Activists pushing for peace, a shared society and solidarity between Jews and Arabs say that speaking out has become dangerous in Israel right now.
LOD, Israel — Hanadi Essa Basel has a lot on her plate as the manager of the Mosaic Community Center in Lod, a city of some 80,000 in central Israel. It has transformed its operations to respond to the war: There are psychologists on staff and workshops for young children to help them process emotions in a time of trauma. She called it an"emergency room" for anyone affected —"Jewish and Arab communities alike.
"It's an incredibly, incredibly tough time," said Nadav Shofet, an organizer with Standing Together, a grassroots organization of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. Shofet, who is Jewish, said that people in Israel are scared and that there's"this feeling of having to hunt down people who say anything that sympathizes with people in Gaza or strives towards peace."In the city of Haifa last week, police broke up a rally in support of Gaza.
The activists in Lod wanted to make a statement, but without putting volunteers or the community center staff at risk. Daood is a Palestinian citizen of Israel who lived in Lod for six years, including during the 2021 unrest, so she understands the potential for danger:"You would see people just in the streets with guns and wanting to have some kind of — any clash.
"Being kind to each other, to know each other — it's not such a difficult thing to do, if you are willing to do it," she said."The problem is, our leaders are not willing to do that."It's not only Jewish Israelis who view this approach to peace as wishful thinking. Myada Abu Khaled, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, is an educator and volunteers with children at the community center in Lod.
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