You can’t be a peacemaker without first being a justice-maker.
The common chant at protests, “No justice, no peace,” is not a demand; it’s a truth, one grounded in human reality.
In relation to the situation involving Israelis and Palestinians, a ceasefire needs to be followed by all parties coming together to facilitate Palestinian liberation, i.e., justice. Yet such liberation is anathema to Zionist* Israel, and the deal proposed by the pro-Zionist Trump does nothing to address the root cause of injustice: Israel’s brutal military rule and oppression of Palestinians – in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Again, no justice, no peace.
* In relation to understanding Zionist Israel, the following graphic is helpful.
Related Off-site Links:
A Ceasefire Deal, But Not a Peace Agreement – Democracy Now! (October 9, 2025).
“Celebration and Sadness”: Reaction from Gaza as Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Ceasefire Deal – Democracy Now! (October 9, 2025).
Palestinians and Aid Groups Express Cautious “Jubilation” as Ceasefire Deal Reached – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, October 9, 2025).
“We Must Keep the Pressure On”: Humanitarians Say Ceasefire Doesn’t Erase Gaza Genocide – Stephen Prager (Common Dreams, October 9, 2025).
Israeli Government Approves First Phase of Gaza Ceasefire Deal – Democracy Now! (October 10, 2025).
After Gaza Ceasefire, “Massive Political Pressure” Needed to Prevent Israel from Restarting the War – Democracy Now! (October 10, 2025).
See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• October 7, 2023: “Nothing About Today Is ‘Unprovoked’”
• Phyllis Bennis: “If We Are Serious About Ending This Spiraling Violence, We Need to Look at Root Causes”
• In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• Eric Levitz: Quote of the Day – October 11, 2023
• Something to Think About – October 12, 2023
• Prayer of the Week – October 16, 2023
• Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• More Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• Ta-Nehisi Coates: Quote of the Day – November 2, 2023
• Jehad Abusalim: Quote of the Day – December 8, 2023
• Christmas 2023 – Reflections, Activism, Art, and Celebrations
• Sabrina Salvati: Quote of the Day – January 2, 2024
• Michael Fakhri: Quote of the Day – February 27, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• Josh Paul: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• “A Genocide Has Been Normalized”
• “This Is a Genocidal Project”
• Outrage and Despair
• Naomi Klein’s Powerful Words on Israel’s and the West’s Ongoing Gaza Genocide
• Judith Butler on the Ongoing Student Protests Against the Gaza Genocide
• Kyle Kulinski: Quote of the Day – May 23, 2024
• Something to Think About – June 28, 2024
• Nina Turner: Quote of the Day – July 24, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: “We Can Never Give Up Hope”
• John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
• Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
• Breaking Down Kamala Harris’s DNC Speech on Gaza
• Yousef Munayyer: Quote of the Day – August 30, 2024
• “It’s a Systematic Slaughter That We’re Funding”
• Protesting Weapons Manufacturer and Genocide Enabler General Dynamics
• Something to Think About – September 26, 2024
• “A Year of War Against Children”
• Anti-Genocide Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Reflects on the First Anniversary of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
• Liam Cosgrove Confronts U.S. State Department Spin Doctor Matthew Miller: “People Are Sick of the Bullshit”
• “This Is a Tragic, Heartbreaking Moment in the History of Humanity”
• Progressive Perspectives on Kamala Harris’ Faltering Presidential Campaign
• Progressive Perspectives on Where Democrats Went Wrong in the 2024 Presidential Election
• Hope and Courage – Christmas 2024
• Chris Hedges: “Israel Has No Intention of Halting Its Merry-Go-Round of Death”
• The Lamentable Legacy of the Biden Administration
• Caitlin Johnstone: Quote of the Day – January 22, 2025
• Butch Ware: Quote of the Day – January 30, 2025
• The Only Difference
• Progressive Perspectives on Cory Booker’s Marathon Speech
• Silence on Gaza Genocide Is “More Than a Mere Moral Abdication; It Is Lethal”
• The Theft of One’s Soul: Omar El Akkad on the “Lesser of Two Evils” Argument
• How Genocide Becomes Ordinary
• Thomas Friedman: Quote of the Day – May 27, 2025
• “A Holocaust, Live-streamed”
• Why What’s Happening in Palestine – and Our Response to It – Is So Important
• “Life Comes First”: An Interview with Thiago Ávila
• Truth-telling in the Face of Systemic Power That Is Silent on Genocide
• Caitlin Johnstone: Quote of the Day – July 23, 2025
• U.S. Labor Leader Chris Smalls Joins the Crew of the Handala
• Israel’s Actions in Gaza: “A Clear and Present Moral Collapse”
• Protesting Israel’s “Starvation Campaign” in Gaza
• Chris Smalls: Quote of the Day – August 5, 2025
• Anas al-Sharif, 1996-2025
• A Call to Divest from Israel
• Idrees Ahmad: Quote of the Day – August 25, 2025
• Michael Sala: Quote of the Day – August 29, 2025
• A Poem That Remains Painfully Relevant
• Memes of the Times
• An “Illusion of Action”
• Two Years of “Indescribable Horror”
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “The Mistreatment and Discrimination Against Palestinians Is Not Unprecedented. It’s Baked Into the Foundation of the Political System in Israel”
• “Essential Viewing for All Who Care to Understand the Plight of the People of Palestine”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “Nightmare” (2021)
• Something to Think About – July 29, 2018
• Noura Erakat: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
• For Some Jews, Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
• Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
• David Norris: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014
Image 1: Smoke plumes billow following Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip as seen from northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza – October 9, 2025. (Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Image 2: Palestinians in Deir al Balah, Gaza – October 9, 2025. (Photo: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
1 comment:
Writes Michael Jochum:
Peace will never happen in the region, regardless of the pushback from Qatar, or anyone else. Trump’s role as a “peace negotiator” only goes so far as how he can profit from a “peace deal.” All those assurances and his alliances will disappear once he’s co-opted the land, the people and the soul of Gaza. Trump’s authoritarian rule isn’t confined to just the United States. He cares only about his money and preserving and increasing the wealth of his already wealthy billionaire sycophants. He cares not one fuck about the people of Gaza, or the people of Israel. Anything, any peace deal, reconciliation or anything else for that matter is suspect with Trump’s fingerprints on it. Now is not the time to trust a pathological liar.
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