[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now!. >> give us the tools faster and we will finish the job faster. amy: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu addresses a joint session of congress as

thousands protest outside washington dc calling for a cease-fire, a hostage deal. more than 100 lawmakers skip the speech as did vice president kama;la harris. then we speak with two peace activists. one israel he, one palestinian who are working together to build a lasting peace. >> i know that peace is possible. we are working day and night to bring peace. amy: his parents were killed on october 7. aziz abu's brother died after being tortured in an israeli prison.

all that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel's assault on gaza has killed 39,000 palestinians and pledging to carry on until israel achieves total victory. >> our world is in up people. in the middle east, iran's access of terror confronts america, israel and our arab friends. this is not a clash of civilizations. it is a clash between barbarism and civilization. amy: netanyahu also falsely accused iran of funding the pro-palestinian demonstrations taking place outside the capital yesterday. >> i have a message for these

protesters. when the tyrants of terror -- tehran who murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become iran's useful idiots. amy: while many of her colleagues skipped the speech michigan democrat rashida tlaib, , the only palestinian-american in congress, held up a sign from that read "guilty of genocide" on one side and "war criminal" on the other as she watched the proceedings. in a statement she wrote "it is a sad day for our democracy when my colleagues will smile for a photo op with a man who is actively committing genocide." about half of house and senate democrats chose not to attend netanyahu's address. many of them gathered at a side event to call for a cease-fire. netanyahu is meeting with president biden at the white house today. he will also meet separately

with vice president kamala harris. she did not preside over yesterday's joint session of congress. on friday, netanyahu is scheduled to meet with donald trump at his mar-a-lago resort. outside the capitol, thousands of protesters took to the streets. at least 23 people were arrested and police deployed chemical spray on peaceful demonstrators. at one point protesters hoisted the palestinian flag in front of union station and issued notice of a citizens arrest against netanyahu. this is a palestinian-american protester. >> i am here to raise awareness about the genocide and ethnic cleansing that's happening in gaza as well as the west bank. i am really hopeful that this will bring meaningful change to 75 years of oppression and is finally making international headlines and i want to be a part of history. amy: many unionized workers also attended the protest against netanyahu.

>> we have a moral obligation to speak out about when our products being used for a purpose we never agreed. when weapon systems are being used for genocide we have to speak out. amy: daniel is with united auto workers. this week, 7 of the country's most powerful unions, including the uaw and the seiu, issued a joint call to the biden administration to immediately halt all military funding to israel. a group of 45 us doctors, surgeons and nurses who have volunteered in gaza since oct. 7 have written an open letter to president biden and vice president kamala harris, demanding an immediate ceasefire and an international arms embargo against israel. the group of health workers include evidence of a much higher death toll than is usually cited. more than 92,000 people, which represent over 4% of gaza's population. they write quote "with only

marginal exceptions everyone in , gaza is sick, injured, or both. israel's continued repeated , displacement of the malnourished and sick population of gaza, half of whom are children, to areas with no running water or even toilets available is absently shocking" they said. in related news, cnn has found israel is blocking physicians with palestinian heritage from entering gaza as part of international humanitarian missions. this comes as israel intensifies its attacks against civilians in khan younis and across the gaza strip. in deir al-balah, doctors at al-aqsa hospital were able to save newborn baby yassin after his mother, and other family members, were killed in an israeli airstrike on nuseirat. this is the baby's grandfather, who was lost multiple children in the assault, including yass in's mother. >> she wanted to hold her child

and fill our home with his presence. she would say mom, hopefully this will make up for the loss of my martyred brothers and bring light back to our home. amy: president biden addressed his decision to drop out of the presidential race wednesday, in a televised address from the oval office. >> nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. that includes personal ambition. i decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. amy: president biden through his support -- threw his support behind kamala harris, calling her "experienced, tough and capable". this comes as the dnc set august 1st as the date for a virtual roll call to officially nominate the democratic presidential nominee. on wednesday, as netanyahu addressed congress, vice president harris delivered a keynote speech at a gathering of the phi beta sorority in indianapolis. >>,

previously the court of thurgood and rdg. and as he intended they did. let me tell you something, when i am president of the united states. [applause] and when congress passes a law to restore those freedoms i will sign it into law. amy: in other election news, j.d. vance's views on women and lgbt community has come under the spotlight following his nomination as trump's running mate. in this 2021 interview with former fox news host tucker carlson, vance attacks kamala harris, alexandria ocasio cortez and pete buttigieg, claiming people without children should not be involved in policy decisions. play sot + outro >> we are run by a bunch of

