[Marching for independence, Solidarity with Palestine, Jerusalem July 15th]

“Unilateral steps are not constructive. I don’t think that an attempt to coerce things outside of direct negotiations will bring peace…. If anyone wants to do anything positive it must be to push for direct negotiations.” (Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Haaretz, 16 June 2011)

 “Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected on Tuesday the European Union’s peace initiative.” (Haaretz, 14 June 2011)

 “This is an insoluble conflict because it is not about territory… Until Abu Mazen recognizes Israel as a Jewish State, there will be no way to reach an agreement.” (Netanyahu, Haaretz, 15 June 2011)

We can talk all we want about unilateralism and political processes, but we can no longer avoid a decision. Today it is clear that genuine negotiation is not going to happen under the current government. Even if the Europeans and the Americans drag Bibi to another round of talks, there will be no outcome. For a long time now, negotiations have been nothing more than yet another means of perpetuating occupation. There is no choice for anyone advocating for an end Israeli control over the Palestinians other than supporting the only realistic way left to achieve this goal: recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

Applying to the United Nations for such recognition is not merely the Palestinian people’s right, it is the sole remaining constructive step for countering unending negotiation and the threat of increased violence. As Israelis who support the Palestinian struggle for independence, it is our duty to express our backing for the Palestinian initiative. We can go on calling for “Two States for Two Peoples” and repeating that the occupation must end, but Bibi and Lieberman are [chattering] the same things.

Sure we can go on marching in Jewish Tel Aviv under tired slogans until Jerusalem no longer has a future. But another choice is to unflinchingly fix our gaze on reality and understand that there is only one political decision to be taken: are we for Palestinian independence or not? In the current reality, support for Palestinian independence can no longer be interpreted as a call for the government to enter into negotiations known in advance to be dead-end, or as encouragement to a right-wing government to “take an initiative”. Whoever feels with, but accepts going without, is, in a final analysis, naked. Support for Palestine’s independence means committing to the Palestinians in their initiative and their struggle, not reinforcing Israeli intractability and speechifying about negotiations and political processes.

On 15 July we will stand with our Palestinian partners in a Palestinian-Israeli march through the heart of Jerusalem for the independence of Palestine - because the Palestinians also deserve to be “a people, free in their country.”
 
Because Jerusalem is the place for this freedom to be realized
and because Jewish-Arab solidarity is the only response to hatred and racism.

We will march together in both sections of the city, the Israeli and the Palestinian, to express our support of Palestine’s independence and our commitment to fight for it together.