Standing Together at the Institut du monde arabe in Paris
We have translated FoST France–Europe’s summary of their meeting with Standing Together’s Amal Ghawi, Itamar Avneri, and Thawra Abukhdeir, additionally addressed by Hanna Assouline, Ofer Bronchstein, and Vincent Lemire. Responsibility for any errors in the translation is ours.
The Institut du monde arabe welcomed Standing Together, the largest movement of Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel. We’re grateful to the Institut and Frédérique Mehdi, director of cultural events, for their trust, and Adrian Guillot, who helped us to organise the event.
The first part of the event was a discussion between Amal Ghawi, Itamar Avneri, and Thawra Abukhdeir (all three members of Standing Together), about their campaigning and objectives in Israel. The main points appear in an article in Ouest-France.
In the second part of the event, the three were joined by Hanna Assouline, Ofer Bronchstein, and Vincent Lemire. Below, we include a condensed version of what they said in the meeting.
Ofer Bronchstein raised the elections this year, which has been and will be pivotal for the forces of hope. Important developments include the formation of an Arab joint list of parties, and large Jewish–Arab demonstrations against organised crime [targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel —ed], and the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to reforms before elections. He highlighted the catastrophic situation in Gaza. The third phase of the Sharm-El-Sheikh agreement is intended to bring security to Gaza with the help of an international presence, and will soon begin. Since peace depends above all on radical politics in the fight against poverty, ignorance, and inequality, Standing Together offers a breath of fresh air [in the struggle for] social justice. Bronchstein reaffirmed his support for Jewish–Arab unity in France: ‘We can be both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian. As a Jew and as an Israeli, I feel ashamed, and I beg the forgiveness of all the Palestinian civilian victims of the Israeli army.’
Itamar Avneri highlighted the importance of the coming elections as an opportunity to topple Netanyahu and his government. Standing Together calls on everyone to vote, and supports the formation of a coalition government between a united Arab party and Jewish parties. ‘We don’t support [Jewish–Arab partnership —ed.] just out of pure idealism, but also because it is the only way to bring peace between the two peoples. On the ground, every day, we work with other organisations to offer protective presence to safeguard Palestinians.’ [Protective presence is the practice of obstructing and documenting violence and attacks against Palestinians, by both international volunteers and Israeli citizens.] ‘Above all, we are thinking of the future. We aren’t just denouncing [the present] reality; we want to change it.’
Amal Ghawi said ‘I was 18 when I understood that the it’s the same forces behind the occupation of Gaza that commit crimes against Palestinians and organise a state of apartheid in Israel. We must not forget organised crime. Today in Israel, two Palestinian die every day, and the government does nothing. This is the successful result of Ben-Gvir’s policies. So we demonstrated and comforted the families of the victims of these crimes. 100,000 people demonstrated last Saturday, Jewish and Palestinian. Our society has many problems and challenges to confront: organised crime, genocide in Gaza, and settler terror in the West Bank.’
Vincent Lemire emphasised that he is an analyst, not an activist. From this outside position, he addressed three critical questions to the members of Standing Together.
Do they recognised the political asymmetry (in contrast to the moral symmetry) between occupier and occupied?
What do they think of those who associate ‘normalisation [of Israel]’ with Standing Together? Their vision of the future is not homogeneous, does not erase contradictions, is limited to a small minority [of the population], and is paradoxical in such an horrific situation. Does ST have a common political perspective?
What is ST’s position on freeing Marwan Barghouti?
Amal Ghawi affirmed that the asymmetry exists. ‘Differences between Palestinians and Israeli [Jews] are obvious. Even now, after the ceasefire, Israeli bombings continue. But we want to work together despite these differences. We invite people to discussions in our Purple Houses [Standing Together’s areas to meet and organise].
Itamar Avneri: ‘We are conscious of Israel’s ascendancy. But we specifically want to use existing forces, including [the desire for] justice and the strength of social mobilisation, to fight the far-right and racism. Optimism is a matter of thinking all will be well; hope is about acting concretely to change reality. If we lose hope, others will pay the price, in Gaza and the West Bank. We have a vision and a project: two states, and a shared homeland, with open borders. We don’t want separation. Our everyday work is concrete; we are together and we demonstrate it. Our mission is to extend the open hand of dialogue. We aren’t naive; it will take time, and we don’t have time. We will never give up. And yes, of course, we demand the liberation of Marwan Barghouti.’
Hanna Assouline: ‘I do not understand how Standing Together can be accused of “normalisation”, when they are the ones who are fighting on the ground and paying the price, who are threatened, who must [politically] break from their families, in order to fight together. They are not [just] a co-existence movement; they are a co-resistance movement. This is something we are learning from you, and I’m grateful.’
Thawra Abukhdeir, on ‘normalisation’: ‘I am a Palestinian born in Jerusalem. Growing up there, every day, I saw the Israeli occupation, soldiers everywhere, night-time raids, the demolition of my father, and the assassination of my cousin. In all my struggles, I was never listened to. But in this movement, my identity, my past, my story are all recognised, as is the suffering of all. We are not just talking, but strengthening our work and our connections. In this movement, I feel valued and respected.’
Itamar Avneri, in response to the public’s questions: ‘The world treats what we live like a football match with two sides, as if there were only the fascist government on one side and Hamas terrorists on the other. But it should be seen as a conflict between warmongers on one side and two peoples on the other. We call on all countries to fight against our government and sanction it, because they are war criminals. They must stop selling offensive weapons to Israel, which only perpetuate the occupation. If Netanyahu comes to your country, you must arrest him. And I hope that we’ll arrest him before you do! It was very important that President Macron recognised the State of Palestine, and we expect other European countries to follow.’