How the Emmaus Movement has supported Palestine 

How the Emmaus Movement has supported Palestine 

In October 2023, the conflict between Israel and Palestine erupted. At that time, the Emmaus Movement spoke out to denounce the atrocities committed by Hamas against civilian populations and the initial actions taken in response by the Government of Israel. We reiterated that mass killings and hostage-taking were crimes and must be denounced as such; however, it was important to place them in the context of a 70-year-long conflict, with repeated violations of international law as well as the expulsion and displacement of civilian populations as part of Israeli colonisation.

Since the end of 2023, the Israeli response has only intensified, reaching such a scale that numerous experts (international agencies, historians, lawyers and especially international NGOs) have spoken of genocide. Today, the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Palestinian Territory is catastrophic: famine is being used as a weapon of war by the Israeli Government, which is blocking every effort to provide humanitarian aid; vital infrastructure has been destroyed; civilians are being targeted by the military; and international law is being trampled despite widespread condemnation from the international community.

In this context, the Emmaus Movement has taken action on several occasions, both in its own name and alongside other organisations, to call for a stable and permanent ceasefire, the release of the hostages, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and respect for peace and international law. This began with several written statements and  continued with campaigning and engagement activities undertaken by the Movement in partnership with other participating organisations in France and abroad.

Here are our actions in support of Palestine in recent months, and more are to come. Until steps are taken to bring an end to this situation, our commitment must not falter!

  • In May 2025, Emmaus International signed a joint call put out by Palestinian civil society, thus standing alongside hundreds of other organisations to support an initiative to send a diplomatic convoy of humanitarian aid to address the famine in Gaza (available in French only),
  • On 06 June 2025, Emmaus International, Emmaus Europe and Emmaus France sent an open letter to the President of the French Republic and his ministers to demand urgent action at the French, European and international levels in the face of continued atrocities and the lack of consequences imposed by our governments,
  • Emmaus France and Emmaus International, as well as other organisations (Marche des Solidarités, Collectif des Sans Papiers du 75, Campagne BDS France, ATTAC, Collectif NousToutes, etc.), signed an appeal against the 55th Paris Air Show, which took place from 16 to 22 June 2025. This trade fair included Israeli booths as well as those of numerous companies complicit in war crimes.
  • Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International supported the European Citizens’ March, which was organised by the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH), Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), Confédération générale du travail (CGT), Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Association belgo-palestinienne (ABP). This solidarity march began in Paris on 15 June and reached Brussels on 23 June, a date which coincided with a high-level meeting of the European Council.

The demands were as follows: immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, immediate cessation of all military collaboration and supply of weapons to Israel, application of all measures to enable the implementation of the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September 2024 in order to bring an end to the occupation and colonisation, and adherence by all our governments to the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). More information available in French only,

  • On 06 June 2025, Emmaus International called on all Emmaus groups around the world to take action locally on 14 June, in their sales rooms and/or in public spaces, to support the Palestinian people and call for an end to the atrocities and the blockade.

If your group also held an event, please feel free to tell us about what you did!

  • On 14 June 2025, the Emmaus Movement called for a protest in support of Palestine in Paris.

  • On 23 June 2025, Emmaus International – alongside the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, Amnesty International, Centre for Research and Information on Development (CRID), Euromed France Network, ActionAid, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Union Juive Française pour la paix (UJFP), and Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) – held a rally to speak out against France’s complicity in the situation in Gaza.

    Mobilisation inter-associations Parvis des droits de l’Homme, Paris, June 23, 2025

  • In early July 2025, Emmaus International signed a further appeal supported by hundreds of other organisations, denouncing the unacceptable conditions in which international humanitarian aid is being administered, e.g. dramatic reductions in quantity, heavy military controls, partitioning distribution points into spaces exposed to gunfire.
  • On Tuesday, 08 July 2025, the Emmaus Movement took to the streets of Paris, along with many other French collectives and organisations, to form a human red line and symbolise via the crowd dressed in red that all lines have been crossed in Gaza. Despite the repeated condemnations expressed by governments and organisations, people raised their voices yet again to denounce the lack of firmness and concrete action in the face of atrocities and the continued violations of international law committed by the Israeli regime.

©Megane_Meyer

Since October 2023 We must continue to speak out so that our calls for peace are heard and our governments take concrete steps to bring an end to the situation. In light of the current inaction, it is highly likely that additional initiatives will take place in the coming weeks and months and that the Emmaus Movement will play a part therein.

In the meantime, we invite all groups who wish to do so to use the visuals of the Movement, pass on our communications, and lift up Emmaus’ voice and its struggle for peace!

Chronological review of the Israel-Palestine question by the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine (in French only): 

 

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