When hope has been murdered ...

Israelis demonstrate for a ceasefire and return of the hostages of 10/7

These demonstrators, Jewish and Palestinian, are a tiny minority in their country. But they know what must be done. Nothing to do but keep on keeping on.

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In +972, Meron Rapoport explains Why do Israelis feel so threatened by a ceasefire?

Until October 6, the consensus among the Jewish-Israeli public was that the “Palestinian issue” should not bother them too much. October 7 shattered this myth. The “Palestinian issue” returned, in full, bloody force, to the agenda.

There were two ostensible responses to the destruction of this status quo: a political arrangement that genuinely recognized the presence of another people in this land and their right to a life of dignity and freedom, or a war of extinction against the enemy beyond the wall. The Jewish public, which never really internalized the first option, chose the second.

In this light, the very idea of a ceasefire seems threatening. It would force the Jewish public to recognize that the goals presented by Netanyahu and the army — “toppling Hamas” and releasing the hostages through military pressure — were simply unrealistic. The public would have to concede what may be perceived as a failure, even a defeat, in the face of Hamas. After the trauma and humiliation of October 7, it is hard for many to swallow such a defeat.

But there is a deeper threat. A ceasefire could force the Jewish public to confront more fundamental questions. If the status quo does not work, and a constant war with the Palestinians cannot achieve the desired victory, then what remains is the truth: that the only way for Jews to live in security is through a political compromise that respects the rights of the Palestinians.

+972 Magazine is an independent, online, nonprofit magazine run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists. ... The name of the site is derived from the telephone country code that can be used to dial throughout Israel-Palestine.