Bystanders No More.

Human rights for all must include Palestinians. This shouldn’t be controversial, yet too often it is. Palestinians remain excluded, from basic rights, from justice, and even from having their supporters speak freely. They have faced decades of killing, displacement, and dispossession. Today, they are fighting for their very survival, not only in Gaza. A recent UN statement warned of the potential annihilation of the Palestinian population, calling it a merciless desecration of human life and dignity. We all have a responsibility. Every action, no matter how small, counts. That’s why I support Bystanders No More. They help people move past fear and silence, offering crucial support to those who speak out for Palestinian rights. In times when telling the truth is costly, Bystanders No More ensures those voices are heard and protected. Their work is essential, not just for Palestinians, but for the principle of universal human rights. We cannot afford to be bystanders.  

[Image credit: Marcus Hoehn]

For a long time, I’ve been in no doubt that Israel’s war in Gaza constitutes a genocide, and that its new offensive in the West Bank is part of the same drive to destroy the people of Palestine – even to the point of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. As an environmentalist, I’m also devastated by the impact of the war on Gaza’s land, water and built environment. This represents the most appalling act of ecocide. It will take massive global pressure to persuade governments to put an end to this through a permanent ceasefire and commit to a huge increase in aid to rebuild Gaza. That’s why I love what Bystanders No More is doing. They don’t want your money. They want you to act in whatever way you decide best, and they’ll help you make that decision.

Coming from a mixed background of being American, Israeli, Palestinian, and German, with a Jewish mother and a Muslim father, I have long understood the complexities of identity and the courage required to stand for justice. I wrote a book called The Jew Who Rowed For Palestine, where the message of standing up for what’s right, no matter the opposition, is essential. But taking such a stand often feels like the whole world is against you. This is why Bystanders No More is so important. Their mission provides essential support to those who dare to stand for justice, ensuring that people do not turn a blind eye but instead take meaningful action for the equal rights of Palestinians, especially those in Gaza.

I changed my mind about Palestine because of three people. The first is an impressive rabbi who told me – as somebody who loves Israel – how horrified she was about what was happening in Israel and about the apartheid that she witnessed in the treatment of Palestinians. The second was a Palestinian professional whom I got to know in London who told me about his family in the West Bank, and how the land belonging to his family for generations had been stolen from them. And the third thing that really, really reached my heart was reading a novel called “Mornings in Jenin”. So now it’s rather obvious to me that we cannot justify the absolute disregard for the lives of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, women, children and men. I don’t understand why so little value is placed on the life of a Palestinian, compared, say to the lives of each individual English, German or American person. I just identify with fellow human beings who are being submitted to suffering, which major western powers seem to think is quite acceptable. And that’s why I think what Bystanders No More is doing is so important. Please speak up for what you know to be true.

Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza might well be the defining moral crisis of our time—a crisis that should sear the conscience of every person with a clear sense of right and wrong. Israel’s military assault has been erasing almost every trace of human life in Gaza, as we have seen with our own eyes on our TVs and computer screens. Buddhists sometimes think that the proper response to such catastrophes is to maintain a stance of detached neutrality, but that would be a terrible error. Bystanders No More reminds us that, in the face of such devastation, we cannot remain silently on the sidelines. It’s time to take a stand, to demand that the fighting ends. BNM provides us with the resources we need to understand this tragedy in depth and with guidelines to taking effective action. As Buddhists committed to the values of compassion, peace, and reconciliation, we must join hands with others in calling for an end to the destruction of so many precious human lives.

Many of us across the West have stayed silent on this issue not out of indifference, but out of fear, or out of a sense of disempowerment. But the fact is every one of us have an opportunity to bend the arc of history. Every voice raised for Palestine makes a difference. As their mission statement says, “The overall goal of this project is to provide supportive education and actionable suggestions for people who are ready (or nearly ready) to take a public stance.”

The environmental movement coined the phrase ‘think global, act local.’ Bystanders No More applies that same principle to human rights for Palestinians – think about Gaza, and speak up locally.

It’s ok to be a beginner about what’s happening to Palestinians. But it’s never too late to do the right thing. My father, Desmond Tutu, wept when he visited Palestine. He never let an opportunity to speak up for Palestine go by. What’s happening today is beyond that inhumanity that brought my father to tears. It is beyond anything that happened even in apartheid South Africa. What can we do? What I particularly like about Bystanders No More is that they don’t tell us what to do. But they do say to us – as a tough friend would – Don’t be silent! As my father often said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”