Statements from First Week of War in Israel/Palestine, October 2023
Below are the series of statements that IfNotNow made during the first week of the unparalleled violence in Israel/Palestine in October 2023:
October 13 - in response to reports that the Israeli government ordered 1.1 million Palestinians to evacuate their homes:
We are still mourning — but our grief is not a weapon, our pain is not an excuse. We refuse to let our grief be used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. We must act to stop a second Nakba. Our leaders must step up — stop the war and demand de-escalation now.
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Oct 12 - in response to the bipartisan vigil only mourning Israeli lives:
We also mourn for Israeli civilians - our families, friends, and partners. Yet we find it shocking that our members of Congress cannot treat the deaths of Palestinian civilians with a single ounce of humanity. It is utterly disgusting.
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Oct 11 - in response to escalating Israeli violence as well rhetoric by members of the Israeli and American governments:
We are in mourning. We have lost people. We are horrified by the scale of the violence. We are in so much pain right now. But we refuse to let our grief be used to justify revenge or genocide of Palestinians.
Our pain is not your weapon. Our grief is not your excuse. Stop using Jewish pain to justify Israeli massacres of Palestinians. War crimes do not justify more war crimes. Revenge is not a strategy for safety for anyone.
We’re reckoning with the fact that the Israeli government has failed Israelis and Palestinians by perpetuating a system of apartheid for decades, without concern for the consequences to their citizens. That’s what’s led us here. We cannot maintain this violent status quo.
We need deescalation now. As Israeli leaders advocate for genocide and ethnic cleansing, it is reckless and unconscionable for the US government to be sending additional military aid to Israel, especially offensive weapons. Deescalation will save lives.
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Oct 10 - In response to Monday’s comments by President Biden and the over 400 bipartisan members of Congress who lined up behind a one-sided resolution, IfNotNow issued this statement:
Israelis are still reeling from the violence that Hamas unleashed on families, women, children, civilians - and anxiously awaiting news of those taken hostage. We too are consumed: our friends, family members, and colleagues are amongst those killed and kidnapped by Hamas.
Ahistorical and one-sided statements and resolutions, from the President and from Congress, that only address Israeli losses will do nothing to stop the bloodshed. Where are those with the courage and the heart to speak to Palestinian lives lost and homes destroyed today by Israeli warplanes? Or of the context of ongoing occupation and siege that created this crisis? Where are the calls for deescalation?
True leaders know that there is no vengeance that can bring back the dead or the missing. These one-sided declarations of support for Israel are more than a dereliction of duty from the leaders of the most powerful country in the world – which also happens to be the single largest provider of military support to the State of Israel. They are pouring fuel on the flames, as Israeli leaders call for vengeance and genocide. These reckless actions are nothing less than a green light for unspeakable escalations in violence.
Uniquely amongst world leaders, President Biden has the power to stop this cycle of violence from continuing. We call on him to support and take his cues from those Israelis and Palestinians who, despite unfathomable loss, are extending words and actions of peace.
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Oct 10 - in response to escalating Israeli violence as well rhetoric by members of the Israeli and American governments:
This all feels so painful. It seems like you have two choices: Justify the abduction and mass murder of Israelis by Hamas? Or "stand with" the Israeli government's starvation and vengeance on 2 million Palestinians, most of them children, caged in an open air prison? No.
We have been sold a lie: that hardening our hearts to the humanity of others will keep us safe. That our hearts cannot hold multiplicities of loss and grief. We won't close ourselves off to the cries of fellow human beings who feel just as deeply &love just as fiercely as we do.
It feels so lonely to live in the “both/and.” But you're not alone. We don’t have all the answers, but we want to invite you to find & connect with other people who are holding both.
Both: Apartheid is an abomination. Every day it continues is a blight on the lives of millions, and a moral stain on the rest of us. And: Abducting children and murdering families is an atrocity. We fight for a future worth living in for everyone, not a parade of corpses.
