This is not what a ceasefire looks like.

Palestinians deserve real justice. Palestinians deserve real peace. Palestinians deserve real safety. Palestinians deserve joy.

Sanctions now. Arms Embargo now.

2 million people are crowded into the Red Zone, a strip along the coast less than half of Gaza’s surface area, with 1.5 million Palestinians waiting for emergency shelter.

100s of 1000s of people live in tents without access to basic services such as clean water, and camps flooded from the rains.

The UN has registered more than 260 settler attacks in October alone- the highest monthly count since 2006.

UNICEF reports that there continues to be two children killed a day.

A ceasefire is not enough when our leaders still let Israel's government act with impunity.

Sanctions now. Arms embargo now. UK Jews demand real accountability.

We are appalled by the Israeli government’s attempt to ban Palestinians from publicly celebrating the return of their relatives and friends - a reminder of the daily cruelty of apartheid and of the fact that our struggle is not over. (4/4)

We share in the pain of those families whose loved ones’ remains have not been returned or who remain buried under the rubble of Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians, moreover, remain in Israeli prisons without due process. (3/4)

It is tremendously moving to see Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, who were held without charge, finally walk free. (2/4)

While we mourn the dead, we will continue fighting for the living – and for a future of peace, justice, and freedom for all.

We are grateful all who attended the vigil to join us in solidarity and in mourning for all those who were killed, captured, or otherwise had their lives torn apart on and since October 7th.

Thank you also to Matan Rosenstrauch of Mi-Neged, who shared the experience of his father in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th, and to Rabbi Jeffrey Newman and Imam Fathi Labidi, who led us through prayers in Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic.

Thank you to the Na’amodniks who shared testimonies of Gazans who have lost loved ones during the genocide or whose lives have been cut tragically short, including the poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed in her own home by an Israeli airstrike on 23 October 2023.

We grieved with Palestinians, who struggle to mourn not only the tens of thousands of men, women, and children murdered in Gaza by Israeli forces, but also the destruction of Gaza’s very society in Israel’s campaign of genocide, mass displacement and deliberate starvation.

Amidst the welcome news of a ceasefire, we paused to mourn and share in the pain of the family and friends of Israelis and other nationals murdered and taken hostage two years ago in the Hamas-led attacks, some of whom have still not returned home.

We are grateful to all who came to be in community with one another as we mourned and remembered the enormity of the universes which we have lost over these past 732 days.

All those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held accountable.

We cannot afford to turn our attention away now. We must mourn the dead, and continue fighting for the living.

A just and lasting peace must be built on equality, dignity, and respect for international law — not imposed “solutions" which further entrench the root causes of occupation and apartheid.

An immediate ceasefire is just the first step in ending the genocide that has been perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza. While we welcome it, we must remain vocal in our opposition to all parts of Trump's plan which seek to entrench Israel's system of domination & control over Palestinians.

Entire villages have been razed to the ground, and thousands of dead remain hidden under the rubble. Society has been shattered and generations left with the trauma of living through a genocide.

There remains much to be wary of.

While Israel reduced the intensity of its military campaign in recent days, it has not halted strikes. Even if aid surges in via the UN & Red Crescent, 100s of 1000s will still not have enough food & shelter. The scale of devastation in Gaza remains unparalleled.