Ceasefire NOW!
JVL Introduction
The world is calling for a ceasefire. Shame on our leaders, Tory and Labour alike.
Join with us and Jewish groups like Na’amod and the Jewish Socialist Group in Britain and Jewish Voice for Peace in the States in calling for a ceasefire now.
Call, too, for an end to the siege of Gaza, for the release of the hostages and political prisoners held in Israeli gaols, often held without charge or even what passes for a military trial.
Note that division within Labour are breaking out in the open with calls for a ceasefire from senior figures including Andy Burnhan, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Anas Sanwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party and Sadiq Khan Mayor of London.
So too are 129 MPs who are backing a ceasefire in Gaza, whether they’ve put their name to an EDM, spoke for one in the Commons, or otherwise indicated their position. This includes 55 Labour MPs, 40 SNP MPs and many others including, of course, Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Caroline Lucas.
Contact your MP here
Tell your MP: Ceasefire Now. Free the Hostages.
28th October: Last night the Israeli military attacked Gaza with unprecedented aggression – because of the total communication blackout it imposed, the fallout of the attacks is still unclear. As we write this, families cannot even know whether or not loved ones survived the night. Only an immediate ceasefire will stop this violence.
Tell your MP: Ceasefire Now. Free the Hostages.
Please click here to write to your MP as a Jewish constituent and demand a ceasefire now, the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas, and substantial life-saving aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
There is no justice in revenge, there is no military solution to this crisis. The first step to achieving equality and freedom for all Palestinians and Israelis is an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Ceasefire now. End the siege of Gaza.
Statement by the Jewish Socialists’ Group – updated 28th October 2023
We stand solidly behind the right to resist occupation, oppression and the deadly siege of Gaza. We oppose all acts of terror against civilians, irrespective of whether those committing these crimes describe themselves as state armies or resistance fighters or settlers. Nothing, though, justifies the deliberate, indiscriminate destruction being wreaked on the population of Gaza, and escalating killings in the West Bank, by an Israeli government containing openly declared racists and fascists, which for years has inflamed hatred and overseen daily violence against Palestinians.
Israel’s allies, from President Biden to our own government and official opposition, could demand a ceasefire now. Instead, they are pouring resources into propaganda – trying to “control the narrative” by tainting their opponents as antisemites, stoking up Jewish fears, banning Palestinian flags and threatening anyone who speaks out against the hate-fuelled revenge attacks.
They have condemned the UN Secretary General who dared to state the obvious: that there was a backdrop to Hamas’s horrific terror attack on 7th October. In Germany, the police are trying to block Jews from supporting the people of Gaza! Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government threatens Israeli human rights defenders and imprisons young people refusing to fight in an army of occupation.
Beyond the region itself, the fallout is fuelling anti-Muslim racism, dividing Muslims and Jews, setting communities against each other. As Jews we stand against antisemitism and in solidarity with all groups facing racism and fascism. We demand that Jewish leadership bodies in Britain address this and take a humanitarian stand on Gaza that is independent of that of an Israeli government that includes fascists.
The propaganda is failing. The streets of cities across the world are filled with protesters, and our political leaders are being forced to qualify their support for Israel’s war crimes. The world is watching Gaza being demolished, with families crushed under the rubble of their homes, hospitals and places of worship. We must all act – most urgently for the Palestinians whose lives are being lost, also for ordinary Israelis, whose government has legislated for apartheid and perpetrating war crimes, wrecking prospects for peace – but ultimately for everyone who needs a world built on justice, dialogue and coexistence.
What is proclaimed as a war against Hamas is obviously a war against the Palestinian people. Even if the relentless attacks in Gaza today did not threaten to explode into a nuclear world war, this would still be everyone’s problem.
As Jewish Socialists we are proud to be part of a big and growing Jewish bloc on these protests and to stand with everyone on the side of humanity, justice and peace, who knows there is no military route to a future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Listen to Naomi Wayne on Any Answers
From around 3.30mins to 9.30mins
Images from the Jewish Voice for Peace sit-in at Grand Central station, NY
Jewish people are standing for Palestine and Palestinian rights all around the world, this is Wellington, Aoteoroa (NZ)
Solidarity from a fellow Palestinian.
At the end of the day the people behind these atrocities can be counted in their 100’s
Those against in their millions
At some stage Justice will catch up with the few
JVL you are the best.