Stop this massacre

We're grateful to the people who've told us that our communication has not been explicit enough to arrive clearly. It's important to us that there is no confusion abut what we are saying, and what we stand for, both as individuals and as the founders of Movement Medicine.

Today, we wish to say loud and clear to the government of Israel; “STOP! This massacre. Enough!” We wholeheartedly support Israel’s right to exist, and the right of Jewish people to have a safe homeland, but not this slaughter and starvation of a captive people with nowhere else to go. The security of each people is mutually dependent on the security and well-being of the apparent “other”. 

Ceasefire now - for everyone. Aid in, hostages out. Security and human rights for all. An end to illegal occupation. Internationally enforced justice. A disavowal of extremist views.

Right now Israel’s actions are massively damaging its own standing, its own security and feel to us from here, like a huge stain on the soul of the world. And this is not to forget the horrors of October 7^th. Another massive stain on our shared human soul. And all the many atrocities before that over these decades. Massacre and violence are no solution. 

We honour the courage of those people in Israel and Palestine, some of them dear personal friends, who stand up against violence. And those of us outside, individuals, politicians and governments must find the way to enforce International law. 

The Israeli government is accused of multiple well documented war crimes and its actions do not represent me Ya’Acov, and so many Jews around the world or in Israel. 

International pressure has to ramp up now. For the sake of everyone, for the future of the children of Israel and Palestine. And right now for the Palestinians now actively being deprived of food, water, medical aid, security and attacked without mercy, protection or anywhere to go. 

We pray, in particular, for those in Israel and Palestine who have managed to maintain their care, connection and solidarity with the apparent “other” and who hold a strong stand for non-violence. 

Our next Movement Medicine ceremony we will be in aid of “Combatants for Peace” and we hope to have some of their members (both Israeli and Palestinian) come to speak to us to set the ground for the ceremony.

We resonate with these words from Extend, which Susannah quoted in her “Of Grief and Prayer” blog last October. 

“Today, Israeli and Palestinian society are each trembling with the suffering brought by the misguided belief of the Israeli government that freedom can be achieved by subjugating another people.

Please join us in saying loudly and clearly: Israeli security cannot be achieved by denying security to Palestinians. Palestinian freedom cannot be won by murdering Israeli civilians.

In this moment of horrific violence, our hearts and our hope are with Extend’s partners across Israel and Palestine. Together, we must hold out hope that the future belongs not to those willing to kill civilians or subject another people to siege and occupation, but rather to the many courageous Israelis and Palestinians working to build just and democratic institutions that promise a future of mutual freedom.” Extend 31.10.23

As we said, it seems that our attempts at communication about this subject have not been clear enough to be heard. So, for anyone who wants to know, please check out what we have said, in the last months, since the world was woken up to this latest round of a long ongoing story of pain on October 7^th.

With love and in passionate prayer for peace for all,

Ya'Acov and Susannah

Posts Since 7.10.23

8.10.23 Praying for peace in the face of war. Revenge begets revenge. Blaming one side of a conflict only keeps everyone in the vicious circle. My heart breaks for all those, including dear friends, waiting for news of loved ones. YDK

9.10.23 Like many, we feel heartbroken by the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine - and the ongoing blame upon blame where neither side takes any responsibility. Much as we understand the impetus for revenge, there is no gain in it. 

“There will not be a just and lasting peace until Israel is secure, Palestine is a sovereign state, and both Israelis and Palestinians enjoy security, dignity and human rights.”

“Though it may never have felt more distant, we will not surrender the hope of two states living side by side in peace."

For this reason, we choose to post this image of the national flags of Israel and Palestine - we join our voices to those asking for restraint, and for the international community to stand by both peoples and all that they have and are suffering and all they will continue to suffer if this terrible situation is allowed to unfold. 

Peace is not going back to what was. It is movement and compromise and talking, and dignity for ALL.

And we know it's impossible. But so is the fact that we are here at all. And so therefore, since life itself is proof that miracles are anything but scarce, we go on praying for and acting towards peace in our world.  YDK

13.10.23 This is a desperately fierce and horrific time. I am grateful for Jonathan Freedland's words today. As he says:

"Hamas is not identical with the Palestinian cause. ... It isn’t that difficult. You can condemn Hamas and name its actions as evil, even as you support the Palestinians in their quest for a life free of occupation and oppression." SDK

13.10.23 Israel was born in suffering. From the holocaust and then the naqbah, the catastrophe, for the peoples, close relations, who were unceremoniously thrown out of their homes. It was born out of the righteous 'never again' ferocious response to the holocaust. But as time goes on, this form of 'never again' seems rather to turn out to be 'again and again.'

Violence and revenge is an arrow into the heart of our children's futures….

Israel is a child of the holocaust and so is all this that follows. When a child is abused and grows strong, they will either find the enormous strength and courage to heal. Or they will continue the cycle of abuse. 

