Editor’s note: As we hope and pray for a ceasefire in Gaza that includes the release of all the hostages, we note that in addition, this statement focuses on other critical issues as well, including widespread famine in Gaza, the government’s ongoing judicial overhaul, settler violence in the West Bank and proposals for Jewish settlement in Gaza.
What would you do if you believed that your government was acting systematically to destroy the democratic essence of your beloved country? What would you do if you believed that your government was conducting a never-ending war, jeopardizing the lives of soldiers for no justifiable end and destroying many lives across the border? What would you do if you saw that your government was still pursuing, and even intensifying, these two interrelated catastrophic actions after months and months of wide public protests?
These are the questions we never expected to face, yet are facing, together with many other Israelis, for almost three years. It started on Jan. 4, 2023, when Israel’s Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, announced the beginning of the judicial overhaul that set Israel on an autocratic path to a government with unlimited power. It did not stop following Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. To the contrary, the horrific attack and the long, and for many months aimless, war that followed allowed an acceleration of the judicial overhaul.
The shocking rise of antisemitism around the world is proof that justified criticism against the Israeli government can be abused by evil forces.
Many Israelis think that an elected government can do whatever it wants and that this is democracy. Many Israelis are traumatized by Hamas’s invasion of Israel and are looking for revenge. Many are convinced by the government’s messages that there are no innocent people in the Gaza Strip. They consider protests against the government and against the war as anti-democratic and anti-patriotic. Others do realize that the current government is destroying the democratic system and that the war serves the government’s rather than the country’s interests, but they are too exhausted by the war and its outcomes to demonstrate or resist in other ways. Many are also afraid to speak up. They know that we have reached the stage of selective law enforcement in which settlers who murder Palestinians are set free while protesters against the government are kept in detention.
As feminists, we are dedicated to democratic values and to ending human suffering wherever it occurs. We also see ourselves as the successors of women who spoke truth to power throughout history in the name of freedom, equality and peace. So our answer to the questions posed above was that the democratic, patriotic and humanist thing to do is to call on the international community to stand with us in our struggle to end the war. More than 750 Israeli feminists signed our call, which was sent to tens of foreign embassies in Israel, as well as to organizations and colleagues around the world.
Issuing this call to the international community was not an easy decision. The shocking rise of antisemitism around the world is proof that justified criticism against the Israeli government can be abused by evil forces. Moreover, many outside the borders of Israel ignore the complexity of the situation, and, in particular, the fact that both Israelis and Palestinians are captured by extreme leaderships that act to promote their goals rather than the well-being of their people. Indeed, while we received supportive responses to our call, we were also accused of not being radical enough by those who refuse to hold Hamas accountable for any of the misery of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In constructing the call, we therefore insisted on describing the complexity — warning against the immoral and illegal actions of the Israeli government as well as blaming Hamas for its part in the horrific situation in the Gaza Strip.
Settlers who murder Palestinians are set free while protesters against the government are kept in detention.
Specifically, we wrote:
“We are horrified by the severe hunger and devastating casualties in the Gaza Strip. What is happening in the Gaza Strip crosses every moral line, every humane threshold. The Gaza Strip is nearing total destruction. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. Tens of thousands have been killed and dozens continue to be killed every day, including women and children. International mechanisms for delivering food and humanitarian aid were shut down and are still severely restricted, creating starvation conditions; and several Israeli ministers declare their plan to deport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and establish Jewish settlements in their place.
We are appalled by the repeated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. Armed militias are expelling entire communities, killing innocent people and burning Palestinian property, with no protection from the Israeli authorities.
We are devastated by the horrific state of the Israeli hostages kidnapped, held and tortured by Hamas, and we are outraged by the fact that the Israeli government has not exhausted all non-violent means to save the hostages from cruel death. Instead, it has sabotaged possible deals and diplomatic efforts, while exploiting the war to advance a regime overhaul and silence criticism.
The murderous attack and atrocities, including sexual violence, committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, against Israelis and others, including women and children, as well as the brutal missile attacks by Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas, left us with deep trauma. We have experienced the suffering of the Israeli public, and we share the grief of the many Israelis who lost beloved family members and the pain of the families of the hostages.
Hamas is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity not only against Israelis but also against Palestinians, including abusing Palestinian civilians and civil infrastructure to further its military goals, thus sacrificing its own people for a jihadist war while hiding in a city of tunnels that has been built for years.”
Both Israelis and Palestinians are captured by extreme leaderships that act to promote their goals rather than the well-being of their people.
Right after the atrocious attack by Hamas, and in fear that the Israeli government would start a war with no diplomatic end, we formed “The Day After the War Forum.” Together with many Israeli academics, we drafted a program that resembles the programs that were later presented by the Biden administration and by the Arab League. Israel does not have to choose between the hostages and the destruction of Hamas; this false dichotomy is serving the Israeli government that is led by a prime minister who wants to stay in power by all means and by extremist right-wing parties that strive for a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip and Jewish settlements that will prevent the future establishment of a Palestinian state. The international community has a historical role in stopping the war and promoting an alternative, along the lines of our statement’s call for:
- The immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in the Gaza Strip
- The immediate entry of food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip and their effective distribution
- The prevention of civilian casualties, displacement and destruction
- The disarmament of Hamas and the end of the war in the Gaza Strip
- The halt of any plan for Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and immediate halt of settlers’ violence in the West Bank
- The formation of an international and regional alliance that will ensure security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and self-determination for both peoples
