The Ceasefire
People in Gaza have experienced the evolving (or devolving) ceasefire with relief or disbelief… as its meaning morphs over time. They sift through the remains of lives and buildings, trying to imagine Gaza in recovery. The ceasefire feels tentative, vulnerable, on-again/off-again… almost a fiction to many. It is widely referred to as “the ceasefire,” in quotes, as many have serious doubts that the fire will cease or that Gaza will be allowed to recover.
Kumi Naidoo is a long-time justice advocate from South Africa, the country that brought a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. In a recent conversation with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, he talked about the “stabilization of injustice.”
“Of course we support a ceasefire. But what we are concerned about is that the way this resolution potentially can be implemented, it will stabilize the occupation, stabilize militarization, stabilize the undermining of international law, which Israel, more than any nation in the world, has consistently done.
The eyes of the world are watching this. We don’t think that people should read this resolution as fundamentally a good thing. And right now, since the so-called ceasefire, we don’t take comfort about the fact that lives are being lost, both in Gaza and also on the West Bank.”
Speaking Up – Taking the Risk to Defend Palestinian Rights
There have been many efforts – from government officials to university leaders – to silence and punish those who speak up for the rights and lives of Palestinians. Student activists, especially if they are international visitors, have paid the price for their dedicated efforts to bring attention to the genocide. A prime example is the case of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian graduate student at Columbia who is highly regarded as a leader and negotiator in the 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment … and who paid the price of ICE detention for his efforts. Other students at Columbia have had their degrees withheld. Student activists and graduates are now facing the loss of job opportunities and other restrictions. There is an atmosphere of “silence or else”.
Even so, students in campuses across the country and the world are trying to shape a more open, public, inclusive learning environment where all voices are heard, or at least allowed. They’ve done so through prolonged demonstrations, strikes and teach-ins, at great personal risk. They represent just one aspect of civil society that has finally rejected the narrative of an Israel under siege, replaced with the clarity of vision of a genocidal Israeli state.
In Western Washington, we have our own examples of how corrosive and dangerous the silencing can be. One might think that one of the most public-spirited and progressive arenas for the public good and for freedom of speech has been the public health movement, with more than 25,000 members represented by the American Public Health Association. Again, one might think public health would be an obvious locale for advocacy about health and human rights…….until events unraveled soon after the October 2023 hostilities ignited decades-long struggles between health activists and the organization. Following on more than forty years of American public health advocacy for and with Palestine, shortly after Oct. 7, concerned public health providers and advocates quickly started promoting a ceasefire and immediate medical aid.
Amy Hagopian, a highly regarded public health scientist retired from the University of WA, has served as the leader of the APHA’s International Section. She has been one of the most prominent voices pointing to the loss of life, injuries, lack of basic health care and loss of a livable environment. For her efforts, the APHA leadership has imposed a series of harsh sanctions: her membership has been revoked, she’s been stripped of her leadership position and banned from all meetings for two years. But Hagopian has not been silenced – she and other concerned allies created a very public challenge at this year’s APHA meeting. Her response included an open letter to the APHA leadership that garnered more than 800 public health professionals, including 6 past presidents of the organization. Her story and the spineless assault from the APHA points to the erosion of speech rights in this time of creeping authoritarianism. (See below for Hagopian’s story and the warning it carries.)
Ongoing Education, Organizing and Community-building
Here in the Olympia area there are ongoing efforts to learn about the genocide and lived conditions in Gaza, and to focus our energies and to resist at the community level. In October 2023 PASS – Palestine Action of South Sound – emerged as a community-based force, aligning with the ongoing educational/advocacy work of the Rachel Corrie Foundation. PASS and RCF are part of a burgeoning regional movement that focuses on political goals at the national, state and community levels.
A very important group in our region is WA for Peace and Justice, an organization grounded in Palestinian voices and strategizing. PASS and RCF, in connection with Washington for Peace & Justice (WA4PJ), have all been active in connecting with Senators Murray and Cantwell in advocating federal actions – ceasefire, urgently needed aid, recovery support and a cessation of the delivery of military aid to Israel. Activists in Olympia and Tacoma have also directed our energies – and grave concerns – to Rep. Strickland’s office. We have met with her staff to press our concerns, from ceasefire to aid; we’ve also urged her to meet with area physicians who’ve been to Gaza and/or offer critical views that she needs to hear. Some PASS members have sustained vigils outside her office, letting her know that she is needed – that it’s not too late to reverse or renounce her support for Israel. So far, Strickland has neglected to meet with medical staff with direct experience in Gaza, and has refused to support bills to stop the genocide.
