Standing Together (Hebrew: עומדים ביחד, Omdim Beyachad; Arabic: نقف معًا, Naqif Ma'an) is an Israeli grassroots movement that aims to bring together Arab-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli communities.[1] It is the largest Arab-Jewish grassroots movement in the country.[2] Standing Together first became active in 2015,[3] and has about 5,000 members as of October 2023.[2] The movement opposes neoliberalism and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The movement aims to further LGBT rights, women’s rights, worker's rights (including disability benefits) and full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel.[3][4]

They are known for their purple paraphernalia and branding.[3] Standing Together has received funding from the New Israel Fund.

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.[3] The movement's focus on both economic and social justice has been called a strength.[4]

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.[3]

The movement tries to make sure Arab and Jewish-Israelis are treated equally. The leadership has roughly equal representation of each group, and the movement publishes all their materials in both Hebrew and Arabic.[4] However, as of 2018 the movement had more Jewish-Israeli members than Arab-Israelis.[4]

Uri Weltmann is the movement's national field organiser.[5]

History

Standing Together was founded in late 2015, primarily by individuals who had also been active in Israel's 2011 social justice protests.[3][6] Many of the founders were also members of the political party Hadash.[3]

They have protested political arrests,[7] evictions in East Jerusalem (including Sheikh Jarrah),[3][7] the Gaza border protests, during which the IDF killed 17 civilians,[3] and the planned demolition of Bedouin villages in the Negev.[3][4]

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.[4]

On December 11, 2017, Standing Together held its first National Assembly, during which they voted on the movement's leaderships and on suggested proposals.[8]

In 2018, Standing Together worked to spread awareness of and protest against Israel’s deportation of African (specifically Eritrean and Sudanese) asylum seekers.[3][4][6] The movement was able to organize a 20,000 person strong protest in South Tel Aviv against the planned deportations.[4] 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.[4][9] That month, they also organized protests against the movement of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.[10]

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.[4]

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.[11] Although the policy exempted Arab-Israeli citizens, anecdotal reports had reported Arab-Israeli citizens had also been singled out over the policy.[12]

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.[13] The group filled Rabin Square with 1,019 empty chairs, each representing an Israeli death from COVID-19.[13]

In January 2023 Standing Together organized a 20,000-30,000 person strong protest in Tel Aviv against the new government;[14][15] later that year, they participated in the 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests against the 2023 Israeli judicial reform enacted by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[16][17]

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.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Green, David B. (March 12, 2020). "These Jewish and Arab Israelis Are Creating a New Type of Grassroots Activism". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  2. 1 2 McKernan, Bethan (2023-10-15). "'I hope it can endure': examples of Jewish-Arab solidarity offer hope in Israel". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Leifer, Joshua (2018-04-09). "The new Jewish-Arab movement that plans to save the Israeli left". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pollin-Galay, Hannah (2018-07-18). "Can a New Left Movement Shift Israeli Politics?". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  5. ↑ Weltmann, Uri (2023-11-14). "Grief is fuelling repression and racism in Israel. But our movement for peace is growing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  6. 1 2 Fleischacker, Noa (March 26, 2020). "Standing Together (Omdim B'Yachad) Against Injustice". Partners For Progressive Israel. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  7. 1 2 Green, Alon-Lee. "The Power Of Hope: Standing Together in Israel/palestine". AFSEE. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  8. ↑ Green, Alon-Lee (December 19, 2017). "Standing Together's first National Assembly". New Israel Fund.
  9. ↑ "Across Israel, hundreds protest Gaza violence". +972 Magazine. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  10. ↑ "Israeli protesters rally against US embassy move to Jerusalem". www.timesofisrael.com. May 13, 2018. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  11. ↑ Hacohen, Hagay (2019-01-20). "Standing Together activists resist policy to ask Arabs off the bus". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  12. ↑ Konrad, Edo (2019-01-20). "Activists pulled off bus for protesting racial profiling at Israeli hospital". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  13. 1 2 "1,019 empty chairs express coronavirus deaths in Israel". The Jerusalem Post. 2020-09-07. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  14. ↑ Matar, Haggai (2023-01-12). "The struggle brewing inside Israel's anti-government movement". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  15. ↑ Peleg, Bar; Shimoni, Ran; Hashmonai, Adi (January 7, 2023). "Thousands March in Tel Aviv in Protest of Netanyahu's Far-right Gov't, Judicial Overhaul". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  16. ↑ Serhan, Yasmeen (2023-07-24). "Israel Passes Legislation That Will Test Its Democracy". Time. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  17. ↑ Davies, Rhodri (2023-04-26). "Israeli Arabs torn over judicial reforms protest movement". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  18. ↑ Barnea, Yuval (2023-09-28). "Dizengoff Square painted red in memory of 188 murdered in Arab society". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
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