Haggai Mattar reports at +972:
A large group of left-wing Palestinian and Israeli parties, unions and civil society groups has issued an unprecedented joint statement in support of the Israeli struggle for social justice. The group demands unity in the struggle against occupation and racism.
For the first time since the launch of J14 movement, and perhaps for the first time in regional history, official Palestinian parties and NGOs are showing their support for an Israeli civilian struggle for social justice and against capitalism. Alongside their general statement of support, signatories mentioned the influence Arab revolutions have had on the Israeli movement, and stressed the importance they see in the ground-breaking widespread cooperation between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.
In addition, the signatories call upon J14 to connect their struggle with the one against the illegal settlements and the occupation, and to stop the Israeli government’s from attempting to sideline the struggle in the face of “outside security threats” such as the upcoming vote on recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN on 20 September.
And here is the statement from the Palestinian Israeli groups. Excerpt:
We look forward to the liberation of all the region’s peoples from dictatorship, ruling tyranny and from all forms of national, social and economic oppression. …
We understand that one of the primary reasons for the social and economic distress of citizens in Israel, in addition to the capitalist economic policies, is the continuation of the occupation and excessive security budgets, which Israel’s government seeks to justify as needed for defending the security of the settlements on the one hand and the state borders on the other. We therefore believe that an end to the occupation and establishment of a fair and just peace are essential for a life of peace and welfare.
We welcome the participation and integration of the Palestinian population in Israel in the social protest. This is an important opportunity to present before various groups within Israeli society the distresses of the Palestinians and the injustices caused to them, so that these groups can take responsibility in the struggle against the marginalizing policies and ongoing discrimination against the Palestinians in Israel, for putting an ending to confiscation of lands and full equality, and an end to the occupation of the Palestinian lands that were occupied in 1967.
