Breach Collective Statement in Demand of a Ceasefire in Gaza
At Breach Collective, our hearts are with all of those who are grieving unfathomable loss and living in unimaginable fear, including those killed and impacted by the violence unleashed on Israeli civilians by Hamas on October 7 and the relentless attacks on Palestinian civilians ever since. We continue to watch in horror, rage, and grief as events unfold. We are appalled and outraged by the blatant disregard for human life and international law demonstrated by both Hamas militants and the Israeli government and military. We are further outraged by the genocidal rhetoric used by Israeli and American leaders, and the unquestioning support of Israel’s attacks by the United States government. We are terrified that the U.S. is funding and arming Israel toward what could be the annihilation of Palestinians in Gaza. We join with our comrades around the world – across nationalities, faiths, and political leanings – in demanding a ceasefire.
As a worker self-directed organization, we are founded on principles of autonomy and freedom. Breach staff acknowledge that Palestinians’ homeland has been occupied by the Israeli nation state – with fiscal and narrative backing from the U.S. – since the Nakba dispossession of 1948. We firmly support Palestine’s right to self-determination and oppose Israel’s U.S.-funded occupation and ongoing theft of Palestinian land. As a climate justice organization, we know there is no possibility of climate justice as long as the U.S. military – the world’s largest single emitter – continues operating without restraint, especially in collusion with other violent regimes. And we know there can be no justice of any kind, climate or otherwise, when the world’s most powerful military unconditionally supports Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of, inhumane withholding of vital resources from, and obstruction of humanitarian aid to a civilian population which is roughly half children.
We recognize that there is a long and traumatic history that has brought us to this point, but we will not achieve peace by perpetuating cycles of violence and trauma. We staunchly oppose all anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab rhetoric, which we are witnessing on the rise as a result of this conflict, including the hate crime murder of 6-year-old Palestinian boy Wadea Al-Fayoume in Illinois – a tragedy that was a direct result of the Zionist messaging by U.S. government officials and news outlets. We cannot go back but we must go forward, and we urge all of our partners, supporters, and followers to join us in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to Israel’s blockade, and a commitment to Palestinian liberation.
