Opposing the war in Gaza, from inside Israel – podcast

Israeli anti-war activists Yehuda Shaul and Michael Sfard, who formerly served in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), discuss the war in Gaza.

Shaul is the founder of Breaking the Silence, an Israeli NGO which publishes testimonies of IDF soldiers. Sfard is an Israeli human rights lawyer who has brought hundreds of cases challenging the demolition of Palestinian homes and the construction of new settlements, and pushed for investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes.

Michael Safi asks the pair what needs to be done by the UK and the international community to help bring an end to the war.

“Tomorrow, the British parliament can vote to ban trade with settlements, to ban investment in settlements,” Shaul says. “The UK can join France and recognise the Palestinian state.”

“People who claim to be friends of Israel need to be better friends, because allowing us to continue to behave the way we behave, that’s not friendship.”

Sfard adds: “It’s not only about doing the right thing to save Palestinians and to stop Israel from violating international law, but it’s also about not being complicit.”

“There are things that cannot be done, because if you do them, if you assist Israel in its campaign, you are complicit in its crimes.”

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