| Whenever we sit down in the morning to write these letters to you, we wonder what the world will look like by the end of the day. The past few months have been nothing but turbulent, violent and volatile. As the Israeli government presses on regardless with their agenda to further de-democratise the country, and willfully incite violence, the prospect of peace fades, and fear for the future grows. Our work in Israel has a clear focus. The weekly demonstrations are attracting hundreds of thousands of people, all proudly declaring their right to a free and democratic state. It's hard for us to accept. We and others have been warning of a declining trend for decades, as illegal settlements were shrugged off as a problem for later, and international law is arrogantly ignored. There are consequences of our inaction and failure to respond - and they are obvious to all now, which is why we stand up on ladders and loudly declare that there is no democracy with occupation! We repeat ourselves over and over to crowds of people, some that raise an eyebrow and move on, and some that stop to talk. Our role is to bring the Palestinian voice to the hundreds of thousands that oppose this government. They need to recognise the inherent link between what is happening now, and the occupation. The militirisation within society, the apartness of Israelis and Palestinians for decades, and the military oppression of millions of people is what has led us here, this isn't a sudden crisis that we couldn't have foreseen. In Palestine we work against the odds. Communities that we support are being displaced, erased, gone forever. Young people who deeply want to see a better future and envisage peace are losing hope, and families are in limbo, stuck in an endless occupation that denies them freedom, rights or dignity. So how do we keep going? Or why? It's because we live it. We are Israelis and Palestinians and we don't have the privilege of choice. We can't accept that our children will be raised to be good soldiers responsible for implementing apartheid policies, denying others their right to a life and sent to unnecessary war, and we cant accept that our children will be raised under a brutal occupation without freedom and bear constant witness to unbearable violence. For those of us that celebrate, we are approaching the high holidays starting with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year which begins a 10 day period of introspection and repentance that culminates on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. We invite our friends of all faiths and none to join us and use this period of time to reflect. Consider both where we are, how we got here, and resolve any regrets that we have for our part. Then, to look ahead to a brighter future, and what we can personally do to get there. We know that there is a way to unite Palestinians and Israelis, we do it every day, but we need more people to believe, to take part, and to support. On behalf of all of us in Palestine and Israel, we would like to wish anyone celebrating a Happy New year, שנה טובה and here's to a more just future, together. In Peace & Solidarity from Israel/Palestine, |
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