childless cat ladies who are miserable in their own lives and the choices they made and they want to make the rest of the country miserable. you look at kamala harris, pete buttigieg, aoc. the entire future of the democrats is controlled by people without children. amy: also in 2021, he advocated for a voting system that would allow people with children to cast more votes, on behalf of their children. in other news about jd vance, the republican vice-presidential nominee has written the foreword to a forthcoming book by kevin roberts, president of the heritage foundation and head of project 2025. trump's campaign has disavowed any connection to project 2025, a radical republican blueprint to overhaul us policy on everything from immigration to reproductive rights, to the climate. in taiwan, at least 3 people are dead and nine crew members are missing after their cargo ship sank amid heavy winds and rain whipped up by typhoon gaemi.

earlier, the storm left a path of destruction in the philippines, where much of the capital remains underwater. at least 22 people were killed in the philippines; and an oil tanker capsized off the coast. more than 600,000 people have been displaced. >> trauma, fear, uncertainty. floodwaters continue to rise. amy: a series of climate actions targeting airports are taking place this week. in europe, activists from the german group last generation temporarily grounded flights at the frankfurt and cologne airports by gluing themselves to the tarmac. the activists have been calling on the german government to divest from oil, gas and coal by in the uk, police arrested at 2030. least 7 members of the direct action group just stop oil wednesday as they cycled towards london's heathrow airport ahead of a planned protest action. direct actions at or near airports have also been reported in austria, finland, switzerland, norway, and in

canada, where on wednesday, last generation activists blocked access to montreal international airport for hours, demanding an end to fossil fuels. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org. coming up, thousands of protesters rallied outside calling for a cease-fire, hostage deal and netanyahu's arrest for committing war crimes in gaza. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org.

nermeen: thousands of protesters took to the streets of washington dc wednesday as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu addressed a joint session of congress. netanyahu had been invited by republican and democratic congressional leaders. the speech came two months after karim khan, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, revealed he was seeking an arrest warrant for netanyahu for committing war crimes in gaza. during his speech, netanyahu thanked the u.s. for his -- it support and defended israel's action in gaza. >> the prosecutor of the international criminal court has shamefully accused israel of delivering -- deliberately starving the people of gaza. this is complete nonsense. it is a complete fabrication. [applause] >> israel has enabled more than 40,000 age trucks to enter gaza. that is half a million tons of food and that's more than 3000 calories for every man, woman

and child in gaza. if there are palestinians in gaza who are not getting enough food it is not because israel is blocking it it's because hamas is stealing it. [applause] >> so much for that lie, but here is another. the icc prosecutor accuses israel of liberally targeting civilians. what in god's green earth is he talking about? the idf has dropped millions of flyers, sent millions of text messages, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get palestinian civilians out of harm's way, but at the same time, hamas does everything in its power to put palestinian civilians in harm's way. amy: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu speaking to a

joint session of congress wednesday. during his speech he made no mention of the more than 16,000 palestinian children killed by israel since october 7. his critics say he repeatedly distorted the true picture of what's happening in gaza. the un says 500 aid trucks are needed every day as gaza faces famine. on an average day israel allows , in just over a quarter of the trucks that are needed. netanyahu also never mentioned the word ceasefire during his speech. more than 100 lawmakers, mostly democrats, skipped netanyahu's address including senators dick durbin, majority whip, chris van hollen, patty murray, elizabeth warren and bernie sanders. vice president kamala harris declined to preside over the senate chamber during his address. she instead was in indianapolis. michigan democrat rashida tlaib, the only palestinian-american in congress, opted to attend and

protested netanyahu by holding up a sign that read guilty of genocide on one side and war criminal on the other. ahead of netanyahu's address, democratic congressmember cori bush discussed why she was boycotting the speech. >> it is absolutely shameful that after the murder of over 39,000 palestinians, human beings, after the repeated bombing of hospitals, witnessing the bombing of religious institutions, schools, humanitarian convoys. fathers collecting their children's remains in plastic bags, holding their beheaded children, that my colleagues in congress choose to celebrate prime minister netanyahu. by bestowing him the honor of addressing congress. because standing up for human rights is more than a talking point to me, i am boycotting his address. nermeen: outside the capitol , thousands took part in

