Na’amod: mourning and collective grief

JVL Introduction

Naamod is a nonviolent movement of largely young Jews in Britain, rooted in respect for the sanctity and dignity of all human life, steadfast in its commitment to seeing a future of equality and justice for all Israelis and Palestinians.

It called a vigil last week to mourn all the lives lost in Israel-Palestine in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas killings, “to share our collective grief and horror” at what is happening in Israel-Palestine.

Naamod’s Facebook page reports that around a hundred people attended. Your web editor, who was there, would put it closer to two hundred.

Short statements from many in Israel-Palestine were read out, songs were sung and candles lit in what proved to be a warm, supportive, holding environment in the face of what had already happened and what we all knew was about to come.

Naamod’s collective opening statement

We have come together tonight to mourn, to share our collective grief and horror at what is happening in Israel-Palestine. The last few days have been harrowing and incredibly distressing for all of us. We are confronted with the reality that well over 1000 people have lost their lives, and that number is increasing by the hour. Many of us are here because of our connections to people and place, and also because of our steadfast commitment to seeing a future of equality and justice for all Israelis and Palestinians.

Naamod is a nonviolent movement rooted in respect for the sanctity and dignity of all human life. We deplore these crimes that have been perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli civilians, on a scale of violence unseen in many of our lifetimes. Any celebration of these attacks is appalling and deeply misguided. In our grief, we also recognise  the unconscionable and violent response of the Israeli government, by bombing Gaza, which has also meant that hundreds of Palestinian civilians are also paying with their lives. This vigil is a sombre remembrance of the countless lives lost – in the  context of the political failings of a system built on occupation and militarism, not justice and equality. A system that continues to dispossess, instead of enshrining human dignity.

In these horrifying times, now more than ever, we must resist retreating into an ‘us vs them’ mentality and hold strong to our principles: that all human life is sacred. That none of us are free until we are all free. That all people should live free from oppression and violence. That Jewish liberation is tied up with Palestinian liberation. As the Mishnah in Sanhedrin says “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world.”

We are here together now to hold space for our grief and our worry. Each life lost is a beloved child, a parent, a friend or loved one tragically taken by the relentless grip of violent conflict. We also honour the memories of those lost in past iterations of this horror, lives tragically taken for no good reason, resulting only in sorrow, pain and more violence.

At times like these our instinct might be to turn away from our shared humanity, to focus solely on the loss of those we identify with the most. The path to justice and dignity for all must be built – not on dehumanising the other, obscuring or ignoring the conditions which have led to this moment – but on seeing the sanctity of all life.

It is precisely because of the pain and horror of this moment that we must redouble our commitment to an end to all violence and an end to the dispossession and oppression of Palestinians and a future of equality and justice for all Israelis and Palestinians. We come together tonight as inheritors of the Jewish tradition of facing what needs to be faced and making the change that needs to be made. We choose not to turn away from our commitment to shared humanity at a moment when it is most needed. We stand united in our commitment for an end to this violence, suffering and death. Together, with our allies, we must confront this grim reality, and do all we can to strive for a political solution that can bring a lasting and just peace, sparing future generations from the sorrow and pain.

Today we are here to mourn together. Let us channel our grief into action, and work towards a liberated future for all. Let us help create and nurture, wherever and whenever possible, the conditions for a durable and just peace. A peace that eradicates violence and enables all lives both Israeli and Palestinian to flourish and thrive.