Yom Kippur fast for Gaza planned by Jewish peace campaigners

Jewish peace campaigners plan public fast for Gaza on Yom Kippur

A group of older Jewish women of conscience have been organising support for Gaza under the name Jewish Peaceniks UK. And they’re now planning a fast to mark the second anniversary of the escalation of Israel’s genocide of people in Gaza. They are inviting other Jewish people to join them in a public fast on Yom Kippur, which falls this year between 1 October and 2 October. The aim is to express their “horror and outrage at the starvation of the Gazan population”. In a statement, they say:

The public fast will begin at sunset at 6.24 pm on Wednesday October 1st and end at 7.25pm on October 2^nd.

Reflecting and trying to put things right this Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is a day of atonement, and is “the most sacred and solemn day in the Jewish calendar”. It’s an opportunity to “reflect on the past year” and “put things right”. Many Jewish people pray during the day and “break their fast in the evenings”. The Jewish Peaceniks UK fast will take place in Westminster, but the campaigners will disclose the exact location closer to the date. The plan, they explain, is for all participants to attend until 8.30pm on 1 October for the Kol Nidre declaration. The Kol Nidre sets Yom Kippur services in motion. Then, on 2 October, participants will be able to “choose to attend for different periods of the day”.

People interested in attending the Yom Kippur Fast for Gaza can complete an online registration form.

This year, the Canary has reported on two prior protests by the Jewish Peaceniks women in Hampstead and Highgate, London. They stood with placards highlighting that the number of children in the area is similar to the number Israel has murdered in Gaza since its genocide escalated in October 2023. Israeli occupation forces have killed at least 19,424 children in the Palestinian territory so far.

Featured image supplied