protests calling for net and yahoo!'s arrest and for the u.s. arms embargo on israel. emerson wolfe came to the protest from grand rapids , michigan. >> we believe we should stop aiding israel. we are here to protest netanyahu but we are also here to encourage people to come out to the first day of the democratic national convention to keep the pressure up on the democrats to let them know we want a pro-palestinian candidate, the people demand change and we will not suffer this genocide anymore. amy: to talk more about prime minister netanyahu's address to congress we are joined by two guests. noura erakat, is a palestinian-american human rights attorney and a professor at rutgers university. she is the author of "justice for some: law and the question of palestine." phyllis bennis is a fellow at the institute for policy studies. she serves as an international adviser to jewish voice for peace. phyllis has written several

books including understanding the palestinian israeli conflict. you are out of the protest yesterday, can you talk about what netanyahu said and what he did not say and the significance of him addressing as a foreign leader a joint session of congress more than any foreign leader ever. i think winston churchill came in second with three addresses, this was netanyahu's fourth. >> it was a horrifying thing to see. seeing the standing ovation seemed to be about every 30 seconds you saw members of congress on their feet up plotting and applauding. i think we saw two things yesterday. aside from the host of lies even cnn, new york times was tracking the lies. i think there are two sets of things we need to notice.

inside what they showed was the degree to which the support for israel has become a thoroughly partisan issue. besides the fact some democrats supported and signed off on the invitation. the fact more than 100 democratic lawmakers refused to participate is a real statement of how this has become supporting the prime minister of israel has become a political liability in a very public way for public figures. that is not always the case. this is different than what happened in 2015 when about 60 members of congress skipped the speech. they were overwhelmingly from the congressional black caucus and they were focused not so much on the question of the file -- of what had happened just months for that in the attack on gaza at that time that they bombed for 55 days leaving 2200

palestinians killed, but they recognized the incredible racism, of the disdain for which the prime minister of israel treated president barack obama and it was in response to that direct statement that led to this refusal to participate. this time around it was straight up about the refusal to call for a cease-fire. outside there were two important lessons. one is our movement, the self defined palestinian rights movement that's been around for so many decades, but the broad spontaneous movement that's risen up in direct response to the horrific level of genocide that israel has been carrying out, that broad movement has really normalized the whole question of ending not only cutting or conditioning, but ending u.s. military support,

it's not a challenging position. 60% of adults in this country say that we should stop -- they oppose sending weapons and sending material support to israel. the second thing is our movement has redefined the demands paid it stuck to a method discipline. immediate cease-fire now is the call but what that means is very different than what it meant nine or 10 months ago. it now means three things. the first is stop the bombings, stop the tank fire. stop the ground assault. it also includes two other things. the need for massive humanitarian escalation, humanitarian aid at scale of what is required meaning start refunding unrwa.

the u.s. is the only country refusing to support the most important u.n. agency, the only one capable of providing palestinians with the very basics of life. and the third thing as part of cease-fire now is to stop sending the weapons that enable genocide. until all three are met, this will not be the cease-fire that people are demanding and that is the message that is being sent both to president biden, who will be president for another six months presiding over the support for this genocide, and to vice president, harris who it -- vice president kamala harris, telling her what cease-fire now really means. that was i think the messages we took yesterday with this extraordinary mobilization in the streets of washington. nermeen: could you talk about

what the significance of the kamala harris not being present when netanyahu spoke? >> again this was a reflection of the degree to which there is recognition that showed support the prime minister of israel has become a political liability. and kamala harris wanted no part of it. expressing a very different tone or kind of language so that it's quite clear that whatever policy positions she's been willing to take the differ from his and that is potentially her willingness way before biden did to call for an immediate cease-fire and the cost -- the fact she calls for it on the anniversary of bloody sunday in selma, alabama at the foot of the edmund pettus bridge, that was so famous of beating and attacking black protesters that

are being denied the right to vote. that is an extra ordinary powerful moment to use that day and that placed a call for an immediate cease-fire, something the president so far has refused to do. we know her position is somewhat different. how much she will be willing to break with biden's position we still don't know. what is clear is that for her to take a different position will be a whole lot easier then it will be for president biden. president biden is responded to some of the protests, particularly to that of the uncommitted movement as well as the massive numbers of people on staff of the administration and congress demanding of the president that he stop supporting this saying they can do their job to represent this country as long as he is maintaining that position. for a president in the future