So, tonight, we light candles for all our friends and family in Israel and in Palestine too. Benevolence only for our own tribe belongs to the past. So to be clear, we condemn the violence and horrors committed by Hamas. And we condemn the path of retribution and collective punishment that Israel and her allies are saying is the only response possible. We completely understand the right to defend oneself. But each side says that their violence is justified because it is in response to worse. You cannot wipe out Hamas with the inevitable so called collateral slaughter of innocents and expect peace to follow. It will not. 

We need an international response - yes, support Israel's right to exist. The Jewish people deserve a safe homeland. And so do the Palestinians. This is an issue for us all. YDK

13.10.23 “Most of our teams include Israelis and Palestinians; therefore, some of us have relatives and colleagues in Gaza currently living under the ongoing assault of the Israeli military. Children, women, and the elderly are being indiscriminately attacked with nowhere to hide. 

Even now – especially now – we must maintain our moral and humane position and refuse to give in to despair or the urge for vengeance. Keeping our faith in the human spirit and its inherent goodness is more vital than ever. One thing is clear: We will never surrender our belief in humanity - even now, when doing so is more challenging than ever. 

Having always opposed the harming of innocent civilians, it remains our duty in these terrible times - as we count our dead on the Israeli side and worry about wounded, missing, and abducted loved ones, and as bombs are being dropped on residential neighborhoods in Gaza, wiping out entire families with no possibility of burying the dead – to raise our voices loud and clear against the harming of all innocent civilians, both in Israel and Gaza.

We call for the immediate release of all hostages and an end to the bombardment of civilians in Israel and in Gaza. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach civilian populations, medical facilities and places of refuge must not be harmed, and vital resources such as water and electricity must not be cut off. The killing of additional civilians will not bring back those who were lost. Indiscriminate destruction and a siege harming innocents will not bring relief, justice, or calm. 

As individuals working to promote human rights and who believe in the sanctity of life, we urgently call for an end to all indiscriminate harming of civilian lives and infrastructure. We call for negotiations and all possible action to be taken to bring about the release of the hostages - while prioritizing the civilians held by Hamas. It is the only humane and rational thing to do, and it must be done now.”

Combatants for Peace quoted by SDK

20.10.23

If we continue to identify ourselves as powerless victims of other people’s aggression, we are giving in to the conditions necessary that lead to war. Yes, really bad things have and are happening. And justice is worth giving our all for. ..

As this latest round of more visible violence has erupted in the Middle East, I’m sure like many of you, I’ve found It devastating. I feel ripped to shreds by the suffering. I have felt the fury that could so easily lead to revenge. I have felt the wounds of the holocaust and the 1000 years of antisemitic racism that preceded it, opened up wide by the horrors of October 7th. And I felt such deep shame that my people, in the form of the government of Israel, has seen fit to administer a collective punishment that has resulted in the deaths of more than 3000 children (now countless more). I understand the wish to destroy Hamas. I may certainly feel the same if I had a group living next door bent on my family’s destruction, whatever the situation. 

However, history shows again and again, that attempting to destroy your enemy in this way is generally the best recruitment campaign for future enemies. Peace and security for two peoples has to be the goal. And the murder of innocent children takes us further and further away from that outcome.  

YDK (War and Peace Blog)

26.10.23 In the anguish of this moment in Gaza and in Israel, I don't know the answers, I don't know how it is to be there and I can't see a way forward. It's totally heart-breaking. 

But I can love and I can attempt to understand, and I can pray and dance and pray and dance and pray and dance. 

With love and in hope for humanity, peace and dignity for everyone. SDK

27.10.23 Praying for peace. Praying for a profound "stop" to trying to work it out through violence. I have the words of one of our friends who is In Israel right now and in contact with Palestinian and Jewish people there, he's hearing from the people he is with: "There is no military solution". And that is indeed what it seems like from here.

I feel profoundly humbled by this anguishing situation, by the horror created and experienced, by the pain on every side and the conviction that violence has become essential.

As we pray daily for all those caught up in this cycle of violation and grief, I am aware of the mighty challenge for the peace makers and moderates in each "camp" to do what seems impossible.

I give thanks for the rays of light of the last days and for those families, both Israeli and Palestinian who have their family members back. SDK

27.10.23 So grateful to have meaningful, creative work that allows me to put my own heart and soul into it - to double down on efforts for evolution in our human consciousness. The move from what my friend @timfreke calls ‘monological thinking to paralogical thinking.’ The move from benevolence only for my own tribe to universal benevolence. YDK

31.10.23 What Hamas did on 7th October is utterly horrific, utterly criminal and breaks all modern and humane codes of human behaviour. Though it is clear that the Palestinian people have many real grievances, these actions remain utterly reprehensible and should be condemned fully at every turn. 

What Israel is doing now in terms of collective punishment of a population for the crimes of their leaders and military is also completely unacceptable, horrifying and illegal by international law. How can we make a distinction between honouring the feeling and the action which arises from it and is almost guaranteed to perpetuate, if not exasperate the issue?…

Extend:

“Today, Israeli and Palestinian society are each trembling with the suffering brought by the misguided belief of the Israeli government that freedom can be achieved by subjugating another people.

