Israeli leaders are ignoring our calls for a ceasefire. You shouldn't [View all]

We are being held hostage by politicians who have no plan and only know how to bomb. We need the world to step in — now.

It is now clear to any person with common sense that Israel will not stop its massive bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip without serious external pressure. I am not a radical. I am not a traitor. But you would have to be delusional to trust the same people who led us into this disaster to take the proper steps to lead us out of it. Our government has no answers and no limits.

I have attended the few small protests in Tel Aviv in recent weeks calling for a ceasefire. We leftist activists are a tiny minority in our society, and we are currently having to choose our words carefully. We are scared for our own safety amid the crackdown on dissent within Israel since Hamas’ October 7 massacres, which is forcing us to tone down the visibility of our rage. If we are completely silenced, who will be left to protest for an end to the war and the release of the hostages?

During the speeches by the hostages’ families, many have stated in no uncertain terms that their calls are being shunted aside to allow the Israeli army to continue its aggression in Gaza. If our government is not even listening to them, who will listen to us? The fear is numbing, like everything could blow up in our faces, and Itamar Ben Gvir’s police could lock us up with ease. We feel frustrated and powerless.

There is no ceasefire because the only way Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows how to survive politically is through blood and tanks, satiating a fascist base thirsty for ever more settlements and resources to achieve their messianic dreams. He is fueling division even in our grief, now even suggesting that the October 7 massacres were enabled by army reservists refusing to serve in opposition to the government’s judicial coup.

While polls currently indicate that a majority of the Israeli public wants Netanyahu gone as soon as the hostilities are over, we know this war criminal far too well to expect him to exit the stage quietly. He will surely find some way to pit us against each other again to try to remain in office.

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https://www.972mag.com/ceasefire-israeli-leaders-gaza/