VO 1: THIS IS NOT AN OPINION PIECE BUT RATHER A WAY TO GIVE OTHERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR STORY WITH THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON THROUGH YOU ARE HERE. I AM NOT HERE TO BE THEIR VOICE BUT TO PROJECT THEIR VOICE FROM A PLATFORM SO OTHERS MAY HEAR IT.

VO 2: ACCORDING TO REUTERS, ONE OF THE LARGEST NEWS AGENCIES IN THE WORLD, THE ORIGIN OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR IS ROOTED IN ISRAELI DEMANDS FOR SECURITY IN WHAT HAS BEEN LONG REGARDED AS A HOSTILE MIDDLE EAST AGAINST PALESTINIAN ASPIRATIONS FOR A STATE OF THEIR OWN. IN 1947, THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGREED ON A PLAN TO PARTITION PALESTINE INTO ARAB AND JEWISH STATES. THIS WAS FOR THE SAKE OF INTERNATIONAL RULE OVER JERUSALEM. JEWISH LEADERS ACCEPTED THE PLAN GIVING THEM 56 PERCENT OF PALESTINE'S LAND. THE ARAB LEAGUE REJECTED THE PROPOSAL.

VO 3: DAVID BEN-GURION, THE PRIMARY NATIONAL FOUNDER OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE STATE’S FIRST PRIME MINISTER, MADE THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL ON MAY 14, 1948. A DAY AFTER ISRAEL WAS CREATED, TROOPS FROM FIVE ARAB STATES ATTACKED. 700,000 PALESTINIANS, HALF THE ARAB POPULATION, FLED THEIR HOMES OR WERE DRIVEN OUT. IT WAS KNOWN BY PALESTINIANS AS THE ‘NAKBA’, OR CATASTROPHE. THE FIGHTING STOPPED IN 1949 BUT THERE WAS NO FORMAL PEACE.

VO 4: ELI GERZON FOR JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE SPOKE ON HOW THIS CONFLICT BEGAN, AND WHAT LED TO A STATE OF WAR.

SOT 1: “ISRAEL IS A SETTLER COLONIAL PROJECT THAT GREAT BRITAIN GAVE TO SOME EUROPEAN JEWS WITHOUT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING THERE, THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING THERE, AND THAT WAS THE BALFOUR DECLARATION, AND THEN THE UN MADE IT MORE OFFICIAL AFTER ISRAEL HAD DONE AN ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PROXIMATELY 700,000 PALESTINIANS WHO FLED THEIR HOMES, AND MANY OF THEM THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST KIND OF FLEEING FOR A FEW WEEKS, AND THEN THEY COULD GO BACK AND 75 YEARS LATER, STILL CAN'T GO BACK. RIGHT YEAH. AND ISRAEL DID ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL ETHNIC CLEANSING, AND THE UN, CODIFIED IT CODIFIED IT INTO A 5050 LAND SITUATION AS FAR AS TERRITORY, BUT THERE WERE SO MUCH LESS THAN OF THE TOTAL POPULATION FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA WAS JEWISH, RIGHT. AND ISRAEL HAS CONTINUED TO TAKE LAND AND BRUTALIZED PEOPLE AND CREATE AN APARTHEID SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE ONE-STATE SOLUTION, THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION IN THE WEST BANK, GAZA, AREA, A, B, AND C IN THE WEST BANK, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THIS IS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, AND THIS IS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF SETTLERS ISRAEL. BUT THE TRUTH IS, FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA IS IS CURRENTLY ONE STATE IS CONTROLLED BY THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT, BACKED BY THE UNITED STATES $3.5 BILLION EVERY YEAR WITH THE CONGRESS JUST VOTED TO GIVE EVEN MORE, RIGHT? BUT MY POINT IS, ISRAEL CONTROLS GAZA HAS BORDERS, ISRAEL CONTROLS WHETHER OR NOT YOU CAN HOW YOU CAN LEAVE THE WEST BANK AND GO BACK AND FORTH. RIGHT. SO IT REALLY IS FUNCTIONING AS A STATE WITH WITH FIRST CLASS CITIZENS, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH CLASS CITIZENS ALL VERY MUCH DEPENDING ON EVERY SINGLE IDENTITY CHRISTIANS TEND TO HAVE MORE RIGHTS, THEN MUSLIM PALESTINIANS, RIGHT. AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIVE IN THE WEST BANK OR JERUSALEM THAT AFFECTS HOW MANY RIGHTS YOU HAVE. AND THEN IF YOU LIVE IN GAZA, FORGET ABOUT IT. RIGHT THERE THAT FIFTH SIXTH CROWD CLASS CITIZEN AND SO THINGS HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE IN GAZA FOR DECADES. THIS ERUPTION OF VIOLENCE IS TOTALLY PREDICTABLE, GIVEN WHAT PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN PUT THROUGH AND GIVEN WHAT GAZA HAS HAD BEEN PUT THROUGH, ESPECIALLY.”