she would not have to be denying decades of uncritical massive support for israel that has been reflected and in that i think there is some hope people of color we are seeing this as well as people who supported the uncommitted people in the air communities are saying maybe there is a chance, maybe there is a way she can do something that could make it possible to vote for her. that's not clear yet. she has not earned that vote yet but it does look like she is taking a very different position than the person she has served as essential his deputy. i think it was very important that she refused to participate in this. she refused to have the central right above this man who was

taking on the speech in the people's house is people like to call it in the wash -- in washington. using it as cnn said, the new york times said, treating it as if he were giving a state of the union address. inviting his own guests to sit in the balcony and addressing them, making them the subject speaking for an entire hour with ovation after ovation and apparently kamala harris wanted no part of that so there is a significant different approach she has taken. nermeen: noura, if you could respond to netanyahu's speech and what was most striking to you. the number of times the audience broke into this enthusiastic applause. >> i think that was probably the most disturbing because for

those of us who have followed this for 292 days now we have understood the blatant lies israel has said, its apologists have made. so to watch the u.s. congress jubilantly cheer on, scramble over one another in order to cheer for essentially what is a war on children when netanyahu says they want to finish the job , the job is annihilation. it is extermination, genocide. they have flattened all of gaza. it's reported it will take 10 to 15 years just to clean up the rubble. there are no hospitals, children cannot be treated. there is now a spread of polio and u.s. congress is applauding jubilantly at one point breaking out into a chant of usa. so as i watch that, one of the things that occurs to me is how those in the united states

approaching the election in november has taken on a stance that there is a demarcation or distinction between foreign policy and domestic policy. what happens over there and what happens at home. and if those things are not entwined, right now those chants at home echo and entitlement to kill. echo an entitlement to plunder, to destroy lives that are not seen or deemed worthy and where racism and colonialism is not -- but is on full display. so for those concerned about saving democracy at home i want to tell them that there is no democracy to save that manifests itself in ongoing genocide in this way, consider that your fellow palestinian americans, arab americans, american muslims have been subject to a fascist

regime at home already not only being forced to watch a genocide for which we are punished for naming but also to have antiterrorism at the levels against those of us who are protesting u.s. policy, who are in treating the united states to follow its own law, the national security memorandum, the lahey amendment. insisting the u.s. cannot continue even at the bare minimum to transfer arms to a state that is violating u.s. and international law. palestinian, arab-american, american muslims have been attacked, stabbed, run over and yet you are telling us that we have to save a democracy at home. we are not living in a democracy , and the worst is yet to come. for those watching helplessly because they think congress is

beyond reach and out of hand, this is local as well. this extends down to your community and university. university administrators have called on cops to punish students who are excellent students, who contrary to what netanyahu is telling the united states, have studied it meticulously because of palestine studies in the united states and the center for middle east studies who understand ethnic studies, who understand global politics, who understand international law. because they are meticulous students who are acting upon their agency they are being punished by university administrators. this is a problem from the top to the roots. if you want to save a democracy you must import a cease-fire now, you must end a u.s. transfer of weapons now. amy: i wanted to go to

netanyahu's speech where he praises president biden for providing military support for israel after october 7. >> i thank president biden for his heartfelt support for israel after the savage attack on october 7. he rightly called hamas sheer people. -- sheer evil. he came to israel to stand with us during our darkest hour that will never be forgotten. [applause] president biden and i have known each other for over 40 years. i want to thank him for half a century of friendship to israel and for being as he says a proud zionist. he said a proud irish-american zionist.

amy: this is the israeli prime minister addressing congress about the protesters outside. >> i have a message for these protesters. when the tyrants of tehran, who hang gays from cranes, are praising and promoting you you have become iran's useful idiot. amy: useful idiots. palestinian american attorney if you could comment on his comments and also, it's not just fox, it is msnbc, cnn, when castigating the protesters outside there was also i was watching a debate between a democratic representative and a republican representative at cnn talking about why kamala harris wasn't there. while republicans said it was unforgivable, the democratic representative didn't say she was taking a stand and did not

