August 2014: Tens Of Thousands Of Nonviolent Israelis And Palestinians March For Peace

 Much has been written about rockets being fired at Israel by Hamas and bombs being dropped on Gaza by the Israeli government, the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the pain it causes.

Did you know that this month, August 2014, there were at least two rallies for peace that drew 10,000 people in Israel? There are so many people on all sides who realize the use of violence and destruction will never bring a solution, it will never bring peace.

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 First, as reported by Faiz Abu-Rmeleh at 972mag.com, approx. 10,000 people marched in the northern Israel Arab town of Tamra in on Saturday, August 2nd. Palestinians took to the streets in a peaceful protest in solidarity with the innocents being oppressed in Gaza. Children symbolically carried dolls wrapped in cloth with with red stains and photos of the victims of the recent violence.

Then, on August 15th, over ten thousand Israeli Anti-War activists peacefully descended into Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to demand that the government stop the violence being perpetrated on the people of Gaza stop immediately.

The Tikkun Daily reports:

Tonight’s rally, sponsored by a number of left-wing groups in Israel, including the political party Meretz, overwhelmed those extremists who showed up with the volume of participants.

Organizers of tonight’s protest had the following message for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who many protesters addressed with chants of “Bibi, go home”:

“The next round of fighting can be prevented. No to the way of wars – we must have a political solution. After an agonizing month of war and death, in the face of mounting waves of incitement and hatred, which increasingly tear up the Israeli society, we stand up to demonstrate for peace and for democracy.”

Israel and Hamas in Gaza are currently in the midst of a five-day ceasefire as officials from both sides try to hammer out a long-term truce, which will likely only be secured with an end of the blockade in Gaza. It’s precisely this point which famed Israeli novelist David Grossman addressed, telling the crowd, “We won’t be able to breathe deeply in Israel as long as people in Gaza feel choked.”

Photo: Reuters

 Deep gratitude for all of the Nonviolent Revolutionaries on both sides of this conflict for seeing beyond the anger and embracing the human in each other.