A dose of hope

08/06/22

On May, we got a big dose of hope: On Saturday May 28, we joined with hundreds of Israelis to march on the illegal outpost of Homesh and dismantle it ourselves. Our plan? Show up in force - accompanied by a bulldozer. Hundreds of Zazim members donated to make the action possible and others were among the hundreds on-the-ground. The police and army prevented the bulldozer from moving, and attacked and arrested our protesters. But our members didn’t give up: facing their violence, hundreds of people got off the buses and began chanting and demonstrating. Unintimidated, we made our message loud and clear: the rules of the game are changing - our team won’t forfeit. Together, we’re going to fight. 

The following night, we gathered in Jaffa - Arabs and Jews, women, men and children - for an incredibly moving celebration and demonstration for housing rights, together with local Palestinian community leaders and housing activists. It was an evening of solidarity and partnership, purpose and hope.

Our gathering was the culmination of over a month of actions - where thanks to the donations of hundreds of Zazim members, we were able to organize tours in Jaffa to teach the history of “absentee properties”, support public and online activism to amplify the residents’ struggle, and put on this community ‘party-protest’.

Whether standing up to dangerous settler outposts or fighting for basic rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, our movement is making inroads, changing policy, building partnerships, and moving the needle on the public debate. It’s exciting - and it is only possible thanks to hundreds of dedicated Zazim members, only thanks to them we can keep struggling for our shared future - Jews and Arabs together.