voices of determination: yotam Kipnis

Meet Yotam Kipnis, activist with Standing Together

Do not write my father’s name on a [military] shell. He wouldn’t have wanted that. Don’t say, ‘God will avenge his blood.’ Say, ‘May his memory be for a blessing.”

Yotam Kipnis could have given up on peace. On October 7, his parent’s home in Kibbutz Be’eri was burned to the ground, both of his parents and his uncle were murdered, and eight of his relatives were taken hostage. One is still being held in Gaza.

But after a lifetime devoted to Jewish-Arab partnership, ending the occupation, and peace activism, Yotam feels an even greater sense of purpose today. “[My mom’s] support for peace came from her connection to the land and her deep familiarity with war, and also with the human soul,” he says. “Because even in the darkest times, mom did not forget what light looks like.”

Yotam keeps pushing for peace, in his work at Zazim – Community Action, and his activism with Standing Together. In the months since October 7 his focus has been on ensuring that humanitarian aid makes it to the people in Gaza by guarding aid trucks.

“We will restore the sanctity of life to the center of our value system,” he says. “Our house is burnt down—but we shall rebuild it.”

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