VO 5: GERZON NOTED THAT THEY ARE IMPRESSED BY AMERICAN PUBLIC ACTION REGARDING HOW THE PEOPLE ARE HANDLING SPEAKING OUT ON SUCH AN ISSUE.

SOT 2: “YEAH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD EMPHASIZE AND EMPHASIZE THOUGH, IS I'M FRANKLY AMAZED AND IMPRESSED WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC RIGHT NOW, IN THAT 66% OF RESPONDENTS TO A POLL A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO BEFORE WE'VE SEEN BEFORE SO MANY OF THE VIDEOS OF ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL MURDER BY ISRAEL CAME OUT PEOPLE WERE ALREADY 66% WERE IN FAVOR OF A CEASEFIRE. 80% OF DEMOCRATS, RIGHT. I JUST LOOKED AT MY REPRESENTATIVE WHIP, KATHERINE CLARK, RIGHT. SHE'S THE SECOND MOST POWERFUL DEMOCRAT IN THE HOUSE. AND SHE JUST CAME OUT WITH A STATEMENT SAYING, I AGREE WITH THE PRESIDENT. WE NEED TO HAVE A PAUSE TO ALLOW HUMANITARIAN AID AND I LOOK AT THE COMMENTS BELOW THIS TWEET. I WANT TO MAKE SURE TO LIKE SAY SOMETHING GREAT, PROVOCATIVE AND CLEAR, LIKE PUSHING HER JUST FOR A CEASEFIRE. AND I DID, BUT I HARDLY NEED TO BECAUSE THERE WERE ALREADY SO MANY COMMENTS RIGHT BELOW IT SAYING THIS IS WE'RE TIRED. YOU'RE PLATITUDES WE NEED A CEASEFIRE. WHY AREN'T YOU CALLING FOR A CEASEFIRE? YOU'RE A DISGRACE. WELL, ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT. SO MANY PEOPLE, IN THIS CASE, ARE ABLE TO CUT THROUGH ALL THE LIES AND THE PROPAGANDA. WE RECENTLY SAW EVEN WOLF BLITZER WHO USED TO BE IN A POSITION OF LEADERSHIP AT AIPAC VERY BIG ISRAEL SUPPORTER, BUT HE'S TALKING TO THIS ISRAELI MILITARY OFFICIAL AND SAYING, SO YOU KNEW THAT THERE WERE GOING TO BE CIVILIANS IN THE REFUGEE CAMP WHEN YOU BOMBED. AND THE ISRAELI MILITARY LEADER IS JUST SAYING, WELL, IT'S A TRAGEDY OF WAR. AND WE TOLD THEM, THEY HAD TO LEAVE AND WE WARNED THEM, AND IT'S JUST THAT, BUT WOLF BLITZER, TO HIS CREDIT, JUST KEPT ON ASKING LIKE, BUT YOU KNEW THERE WERE CIVILIANS THERE. AND SO EVEN SOMEBODY LIKE WOLF BLITZER IS JUST A DOES NOT UNDERSTAND HOW ISRAEL CAN BE SO CRUEL AND KILL SO MANY CIVILIANS, KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THEY ARE DOING THAT. AND IT'S SO BIZARRE BECAUSE SOME ISRAELI SAY, WELL, THIS IS NOT OUR INTENTION TO KILL CIVILIANS. AND YET YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIKE THIS GUY NAMED PACELLE, SMOKE RICH HE'S NOT ONLY IS HE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS, HE SAYS WE CANNOT WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT THE HOSTAGES. AND I BELIEVE ANOTHER OFFICIAL SAID HE'S ONE OF THE HIGHEST MOST HIGHEST RANKING PEOPLE IN THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. RIGHT NOW. THAT THAT IS A PART OF THIS STORY THAT THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT ISRAEL IS FAR MORE RIGHT WING THAN IT USED TO BE. BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY CHANGE. THE FACT THAT PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED FOR 75 YEARS, AND OPPRESSED FOR 75 YEARS. SORRY, MY POINT WAS, THERE WAS ANOTHER PERSON WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING FOR ACCURACY. WE'RE GOING FOR DESTRUCTION. WHICH DOES DESTRUCTION DESTRUCTION JUST DOESN'T DOESN'T MEAN DESTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS. IT MEANS DESTRUCTION OF FAMILIES. I BELIEVE OVER 200 ENTIRE FAMILIES HAVE BEEN KILLED. AND SOMEBODY AT THE UN RECENTLY RETIRED, LEFT IN PROTEST LEFT THE UN IN PROTEST SAYING THIS ABSOLUTELY FITS THE TEXTBOOK DEFINITION OF GENOCIDE AND WE AT THE UN NEED TO DO MORE. SO EXPERTS ARE SAYING IS GENOCIDE, AND YET, OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS STILL DON'T CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE?”

