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Standing Together (movement)
Israeli grassroots movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Standing Together (Hebrew: עומדים ביחד, romanized: Omdim Beyachad, lit. 'Standing Together'; Arabic: نقف معًا, Naqif Ma'an) is an Israeli grassroots movement that aims to bring together Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli communities in the struggle for Israeli-Palestinian peace, equality and social justice.[2] Known for its purple paraphernalia and branding, it is the largest Arab-Jewish grassroots movement in the country.[3] Standing Together first became active in 2015,[4] and had about 5,300 members as of April 2024.[5]
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The movement opposes neoliberalism and the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. It aims to further LGBT rights, women's rights, workers' rights (including disability benefits) and full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel.[4][6] Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, the movement has played a role in the anti-war and pro-ceasefire protests within Israeli society.
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Organization
Standing Together founders have cited Podemos, Momentum, Syriza, and the Democratic Socialists of America as inspirations but have stated they do not want the movement to become a political party.[4] The movement's focus on both economic and social justice has been called a strength.[6]
The movement has nine chapters, called "circles", across Israel: in the Sharon, the Triangle, and in the Negev, in the major cities of Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, and in the college campuses of Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University, the University of Haifa, and in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[4]
The movement aims to ensure equal treatment for Arab and Jewish-Israelis. The leadership has roughly equal representation of each group, and the movement publishes all material in Hebrew and Arabic.[6] However, as of 2018, the movement had more Jewish-Israeli members than Arab-Israelis.[6]
Alon-Lee Green and Rula Daood are the National Co-Directors of the movement, Uri Weltmann is the movement's national field organizer, and Sally Abed is the head of the resource development department.[7] They are all elected leaders with the movement's leadership.
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Campaigns
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Minimum 40
In 2021, Standing Together's "Minimum 40" campaign, supported by over 40 Knesset members from various parties, successfully advanced a bill to raise Israel’s minimum wage to 40 shekels per hour, which passed its preliminary reading in June 2022.[8][9][10]
Kulanu Kan
In early 2023, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi proposed dissolving the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan), prompting public backlash. In response, Standing Together launched a campaign against the proposed dissolution. On February 2, 2023, Karhi froze the proposal, which the movement regarded as a victory.[11][12]
2024 Israeli municipal elections
In the 2024 Israeli municipal elections, activists from the Standing Together movement launched independent political municipal groups in major cities - Tel Aviv ("Ir Segula"), Haifa ("Rov B'air"), and Jerusalem ("Kol Ohavia"). They focus on environmental sustainability, social justice, and affordable housing, built and maintained by grassroots activists.[13][14][15]
The Humanitarian Guard
HaMishmar HaHumanitari, also known as The Humanitarian Guard, is a campaign against Tsav 9, an Israeli right-wing organization that blocks humanitarian aid to Gaza.[16][17]
On 14 June 2024, the United States State Department officially added Tsav 9 to its list of sanctioned entities for impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, categorizing it as a "violent extremist" group.[18][19]
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History
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Standing Together was founded in late 2015, primarily by individuals who had also been active in Israel's 2011 social justice protests.[4][20] Many of the founders were members of the political party Hadash.[4] They have protested political arrests,[21] evictions in East Jerusalem (including Sheikh Jarrah),[4][21] the Gaza border protests, during which the IDF killed 223 people,[22] and the planned demolition of Bedouin villages in the Negev.[4][6]
By 2018, the movement had about 2,000 registered members, and between 20,000 and 30,000 people participated in Standing Together events that year.[6] Before the October 7 attacks, membership had dropped to a few hundred members, but by the end of 2024 it had more than 6,000 members, almost 4,000 of whom were making monthly donations.[23]
In the summer of 2017, Standing Together protesters blocked several major highways to protest disability benefits being less than minimum wage. They also subsequently helped raise money for protesters who had been fined.[6] On December 11, 2017, it held its first National Assembly, during which they voted on the movement's leaderships and on suggested proposals.[24]
In 2018, Standing Together worked to spread awareness of, and protest against, Israel’s deportation of African (specifically Eritrean and Sudanese) asylum seekers.[4][6][20] The movement was able to organize a 20,000 person strong protest in South Tel Aviv against the planned deportations.[6] In May 2018, they protested the IDF response to Palestinian protests at the Gazan border, which had resulted in the deaths of more than 60 protesters.[6][25] That month, they also organized protests against the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.[26]
In 2019, a small group of activists from Standing Together protested a policy of Barzilai Medical Center that required Arab bus passengers to be questioned before they could enter the hospital.[27] Although the policy exempted Arab-Israeli citizens, anecdotal reports had reported Arab-Israeli citizens had also been singled out over the policy.[28]
In September 2020, the group organized a protest against the Israeli government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic - which the group deemed ineffective - in Tel Aviv.[29] The group filled Rabin Square with 1,019 empty chairs, each representing an Israeli death from COVID-19.[29]
In January 2023 Standing Together organized a 20,000-30,000 person strong protest in Tel Aviv against the new government;[30][31] later that year, they participated in the 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests against the 2023 Israeli judicial reform enacted by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[32][33] In August 2023, a radio show hosted by the movement's national co-director, Alon-Lee Green, was censured after a right-wing pressure campaign.[34] A week later, the show was leaked and published online. In late September 2023, the movement held a protest at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv to bring attention to the Arabs killed under the policies of security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.[35]
Work during the Gaza war (2023–present)
Following the onset of the Gaza war in October 2023, Standing Together collected aid for communities affected by the attacks on October 7.[36] They organized the Solidarity Convention, which spearheaded anti-war and pro-ceasefire rallies in Israel.[5] They also created a hotline for Arab-Israelis, particularly university students, who were affected by anti-Palestinian sentiments.[36] Standing Together leadership also traveled to the United States to speak to synagogues and other organizations about their work.[37]
In March 2024, some activists from the group organized a 30-car convoy in an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to the Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip. Police forced the convoy to turn around about three kilometers from the crossing.[38]
In May 2024, the group announced they would be forming a group to protect humanitarian aid trucks bound for the Gaza Strip from attacks by "far-right [Israeli] activists and settlers" while they were moving from Jordan through the West Bank.[39][40] According to Standing Together leadership, the presence of the Standing Together activists allowed all the aid trucks "to pass without the settlers stopping or attacking them".[40][41]
In June 2024 and 2025, the movement's Humanitarian Guard was active in protecting the Palestinian residents of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, who were attacked by Israeli settlers during the annual Jerusalem Day Flag March.[42][43]
In April 2025, the Standing Together chapter at the University of Haifa held a demonstration holding photos of Palestinian children killed in the war. This was met by harassment from right-wing students, some of whom defaced the children's photos with stickers that said "Kahane was right." The university later suspended all on-campus events for the group for the rest of the semester.[44]
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Criticism
In January 2024, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) criticized the movement, saying it was a "normalization outfit that seeks to distract from and whitewash Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza".[45] This characterization received counter-criticism online from academics and activists, including Gazan blogger Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib.[37][46] Palestinian members of Standing Together later released a statement in which they denounced PACBI's suggestion that the group be boycotted, saying such calls "serve the interests of Israel’s political establishment, which is also attempting to silence us".[46]
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References
External links
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