War Is a Crime Against Humanity: Stop the Violence Immediately in Israel-Palestine

Photo by Amir Schiby
Photo by Amir Schiby

October 7th, One Year On

One year ago today, a new phase in the generations-long conflict in Palestine began. A brutal assault by Hamas fighters from the occupied Gaza strip, killing hundreds of people and taking many hostage, has been met with a year, and counting, of genocidal violence from Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, as well as with multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity it has committed in the West Bank, in Lebanon, and elsewhere...
 

War is a crime against humanity: Stop the violence immediately in Israel-Palestine

War Resisters' International executive statement on the escalation of violence in Israel-Palestine, October 2023
 

Jewish Voice for Peace Calls on All People of Conscience to Stop Imminent Genocide

The Israeli government has declared a genocidal war on the people of Gaza. As an organization that works for a future where Palestinians and Israelis and all people live in equality and freedom, we call on all people of conscience to stop imminent genocide of Palestinians... 

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Joint Statement on the Recent Israel-Palestine Escalation

The International Peace Bureau (IPB), Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) are deeply concerned over the unprecedented Israeli-Palestinian violent escalation launched in the morning of Saturday, 7th October, which has already resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives. The resulting fear, panic, and uncertainty that the Israeli and Palestinian people feel in these moments demand our compassion and understanding, even as the extent to which the conflict will escalate remains unclear.

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Gaza Under Attack: ISM statement and call to action

...The International Solidarity Movement maintains its presence on the ground in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, provide protective presence and report on human rights abuses. 

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To end violence in Palestine and Israel we must address root causes

American Friends Service Committee

We are heartbroken by the escalating violence in Palestine and Israel. We send our sympathies and solidarity to all who have lost loved ones. We mourn with you and hold all experiencing violence – and everyone waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe – in the Light.  

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Congress Must Address the Root Cause of Violence and Stop Arming Israel

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

...Now, as the Israeli government tightens its ongoing blockade on Gaza into a total blockade of all food, electricity, and fuel, it is necessary for members of Congress to oppose Israel’s state violence funded by our tax dollars. Lives are on the line. Rather than fueling violence, the U.S. government should end U.S. military funding to Israel, once and for all.

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Rising Majority call to action in solidarity with Palestinian resistance against apartheid and occupation

Rising Majority calls on people of conscience and all progressive movements to stand with Palestine in this critical moment and demand an end to the occupation and genocide led by the Israeli apartheid state and funded by the United States Government.

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Critical Resistance Statement: SOLIDARITY WITH THE STRUGGLE FOR PALESTINIAN LIBERATION

On the heels of Indigenous People’s Day, we join communities all over the world in condemning the horrific aggression of the apartheid state of Israel against the people of Gaza and across Palestine. As an organization working to abolish the prison industrial complex (PIC), we are in deep solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, and with all struggles against colonialism, imperialism, and war. The systems and conditions we fight against vary across contexts and geographies, but their purpose at their core is the same: to control, imprison, police, kill, harm, and repress our communities.
 
 

Synagogues Rising: Gaza Response to Congress and President Biden 10/13/23

We are grieving the horrific, violent and terrifying attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. A grief of this magnitude can unleash a powerful drive for revenge. Our Jewish values ask us to open our hearts and reach for our shared humanity. Jewish tradition insists that every single human being is sacred, with inherent dignity and worth. We ask that you not weaponize our grief to support the killing of Palestinian civilians....
 
 

Open letter to President Biden: we call for a ceasefire now

(Judith Butler, Masha Gessen, Rachel Kushner, Ben Lerner, V (formerly Eve Ensler) and others) 
Oct 19, 2023
President Joe Biden:
We are a group of Jewish American writers, artists and academics. Being Jewish means different things to all of us, but we all have at least one Jewish parent, which means we could move to Israel and qualify for Israeli citizenship. We condemn attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians. We believe it is possible and in fact necessary to condemn Hamas’ actions and acknowledge the historical and ongoing oppression of the Palestinians. We believe it is possible and necessary to condemn Hamas’ attack and take a stand against the collective punishment of Gazans that is unfolding and accelerating as we write...
 
 

Public Statement: Scholars Warn of Potential Genocide in Gaza

(October 15, 2023) As scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies and genocide studies, we are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. We do not do so lightly, recognising the weight of this crime, but the gravity of the current situation demands it...

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Group of Muslim and Jewish Hill staffers call for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war

“Today, we write to implore our bosses, Members of the United States Congress, to join calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians — half of whom are children — in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world....”

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* Take Action * 

Whether you can travel or want to plug in somehow: Find a Protest You Can Join 

Background

Palestine 101, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

5 Things You Need to Know About the Latest Violence in Palestine/Israel, Institute for Middle East Understanding

Where are Gaza’s neighbourhoods destroyed by Israel? (Mapping Gaza's Neighborhoods), Al Jazeera

Gaza Is a Prison Under Siege. This Is My Letter to the World Outside. Ahmed Abu Artema, a founder of the Great March of Return, on facing Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. (By Ahmed Abu Artema , TRUTHOUT Published October 15, 2023)

Reports

Damning evidence of war crimes as Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza, Amnesty International (October 21, 2023)

Ongoing reports:

Gaza Awareness: Accounts to Follow on Instagram by @sbeih.jpg on Instagram

Critical Resistance New Sources on Palestinian Liberation, Gaza and Apartheid Israel 

National Lawyers Guild SF's GAZA WAR LEGAL & POLICY RESOURCES 

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (download pdf) - Updated March 1, 2023 (Congressional Research Service)
 
Read previous War Resisters League statements and coverage about Gaza on our website here

 

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