want to preside over netanyahu addressing congress, he said she simply had another engagement, she is meeting with him today. your overall response. >> the first is shame. shame on the democratic party for allowing a president that they did not trust to enter into a debate or make a comment to make policy on the lives of palestinians and their futures for 292 days. they are more worried about the optics of the election than they are about the lives of palestinians that indicates they are deriving their power from slaughter of palestinians. that this machine is functioning on those campaign donations, on those weapons manufacturers, on those a lot -- islamophobia institutions fomenting this so 67% of the democratic base cannot be represented adequately by their leadership. my second reaction is salute to

the protesters who continue to risk their bodies, who risk their reputation, who risked time in being attacked by police and police brutality. they are the seeds now that can ripen into something worth living for in the future. this does not bode well for our future. this is what's on offer for the rest of the world as we see climate catastrophe being imposed upon us where the only thing on offer is only a few shall live and the model israel is creating is the racist supremacist, colonialists will live and that others must die. we see in these protesters an alternate future. one that says it is all of us or none of us. enough with the islam of phobic tropes. netanyahu does not care about homosexual communities, about

lgbtqia communities. those bombs have not spared them. those buildings have fallen upon them. there is no concern for those lives. anti-palestinian racism is so endemic it can be passed along and even echoed by so-called liberal media in this moment. nermeen: you have said we are in this election year. you said by not distinguishing themselves from republicans, by not making gaza a partisan issue , the democratic party is basically delivering trump to the white house. there are people in the biden administration who resigned in protest against biden's gaza policy who suggested they are cautiously optimistic that harris might take a different position. your response? >> look, i am with the uncommitted campaign that is asking the democrats to impose

an embargo on weapons transfer and asking them to impose a permanent cease-fire now. they at the 11th hour replaced the presidential candidate, surely they have the agency to make the shift. that said i want to point out to listeners when biden came into office, he had the opportunity to reverse trumps disastrous policies that were explicitly racist from the apartheid plan which he called the deal of the century, sovereignty over all of jerusalem and contravention of the u.n. charter of occupation law. they just confirmed this was all illegal. and yet the democrats did not reverse any of those policies but to reinstate -- but to reinstate funding. netanyahu was the lowest hanging fruit for democrats. he had been since his ascendancy made his primary goal in office

the torpedoing of a palestinian state which the united states said is a policy priority for it. what are they doing? he has made clear there will never be a palestinian state. we protested in 24 years ago in berkeley and that continues today. one has to ask is it that americans aren't learning or that it just doesn't matter. they will support netanyahu whatever he does. recall also in 2012 it was netanyahu that oversaw a commission there resulted in reports that in fact there was no occupation in the retroactively legalized outposts. in 2017 they passed the regularization law which allowed israel in order to retroactively legalize the confiscation of private palestinian land. the nuances within israeli law. they have basically paid that back.

in 2018 they passed the nation-state law which says only jewish zionists have the right to sovereignty in palestine which was a nail in the coffin. and if there was confusion last week the knesset passed a law saying there would be no palestinian state. you are literally hosting a man that is the lowest hanging fruit that you could have plucked to continue to speak out of both sides of their mouth and failed to do even that. so i am putting a challenge to all voters who are worried about our democracy who are pointing fingers, about the palestinians who have not had time to mourn the dead. but the responsibility is on you. the dnc has agency, they can impose an arms embargo, they can impose and call for a permanent cease-fire now. amy: in a moment we will go to

an israeli and palestinians -- peacemaker who addressed a session of a number of congress members who refused to attend netanyahu's address but i wanted to end by quoting the congressman from wisconsin who said i won't be attending the speech to congress preyed i only regret and arrest warrant for his war crimes has not been arrested -- as i would've gladly served it to him on the house floor. the significance of this, that the icc has said it would be issuing an arrest warrant to the prime minister of israel? >> one is the broader significance of the fact everything netanyahu was saying was contravening and challenging a very tenuous world order. one where icj opinions on the route of the apartheid law, on the unlawful occupation are dismissed as being as a threat

to so-called peace process where even the icc is being dismissed and being called -- he basically called the international criminal court liars but we cannot trust. he contravened the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force as he celebrated the annexation of the golan heights in jerusalem to a jubilant congress. which is basically telling the world that the united states also doesn't believe in this international order. this is what is a primary concern. i would've loved to see allies alongside representative rashida tilly -- rashida tlaib, the only palestinian-american in congress who stood there, to shut it down as activists have shut it down. to make it clear there is a sense not only through boycotts but through an explicit message a problem in doing that is precisely that this is a u.s.

