This is not a ‘war of no choice’. There is another way.

Nofar Drukman is a walking burst of optimism. The Israeli social entrepreneur and activist with Peace Now and New Story Leadership has a long list of accomplishments for a 30-something, including founding Karaoke Talkie, a social enterprise that empowers women to overcome stage fright through storytelling and improvisation.

Nofar Drukman speaking on Women Ending War, telling a story about her friend, Muhammed Sharif. (YouTube Screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of copyright law.)

When I brought her on my podcast, Women Ending War, with my Palestinian Muslim co-host Eva Dalak, Nofar focused on her collaborative work with young Palestinian leaders.

One of the most inspiring stories she told our audience was about her friendship with a Palestinian named Mohammed Sheriff Yousef. Years ago, she was invited to a young leadership program where she befriended Mohammed, and was surprised to discover that this social entrepreneur colleague was from Gaza. As a former IDF soldier, she had been trained to think of Gazans as “enemies” and potential terrorists, not peace activists. This was a formative experience for her, she explained, and they went on to become good friends. We had an eye-opening conversation about the process of learning to humanize people who have been cast as “enemies”, one of the most crucial aspects of activating peace. In fact, Mohammed was one of the first people to call Nofar on October 7 and check in on her well-being, reinforcing the fact that people in Gaza did not all support the Hamas atrocities.

A few days after my interview with Nofar, Mohammed was killed in an IDF attack on Khan Younis.

Mohammed Sharif, RIP (courtesy of his family)

The 40,000 or so people who have been killed in Gaza have names, faces, and stories. There is so much devastation – entire families killed, entire neighborhoods leveled – that it is hard to remember that every single one is a world unto their own. The shocking death of Nofar’s friend Mohammed was a crushing reminder of this outrageous and ongoing loss of life.

A huge swath of Israelis desperately want this war to end. We know this is wrong. Every single day there are mass protests all around the country calling for an immediate ceasefire. Dozens of groups and organizations have formed to pressure the government to withdraw and to accept negotiation conditions. These groups include families of reservists, parents of combat soldiers, former soldiers, families of hostages, displaced communities, and many joint Israeli-Palestinian solidarity initiatives that have been fighting tooth and nail to have their messages of peace and shared society heeded. At the DNC, the strongest call for a ceasefire and for compassion for the people of Gaza came from the hostage families, in a plea by Jon Polin Goldberg to not only release the hostages but also to remember the “innocent people of Gaza” who are being killed on a daily basis. Even Israelis most tragically affected by October 7 realize that this war is all wrong.

In fact, some of the most ardent opponents of the war are those charged with fighting it. Perhaps this is related to the fact that an estimated 20,000 soldiers have turned to health services for help with PTSD, much of which comes from experiences of being involved in pointless killing and loss of life. One soldier I was speaking with who is still on duty described his own internal crisis as a result of feeling like he does not know what the point of all this is. Some of the soldiers charged with carrying out the government’s directives are often the ones who want this all to end the most.

Yet, the government isn’t listening. Despite daily mass protests from all corners of the country – arguably the largest, most persistent and most insistent protest movement in Israel’s history – Netanyahu is visibly unmoved. He doesn’t respond to protesters, and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t have to. Bibi answers to his coalition partners, not to the people. In the very broken and dysfunctional Israeli political system, there is no direct representation, no real constituencies, no checks and balances, and no accountability. Decisions are made by the t 64 Knesset members who are in the coalition, whose sole interest seems to be keeping their own seats and accompanying budgets. To wit, Transport Minister Miri Regev – who was the subject of a recent media expose that showed how she uses her entire ministry to reward political machers who promise her votes in Likud primaries and has no loyalty to the actual purpose of transportation projects  –dismissed hostage family protests as “noise”. She, like Bibi, has no incentive to pay attention to protesters. They do nothing for her political career.

I’m not sure that American Jews fully grasp how much Israelis want this war to end and how little the government cares. I recently came back from a trip to the United States where I met with American Zionist Jews in Houston, Chicago, and Boston. In all these conversations, I heard, “But Israelis all support Netanyahu.” I was like, what??!! How could American Jews think that? I also heard the notorious lines, “This is a war of no choice,” or “There are no partners,” talking points that the government repeats frequently. These, too, are complete lies.

There are many alternatives to this war and the wanton killing of innocent Palestinians, and there are dozens of organizations seeking out peaceful solutions. The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), for example, is a coalition of 160 Palestinian and Israeli organizations that are all actively promoting long-term solutions to bring peace to the region. The current government wants to hide this reality, or to have you believe that they are somehow all terrorists. The current coalition is going out of its way to delegitimize and even defund the organizations working hardest at resolving this conflict. It is just another example of the head-spinning lies used by those in power to keep their seats by playing with the truth. Don’t fall for it.

In fact, one of the main reasons I started my podcast is because the government’s PR machine is frighteningly effective at spreading its lies, especially to international audiences. I am determined to help break that façade and provide a window into what is really going on. People on all sides of the conflict want a different reality, and many wonderful activists are dedicating their lives to making that happen. The world needs to know.

l to r: Elana Sztokman and Eva Dalak, cohosts of Women Ending War

While it’s nice that so many American Jews love Israel, it is very distressing to me that many think that supporting Israel means supporting this war. Right now, the greatest danger to Israel’s future is Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

We can create a different reality. Israelis deserve it. Palestinians deserve it. And there is another way.

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Dr. Elana Sztokman is an award-winning Jewish-Israeli feminist author, researcher, and activist. Follow her substack at The Roar and hear her podcast Women Ending War.