You can greet the news of a peace deal in Gaza with either cynicism or hope. I choose both. My brain mainly agrees with the cynics, but my heart mostly embraces the hope, though both organs are conflicted.
The cynics say that the this is just another pause in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Gaza, to make way for a land grab by Israel, a cleansing that is becoming so thorough it has crossed the line into attempted genocide: the near extermination of the Palestinian people on that land, through death and terrorism.
They point to the fact that these pauses have happened before to assuage public opinion — dating back to the Camp David accord — but the killing resumes once the pressure is lifted.
I say, yeah, but what caused pause this time?
Conventional wisdom said that Donald Trump strong-armed Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister went overboard by bombing Hamas negotiators in Qatar. To convince the prime minister, the president reportedly said that Israel couldn’t fight the whole world.
In this case, the president was right, and Netanyahu knew it.
The whole world did turn against Israel. They’ve had it with the incessant mass murder via bombings, shootings, destruction of infrastructure, starvation on such a massive scale that it practically eclipsed the horror Hamas inflicted on Oct. 7.
Public opinion was shifting rapidly. In the United States, a large majority opposed Israel’s policies. Heck, a slim majority of my fellow Jews agreed. I didn’t need a poll to tell me this. When I rode across the country with my Ride Against War on Gaza jersey this summer, I got unbelievable support and nearly no opposition. Internationally, peace demonstrations have reached a fever pitch, pressuring governments to recognize Palestine, and back ever-increasing multi-country flotillas of aid to break the inhumane blockade to a starving population.
No, Israel and Hamas didn’t agree to this just because of Trump. Trump and Netanyahu halted the bombing because of a worldwide peace movement that we haven’t seen the likes of since Vietnam.
That gives me hope. That’s what gives Palestinians hope, that brings many of them out on the streets dancing, that has them marching to what is left of their homes, only to find in many cases that they had no homes. They aren’t stupid. They know this could all fall apart. But they have just seen the “whole world” rise up to support them and that help stopped the bombs from falling.
This movement was never just about a cease fire, but a permanent sustainable cease fire, a lasting peace. And you can’t have peace when Israel continues to occupy Gaza and West bank, where they continue to control land and water in favor of one ethnic group over another. Palestinians need to be treated equally, whether it is in one state or two. That is the only way both sides can be free of the threat of violence breaking out again. Trump’s plan for Gaza does little to address that, and that’s why the cynics are probably right. Chances are this pause is going to come to end, and the hope of those Palestinians, celebrating at the mere interruption of their killing, are going to be dashed again. If we let that happen.
A lasting peace is never perfect. But it is possible. It happened in Ireland. It happened in South Africa. It can happen in Israel and Palestine. But the “whole world” has to be on it, has to be watching, has to keep up the pressure. Now is not the time to wait and see what is going to happen, to stop protesting, to reward Israel with billions more for arms. Because it is not over, until it really is over.
During this pause, we must cut off military aid to Israel, for its war crimes and to discourage continued military action against Palestinians. Israel is a powerful country that can defend itself, and they don’t need billions of dollars from us. Maybe if their citizens are taxed to pay for this permanent war and occupation (rather than ours) they won’t be so supportive of it.
We make sure the organizations giving humanitarian aid are unimpeded (and that includes the United Nation’s UNRWA).
We must push for a peace negotiation that include those who speak for Palestine, and that works toward a future where both Palestinians and Israelis manage to share that land in peace and as equals.
We can’t let this slim chance for peace slip away.
Bob Sanders, a founder of Not In My Name, Inc., a group of Jews opposed to Israeli’s policies against Palestine, biked 3,000 miles across the country over the summer in his Ride Against War on Gaza (RAW GAZA).