At the state level, there are several key elements emerging. One is for legislators to formally address the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a UW student and like Rachel Corrie, a solidarity activist from WA. They have formally issued a statement honoring the life and activism of Aysenur. They are now being urged to pressure Congress to investigate her killing by Israeli forces. Another focus of the organizing at the state level is to assure that state-supported education on racial/ethnic prejudice includes all those whose lives and communities have endured abuse and attack, including Palestinians. Another key arena is the push for the State of WA to divest from all funding that supports the armament industry that fuels Israel’s assaults on Palestine. This move toward divestment as part of Ethical Investing involves strategic efforts to pressure the State Investment Board. A parallel effort is growing at the municipal level, with some activity emerging in Olympia City government to develop a strong Ethical Investment policy that would include withdrawal from and committed resistance to investment in Israeli arms. All of these efforts at the federal, state and community level take time and are not stand-alones. There is a continuing focus on how to learn from and connect to other communities around the US who are thinking about and activating related strategies. We here in Olympia have benefitted by connecting to the American Friends Service Committee’s divest movement, learning as we go about strategies, impacts and linkage to the broader movement in support of Gaza and for human rights broadly.
PASS meets monthly (first Monday), with bi-weekly (2nd & 4th Wednesdays) actions at Chevron (a prime fuel supplier for Israel) and Friday Percival Landing vigils. (go to PASS website for more info) There are many ways we’ve been trying to reach out and involve the community and to give each other support as we think about our actions, our possible impacts and our daily grief over what has happened – and is still happening – in Gaza. Recently, local PASS has been involved in a ‘Parents Solidarity Fast for Gaza,’ part of a national action linking many communities, where parents have directed their thoughts to the children and their families. At least 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza, with estimates by those in the medical and public health communities reaching up to 200,000. Many, many … have been children. At the end of the local fast, families gathered to read and hear stories of those children and to honor the incredible strength and determination of the people of Gaza.
Resources and Readings:
Democracy Now, 11/18/25 interview with Kumi Naidoo
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/18/cop30_africa_climate_crisis
Rachel Corrie Foundation: https://rachelcorriefoundation.org/
Palestine Action of South Sound: www.passoly.org
https://afsc.org/BoycottChevron PASS actively participates in the Boycott Chevron campaign, with bi-weekly rallies outside Chevron in Tumwater.
Palestine Action of South Sound Legislative Committee:
Washington Peace & Justice Coalition (Palestinian-led advocacy for a just world, focusing on WA state organizing efforts) https://www.wa4pj.org/
Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism:
https://antipalestinianracism.org/
Dr. Mimi Syed, Olympia-area physician who’s been on medical missions to Gaza:
one of the many talks and interviews Dr. Syed has given this past year:
New Internationalist, Dec 2025, guest editor Ramzy Baroud
“Gaza Genocide and Resistance”
https://newint.org/issues/2025/11/25/gaza-genocide-and-resistance
American Friends Service Committee Action Hour for Palestine,
Every Friday 9amPT – updates on issues and actions to take
https://afsc.org/events/action-hour-palestine
https://afsc.org/divest (support for divestment efforts – corporate, state and local. Lists of divestment efforts and achievements, research & support)
Doctors Against Genocide. https://doctorsagainstgenocide.org/
DAG offers presentations and discussions Sundays 9amPT. News updates, interviews and resources range from focus on doctors and health care workers in Gaza (Palestinian and visitors there) to international support networks.
Amy Hagopian, UW public health scientist, on her being ostracized and penalized by the American Public Health Association, for her stand on Gaz
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi
CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) article about Aysenur and actions taken and actions that need to be taken by the WA State Legislature
https://www.cairwa.org/blog/aysenur-resolution/
Lin Nelson served on the board of the Rachel Corrie Foundation and is a member of PASS.
Ron Smith is Interim Executive Director of the Rachel Corrie Foundation and a member of PASS.
Be First to Comment