Hostilities in Israel offer opportunities for peace and partnerships, virtual vigil hears [Video]

Hours before Israel announced a ceasefire following 11 days of fighting with Hamas, some 500 progressive Jews in Canada gathered online for a virtual vigil “against violence between Jews and Palestinians.”

“Instead of despairing, we choose this moment to stand in solidarity with those on the ground who are working to repair Jewish-Arab shared society and bring about an end to the occupation,” said the program’s organizers, JSpaceCanada, Canadian Friends of Peace Now, and the New Israel Fund of Canada.

The recent violence between Israel and Hamas was “the culmination of years of neglect and inaction towards peace.”

The hour-long program heard from Dana Mills, director of development and external relations at Peace Now’s Israel office.

Working for peace while rushing in and out of bomb shelters is an “irony not lost on us,” she said.

What’s the message to Diaspora Jews who might feel reluctant to criticize Israel in …