Israeli Arabs and Jews Collecting Aid for Gazans: An Injection of Hope

I participated in one of the most moving experiences of my life this week.

The grassroots movement, Standing Together (a movement of Palestinian and Jewish Israelis working in partnership for peace, equality, and justice), in which I have been active for the past several years, organized a two-week-long food (and other essentials) drive for Gaza, to do our little bit to help with the humanitarian crisis there. Every two days during the two-week period, there is a collection event in a different Arab-Israeli city or town.

There was a collection event in Nazareth (after the ones in Sachnin and Dir al-Assad), which is only twenty minutes from my kibbutz (Hannaton), but I was not available that day, which made me sad. Like many others here in Israel, I feel helpless in the face of the suffering in Gaza. Whether one blames Israel or Hamas, or a combination of the two, there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. While we cannot bring the dead on either side back to life, we can try to save those who are still alive. I protest for a hostage-ceasefire agreement, but that does not feel like enough. 

So when I saw Standing Together was doing a later collection event in Umm al-Fahem, which is only forty-five minutes from me, I felt a strong calling to go. I asked my spouse Jacob if he’d like to join me, and we went.

The event was called for 4-9pm, but I knew from reports from the one in Nazareth, that it would probably last longer. Messages had gone out in local WhatsApp groups for people in the “Triangle”, the area of Umm al-Fahem, to bring flour, sugar, salt, rice, lentils, beans, canned food, diapers, menstrual pads, and other specified items, to a large covered lot next to the city’s soccer/football stadium (Peace Stadium).

Photo Credit: Haviva Ner-David

Messages also went out in the Standing Together WhatsApp groups in other parts of the country, and on social media, for volunteers — Arabs and Jews of all ages — to sort, pack, and load the items people would be bringing. This is what we went to do.

When Jacob and I arrived, at around 7pm, there was already a traffic jam to get into the area where the stadium, the mosque, and the lot where the collection was taking place, are located, but we didn’t realize why. “There must be a prayer service in the mosque starting or letting out,” Jacob said, “or a game in the stadium.” We parked our car and walked to the collection area. It soon became clear the traffic was not from the mosque or the stadium, but from people coming in their cars to bring donations.

Photo credit: Haviva Ner-David

I hadn’t known if I could be of much help, because of my physical disability (I was born with a form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD), so I had brought along pages to ask people to sign for Standing Together’s peace campaign and to join the organization. But I never even took the pages out of my backpack. It was evident much hands-on help was needed in whatever way I could manage (which ended up being sorting and packing, but not loading, although my body still hurts days later).

Photo credit: Haviva Ner-David

I even saw a man in an electric wheelchair helping out. And a reporter who had come to cover the event put down his camera at some point and just started sorting, packing, and lifting with the rest of us.

Photo credit: Haviva Ner-David

The hours passed quickly, and soon it was 9pm, then 10pm. And the cars kept coming! Someone called me over to look out at the main road. There was a long line of traffic leading all the way to the entrance to the city! My friend Feisal who was the main organizer on the ground and is one of the founders of the Standing Together chapter in the “Triangle”, told me the traffic jam went on for at least a kilometer outside the city.

I was literally moved to tears. It reminded me of the final scene in the film “It’s A Wonderful Life”, when the whole town comes out to bring their savings to help prevent George (played by Jimmy Stewart) from going to jail. Only this was reality not a feature film.

Photo credit: Haviva Ner-David

The organizers finally went out to the road and told people to come back the next day, that we couldn’t process it all that day and would have to add another day to the event. By 11pm, Jacob and I left, but there were still people there working. They stayed until midnight, and all together, in both days, 29 trucks full of supplies for Gaza left Umm al-Fahem!

Then there was an event in Baqa al-Gharbiyye, and another in Tira (in the country’s center) – with the same overwhelmingly enthusiastic turnout. Pop-up collection spots were organized in Kafr Qasem, Gilgulia, Taybeh, and Arabeh, too. And at least two more collection events are scheduled for this week in the south — in Rahat and Hura. The organizers of this campaign had imagined collecting maybe one or two trucks full of supplies, with collection points in various locations across the country. They had no idea they would end up with what ended up being over 300 trucks full.

Photo Credit: Haviva Ner-David (These are two of the trucks we filled, not small trucks — very long ones!

How do I explain this extremely enthusiastic response to Standing Together’s call? So many Palestinian Israelis are utterly distraught over what is happening in Gaza. Many have lost family members and are terribly worried about those who are still alive. They feel helpless. 

And they are in an especially difficult position because their country is at war with their nation. Palestinian Israelis are caught in between Israel and Gaza and feel they can’t even speak out against the war because they will be attacked from both sides. This is why so many jumped at the opportunity to do something, anything, to help their people in such dire distress.

Giving humanitarian aid to the innocent civilians on the other side of the border, is not only an act of charity, but also an act of resistance – a way of protesting the ongoing war and methods being used by the IDF and Hamas, where it is the common people who are paying the biggest price.

For some, like me, this is an additional way to demonstrate resistance, but for others — those who do not feel comfortable or are fearful of going to protests — it is an alternative way. Whether alternative or additional, this type of resistance creates a different reality — a more humanist, non-violent, positive, and cooperative one — than the one we are protesting. It is a way of protesting through building not just breaking down.

It is important to note that Jacob and I were not the only Jewish Israelis at the Umm al-Fahem site; we were in the minority but we were not alone. There were Jewish volunteers at all the collection events so far. And people were ordering pizzas and sandwiches and handing out the food to everyone, no matter their mother tongue, or religious or cultural background. There was such positive energy in the air of working together for a common cause, it was life-and-humanity-affirming.

Many Palestinian Israeli volunteers were especially and deeply moved by the presence of Jewish volunteers; some said they had not realized there are Jews who care about Palestinian suffering. 

My friend and sister-Standing-Together-activist, Tahani Abd Al Halim, however, was not surprised. As we stood together, marveling at the event’s success,  she said: “We’re a bunch of Arabs [who are Christian and Muslim] and Jews. Giving is in our culture and faith, it’s in our bones. What else could anyone have expected?”

Photo Credit: Faisal Mahagneh

People are asking how we know the food will get across the border safely and get to Gazan civilians and not into the hands of Hamas. Standing Together is working with an international humanitarian aid organization with contacts on the ground in Gaza, an organization they choose not to name out of fear that may jeopardize the success of the mission. But they are hopeful.

If you would like to donate money to this cause, here is the donation link. Or, if you are in Israel and would like to volunteer in the last leg of the drive, look on Standing Together’s social media accounts for more information. 

If you want a pick-me-up, an injection of hope, I highly recommend it!