VO 6: GERZON IS BOTH JEWISH AND A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR PALESTINE. THEY NOTED THEIR EXPERIENCE IN PROTESTING WITH THE CONFLUENCE OF THOSE IDENTITIES.

SOT 3: “SO A COUPLE OF WEEKENDS AGO? I WAS PART OF A COALITION THAT ORGANIZED A RALLY, AND THERE'S BEEN MANY, BUT THIS ONE, I THINK, WAS THE BIGGEST ONE SO FAR, AT LEAST THIS YEAR FOR PALESTINE ORGANIZED BY SOMETHING CALLED THE BOSTON COALITION FOR PALESTINE. AND AND I SPOKE AND I WAS REALLY HAPPY THAT PEOPLE CAME UP TO ME AND SAID, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU SAID. BUT WHAT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE IS MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST HOLDING A SIGN THAT SAID, JEWS AGAINST GENOCIDE, ANOTHER JEW FOR PALESTINE, NOT IN MY NAME, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE HAD RANDOM MUSLIMS, LIKE PEOPLE WEARING JOBS AND JUST ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE BUT ESPECIALLY THAT COMING UP TO INTERESTING THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. RIGHT? AND INSTANTLY, OR WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT OF COURSE OF COURSE, THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS TO SHOW UP AND SAY WE DON'T WE DON'T SUPPORT THIS, DON'T DO THIS IN OUR NAME, RIGHT. BUT JUST THAT PEOPLE ARE SO GRATEFUL THAT SO MANY, MANY PEOPLE ARE MAKING IT CLEAR. I AM JEWISH AND I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS. I AM JEWISH I DO NOT WANT THIS DONE IN MY NAME. AND MANY PEOPLE WHO LOST PEOPLE IN THE OCTOBER 7 ATTACK. RIGHT, ISRAELIS AND AMERICANS WHO SAY YES, MY BROTHER WAS KILLED, HE WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO KILL MORE PEOPLE IN HIS NAME TO AVENGE HIS DEATH. RIGHT? SO MANY PEOPLE. YEAH, MY FATHER IS A HOSTAGE RIGHT NOW. HE WOULD NOT WANT THIS STOP THE BOMBING. RIGHT? SO THAT'S A LOT OF POSITIVITY. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S THE TYPE OF POSITIVITY I'VE SEEN. PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY VERY THANKFUL FOR THE ACTIONS THAT JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE AND IF NOT NOW ARE DOING THESE SOME OF THESE DRAMATIC ACTIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE SEEN IN WASHINGTON DC AND NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, THEY JUST SHUT DOWN A HIGHWAY AND PHILLY I THINK THEY FILLED A TRAIN STATION ALL SORTS OF ACTIONS RIGHT? MAKING THAT CLEAR. SO I'VE DEFINITELY HEARD FROM PALESTINIANS THAT THEY REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE TYPES OF ACTIONS. AND THEN THERE'S LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO CALL YOU KNOW, SAY ON TWITTER, I'M A SELF-HATING JEW, OR SOMEBODY SAID IN HEBREW, I HAD TO TRANSLATE IT AND I KNEW I WOULDN'T LIKE THE TRANSLATION, BUT I DID IT ANYWAY. AND IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE IN THE HOLOCAUST, EVEN IN THE HOLOCAUST, THEY WERE USING RATS. THEY WERE TRAITORS TO TRADERS. AND YEAH, I ACTUALLY DO HAVE FAMILY THAT FLED THE HOLOCAUST. I HAVE FAMILY THAT DO NOT PLAY AT ALL COSTS THAT WERE KILLED IN THAT GENOCIDE. AND FOR ME, IT'S JUST PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. IF YOU'VE EXPERIENCED GENOCIDE, IF YOUR FAMILY HAS EXPERIENCED GENOCIDE, YOU DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE. AND INSTEAD SO OFTEN, AND I'VE HAD AN ISRAELI SAY THIS TO ME VERY PLAINLY, AND SAY, WELL, LOOK AT THIS DISPROPORTIONATE DEATH TOLL. LIKE HOW WAS THAT? HOW WAS THAT JUST HOW DOES THAT SEEM RIGHT TO YOU? YOU SAID, WELL, WE LOST A LOT IN THE HOLOCAUST. YES, THEREFORE YOU SHOULDN'T WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO LOSE A LOT. SO YEAH, THE JEWISH IDENTITY IS DEFINITELY WRAPPED UP IN THIS, BUT I AM VERY HEARTENED BY THIS ACTION YESTERDAY. IS INTERFAITH ACTION, WHERE JEWS MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS, AND YOU, US, ALL ORGANIZED FOR A RALLY IN ON BOSTON COMMON AND THEN FOR A PRAY IN, IN THE OFFICE, OR THE BUILDING WHERE SENATOR WARREN AND SENATOR MARKEY ARE IN THE FEDERAL BUILDING. AND IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL, LIKE LITERALLY THE PEOPLE WERE SINGING THESE BEAUTIFUL SONGS TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, AND PRAYING FOR PEACE, AND CALLING OUT TO SENATOR WARREN. WHERE'S YOUR MORAL COMPASS? WHERE'S YOUR COMPASSION? RIGHT? SO, ON THE ONE HAND, I WANT TO REALLY EMPHASIZE HOW MANY JEWS ARE OPPOSED TO THIS. ON THE OTHER HAND, I WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR, IT'S JUST IT'S A HUMAN THING. IF YOU LOOK AT THIS REALITY, YOU HAVE TO GET A LOT OF MIS EDUCATION TO NOT JUST UNDERSTAND THAT BOMBING CIVILIANS IS WRONG. 1000S DEAD I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HOW SOME PEOPLE CAN HOLD ON TO THAT BEING SOMEHOW JUSTIFIED.”

