Bay Area Israeli expats and American Jews rallied in front of Redwood City’s courthouse on June 9 to support President Joe Biden’s plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war and to demand the Israeli government prioritize freeing the 120 hostages still in Gaza.
Rony Sagy, a relative of hostage Carmel Gat, spoke at the rally. The Israeli government must move forward with a deal to return all of the hostages as soon as possible, she told J.
“Carmel and the others were plucked from their beds and killed or kidnapped,” said Sagy, who lives in San Francisco. “They didn’t do anything wrong or break any law, and the government has an obligation to each of its citizens to protect them, and bring them home right away.”
UnXeptable, a grassroots group of Israeli expats that began protesting a proposed judicial overhaul in Israel more than a year ago, organized the rally, which took place a day after Israeli special forces rescued four hostages. UnXeptable partnered with the Association of Reform Zionists of America, Congregation Beth Am of Los Altos Hills, Congregation Shir Hadash of Los Gatos and Congregation Emeth of Morgan Hill to organize the rally.
Rallygoers held signs such as “Don’t forget their faces: teenagers in captivity” and “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace.” In between speeches, the crowd chanted, “Seal the deal!” and “Bring them home!”
“This rally echoes the calls of the hostages’ families because until they return we are all kidnapped, ‘kulanu hatufim,’” said UnXeptable co-founder Offir Gutelzon, a Palo Alto resident. “We came together to demand that the government stop the war and make a deal now.”
Many at the rally of 200 expressed frustration over the stalled negotiations for a deal that would lead to the hostages’ release and placed part of the blame on the Israeli government.
“Being a patriot and pro-Israel doesn’t mean always standing with everything that the government says,” said Gutelzon.
Yair Golan, former IDF deputy chief of staff and newly elected Labor Party leader, spoke to the crowd about his vision for Israel that would be inclusive of everyone. He later told J. about his plan for a pluralistic, united Israel that provides equal opportunities to all of its citizens, while securing itself against a number of its greatest threats, including Iran.
Even though Golan spoke at the rally, Gutelzon noted that UnXeptable is not currently endorsing any candidate for prime minister.
Golan told J. that his top priority at the moment is the hostages.
“I consider the issue of hostages as the most important one concerning this war,” he said. “It is more than just the lives of 120 people. It’s about the solidarity of Israeli society and the ability to be united around a humanitarian mission. … We need all of them back home because this touches the soul of every Israeli.”
Golan became a national hero on Oct. 7 when he made several trips to the areas around the Nova music festival and rescued people using coordinates that his sister obtained through WhatsApp.
In his speech in Redwood City, Golan gave credit to the countless medical emergency workers who took care of injured victims of the attack, including orthopedic surgeon Dr. Nikolaj Wolfson of San Francisco.
Wolfson, who attended the rally, said upon hearing the initial news about the attack he recognized there would be mass casualties, and he immediately booked a flight to volunteer in Israel.
Wolfson trained with Golan in the same IDF military officer school in the 1980s. He hadn’t seen him in decades until they met again on Oct. 9 at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, where Wolfson performed emergency surgeries on survivors.
“It was an incredible reunion with Yair Golan, but it was a very sad reunion,” said Wolfson.
Wolfson said that he is not political and that he came to the rally to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
“There is lots of room for recharging and rebuilding in Israel … be it the military, be it the culture, be it religion, be it the government, be it the relationship between Israel and the diaspora,” Wolfson said. “I believe we all should contribute to this process.”