.jpeg)
The Case for a Ceasefire.It is beyond our power to bring back those innocents whose lives have already been lost, but we can work to prevent the calamity that will surely follow if Israel continues to retaliate as it has so far.
We are now almost two weeks into the deadly crisis that began on October 7 when Hamas slaughtered more than 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians, according to government officials. Israel responded with indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, which has already claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Witnessing the scenes of carnage and human suffering has been harrowing, but it should not fail to move us to action. As Israel prepares for a potentially catastrophic ground invasion of Gaza, it is more important than ever that we on the American left do not become distracted from the urgent task at hand: to stop the massacres that are still ahead of us by advocating for a ceasefire.
We write as one Jewish American and one Palestinian American, both committed to ending the occupation and achieving equal rights between Israelis and Palestinians. We have each been disappointed by the reaction of many who identify as progressives in recent days.