VO 7: HOWEVER, EVEN WITH THE TREPIDATION THAT COMES WITH SPEAKING OUT ON SUCH A SENSITIVE, POLARIZED ISSUE, GERZON NOTED THAT THE IMPERFECTIONS ARE STILL VALUED AS LONG AS YOU ARE DOING WHAT IS RIGHT.

SOT 4: “AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THAT'LL LAST FOR WORDS, TOO, BUT, AND WHATEVER WE DO, IT'S GOING TO BE IMPERFECT. BUT LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, SHOWING UP TO THAT RALLY AND JUST HOLDING A SIGN THAT SAYS, I'M A JEW AND I WANT A CEASEFIRE, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE APPRECIATE THAT JUST THAT SIMPLE. THING IS VERY HEARTENING. SO IT'S JUST LIKE, AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NERVOUS TO LIKE, CALL THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND STUFF, YOU KNOW, BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO SPEAK CLEARLY SAY THE WORD CEASEFIRE. FOR NOW THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO. AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE AWKWARD. OR DON'T SAY THINGS QUITE THE RIGHT WAY. FOR NOW, IT'S IT'S PRETTY DARN CLEAR WHAT SIDE YOU NEED TO BE ON AND AS LONG AS YOU MAKE CLEAR THAT SOCIETY YOU'RE ON AND THEN THAT'S THAT'S WONDERFUL. AND AND THEN IF YOU'RE ABLE TO SHOW UP TO EVENTS AND SPEAK OUT AND CONTACT ELECTED OFFICIALS AND WRITE ARTICLES AND PRODUCE PIECES ABOUT IT, THEN YEAH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY AWESOME. IT'S WONDERFUL.” VO 8: WORRY IN TIMES OF WAR IS AN EMOTION THAT IS INEVITABLE, HOWEVER, GERZON SPOKE ON HOW THAT WORRY IS LESSENED FOR THEMSELF.”

SOT 5: “YEAH, KNOW, LIKE I SAID, FOR ME, I'M SELF EMPLOYED. I DO CONSULTING, YOU KNOW, I CAN, I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT GETTING FIRED. AND FRANKLY, THE TYPE OF PEOPLE I WORK FOR WOULD BE HAPPY THAT I'M DOING THIS KIND OF THING. YOU KNOW. SO THAT'S GREAT. AND, HONESTLY, I'VE BEEN SO, SO OUTSPOKEN ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE, AND SO I'M NOT REALLY CONCERNED. THE ONLY TIME I WAS CONCERNED IS WHEN I VISITED PALESTINE A FEW YEARS AGO. AND THEN I JUST, YOU KNOW, MADE SURE TO LOCK MY TWITTER ACCOUNT AND THINGS LIKE THAT JUST SO IN CASE THEY DECIDED TO LOOK ME UP AS I'M TRYING TO ENTER IN TEL AVIV. THEY DON'T LIKE THE LOOK OF SOME OF MY STUFF. BUT OTHERWISE, YEAH, THANKFULLY, I'M NOT WORRIED. AND OF COURSE, I HAVE TO BE CLEAR, I HAVE WHITE PRIVILEGE. I HAVE JEWISH PRIVILEGE, YOU KNOW, I DO GET CALLED A SELF HATING JEW AND ALL THESE THINGS, BUT WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, I CAN HANDLE THAT. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, I'M IN A MUCH SAFER SITUATION THAN PEOPLE WHO ARE CLEARLY MUSLIM OR ARAB, OR PEOPLE OF COLOR IN GENERAL. AND WELL, FRANKLY, WOMEN ALSO GET A LITTLE BIT OF QUEER HATE, BUT NOT MUCH. AND SO YEAH, THERE'S SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE SO MUCH MORE OF A RISK, AND SOME OF THEM STILL SPEAK OUT. RIGHT. SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY COMMENDABLE AND ALSO TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE IF PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO SPEAK UP. NO WANT TO SPEAK PUBLICLY. I KNOW SOME PEOPLE ARE DOING INTERVIEWS THAT, YOU KNOW, ON CONDITION OF ANONYMITY, ANONYMITY, FOR THE EXACT REASON YOU'RE SAYING, BUT LUCKILY, I DON'T I DON'T SEEM TO HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.”

