Jewish figures across the globe call on UN and world leaders to sanction Israel
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- Written by Joseph Gedeon in Washington | The Guardian Joseph Gedeon in Washington | The Guardian
- Published: 22 October 2025 22 October 2025
Exclusive: In an open letter, Israeli ex-officials, artists and intellectuals say ‘unconscionable’ actions in Gaza amount to genocide
Prominent Jewish figures around the world are calling on the United Nationsand world leaders to impose sanctions on Israel over what they describe as “unconscionable” actions amounting to genocide in Gaza.
Over 450 signatories, including former Israeli officials, Oscar winners, authors and intellectuals have signed an open letter demanding accountability over Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The letter’s release comes as EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday amid reports they plan to shelve proposals for sanctions over human rights violations.
“We have not forgotten that so many of the laws, charters, and conventions established to safeguard and protect all human life were created in response to the Holocaust,” the signatories write. “Those safeguards have been relentlessly violated by Israel.”
Signatories include former speaker of the Israeli Knesset Avraham Burg, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy, British author Michael Rosen, Canadian author Naomi Klein, Oscar-winning film-maker Jonathan Glazer, US actor Wallace Shawn, Emmy winners Ilana Glazer and Hannah Einbinder, and Pulitzer prize winner Benjamin Moser.
Read more at:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/22/jewish-notables-open-letter-un-sanction-israel
We are told the ‘war’ against Gaza is finally ‘over’. Is it?
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- Written by Arwa Mahdawi Arwa Mahdawi
- Published: 16 October 2025 16 October 2025
I am not celebrating the end of the ‘war’ because this was not a war – and it’s not over, either
Again, I am thankful that the killing has slowed down. But let us not be naive here. Gaza has been rendered uninhabitable for a reason; settler attacks and home demolitions in the West Bank have ramped up for a reason. When people like the Israeli prime minister talk about “peace” in the region, the peace they appear to be referencing is the peace of finally being able to ignore the existence of Palestinians. A peace in which Palestinians have been expelled from their homeland. In May, for example, as Haaretz noted, the Israeli daily Maariv reported that Netanyahu told the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee: “We are destroying more and more homes. They have nowhere to return to. The only expected outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate out of the Strip.” Netanyahu has made frequent references to the idea of mass population transfer from Gaza, the so-called “Trump plan”. This is the “peace” that Israel and the US seem to be working towards.
Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/16/is-gaza-war-over
Portlanders Join Flotilla Aiming to Break Israel's Blockade of Aid to Gaza
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- Written by KEVIN FOSTER | Portland Mercury KEVIN FOSTER | Portland Mercury
- Published: 27 September 2025 27 September 2025
A Global Sumud Flotilla coalition is headed to Gaza with hopes of delivering much-needed supplies and food. Local residents say they’ve already been hit with drone attacks.
Paul Reid and Stephen, both Portland residents, are among the hundreds of people from around the world who set sail in the Mediterranean Sea late last month. The two Portlanders joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of civilian boats currently en route to Gaza in an attempt to deliver aid to Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing siege on the enclave.
Approaching nearly a month at sea, the flotilla has faced rough seas, multiple drone attacks, and coordinating complications due to the vast size of the coalition. Many members have endured persistent sea sickness, especially on smaller sail boats.
Stephen is on a motorized boat with about 25 people, and has volunteered to work in the engine room. Reid is on a smaller sail boat where they take shifts at the helm.
Read more at Portland Mercury
You can see Paul's Instagram Posts here.
See more at The Global Sumud Flotilla's website and Instagram page
Senators Merkley and Van Hollen say US is complicit in Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza
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- Written by Joseph Gedeon | The Guardian Joseph Gedeon | The Guardian
- Published: 12 September 2025 12 September 2025
Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley reach ‘inescapable conclusion’ after fact-finding trip to region
Read the full report here: https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/van_hollen_merkley_report_following_2025_codel_to_gaza_border_israel_west_bank_jordan_and_egypt.pdf
Two Democratic senators claim they have reached the “inescapable conclusion” that Israel is acting on a systematic plan to destroy and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza to force locals to leave, and they say the US is complicit.
Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, both members of the Senate foreign relations committee, released their findings in a report on Thursday after returning from a congressional delegation to the Middle East where, they note, the destruction goes beyond bombs and bullets. They say they also found a systematic campaign to strangle humanitarian aid, which they call “using food as a weapon of war”.
“The Netanyahu government has gone far beyond targeting Hamas to imposing collective punishment on all the people of Gaza,” Van Hollen said at a Thursday press conference. “What they’re doing, and what we witnessed, is putting those goals into action.”
Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/democratic-senators-gaza-ethnic-cleansing
Statement by the Humanitarian Country Team in the occupied Palestinian territory
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- Written by OCHA OPT OCHA OPT
- Published: 10 September 2025 10 September 2025
With no safe place left in Gaza, UN and NGOs demand ceasefire and protection from forced displacement
Statement by the Humanitarian Country Team in the occupied Palestinian territory*
10 September 2025
We are witnessing a dangerous escalation in Gaza city, where Israeli forces have stepped up their operations and ordered everyone to move south. This comes two weeks after famine was confirmed in the city and surrounding areas. While Israeli authorities have unilaterally-declared an area in the south as “humanitarian,” it has not taken effective steps to ensure the safety of those forced to move there and neither the size nor scale of services provided is fit to support those already there, let alone new arrivals.
Nearly one million people are now left with no safe or viable options – neither the north nor the south offers safety.
Leaving northern Gaza means paying prohibitive costs for transport and safe passage, sums that most families simply cannot afford. It means navigating roads that are barely passable. It means finding a place to sleep either in the open air or in overcrowded displacement sites. And it means continued struggles to secure food, water, medical care, and shelter, and live without dignified and safe sanitation. Survivors in Gaza are exhausted.
Civilians, including humanitarian personnel, remain present throughout Gaza. They and the civilian infrastructure they depend on, such as health facilities, must never be targeted. Civilian sites must also never be used to shield military operations, but even if they are, this does not in itself render them lawful targets. The looming destruction of Gaza city sounds the gravest of alarms.
Amid ongoing Israeli impediments, the current levels of humanitarian support are wholly insufficient.
Humanitarian access must be expanded and sustained to include direct routes to both the north and the south. Critical supply lines of fuel and water must remain open and uninterrupted. Any further disruption will have devastating consequences for civilians.
To families in Gaza: The humanitarian community will remain in Gaza city for as long as we can and will remain across the Strip, doing all we can to bring aid and deliver lifesaving services.
To the international community: Act. Call for an immediate ceasefire. Uphold international humanitarian law, including the release of hostages and those arbitrarily detained.
This catastrophe is human-made, and responsibility rests with us all.
* The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) is a strategic decision-making forum led by the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It brings together heads of UN entities and over 200 NGOs – both international and local – all working on humanitarian affairs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under internationally agreed humanitarian principles.