Partnership for Peace Keeps Calling for an End to the War

Photo Credit: Partnership for Peace

On July 5, a convoy of cars made its way from the north of Israel all the way to the border with Gaza. These were members of the Partnership for Peace coalition, a group of Jews and Palestinians that has been spearheading anti-war efforts on the ground in Israel. They came with a clear message: that the war in Gaza must end. The convoy finally stopped at a point from which protestors could see smoke billowing from the devastated Strip. There, they held a demonstration, calling for a different way forward—an approach that involves cooperation rather than bloodshed, a shared future rather than a divided one.

At a time when solidarity between communities is sorely needed, Partnership for Peace leads with a vision of Jewish-Palestinian co-resistance. Founded in December 2023, the group works closely with other organizations, including the Anti-Occupation Bloc, Rabbis for Human Rights, Zazim, and Combatants for Peace, to bring together Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel for demonstrations, campaigns, and educational webinars designed to move the needle towards peace in Israeli society. They call for political and humanitarian alternatives to the ongoing violence. And they are very active.

In addition to organizing the convoy, the Partnership’s activities—just in July—included the completion of the “Don’t Look Away” campaign, in which they raised over NIS 800,000 ($232,880) to support Gaza’s civilian population in cooperation with the Arava Institute. The group also hosted multiple educational conversations, including one about the reality facing Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley. The talk featured activists from the group with Looking the Occupation in the Eye, which documents violence by settlers and the Israeli army against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. “Solidarity is an action,” the Partnership wrote in a post about the event, “and it begins with listening.” The Partnership’s largest protest took place in the city of Sakhnin on July 25 and brought together 15,000 Jews and Palestinians in a public act of resistance. Initially, the police would not grant a permit for the march but ultimately caved to public pressure. The protest was widely covered in Israeli media. 

Partnership for Peace will continue to push the envelope in Israel, insisting that Israelis not turn away from the devastation that is happening in their name.