VO 9: WITH SPEAKING OUT, THERE IS ALWAYS A DEFINITIVE ANSWER PUT TO WHAT YOU ARE PROTESTING. SO, WHAT DOES ‘FREE PALESTINE’ MEAN?

SOT 6: “I MEAN, OKAY, SO YEAH, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? BECAUSE I TRULY BELIEVE THAT OUR LIBERATION IS TIE IT IS ALL TIED TOGETHER. YOU KNOW? AT THAT RALLY I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHERE I GAVE A SPEECH. YOU KNOW, I SAID THAT WE WANT TO SEE AN END TO VIOLENCE FOR ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS. AND THE WAY WE SEE AN END TO VIOLENCE HAS TO INCLUDE AN END TO THE VIOLENCE OF APARTHEID, THE VIOLENCE OF COLONIALISM, THE VIOLENCE OF CAPITALISM, AND OF COURSE, THE VIOLENCE OF ZIONISM. SO FOR ME, THIS IS A VERY BROAD THING. AS YOU KNOW, INCLUDING CAPITALISM AND RACISM. BUT I'M JUST SAYING THAT IF WE CAN UNDERSTAND AND CARE ABOUT PALESTINIANS, WE CAN EXPAND THAT LOVE CARING AND MILL MILITANT ACTIVISM, COMBINATION OF THOSE TWO THOSE THINGS. THEN WE CAN TRANSFER THAT TO OTHER THINGS. THE NEXT THING I MEAN, I WAS CHATTING ON WHATSAPP WITH THIS PALESTINIAN WOMAN IN BOSTON AND SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, I WANT MY PEOPLE TO BE THE LAST DEPRESSED PEOPLE. WHAT LET'S, WE NEED TO FIGHT ALL SORTS, ALL TYPES OF OPPRESSION, YOU KNOW. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT BEAUTIFUL SENTENCE. I HAVE DOUBT SO THAT'S GOING TO BE TRUE. BUT I THINK THAT WE CAN WE ARE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. FOR WITH SO MANY PEOPLE ARE UNDERSTANDING THAT NOBODY SHOULD BE OPPRESSED. CERTAINLY NOBODY SHOULD BE OPPRESSED BECAUSE OF THEIR RELIGION, BECAUSE THEIR ETHNICITY AND I'M REALLY HEARTENED BY HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING OUT AND IT NEEDS TO GROW AND WE NEED A LOT MORE. YOU KNOW.”

VO 10: THE MOVEMENTS DONE BY THE PUBLIC HEARTEN GERZON, AND THEY NOTED HOW THIS PROVIDES A SEEMINGLY ‘GOOD SIGN’ FOR CHANGE BEING ON THE HORIZON.

SOT 7: “YEAH, EVERY SINGLE DAY, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY IN ONE CITY, LET ALONE ACROSS THE US. YA KNOW, PEOPLE ARE DOING AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL ACTIONS ALL THE TIME. SO MANY PEOPLE ARE CONTACTING THEIR LEGISLATORS AND MAKING CLEAR. YEAH, PEOPLE, NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE THOSE OPINIONS THAT ARE SO CLEAR AND SO STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF A CEASEFIRE. YOU HAVE PEOPLE TAKING ACTION, IN ADDITION TO FEELING A CERTAIN WAY, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.”

SOT 8: “SO I WAS JUST SAYING THAT WE NEED TO NOT ONLY CARE BUT WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION AND SO MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT. THAT IS VERY HOPEFUL. OBVIOUSLY, WE HAVE A LOT OF TERRIBLE VIEWS AND TERRIBLE ACTIONS. ULTIMATELY, THE BOMBING BUT ALSO THE SUPPORTING OF IT. BUT LIKE I SAY IT'S IT'S HEARTENING. HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE CARING HOW MANY PEOPLE WANT MORE PEOPLE ARE TAKING ACTION AND THEN WE JUST WANT TO SEE THEM. US TAKING ACTION ON THE THESE THINGS AND THEN TAKING ACTION ON ALL THE OTHER ISSUES WE HAVE TO WE HAVE TO ADDRESS HAVE ADJUST THE WORLD AND WHEN IT COMES TO CLIMATE CHANGE, JUST SURVIVE. SO I MEAN, I'VE LEARNED NEW THINGS. LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN I'VE BEEN DOING ORGANIZING FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, AND I'VE BEEN ACTIVE, ESPECIALLY ON PALESTINE FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS, BUT I'M LEARNING NEW THINGS. I'M DOING NEW THINGS I'M TAKING ON MORE LEADERSHIP AND SO MANY MORE, SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE. THAT'S REALLY EXCITING. YEAH.”

VO 11: COVERAGE IS A VITAL COMPONENT SO THAT THE PUBLIC KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD, AND SO THAT IT MAY BE DOCUMENTED FOR IT TO NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. GERZON SPOKE TO HOW THE MEDIA’S COVERAGE OF THE WAR IS DOING.

