Standing Together against the Israeli government
Published
by
Richard Kuper
JVL Introduction
We repost the latest newsletter from Standing Together in Israel.
In it they detail their latest actions, successfully taking their message to the wider Israeli public by interrupting Big Brother Israel, disrupting the inauguration of the Knesset Museum and other bold actions.
Their message is simple: the government is starving Gaza, sacrificing the hostages sacrificed, and sending soldiers to die for no purpose.
And they appeal for funds to enable them to continue and expand their campaigning activities.
RK
This article was originally published by Standing Together on Thu 14 Aug 2025. Read the original here.
We just broke normal routine in Israel and reached millions
Loading article text…
How can this be reconciled with PACBI’s clear position on Standing Together? They describe ST as a normalisation project, and they are unequivocal about ST’s status as a BDS target. See https://bdsmovement.net/search?keywords=Standing+together+
JVL has discussed this normalisation issue at a recent Education session. Here’s how I read the feeling of that meeting,if I’m mistaken please correct me. Most members present decided to continue supporting Stand Together’s actions in Israel, while remaining wary of the UK ‘Friends Of’ organisation which poses “standing together” as an alternative to BDS. Some JVL members still felt that they would choose to follow the BDS/PACBI leadership without question and oppose Standing Together entirely.
I think it is worth reading this rebuttal of the PACBI statement by the Palestinian leadership of Standing Together: https://x.com/omdimbeyachad/status/1752394061414109315
The statement you cite is mainly interesting for what is missing from it. There’s no mention of zionism, the racist supremacist ideology that must be dismantled worldwide before any of the ‘goals’ can be achieved. There’s a mention of ‘hostages’, which imply Israeli hostages and not the 12,000 Palestinian political hostages held and tortured in Israeli jails. And the reference to PACBI as a ‘pro-Palestinian’ group, rather than a Palestinian one, is frankly baffling. Who is silencing whom here?
PACBI also advocate a boycott of the film No Other Land.
The original PACBI statement should be read not just against the response of the Palestinian leadership of ST, but against what they say and do. A quick look through recent ST speeches might suffice, but also calling for reservists and IDF members to refuse war is hardly supporting Israeli apartheid.
I’m surprised that JVL re-published this. There is much critique of this organisation being run by mostly ‘progressive Zionists’ and shunned by Palestinians. They have become one of the largest political NGOs in Israel with a professional PR and fundraising team who have garnered in millions in grants funding.
While the work of Standing Together is a productive part of the mosaic of soft Zionist and left/progressive organisations trying to move Israel in a more democratic direction, their approach and ideology is rejected by the vast majority of Palestinians.
I’m not critical of JVL for publishing the ST piece. But I’m very disappointed that it was published in such an uncritical – indeed approving – fashion. The piece should really have been framed differently – with proper acknowledgement of the legitimate criticisms of ST within solidarity circles, and in the context of several ‘Friends of ST’ chapters being launched in the UK, much to the delight of liberal zionists. Perhaps JVL is delighted too?