Israel’s peace camp gathered for a two-day convention in Jerusalem from Thursday to Friday, uniting around the shared goals of a hostages-for-ceasefire deal, end the Gaza war and occupation of the Palestinian territories, and for the two-states solution. The gathering came to a head Friday morning, May 9, as thousands of Jewish and Arab activists packed an auditorium in the city’s International Convention.
MK Ofer Cassif at the peace conference in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center on May 9, 2025 (Photo: Zo Haderekh)
“Each one of us here can act to end the war, towards a comprehensive deal and the creation of a new leadership for both peoples,” said Maoz Inon, whose parents were murdered by Hamas in their Netiv Ha’asara home on October 7, 2023. “We are here with you not despite the pain, but because of it. Instead of revenge on behalf of my parents who are no longer here, I am choosing a different future for my children,” Inon continued. He spoke alongside Aziz Abu Sarah, whose brother was killed in an Israeli prison during the First Intifada.
The event was sponsored by several major peace and human rights organizations, among them: Partnership for Peace, Hadash, Combatants for Peace, the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace, Forum, Zazim, Women Wage Peace, Standing Together, Peace Now, Ir Amim, Peace Now, Mehazkim, Abraham Initiatives, Rabbis for Human Rights, Mizrahi Civic Collective, The Faithful Left, Mothers Against Violence, Peace NGOs Forum, Psychoactive, Other Voice, Social Workers for Peace and Welfare, Mothers’ Cry, Kedma for Equality in Education, Academy for Equality, Ir Amim. Itach-Ma’aki – Women Lawyers For Social Justice, The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, Breaking the Silence, Kahanism, Racism and Homophobia – Not In Our School, Young Communist League, Machsom Watch, Parents Against Child Detention, Jordan Valley Activists, Social Workers for Democracy, Yesh Gvul, Torat Tzedek, Isha l’Isha Haifa Feminist Center in Haifa, Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights, JStreet Israel, Emek Shaveh, East of Peace, Culture of Solidarity and Democratic Women Movement in Israel.
Politicians of international renown also partook in the conference, with French President Emmanuel Macron expressing his support for the gathering in a pre-recorded address, as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Macron lauded the conference as a “signal of hope in a time marked by pain.” He went on to call the two-state solution the “only possibility for peace and security for all,” noting that France, in June, will co-chair a conference to this end alongside Saudi Arabia. Abbas, who spoke after Macron, also called for a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of a prospective Palestinian state.
The opening panel – titled There are Partners and there is a Path – featured former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Qidwa, touted a new plan that he and former PA foreign affairs minister Nasser al-Kidwa had drawn up for a two-state solution. The ex-premier called for an interim security force to ensure that Hamas does not return to power, and a new administration linked to the Palestinian Authority that can rebuild Gaza without any involvement of the terror group.
“We must pull out from Gaza,” Olmert said during the panel. “Gaza is Palestinian and not Israeli. It needs to be part of a Palestinian state
Hadash-Ta’al chairman, MK Ayman Odeh, who was also at last year’s event, gave an impassioned speech to loud applause from the audience. He began with an anecdote about a mother and her three children who are chased down by a pack of hungry wolves. “Out of despair and her survival instinct, the mother throws her eldest son — maybe the wolves will be satisfied with him — but their hunger only intensifies. She throws her second son, then the third, and in the end when she alone remains, the wolves devour her.” Odeh recounted. “This is exactly how fascism works. It pursues the opposition, and the opposition, frightened, rushes to sacrifice us all.” Odeh likened the panicked mother to the anti-Netanyahu opposition, which he claimed gave up on peace with the Palestinians, and soon after, on partnership with Arab-Palestinian leadership in Israel.
“I want to put before you a crucial proposition — the historic role of Arab citizens. Without us, it is possible to build a dictatorship, but without us, it is impossible to build a democracy,” he said. “Even during this excruciating and bloody war, Jews and Arabs — you all — continued to have faith in each other and believed that only together we can win,” he continued, invoking the well-known wartime slogan. “Without us, you can build a dictatorship, but you can’t build a democracy. Without us, you can keep fighting wars but can’t make peace. Our fates are intertwined, and only together, Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, can build the lives and future our children deserve.”
Labor MKs Gilad Kariv and Naama Lazimi, who ascended to the stage as a pair. Taking turns talking, the two denounced not just the ongoing war but the far-right government’s “de facto annexation” of the occupied West Bank. “Under the auspices of this war, the annexation machine in the West Bank is grinding at a dizzying and violent pace,” said Kariv.
One of the speakers met opposition from the crowd, the National Unity MK Alon Schuster. When mentioning his party chairman Benny Gantz, Schuster was met by a wave of boos from the crowd. “I am diverging from the written remarks to beg you, pursuers of peace, do not omit anyone from the peace and democracy camp, even those who don’t agree with everything you say,” the veteran politician urged. As he walked off stage, several activists called on him to invoke a two-state solution, which he neglected to explicitly mention in his speech.
Friday’s event was organized and sponsored by several major peace and human rights organizations, among them: Partnership for Peace, Hadash, Combatants for Peace, the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace, Forum, Zazim, Women Wage Peace, Standing Together, Peace Now, Ir Amim, Peace Now, Mehazkim, Abraham Initiatives, Rabbis for Human Rights, Mizrahi Civic Collective, The Faithful Left, Mothers Against Violence, Peace NGOs Forum, Psychoactive, Other Voice, Social Workers for Peace and Welfare, Mothers’ Cry, Kedma for Equality in Education, Academy for Equality, Ir Amim. Itach-Ma’aki – Women Lawyers For Social Justice, The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, Breaking the Silence, Kahanism, Racism and Homophobia – Not In Our School, Young Communist League, Machsom Watch, Parents Against Child Detention, Jordan Valley Activists, Social Workers for Democracy ,Yesh Gvul, Torat Tzedek, Isha l’Isha Haifa Feminist Center in Haida, Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights, JStreet Israel, Emek Shaveh, East of Peace, Culture of Solidarity and Democratic Women Movement in Israel. In addition, the event was streamed live to dozens of solidarity gatherings in more than 20 cities around the world, including London, Berlin, Sydney, New York and Boston.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32633
