NIFC Joins Global Coalition of Jewish Organizations Calling for an End to the War

It’s time for the war to end and for the hostages to come home. That’s why we signed onto a letter calling for “an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages followed by diplomatic action to reach comprehensive regional peace and security.” We signed this letter alongside 40 other progressive Jewish organizations worldwide, including other Canadian co-signers such as JSpace Canada and Canadian Friends of Peace Now.

As reported in Haaretz, “Many of the hostage families have expressed their disappointment with American Jewish organizations for not exerting greater pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war and reach a hostage deal.

“Expressing his frustration in an essay published in the Atlanta Jewish Times, Yehuda Cohen, a leading member of We Are All Hostages, recently wrote: ‘Every time we asked a major organization to stand up and call out PM Netanyahu’s role in preventing a hostage deal and seeing our loved ones returned, they all replied the same, ‘we understand, but we can’t say this out loud, we are already under attack, if we speak to internal divisions in Israel, it will only lead to more antisemitism.'””

Whereas North America’s largest Jewish voices have remained silent, NIFC joined 40 diaspora Jewish organizations echoing the demands of the hostage families to the Israeli government.

The call to the Israeli government to sign a ceasefire and hostage deal and withdraw all Israeli forces from Gaza comes from our commitment to freedom and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians. This must include freedom for the surviving Israeli hostages Hamas is still holding in Gaza, and freedom for the Palestinian survivors of this war, most of whom have been displaced, do not have adequate access to food and water, and are unable to access medical care.

We hope that the Israeli government and the international community will heed this call, for the sake of Israelis and Palestinians. You can read the letter in full below, and add your signature here.