Today: 2 Demonstrations vs. the Gaza Siege, in Haifa & near Sderot

Two demonstrations will be held today (Friday, June 1) against Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip: at the Yad Mordechai junction near Sderot in the south of Israel at 12:00 and at UNESCO Square (German Colony) in Haifa at 17:00.

"Another Voice" demonstrators near Yad Mordechai junction in southern Israel

“Another Voice” demonstrators near Yad Mordechai junction in southern Israel (Photo: Another Voice)

Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) are organizing the demonstration in Haifa. According to a CPI spokesperson: “For the last two months, tens of thousands of men and women of Gaza have been taking part in non-violent, civilian ‘Return Rallies’ demanding the lifting of the siege, ending the occupation and the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland after having been expelled 70 years ago in the 1948 Nakba. The occupation government and army of Israel has responded to these civil protests with blood and fire: well over a hundred martyrs and thousands of wounded. The bloodthirsty government is delusional and thinks that, by force and killing, one can subjugate a people fighting for its right to freedom and a life with dignity.”

“Kol Acher” (Another Voice) is organizing today’s noontime demonstration near Sderot. In a statement released by this peace movement the organizers wrote: “Over the past few week violence has been escalating again in the region. Israel air raids in Gaza and rockets fired from Gaza into civilian populations in Israel traumatize and devastate the innocent populations on both sides of the border. This reality has been going on for years; it is unbearable and inhumane! We deserve to live normal secure and hopeful lives. This is all we ask… We call upon the Israeli and Palestinian governments to end this violence once and for all. Find ways to sit down and talk, end the attacks and the siege on Gaza, and stop playing with our lives.”

“Another Voice” is a civil movement of Israelis from communities near the Gaza border and Palestinians from the Gaza Strip working together to build neighborly relations and dialog on both sides of the fence, calling to end the endless cycle of violence and support a long-lasting and just and peaceful solution in the region.