Jewish Voice for Peace, Jan 15, 2025.

Today, after 15 months of the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, supported and enabled by the U.S. government, a 42-day ceasefire agreement was reported. We hold tightly to the hope of a halt to the Israeli military’s bombardments, an end to the starvation of Palestinians by the Israeli government, a beginning of rebuilding in Gaza, and the return of hostages held in Israel and in Gaza to their families. 

The coming days and weeks during this fragile ceasefire will be critical for the Palestine solidarity movement to turn this temporary agreement into a full halt of the genocide, including the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid and an end to the Israeli military occupation and siege of Gaza. Since the Israeli government’s genocide began, over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military — a severe undercount, with some estimations as high as hundreds of thousands. The Israeli military has devastated entire neighborhoods and cities, and has razed the centuries-old infrastructure of Palestinian life, decimating Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, water supplies, electricity grid, schools, universities and cultural institutions. 

We mourn each and every precious life lost. As Jews, we know that the trauma of this campaign of annihilation will unfold for generations. 

As Americans, we understand that the Israeli genocide has been carried out with U.S. bombs, U.S. funds, and U.S.-facilitated impunity — we continue to demand a full weapons embargo now. We also demand an end to the complicity of corporations that profit from genocide. Left in the hands of the U.S. and Israeli governments, weapons manufacturers, and warmongering institutions, this fragile respite will not mean an end to Israeli genocide or to the violent status quo of Israeli apartheid.

It is up to all of us to ensure that this temporary agreement is only a beginning. Every day of the last 467 days, millions of people around the world have come together to demand an end to the genocide and Palestinian freedom. Together, we must ensure this agreement becomes a step on the path toward Palestinian liberation — the only way to achieve a just peace for all.

JVP is a national, grassroots organization working towards Palestinian freedom and Judaism beyond Zionism. With roughly 750,000 members, supporters, and participants in the last year, JVP is the largest such organization in the world.