Palestinians & Israelis Push for a Just Peace on Capitol Hill
Yesterday, your voices were heard on Capitol Hill. Thanks to you, we delivered nearly 15,000 signatures—gathered from the AFCFP and Win Without War communities—as our mobile billboard circled Congress with the message: “We Israelis and Palestinians agree: Huckabee makes us unsafe. REJECT HUCKABEE.” Together, we stood up against Huckabee’s extremism, calling for a shift in US foreign policy.
In all-day meetings with members of Congress and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Palestinian activist Mai Shahin and Israeli activist Iris Gur—two mothers, two women bound by a shared vision—stood as living proof of the power of solidarity. Amidst violence and division, their commitment to each other and a future of collective liberation is unwavering. Their message to representatives was clear: “If she is not free, then I am not free. If she is not safe, then I am not safe. We need US support for a just peace for all our people.”
Mai and Iris repeatedly urged US representatives: “Don’t choose sides, choose both peoples. Choose liberty, rights, and dignity for both. Stop funding war, division, and injustice in our land. Have faith in us to heal our land, rebuild our societies, and live together.” Their message cut through divisive rhetoric, even as news of protests in Gaza against Hamas filled the airwaves, challenging the belief that Palestinians and Israelis like Mai and Iris are the minority.
“Fourteen million people are living between the river and the sea—7 million Palestinians and 7 million Israelis. We are not going anywhere. Do you think the majority of people are willing to kill each other - kill themselves? No, the majority of our people want to live in safety and freedom. They want a future where their children can grow up without fear or violence,” they echoed. “When someone tells you there is no political solution, that our people aren’t ready for just peace, tell them ‘no.’ You have met us, and we are not the minority. We are here on behalf of our societies, and we represent what is possible for our people and our land.”
Now is the time for action. Iris explained to US representatives who desired to support Israel, “With great crisis comes great opportunity. If the US wants to help Israel, help Palestine. Israel is collapsing from the inside and we will not recover unless the occupation ends, unless Palestinians are free, and unless you build pressure for a political solution now.”
Among our requests, Mai, Iris, and AFCFP called for US representatives to join us for a diplomatic delegation to the West Bank, to meet with Combatants for Peace, visit the communities we support, and meet the activists on the ground leading the charge through nonviolent resistance. It is time for our representatives to see, CfP’s Palestinian and Israeli activists are not just imagining a just peace—they are showing the world what’s possible when both peoples choose co-resistance over division and collective liberation over the cycle of violence. They are living the solution.
Just as they need our representatives to support a just peace, they need your support to advance the movement. Your contribution today is a powerful stand for the future. Together, we are dismantling systems of oppression and violence, and building a new reality where Israelis and Palestinians can finally live free, safe, and with the dignity they deserve.
P.S: At Representative Delia Ramirez's office you can write your dreams on butterflies. Pictured above is what Mai and Iris wrote together.
In determination and hope,
Tiffany
