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Let us be clear. 

Gaza was a crime, even before Israel’s current genocidal war. One of
the world’s most densely populated spaces served for years as what was
essentially the world’s largest open air prison. If not a crime, it
was certainly a violation of international law and an affront to human
dignity and decency.

However, the recent horrifying events perpetrated there seem to have
awakened the world’s conscience. Tragically, despite widespread
international demonstrations and condemnation no ceasefire has been
achieved and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis continues. Those who are not
killed by Israel’s relentless bombing will suffer from continued
displacement, or, even worse, die from starvation and disease. 

Moreover, this crisis continues to escalate. What began in Gaza one
year ago now threatens to engulf the entire region in a conflagration
that could further enflame hatred, wreak devastation, worsen the
humanitarian crisis, and redraw the map of the entire region. 

However, imagine for a moment what might have happened if a
coordinated global solidarity movement for peace and justice in Israel
and Palestine existed? Could it have brought political pressure on
governments to demand a ceasefire and end the flow of weapons to
Israel, thus ending the genocide in Gaza—–perhaps within the first
month of the hostilities? How many lives could have been saved, and
how much senseless violence and devastation could have been avoided? 
Many of us from an earlier generation believed that we had built such
a movement in the mid-1980s. 

At one time, the International Coordinating Committee on the Question
of Palestine (ICCP) comprised more than 1,200 member organizations
worldwide. The outcome of a United Nations (UN) initiative for a
global conference on Palestine, these highly diverse non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) ranged in size, scope, and diversity from small
grassroots committees to large and complex organizations such as the
Canadian Autoworkers and many American Protestant churches. Vibrant
networks operated in Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America, and
Asia as well as separate networks in Israel and Palestine. 

However, we found ourselves haunted by the question of sustainability
as we witnessed its demise in the mid-1990s. It is likely that most
contemporary organizers are unaware of its existence, but the story of
the ICCP holds many important lessons for today’s organizers. 

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https://mondoweiss.net/2024/10/an-international-civil-society-movement-for-palestine-is-needed-today-more-than-ever/