Two battles for the future are being fought now in Israel. One is between those who have recognized that the occupation is detrimental to the well-being and future of the State of Israel and brings in its wake immoral acts, and those who would continue that occupation despite its risks to Israel's physical, spiritual and democratic health. The other battle, which is connected to the first, concerns how best to respond to the pro-occupation, anti-disengagement forces, and, indeed, to any Israeli citizens who seek to lawfully and publicly oppose particular Israeli policies. This second battle is equally important for Israel's future as a democracy. 

The Progressive Jewish Alliance strongly supports the Israeli government's plan to disengage from Gaza, to stop controlling the lives of the millions of Palestinian who live there, and to withdraw the thousands of Jewish settlers who control a disproportionate amount of Gaza's land and resources. At the same time, PJA applauds Israel's commitment to protecting the rights of opponents to speak out in peaceful opposition to the disengagement. While the restraint and sensitivity the Israeli authorities have shown to those opposing disengagement is laudable, it is critically important that other Israelis - especially Israel's Arab citizens - be accorded the same treatment when they peacefully protest Israeli policies and actions. The future of Israel's democracy depends upon respect for the civil rights of all its citizens, even those, like some in the anti-disengagement camp, who oppose the very democracy in which those rights are grounded.