Here are my opening remarks for a silent vigil held by Nottingham Friends of Standing Together last Sunday, February 4th.

Hello, thank you for coming to this vigil organised by Nottingham Friends of Standing Together. Standing Together is a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice.

We have come together this afternoon, as we do every Sunday afternoon to mourn, to share our collective grief and horror at what is happening in Israel-Palestine. We call for a permanent ceasefire, for the release of all Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Each week we return, there are many more to mourn, many more injured, displaced, destitute, hungry and ill. Repeating the numbers is numbing itself, so when we stand in silence, please let your mind and imagination go traveling to stand in the shoes of a Palestinian in Gaza bereaved by the loss of one of the 27,000 killed there since October 7th; or stand in the shoes of a Palestinian in the West Bank bereaved by the loss of one of the 380 killed there; or stand in the shoes of an Israeli bereaved by the loss of one of the 1,140 killed on October 7th; or stand in the shoes of one of the 136 Israeli and international hostages still held in Gaza; or stand in the shoes of one of about 6,500 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza detained by Israel since October 7th. Let your imagination go traveling to stand in their shoes.

There is some hope in reports that Israel and Hamas are moving closer to a new deal for hostage release and a ceasefire. But there were similar reports last week too. More active hope can be found in the success of Standing Together’s annual convention in Haifa on Thursday, attended by 1,000 Israeli Jews and Palestinians. 

I’ll read some words spoken there by Shahd Bishara, a Palestinian who is also a member of Standing Together’s leadership team:

Today I come with anger, with rage, and not only that, I feel a deep distress …

I will not say the numbers but for me and for the Palestinians this is a second Nakba, you understand that they are talking about voluntary migration, that is, expulsion, and new settlement, that is, occupation. Add to that the total disregard for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And also these things took me a few months to say out loud because I’m afraid… afraid to speak. And even now speaking with fear.

But you know what, I as a Palestinian who sees the catastrophe that is happening to my people, I am also part of this country that experienced horrors on October 7, and from this place I want to reach out and fight together for peace. 

Peace that is not only the absence of war, but also the recognition of the rights and dignity of all the people who live here.

We will now stand in silence for 15 minutes.