Today Tuesday, 14 May, marking one year after 64 protestors were shot dead during the Great March of Return Protests in Gaza, we will take to the streets to demand an end to the siege on Gaza and a better future for all of us. We will meet Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 7 PM in Habima square, Tel Aviv.
Buses will leave Jerusalem (Bell Park), Beer Sheva (Teachers Center Parking Lot), Haifa (Romema stadium).
Read details about the event here.
One year ago, as hospitals in Gaza were overflowing with wounded protesters, the masses in Tel Aviv celebrated Netta Barzilai’s Eurovision victory. This year we will not take part in this absurd and cynical performance. We refuse to continue “business as usual”, while less than 100km away, millions of people on both sides of the fence pay the price of our apathy. On 14 May, marking one year after 64 protestors were shot dead during the Great March of Return Protests in Gaza, we will take to the streets to demand an end to the siege on Gaza and a better future for all of us.
The consequences of the past year’s events are devastating: over 250 Palestinians are dead and tens of thousands wounded, the entire region is under constant threat of escalation, and residents of southern Israel are subject to frequent attacks. The pressing need for a courageous decision is clear – we must put an end to the cycle of violence. Sporadic “relief efforts” are not a solution. A life of dignity for all the people in the region is not optional – it’s a demand that cannot be ignored.
Israel’s new government must change its policy concerning Gaza. It must recognize its responsibility and obligations towards the civilian population, remove the blockade and respect the rights of the people of Gaza: freedom of movement, freedom of profession, the right to protest, the right to health and above all, the right to live in dignity.
The hackneyed claim that the Great March of Return Protests are a threat initiated by Hamas overlooks the democratic character of the demonstrations and the greater context they are taking place in: the ongoing Israeli blockade and the ensuing humanitarian crisis, within a history of over fifty years of military occupation and over seventy years of displacement and exile.
The crisis in Gaza as well as the price paid by citizens of southern Israel is neither decreed by fate nor a natural phenomenon. It is time to end the siege on Gaza. It is time to bring back the hope that a just solution can and must be reached – for all our sakes.
We will meet at HaBima Square at 19:00 and then we will march together to Meir Garden, where activists from Gaza and the south will speak.
*
Note to readers: please click the share buttons below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.
Featured image is from Gush Shalom
