Maoz Inon’s parents were among the 1,200 people killed by Hamas militants in Israeli communities and towns, including a music festival last month. But the mourner doesn’t want “innocent Palestinians” to pay for the massacre.
Contrary to the majority Israeli view supporting the military offensive on Gaza, which has claimed 11,500 Palestinian lives in the past six weeks, Inon seeks a solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to coexist in peace.
Despite the tragic loss of his mother, Bilha, 75, and his father, Yakovi, 78, who were charred to death in their home in Kibbutz Netiv HaAsara, Inon advocates for breaking the vicious cycle of violence.
“We must stop this cycle of war, this cycle of violence that has been going on…We need to step onto a different path, a different solution,” he said.
“By bombing Gaza and killing Hamas and innocent people, and probably also (abducted) Israelis, we are just making everything worse,” Inon told EFE outside the Knesset.
Inon, along with another mourner, Yakov Godo, who lost his son in the Hamas attack at Kibbutz Kissufim, has been protesting for over a week, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
Inon accused the government of failing in its primary duty to protect its citizens, claiming that the war on Gaza served the prime minister’s interests.
“It is in Netanyahu’s interest that the war will keep going forever because that’s helping (him) to unite the people and also to get support from the world leaders. This is why I am calling to stop supporting Netanyahu and instead support peace and the future,” he said.
Inon said the war on Hamas was making it impossible to free the hostages, accusing Netanyahu of sacrificing them for his own recovery.
Despite his personal tragedy, Inon remains committed to promoting peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
He has worked on several peace projects and is a co-founder of the Abraham Hostel chain, which promotes cultural tourism in Israel and involves narratives of both the Palestinian and Jewish Israeli communities.
He said the first step to achieving a shared society was to understand the narrative of the other side, their fears, their anger, and their dreams and hopes.
After that, relationships could be built, a goal that Inon claims to defend, contrary to pro-war rhetoric.
Inon said his personal “catastrophe” of losing his parents to the conflict would not deter him from doing what he had done for the last 20 years.
“I am going to do more of it, on a larger scale, to build a partnership between Israelis and Palestinians that believes in equality, justice, security, and peace
By Nadeem Faisal Baiga