war led by the democratic party. this is the u.s. is genocide and now the democrats are finding themselves in a place where they want to be able to protest and also take the reins of power in november. they can resolve that by committing a permanent cease-fire now by suspending arm transfers now. amy: thank you for being with us. palestinian human rights attorney and a professor at rutgers university. she is the author of "justice for some: law and the question of palestine." thank you also to phyllis bennis international adviser to jewish , voice for peace. an israeli and polity -- and palestinian peacemaker respond to what netanyahu said and what they are trying to build for a lasting peace. the israel he's parents -- israeli's parents were killed on october 7. the palestinian activist's

brother was killed in an israeli prison. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "ndn kars" by keith secola nermeen: we are continuing to look at benjamin netanyahu's address to the u.s. congress and the protest outside the capital. we are joined by two peace activists. one is rayleigh -- one israeli and one palestinian. maoz inon, lost both of his parents during the hamas attack on october 7. aziz abu sarah is a palestinian -- brother died in an israeli prison. zaziz was nine years old pair they recently organize the biggest peace conference in israel in 30 years and recently met pope francis. on wednesday they took part in an event titled peace is possible, an alternative vision

for israel and palestine. other speakers include the chair of the progressive caucus who boycotted that yahoo! speech to congress. >> speaking for myself only the deep horrors of what's happening are not external to us because the united states or means the largest backer of military assistance to israel, assistance that is been used to perpetrate these offensive attacks on the civilian population denied the most basic of humanitarian assistance. amy: maoz inon and aziz abu sarah join us. >> good morning from d.c.. i was born about a mile away from gaza and when i was 14 we were the nearest community to the gaza border.

we lost contact with my parents on october the seventh in the morning. in the afternoon we learned from one of the neighbors that their house was burned to ashes and they found two bodies inside. on that day i lost many of my childhood friends, their parents, their children and it was the most dark times in my life. two days after, my young brother asked -- he wanted this message to be we are seeking no revenge. in the same day, aziz contacted me on facebook. i lost my parents but i won a friend, a partner and i won a brother to peace. since that day we have been working very hard to create and

bring a new vision, a vision of hope, reconciliation, a vision of peace and this is what we came here to do and say in d.c.. that the future cannot and should not look like the present. the future must be a better future and we are already eager to make it this way. nermeen: aziz could you explain what happened to your brother and why you reached out to maoz after october 7. >> thank you amy and good morning. my brother was arrested from home. we lived in the same room, me and him. he was taken on suspicion of throwing rocks through the entrance. he refused to confess to the charges and he was beaten up and tortured. by the time he was released from

prison he had internal injuries and ended up dying from those injuries. unlike maoz i actually didn't believe in peace right away. it took me quite a while to come to that conclusion. for eight years i was very active and very angry. i was very bitter. i thought i had no choice. honestly only when i realized that regardless of what others do to you you always have the agency to make your own choices. i was being a slave to the person who killed my brother. he killed my brother first and ruined my life and second because hate is very destructive. so when maoz'parents were killed i understood the pain he was going through. i understood what it feels like to be subjected to this crazy

reality we live in where death and killing is a reality. i reached out and told him that i care and love him and i stand with him and that we are together in this. that it is not israelis versus palestinians, that we are on the same side for justice, equality and dignity and shouldn't just be seen as is rayleighs wert -- israelis versus palestinians paid we are fighting for a future of equality. our message is trying to make sure others can join. amy: if you can talk about what netanyahu did not talk about. he brought with him sitting next to his wife sarah one of the hostages that the is rayleigh -- that the israeli military freed.

he did not call for a cease-fire as hostage families demanded this week in protest of his address. talk about what you feel needs to happen right now and it's how unusual or not unusual in this demand that the war end. that the israeli is salt -- assault on gaza and now. >> i can tell you what he has never done, he never calls any of the bereaved families of october 7. not him or anyone from his government or his coalition. they did not send us a condolence letter or call. they did not show. like they did not show on october 7. netanyahu and government are accountable and responsible. they are responsible and

accountable to october 7 and they never took this accountability. i was surprised and shocked by the members of congress they are not forcing them to take responsibility and accountability on this failure of leadership. this is what we came here to offer a new vision and netanyahu lost the people of israel. before october 7 the protests were should he resign or not. now there is a growing protest that should he resign before the war ends or after. we are here to say to the representatives and to the american people that netanyahu lost the people of israel. 72% of jewish israelis want him

to resign. 64% of jewish israelis believe in a conflict resolution that we supported and championed -- was supported and championed by the u.s. that would lead to an establishment of a palestinian state and normalization with the world. we are here to say and to represent a growing movement and peace movement. a movement that believes the moment and conflict resolution must stop now. we cannot wait because the sorrow and pain, the casualties. we cannot take it anymore. we cannot suffer more and we deserve a better life and normal life and a better future. amy: if you could speak more what could bring about this piece, how at least to grow this piece movement and describe the

