled.

We remain hopeful that Israel will finally be compelled to halt its mass killings, starvation and displacement of Palestinians, and to enable much needed aid to enter the territory.

As we came together this evening to mourn all the lives lost on and since the 7th of October, we share in the fragile hope of Palestinians and Israelis welcoming the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage deal that will see Israeli and Palestinian families reunite with their loved ones.

Join us as we remember, reckon, and stand together in our struggle to resist the ongoing Nakba and fight for freedom, justice and equality for all between the river and the sea.

We invite you to join us on October 9th for a solidarity vigil in London, where we will read testimonies, come together in reflection and say the Mourner’s Kaddish. In this way, we unite even while holding space for the unbearable pain that continues to unfold.

That future demands our will to fight and build a better world. But it also demands space for us to reflect, honour lives lost and pause in our grief.

We long for, and are committed to, a future in which the horrors of October 7th, the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and decades of systemic occupation and apartheid that preceded them are unimaginable.

With the scale of this horror robbing so many of their individuality, we turn to the Talmud's teaching that every life is an entire world: while this forces us to reckon with the overwhelming scale of destruction we have witnessed, it reminds us that those lost are not numbers.

We must gather in this moment to hold space for that grief, in all its complexity, and to honour the lives lost: Palestinian, Israeli, and those closer to home in recent attacks on Jewish and Muslim communities.

We grieve with Palestinians, who are struggling to mourn not only the tens of thousands of men, women, and children murdered by Israeli forces, but also the destruction of Gaza’s society amid Israel’s campaign of genocide, mass displacement, administrative detention & starvation.