SOT 9: “GAZA ARE POSTING VIDEOS OF DISMEMBERED PEOPLE, JUST ABSOLUTE CARNAGE, STRAIGHT TO SOCIAL MEDIA, LIKE WE HAVE THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW. AND GAZANS ARE DEFINITELY MAKING USE OF IT AND REPORTERS IN THERE. BUT ISRAEL IS DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO SHUT OFF COMMUNICATION SET OFF ELECTRICITY, ALL SORTS OF THINGS. BUT ABSOLUTELY, IT'S OUT THERE. AND LIKE I WAS SAYING, WOLF BLITZER IS TALKING ABOUT BOMBING HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS IN A REFUGEE CAMP. PEOPLE CAN'T CLAIM THEY DON'T KNOW. SO CERTAINLY, WE WANT MORE PEOPLE TO BE AWARE OF IT AND TO CARE. ABOUT IT. THE MORE IT GETS OUT, THE BETTER. NOT THAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH EVERY SINGLE BRUTAL VIDEO LIKE YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S NOT GOING TO HELP EVERYONE IF YOU IF YOU JUST KEEP WALKING AND STUFF LIKE THAT, BUT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW YEAH, SO ABSOLUTELY. WE WANT MORE BUT LOTS OF IT IS GETTING OUT. AND THE PUBLIC AND OUR POLITICIANS HAVE NO EXCUSE THEY THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND SAY, OH, WELL, MAN, WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW. IT'S RIGHT THERE. IT'S RIGHT THERE. YOU HAVE TO DO SOME SORT OF CALCULATION WHERE, WELL, ISRAEL JUST HAS TO DO THIS. I DON'T KNOW. I GUESS WE CAN DO OUR BEST TO HAVE SOME SORT OF HUMANITARIAN PAUSE. BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO STOP THIS COUNTRY THAT WE FINANCE AND CLEARLY NEEDS OUR POLITICAL COVER TO EXIST. I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN JUSTIFY IT, BUT THERE MUST BE SOMETHING GOING ON IN THEIR HEADS. AND THEN IT'S OUR JOB TO JUST YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THERE. THE POLITICIANS ARE DOING WHAT THEY THINK IS SORT OF MOST POLITICALLY ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THEM. FACTORING IN THE DIFFERENT PRESSURES THEY HAVE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PRESSURE, THE PRESSURE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND STOP KILLING PEOPLE IS STRONGER. AND SCARES THEM INTO OKAY, WELL, I GUESS I REALLY DO HAVE TO DO THE RIGHT THING.”

VO 12: WITH ANY CONFLICT, THERE IS A PIVOTAL PART THAT HALTS THE ACTIONS OF THE WARRING PARTIES. GERZON WAS ASKED WHAT THEY BELIEVED THE TIPPING POINT WOULD BE.

SOT 9: “YEAH, WELL, WE ARE SEEING SOME SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. SO YESTERDAY, SENATOR DICK DURBIN, HE'S THE SECOND MOST POWERFUL DEMOCRAT IN THE SENATE SAID SO I SHOULD SAY THE DATE SINCE NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT IS. BUT NOVEMBER 2, TIG DURBIN SAID THAT HE SUPPORTS A CEASEFIRE. I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT THE PEOPLE IN CHICAGO HAVE BEEN DOING TO PRESSURE HIM BUT FOR SOME REASON, HE WAS THE FIRST SENATOR TO CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE. AND THEN TODAY, IT CAME OUT THAT LED BY SENATOR MARKEY, BUT ALSO INCLUDING SENATOR WARREN, AND 13. SENATORS TOTAL SAID THEY SUPPORT A CESSATION OF HOSTILITY, A SHORT TERM, CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES. RIGHT. AND THAT'S OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT BIDEN WHEN HE WAS CONFRONTED BY A MEMBER OF JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE, A RABBI, RABBI ROSENBERG, IN MINNEAPOLIS, RELEASED IN THE TWIN CITIES. SHE SAID, AS A RABBI, I AM ASKING YOU SUPPORT A CEASEFIRE. AND HE SAID, WELL, I SUPPORT A PAUSE, WHICH WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD SAID THAT RIGHT. SO THAT IS IMPROVEMENT, THAT IS IMPROVEMENT, AND MAYBE A CESSATION SHORT TERM CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT STRONGER. BUT ULTIMATELY, IT'S ALL LET'S PAUSE THIS GENOCIDE, I SUPPOSE LET'S END THIS GENOCIDE. SO, BUT IT STILL IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT BECAUSE I MEAN, I GOT AN EMAIL FROM REPRESENTATIVE KATHERINE CLARK, AFTER AFTER THE HAMAS ATTACK, AND AFTER ISRAEL HAD ALREADY KILLED 1000S AND HER EMAIL IS JUST WE STAND WITH ISRAEL. MY HEART GOES OUT TO EVERY JEWISH PERSON IN MY DISTRICT OR EVERY BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. JUST NOT A WORD ABOUT PALESTINIANS. NOTHING. ALL RIGHT. AND NOW SHE IS TALKING ABOUT THERE. SO MANY CIVILIANS ARE BEING KILLED. SO IT'S GOOD. SHE'S ACKNOWLEDGING THAT CIVILIANS ARE BEING KILLED. SHE JUST NEXT NEEDS TO CHANGE HER GRAMMAR TO ISRAEL IS KILLING SO MANY CIVILIANS INSTEAD OF SO MANY CIVILIANS ARE BEING KILLED, RIGHT. BUT AGAIN, IT'S AWFUL, BUT AN IMPROVEMENT, AND IT'S BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN PUTTING SO MUCH PRESSURE AND WE NEED TO KEEP ON PUTTING PRESSURE.”