-- today what you've spoken about in jerusalem when suddenly you saw everybody was standing still and you were the only person moving. and what that explains to you. what you saw in that moment. >> i grow up, i lived in jerusalem all my life and i want to say it is amazing how little we know. i lived walking distance -- jerusalem within walking distance of my house. never get to meet or talk with each other. when i studied hebrew i studied in west jerusalem and it was my first interaction with israelis and jews who were not soldiers or settlers. going to that classroom, everybody just stood still and i was the only person moving. cars had stopped, people got out

of the cars and stood still with the siren going on and i honestly thought this was a sci-fi movie. just aliens controlling the humans and i ran away because nobody would talk to me. later my teacher, my hebrew teacher explained that was the memorial for the holocaust paid that's how people remember those who were killed in the holocaust. i had no idea what she was talking about. honestly this is how little we know about each other now. i thought people in israel who had no idea what's going on in gaza despite all the images on social media actually not being able to see it. we don't know the suffering, the pain that is happening and that is a key element of what keeps wars, conflicts, what keeps killing going on because if we cannot humanize the other side,

if you cannot see them as normal people, people with dreams, as a people who want to live. then you do not care if they are alive or not. you don't care what's going on with them. martin luther king had a saying where he said people hate each other because they don't know each other. they don't know each other because they are separated. because they don't communicate. that is an important element of what we are trying to do is say do not hear what corrupt leaders who want to sell us this language of only through bombs and killing, if i only have a little bit more weapons i will finish the job. do not believe that. guess what, we are here, peaceful palestinians do exist. we are working together, we are showing what netanyahu said is

impossible. we are showing there is an alternative to the language of bombs and killing. we are showing we are not doomed to live in this cycle where we keep losing our loved ones and our existence in itself, the fact that maoz and i together is an answer to the people saying only through killing can we achieve peace. that does not happen and we can see where we are a century later that we have not achieved peace through that. israel has not achieved peace with any country through war. the only peace it has achieved is by sitting down and saying i'm willing to negotiate and that's what netanyahu does not offer. so maoz and i are showing an alternative exists. when thousands of people, palestinians and israelis gather saying it is time now to make a difference, we are telling people we cannot remain

indifferent. you cannot remain silent. we have to come together and build coalitions together. we have to have values we agree on. that equality and dignity is the most important safety and security for palestinians and israelis is essential. we cannot leave that till later. it is now that this piece is needed. it is not in 20 years or the next generation. it must happen now. we need to organize here as we heard before. they are very much part of this and we need not only thoughts and prayers saying we are not happy with congress and sending us -- and sending tools of destruction. of ways to come together and have peace, we need americans to join us. we are part of this of what's

happening. amy: you have said we have to go back to the overall deal that was on the table. prisoners can play a significant role in reconciliation and peacemaking. if you can address the issue. you lost your parents and the hamas attack on october 7. since that time tens of thousands of palestinians have been killed by the israel he -- israeli military and thousands imprisoned like aziz's brother decades ago. explain what you mean by all for all. >> all for all is a deal that was on the table. all the palestinian prisoners in jails be returned and all the hostages being capped by hamas. this deal was on the table from day one and i will also say

earlier in october that the difference between benjamin netanyahu's brother is that he sacrificed his life -- while benjamin netanyahu is sacrificing the hostages to save his position as the prime minister. it is already too late for too many palestinians, for too many israelis and we are calling the only answer is peace. and the only way to bring safety and security is through equality and those who believe that bombs will bring safety and war will bring security are naive because it failed again and again. again and again it brings more bloodshed, revenge and hate. amy: we have to end now.

maoz inon and palestinian peace activists aziz abu sarah, who lost his brother decades ago in an israeli prison. i am amy good