Please join us in saying loudly and clearly: Israeli security cannot be achieved by denying security to Palestinians. Palestinian freedom cannot be won by murdering Israeli civilians.” Extend which connects international audiences with Palestinian and Israeli human rights leaders.

(SDK 'Of Grief and Prayer' blog)

3.11.23 Huge courage from parents on both sides who have lost children and who refuse violence as the answer to their pain.

“It is an undeniable truth that the time has come to change the situation. This region has endured too much pain, too much bloodshed, and too many tears. It is a moment for all parties involved to reflect on the senselessness of this continued conflict and to recognize the shared humanity that binds us all.” https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/

8.12.23 This has to end. For everyone's sake. For the future, for the present. What cry of pain can get through? As I keep being reminded - its everyone; there are no winners on this path. 

with love and weeping, Susannah Darling Khan

15.11.23 Heartbroken by the violence in Gaza, heartbroken with the pain and fear of my people after October 7. I stand for Israel and I stand for Palestine and I stand for peace. And I stand for the hostages. And I stand for the children killed. And I stand for beauty and kindness in this world despite war. Yes, I know. It seems impossible. But it’s my job to keep dreaming and moving towards the impossible regardless of the outcome. I always have and I always will. And I dream of peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. And through the ashes of this stain on our collective humanity, I dream that something new will rise. Because it must. I carry this with me into what I will share tonight. Everything makes a difference. YDK

17.11.23 Wishing you all a strong and nourishing weekend - the strength not to turn away nor to give in to overwhelm. Light in the darkness helps us to bear witness to the pain of this world, the madness of revenge upon revenge. Movement is medicine and I give thanks for the simplicity of that. Shabbat shalom. Salam aleikum. YDK

3.12.23 War is agony. And when it’s your own people, more so. Wronged? Yes. Absolutely. Doing wrong? Yes - absolutely! Like so many, I want to scream at the top of my lungs: 

Stop! Stop this killing! 

I hear so many screaming their agony into the world. I hear my people, and the deep divisions that have us flinging insults at each other. I feel the deep pain of my Israeli family and friends and my Palestinian family and friends. I try to stay in touch and to listen. 

The image I have made says more than my words can.

We sit in the darkness each morning and pray. I hear the children. Those dying. Those in captivity. I see them and their parents, and I pray for all those who are suffering the horrors of war and injustice.

My whole life has been about trying to bring awareness to what happens when wounds and the stories that arise from them are not attended to. They echo across the generations, causing hurt upon hurt, maintaining the agony, playing out their inevitable outcomes again and again. 

I seek out that silent place of prayer where the dying and the ones left behind can be heard. And I listen to them. And I sing for them just in case they can hear. I pray that all the mercy that may await us at our death is there in huge quantities to catch the fallen in the arms of love. And I pray for our politicians and diplomats and the many good people trying to find actual solutions.

I do my best to listen to the different voices and stories that make this tragedy so inevitable. I have no idea if my voice or yours matters at all in all this. I hear so many humans who are so certain they are right and from where I am, this rigid certainty adds more fuel to this vicious and bloody circle.

I stand with the courage of ordinary people who actually experience the loss and choose a different road to revenge. Those blazing lights in the darkness is what I stand alongside.

I know it feels impossible right now but life itself is a miracle. Out of the ashes of suffering……..YDK

7.12.23

Do we pray for and stand for a ceasefire? Yes! 

Do we pray for the release of all hostages and prisoners unfairly incarcerated? Yes! 

Do we criticise Israel’s revenge-full actions and the extreme ‘settler’ mentality that makes the occupation worse year by year? Yes! 

Do we criticise how Israel came into being? Yes! 

Do we criticise Hamas and their cruelty? Yes! 

And do we know the answers for a secure peace for two peoples who both have genuine rights to that tiny piece of land? No we do not. 

In our morning prayers, we bear witness to the horrible suffering of war for the living and the recently killed, humans, animals, and land. We are consistently shattered. And we bear witness to the courage of those who have lost children or family and refuse to engage in revenge. 

If there is ever to be a just peace in the Middle East, enormous courage will be needed from every one of us to move past the endless vicious cycle of revenge. 

Bottom line? Killing children and innocent civilians in war or peace is wrong. Full stop. Killing innocent people is wrong. Full stop. There is no excuse for indiscriminate revenge of any kind. Full stop. We stand for the co-existence of two peoples in two states, both self-determining, secure and just.  YDK

14.2.24

War is not a new phenomenon. What is new is how in touch we are with the horrors that our fellow humans, the animals, and nature, are living and dying through right now. And there is a difference between war and the wilful massacre of innocent human beings, whichever flag or God they live with. Israel stands accused by the highest of human courts of committing genocide right now. Every day that the killing of innocents goes on is not only wrong now, it will have untold consequences for decades.

Spirituality is not an escape from life or responsibility. Sometimes we humans believe, in the name of one God or another, that what was done to us justifies what we now do to others. Killing innocents, which ever God they pray to, is wrong, illegal and stupidly counter-productive. We continue to stand for an internationally backed ceasefire, and the protection of all innocents. Without it, this horror has no end. YDK Life and Death on the Doorstep: Blog