SOT 10: “IT'S LIKE WE WANT THE BOMBING TO STOP. SO WE WANT OUR POLITICIANS TO PRESSURE ISRAEL TO STOP THE BOMBING. SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO PRESSURE OUR POLITICIANS, AND YOU CAN ALL FEEL PRETTY DARN DISCONNECTED. AND YOU MAKE ONE PHONE CALL YOU SHOW UP AT ONE RALLY, HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IS MAKING, BUT ONE PHONE CALL DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE. BUT 100 DOES.”

VO 13: EVEN WITH THE STIGMA THAT YOU MUST SPEAK OUT ON ISSUES, GERZON NOTED THAT IT IS STILL OKAY TO BE A PERSON IN TIMES OF WAR.

SOT 11: “I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S OKAY TO POST ABOUT SILLY THINGS DURING TERRIBLE TIMES. I THINK THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. AND IT IS GOOD. IF YOU CAN POST SOMETHING, SHARE SOME THINGS TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT MATTER TO YOU, AND THE ISSUES THAT ARE SO GLARINGLY OBVIOUS THEY SHOULD MATTER TO EVERYBODY. THINGS LIKE THAT. AND I WOULD EMPHASIZE THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT YOUR ONE PHONE CALL TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE, RIGHT. AND WE ALSO WANT TO LIKE TALK WITH SOMEBODY AND CONVINCE CONVINCE THEM TO JOIN OUR CAUSE. RIGHT. BUT I THINK THAT IT'S MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE TO FOCUS ON MOBILIZING THE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY CARE, RIGHT? SO I DON'T THINK IT HELPS THAT MUCH TO SCOLD SOMEBODY WHO JUST WANTS TO DO THIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND JUST WANTS TO LIVE THEIR LIFE THIS WAY. OKAY. THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED IN POLITICS. I THINK EVERYTHING'S POLITICS AND EVERYBODY IS AFFECTED BY POLITICS, BUT MANY PEOPLE, MOST PEOPLE USUALLY THEY DON'T CARE MUCH AND THAT CAN BE UPSETTING. YOU CAN SCOLD PEOPLE BUT I DON'T THINK IT REALLY HELPS. AND INSTEAD, I THINK IT'S BEST TO FOCUS ON PEOPLE WHO MAYBE SHARE ONE THING, IT'S LIKE, OH, THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR YOU CARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE ENOUGH TO POST. YOU KNOW, DON'T PHRASE IT QUITE LIKE THAT, BUT JUST LIKE, HEY, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I'M GOING TO A RALLY, YOU KNOW, GO AND THEN YOU GO TO RALLY WITH SOMEBODY, YOU'RE TALKING. AND YOU SAY, WELL, WE'RE ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT PLANNING THIS DIRECT ACTION. DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT? OR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE DON'T JUMP DIRECTLY TO DIRECT DIRECT ACTION, BUT HEY, YOU'RE SHOWING UP IN THE STREETS. HOW ABOUT LET'S SHOW UP AT A LEGISLATORS OFFICE, YOU KNOW, YOU ESCALATE. YOU FIND SOMEBODY WHO'S INVOLVED TO SOME EXTENT AND YOU GET THEM MORE INVOLVED, RIGHT? BUT IT JUST DOESN'T OFTEN HAPPEN WHERE SOMEBODY DOESN'T CARE AT ALL OR IS IN OPPOSITION, AND THOSE ARE USUALLY PEOPLE YOU'RE FIGHTING WITH ANYWAY, RIGHT?”

VO 14: GERZON LEFT ME WITH TWO FINAL MESSAGES. ONE OF THEM BEING THE FOLLOWING.

