Amal Ghawi, journalist, activist and Palestinian citizen of Israel, and Itamar Avneri, co-founder of the movement and city councillor in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, spoke openly about the hopes and challenges of their work. As a progressive grassroots movement, Standing Together campaigns for peace and social justice. With more than 5,000 members, it is currently the largest movement in Israel. The movement values its independence. It does not receive funding from governments in order to speak from the center of society. Standing Together strives to build a lasting peace. The movement responded to the escalation since October 7 with protests for a ceasefire and a hostage agreement. They organized solidarity vigils in mixed Jewish-Palestinian towns and humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. Their actions attracted a great deal of international attention.
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forumZFD was able to attract many cooperation partners to support the lecture tour and reach several hundred people at the public events. Many people wanted to know how Standing Together held together as a Jewish-Palestinian movement in Israel after October 7.
Amal Ghawi remembers. In the days after October 7, she asked herself whether she could only feel the jest of one side, like many people around her, or whether she wanted to feel the pain of both sides. She immediately realized that it was the pain of both sides. At Standing Together, she found people who thought and felt like her. She found hope in the movement's actions. She was particularly impressed by the humanitarian aid campaign for Gaza. Standing Together had initially wanted to collect donations for a truck with relief supplies in Israeli cities with a Palestinian population. In the end, the willingness to help was so overwhelming that they were able to fill 400 trucks.
Itamar Avneri called on the audience: Germany should take a critical stance towards the Israeli government and not confuse solidarity with the Israelis with solidarity with the current Israeli government. According to surveys, more than 70 percent of Israelis support an agreement to end the war in Gaza and free the hostages.
The appeal of the two activists from Standing Together to politicians and people in Germany:
- Stand on the only right side: the side of humanity. Stand on the side of the people of Palestine and Israel, not on the side of the warmongers.
- Stand up for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and an agreement to release the hostages and increase the pressure on the Israeli government. This includes enforcing international law and stopping arms deliveries to Israel.
- Supports peace and human rights organizations in Palestine and Israel
You can read more about Amal Ghawi and Itamar Avneri and their commitment to Standing Together in our interview with the two activists: