TEL AVIV, Israel: Hundreds of Palestinian and Jewish Israelis marched through Tel Aviv on Thursday night, chanting “yes, to peace, yes, to a deal” and demanding an end to the Gaza War and a rebirth of the peace movement. Their primary demand is for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, but their ultimate goal is to reboot Palestinian-Israeli relations.
The peace movement had largely fallen silent since the war began on October 7, according to Amira Mohammed, a Palestinian citizen of Israel. “The radicals became louder than the peace movement. So right now, we’ve got to be radical about the peace that we want,” Mohammed stated. She emphasized the need for “acknowledgement of the power dynamic between occupier and occupied” and accountability on both sides.
Teacher Carmit Bar Levy, 49, stressed the necessity of ensuring a good life for both Palestinians and Jews inside Israel. “We have to acknowledge they have the same right to live here as us,” she said, noting a growing sense that the status quo is untenable.
Marcelo Oliki, 64, a survivor of the Hamas attacks on Kibbutz Nirim, echoed the sentiment, stating, “Peace is the only way forward.” He highlighted the suffering on both sides of the border, emphasizing the shared desire for peace.
Demonstrations in Tel Aviv have become frequent, with various groups, including families of hostages in Gaza, anti-government demonstrators, and the Jewish-Arab peace camp, staging protests multiple times a week. Approximately 20 percent of Israel’s population of 9.5 million are Arab, many of whom identify as Palestinian. Activists and watchdogs have noted that Palestinian citizens of Israel have faced challenges in getting authorization for anti-war protests, with Thursday’s march postponed due to abrupt withdrawal of permission.
While protest groups in Tel Aviv may have differing political views, they are united in their call for an immediate ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, reiterated his demand for “total victory” while addressing the US Congress, and members of his far-right coalition have threatened to collapse the government over any deal with Hamas.
The war, which began with a Hamas attack on October 7 resulting in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, has led to a retaliatory offensive by Israel, killing at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza mostly women and children according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Maya Ofer, 23, a member of the activist group Standing Together, highlighted the need to convince those in the middle who are tired of war. Rula Daoud, the group’s co-director, addressed the crowd, stating, “Two peoples live in this country, and neither of them is going anywhere.” The demonstrators emphasized that their vision for long-term political solutions is driven by pragmatism rather than idealism.
