The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Chen Alon, became a co-founder after the defining move of signing onto the Courage to Refuse letter of 2002. Fifty combat officers and soldiers endorsed the missive, stating they would no longer serve in the Occupied Territories.
Jamel Qassas's family was displaced in 1948. He was born in a refugee camp outside of Bethlehem and watched the IDF kill his brother during the First Intifada. He was in and out of Israeli jails over a dozen times.
Kibbutz-raised Avner Wishnitzer served for four years in an elite IDF unit. In 2003, he also publicly refused to serve in the Occupied Territories. He is a co-founder of Combatants for Peace and sees his work as a model for other areas of conflict around the world.
Ahmed Al-Helou's family was displaced from Gaza and then resettled in Jericho. He joined Hamas as a teenager and was sent to prison when he was 15 years old. While there, he was exposed to new ideologies and relates how he "divorced Hamas" and began a new phase of his life.
The Israeli allies in CFP have a primary resolution: To "stand in solidarity with all Palestinians who live under occupation".
When October 7 occurred, both Palestinians and Israelis realized something huge was happening on an unprecedented scale. How would the group move forward? Would they be triggered and revert to "gut reactions"? Experience euphoria that there had been a break from the Gaza prison that limited their lives? Backslide to a desire for revenge in response to the murders at the Kibbutz and the music festival?
The core alliance found its way back to each other. Suliman Khatib felt an internal shift on "a moral basis to 'shame, and [a] disconnection to the violence'". He reflected, "This is not a struggle for freedom."
Chen Alon grappled with his anger. Yet once he received a message from Jamel Qassas, "It changed everything." Qassas wanted the group to issue a joint statement. "It is now when you have to show your commitment," he said. Key members mutually agreed that an urgent meeting was essential, to "sit and talk truthfully about our feelings".
Alon spoke about his shock at seeing the carnage in the Kibbutz. "It was the first time we saw piles of bodies of Israelis "although it looks the same".
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