Editor’s note: This is almost an exact transcription of a video posted on Facebook as the author sat on a bus leaving a demonstration at the Gaza border (participants on the march photographed above by Prof. Magnus). These days, she usually refers to PM Netanyahu as “yahu,” National Security Minister Ben-Gvir as “beng,” FInance Minister Smotrich as “smot,” and writes Hamas with a lowercase h.
Okay, people have trouble hearing what I say because of the background noise, so here is more or less what I said.
I spoke in a bus, one of two, leaving from Jerusalem to the Gaza lines to do a protest march, to: end the war; stop Israel’s food deprivation of Gazans; get the hostages out. People had different priorities but all this is allied.
Today is June 6 — 58 years and one day after the beginning of the Six Day War. Six days versus over a year and half now. Very different wars, putting it mildly. A sober and sad anniversary, given where we are.
I said that, for me, last May-June was a turning point, when, instead of following through on a deal to end this, not forever, but this phase, yahu torpedoed that deal. It became very clear then that he was pursuing this war for his political and personal interests, it was netanyahu’s war, as I said to one soldier, and I want no part in it.
Then hamas executed six hostages when/ because they thought IDF troops were near, which they weren’t, and we know these are hamas’ standing orders to whichever gang is holding whomever hostage, who have no value except to get hamas something it wants. Demands have not changed since the start of all this, no matter what military operation, because when you do something that doesn’t fit the situation, it doesn’t work and yet more of it doesn’t work. It does, however, get people killed.
I am a little person, make no decisions, but there is what we can and must do to say, “I do not support this.”
I say all this as someone who has loved Israel for as long as I have had consciousness and just wanted to be here and finally, did it. Sigh. Eye roll.
It was good to be with good people, mostly Jewish Israelis but some Palestinians.
The singer and anti-war activist, Achinoam Nini was there; you can see her in various shots and singing at the end. No other “names” were there, just people, I would say, 7-800? from all over Israel.
It was extremely moving at the end to hear letters written by Gazans to various of the activists, which they sent to be read at the gathering at the end of the march; they knew their letters would be read out, Hebrew, English, Arabic.
They plead for people to recognize that they want none of this, that just as Israel’s current government does not represent us, hamas does not, did not, represent them, normal people who just want to live, alongside Israel, in peace. Just as we have extremists, so do they. The people suffering did not do Oct. 7.
Approximately half of the ca. 2 million people in Gaza are children. Children!
It was hot and it’s incredibly dusty there.
There are 2 million people on the other side — some of my shots show the view to Gaza, maybe 1.5-2 km away — without roofs over their heads, being forced to move again and again, their homes, possessions, shops, businesses, mementos, destroyed, no water — no water — food is hit and miss, no electricity.
We know that hamas cares nothing for them and embedded itself among the civilian population out of its cynical, reptilian, parasitic character. We know that all this is a tremendous challenge to the IDF seeking to root out hamas tunnels, weapons, ammunition, booby traps, to end Gaza as any kind of threat to us.
But that is the situation and what is going on now cannot be justified when there are other, better, ways to undermine hamas — not fantasy wonderful ways, not perfect, but better than what is going on now. The bar is very low but better, certainly, than this.
Smarter ways to go. But for that, you need a government that is smart, working for the future, and not utterly self-serving.
The war is being used to advance yahu’s interests– and is being driven by the goals of his fanatic partners, beng and smot, who want to occupy Gaza, remove its inhabitants — through, I quote beng, voluntary forced exile — yes, you read correctly; establish settlements, and annex them. Getting rid of hamas is the pretext for the rest of this. I have zero doubt — zero — that for many soldiers and others, it IS about clearing out hamas and preventing another October 7. But their sincerity and devotion are being appropriated and exploited by the worst among us for their own interests and goals, which threaten catastrophe for this country and the entire project and hazon [vision] of Shivat Tziyon [return to Zion], and sully utterly our entire history.
I understand that it is hard to hear me clearly in this video I made on the bus. What I see, watching it, is such sadness in my eyes.
Participants brought dry goods food to be given to evicted villagers of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills by Rabbis for Human Rights (photo by Shulamit Magnus).
