The International Community Must Act Now in Gaza and the West Bank

As Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel who have dedicated our careers to healing trauma and advocating for human rights, we desperately call on the international community to take immediate, concrete action to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the systematic oppression in the West Bank. This is not merely a political stance – it is a moral imperative grounded in international law and our shared humanity.

 

We write as individuals who live within Israeli society yet refuse to be complicit in policies we believe violate fundamental human rights. As mental health professionals, we understand trauma's lasting impact. As citizens, we have exhausted domestic channels for change. Despite weekly demonstrations, countless petitions, and grassroots organizing, we have watched our government's policies become increasingly destructive. Our proximity to these events does not blind us to complexity – even as we are still collectively aching from the horrors of October 7th – it clarifies our moral obligation to speak out. We know that true healing requires moving beyond the rigid divisions between 'us' and 'them': we need to embrace our common humanity and reject violence in all its forms.

 

In Gaza, we are witnessing what international legal experts increasingly recognize as actions that constitute genocide: the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure, the use of starvation as a weapon of war, and attacks that have killed tens of thousands of civilians. This also puts the lives of surviving Israeli Hamas hostages in Gaza in dire risk, as the life-threatening conditions they face are made even worse while the humanitarian crisis deepens.

 

The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide explicitly calls on individuals and states to prevent such crimes. Israel's security cabinet has recently approved a plan to take military control of Gaza City, with Netanyahu announcing intentions to occupy the entire Gaza Strip –  a decision that, if executed, will force the displacement of approximately one million Palestinians and marks a dangerous escalation in this already devastating conflict.

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In the West Bank, Palestinians face a regime of systematic oppression that includes home demolitions, forced displacement, settlement expansion, and daily violence from settlers – often with the protection or silent approval of Israeli security forces. Thousands of Palestinians, including children, are held in Israeli prisons under administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial that violates international law. Palestinians live under constant threat, enduring military raids, checkpoints, and the absence of basic safety. This system of violence damages everyone it touches – including the Israeli soldiers, who face life disruption, PTSD, moral injury, and rising suicide rates. Our professional ethics compel us to acknowledge this harm, which demonstrates how deeply destructive violent systems are to all involved, from within and without.

 

We understand that many people of conscience hesitate to criticize Israeli government policies out of concern about being labeled antisemitic. This fear is understandable – antisemitism  is real, rising, and dangerous. Jewish communities worldwide face genuine threats, and at the same time, the weaponization of antisemitism accusations to silence criticism creates a chilling effect on necessary moral discourse.

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But we must distinguish between antisemitism – hatred of Jewish people – and criticism of government policies that violate international law. We intimately know the difference . The same moral clarity that would have compelled righteous people to stand up for Jews during our darkest hours now demands that they stand up for Palestinians facing systematic oppression. True solidarity with Jewish people means opposing injustice wherever it occurs – including when the Israeli government perpetrates it in our name.

 

Those who genuinely care about Jewish safety and wellbeing should feel emboldened, not silenced, in speaking out against policies that ultimately harm both Palestinians and Israelis. History's moral heroes were those who refused to remain silent in the face of injustice, regardless of the personal cost.

 

As witnesses to these ongoing atrocities, the international community bears responsibility not just to observe but to act. History will judge not only those who committed these acts but also those who had the power to stop them and chose silence. We have seen how governmental mechanisms of dehumanization make ordinary citizens complicit in extraordinary crimes. The international community has tools to break this cycle – economic leverage, legal mechanisms, and diplomatic pressure that can create accountability where domestic systems have failed.

 

This is not a time for symbolic gestures or cautious diplomacy. It is a time for the moral clarity and courageous action that protecting human life demands. The question is not whether the international community can act, but whether it will choose to do so before it is too late.

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The children of Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank – Palestinian and Israeli alike – deserve a future free from trauma and violence. That future requires international intervention today.

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Dr. Noga Ariel Galor, Liron Tal, Arnona Zahavi, Noor Abo ras, Dr. Noam Rudich, Racheli Bar-Or, Dr. Julia Chaitin, Hagit Lobel Hagai , Tova Buksbaum, Dan Morten Schachter , Carmel Owen, Yvonne Deutsch, Michal Fruchtman, Tali Harkavi Carmeli, Tirza Bar Hanin, Ruth Ben Asher, Bella sosevsky, Dr. David Senesh, Nilly Szor, Diddy Mymin, Sunny Gordon Bar, Bati Lowenstein, Daniel Roe, Perle Rine, Dr. Keren Harel, Prof. Uri Hadar, Anat Marnin Shaham, Yael Weinstein, Anat Reichman, Sara Metzer, Anat Raphael, Yael Tal-Barzilai, Iris Lerman, Ariana Gutman, Keren Goldberg, Dorit Gurny