SOT 12: “SO A LOT OF IT IS EMPHASIS WHERE PEOPLE KNOW THAT CIVILIANS ARE BEING KILLED IN GAZA, BUT THEY ARE SO FOCUSED ON A I WILL SAY RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF CASES OF ANTI SEMITISM. AND THAT THAT IS WHAT THEY FOCUS ON. RIGHT. AND FOR SOME REASON, JUST THIS, THIS, THIS ABSOLUTE MASSACRE, CARPET BOMBING WITH CIVILIAN POPULATION, THAT'S NOT WHERE THEIR FOCUS IS. THEY'RE FOCUSED ON THE STORY THAT THEY HEARD AND SOME OF THEM ARE TRUE. SOME OF THEM ARE REAL. ANTI SEMITISM IS A THING AND IT'S A CENTRAL PART OF A LOT OF WHITE NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY. IT'S SORT OF THE ANTI SEMITISM ANTI SEMITIC CONSPIRACIES KIND OF HOLD THEIR WHOLE WORLDVIEW TOGETHER. VERY IMPORTANT. AND VIOLENCE IS DONE TO AGAINST JEWS SIMPLY FOR BEING JEWISH. THAT DOES HAPPEN. BUT TO BE CRASS, THE BODY COUNT IS JUST LIKE TOTALLY COMPLETELY RIDICULOUSLY DISPROPORTIONATE. SO THE LAST TIME WE WENT TO PALESTINE, I WAS ON A TRIP WITH A GROUP CALLED EYEWITNESS PALESTINE. AND WE MET UP IN DC AND WE DID SOME EXERCISES. AND ONE OF THEM WAS THAT WE ALL STAND IN A CIRCLE AND THEN YOU I GUESS, IT DEPENDS ON WHICH WAY WHICH DIRECTION IT WAS, BUT IT WAS LIKE STEP FORWARD OR STEP BACK, DEPENDING ON IF YOU HAVE BEEN DENIED A JOB BECAUSE OF YOUR RELIGION, OR RACE. IF YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED RACIAL SLURS OR THEY LISTEN TO THESE VARIOUS THINGS ONE BY ONE, YOU TAKE A STEP FORWARD OR STEP BACK, DEPENDING ON EACH ONE AND EVERYTHING. AND THERE WAS THIS OLDER JEWISH GUY WHO WAS ON THE TRIP BECAUSE HE ALREADY SUPPORTS PALESTINE, RIGHT? BUT HE SAID I ALWAYS GREW UP WITH THESE STORIES OF JEWS AND AS AS AN OPPRESSED PEOPLE. BUT I FOUND DURING THIS EXERCISE, AND WHEN IT CAME TO THESE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, THESE SPECIFIC SORT OF MEASUREMENTS OF OPPRESSION MOST OF THEM DIDN'T APPLY TO ME. RIGHT? AND SO MY ACTUAL EXPERIENCE IS NOT WANTING TO VERY MUCH OPPRESSION AS A WHITE JEWISH MAN. RIGHT. AND I THINK IT'S DIFFICULT FOR A LOT OF JEWS TO WRAP THEIR HEAD AROUND THE FACT THAT LIVING IN THE US BEING WHITE, MANY JEWS ARE NOT WHITE, BUT IN THIS CASE, I'M TALKING ABOUT WHITE JEWS. THEY HAVE A LOT OF PRIVILEGE OR NOT FACING A LOT OF OPPRESSION, BUT THEY STILL HAVE THAT IDEA IN THEIR MIND, YOU KNOW, AND THE TRUTH IS, AND I'M INSPIRED BY SOME STUFF THAT A LEADER AT JVP SAID, RABBI ALYSSA, SHE, YEAH, SO JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW IN FACT, OFTENTIMES, THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED, HAVE A TENDENCY TO OPPRESS OTHERS. WE CERTAINLY SEE THAT THEY SEE THAT IN PERSONAL MATTERS, RIGHT? THOSE WERE ABUSED, ABUSED OTHERS. AND SO THIS IDEA THAT, OH, WE EXPERIENCED GENOCIDE, THEREFORE, WE CAN'T BE AN OPPRESSOR. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE FRANKLY NEED SEEM TO GET OVER IT. THEY NEED TO GROW. THEY NEED TO LOOK AT THE REALITY OF SITUATION. AND SO THIS GUY, HE HAD THAT EXPERIENCE JUST STEPPING FORWARD, STEPPING BACK, LOOKING AT OTHER PEOPLE IN THE GROUP WHO WERE FROM VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS, AND CLEARLY DID FACE MORE OPPRESSION IN THEIR LIFE. SO YEAH, WE YOU NEED YOU NEED TO LOOK AT REALITY AND NOT JUST SORT OF THE STORIES THAT YOU'VE BEEN TELLING AND THE STORIES THAT YOUR FAMILY HAS BEEN TELLING. THE STORIES MATTER NEED TO REMEMBER THEM, BUT NEED TO LOOK AT THE REALITY AND THE PRESENT TIME ALSO.”

VO 15: THE OTHER MESSAGE BEING THAT THE MORE PEOPLE SPEAK OUT ON THIS, THE LESS THERE WILL BE TO BE INTIMIDATED BY.

VO 16: FOR YOU ARE HERE, I’M BIRDI DIEHL.