The War
This war has been one never-ending nightmare. All of us, Palestinians and Israelis, have endured unfathomable violence, loss, and trauma. We have been deeply hurt by the loss of life across the land, both from Hamas’ October 7th attack and Israel’s war on Gaza since. Every person killed and taken hostage in this horrific reality is a tragedy, and ordinary civilians have paid the highest prices for this deadly war. Since October 7th, Gaza has faced unrelenting bombardment, collective punishment, mass death and destruction, and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. In the occupied West Bank, military raids and settler violence have become increasingly frequent and fatal, freedom of movement has become more restricted, and thousands of Palestinians have been detained in administrative detention without trial. In Israel, Palestinian citizens have also been subject to extreme political persecution for acts as simple as identifying with suffering in Gaza on social media. The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024 brought much-needed relief to northern Israel and Lebanon, and the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in January 2025 has been the glimmer of hope we waited so long for. Finally, people in Gaza will have some respite from the brutal 15 months of bombardment, and hostages will be able to return home to their families. While hopeful, the ceasefire deal is fragile and the Israeli military has opened a new front in the West Bank, launching a deadly operation there just days after the ceasefire began. We are doubling down on our campaign to end the war, pushing for the ceasefire to be extended past the first stage and to lead to a complete end to the war and the return of all hostages.
Our message is simple: There is another way. We have seen the Israeli government and military launch countless wars and military operations only to end up in the same position. No military operation has ever produced lasting safety and security for Israelis, while only being catastrophic for Palestinians. The occupation of the West Bank and the blockade on Gaza must end - not only because it is brutal and oppressive for Palestinians - but also because it does not guarantee any long-term safety for Israelis. We know that a negotiated peace agreement is the only way to ensure freedom, equality, and safety for both peoples. As a progressive grassroots movement, we are focused on building the political will in Israeli society to reach a political solution by building a mass movement of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel who truly believe that such a shared future is possible. We call for a complete ceasefire that will end the war for good, bring back all of the hostages, allow us to rehabilitate our societies, and enable us to move toward a just and sustainable peace.
Standing Together’s Response to the War
Demonstrations calling for a ceasefire agreement & hostage deal
Standing Together has organized the biggest demonstrations calling for a ceasefire agreement and hostage deal since October 7th, drawing tens of thousands to the streets across the country. In addition to Standing Together’s rallies and marches, we have been joining the main anti-government and pro-hostage deal rallies on Saturday nights in several cities.
Public campaigns to impact discourse
We have been engaging in public campaigns promoting solidarity, partnership, and long-term peace, as well as the importance of condemning the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel. We are promoting messaging aimed at re-humanizing the discourse, retaining humanity, mourning all lives lost, and rejecting violence on social media in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
Campaign to collect aid for Gaza and oppose the starvation
The war in Gaza has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, bringing starvation, disease, and immense suffering to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, most of whom are internally displaced. In August, Standing Together embarked on a campaign to collect food and humanitarian aid supplies for residents of Gaza from several Arab-Palestinian towns across Israel. In addition to the aim of bringing more aid to Gaza, the campaign aimed to mobilize Palestinians and Jews in Israel, strengthening the Jewish-Arab partnership in fighting against the war. Palestinian citizens have faced extreme political persecution since the start of the war, and this campaign provides a mechanism by which Palestinian and Jewish citizens can safely participate in grassroots actions that have a practical impact on the lives of people in Gaza, as well as stand up against the government’s actions which lead to starvation and collective punishment. The campaign has been overwhelmingly successful, mobilizing tens of thousands of Palestinians and Jews across the country, and collecting over 400 trucks worth of food and aid.
De-escalation and Solidarity within Israel
As soon as the war broke out we opened 12 solidarity networks across the country, where over 5,000 Jewish and Palestinian activists took part in a wide range of actions promoting solidarity and de-escalation. Some highlights include:
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A “Solidarity Watch” patrol, which accompanies people who are fearful of leaving their homes and serves as a public reminder of Jewish-Arab collaboration.
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Pooling efforts for humanitarian and mutual aid including cleaning bomb shelters and collecting food for people in need.
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Physical and virtual meetings to provide safe and open conversations with trained psychologists.
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Monitoring and reporting calls for violence, discrimination, and fake news in social and traditional media and reporting them to authorities.
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Pressuring local police and media to intervene in cases of intercommunal violence.
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Promoting positive messages and a discourse of solidarity on the ground.
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Training people for de-escalating potentially inflammatory conversations in shared spaces such as the workplace and at school.
Support for victims of discrimination and political persecution
We created an emergency support hotline, where over 300 volunteers provided support in Arabic and Hebrew to people experiencing racism, discrimination, dismissal from their jobs, or expulsion from universities. The support hotline connects people with relevant mental health and legal aid resources, as well as de-escalation techniques.
Student Support
Standing Together has 9 student chapters at various Israeli Universities and Colleges, and is active on 14 campuses. The student chapters have been working to provide extra support for students affected by the war and political persecution, as well as organizing students on campuses to call for an immediate hostage deal and ceasefire agreement, as well as Jewish-Palestinian solidarity on campus.
Humanitarian Guard
In May we launched the Humanitarian Guard, where we have brought activists to Tarqumiyah checkpoint to guard aid trucks headed to Gaza from extremist settlers that come out to attack the trucks. Until we launched the humanitarian guard, the Israeli police did not sufficiently prevent the attacks or arrest the attackers, and the Humanitarian Guard’s activity at the checkpoint ensured heightened police presence and legal consequences for the attacks. This action has ensured that all trucks passing through the Tarqumiah checkpoint reach Gaza, and has also been important in raising awareness of the attacks in Israeli society - pushing people in Israeli society to fight for our collective humanity.
