An Israeli whose mother and father were murdered by Hamas on October 7 was given a standing ovation by the Liberal Democrat Party conference on Sunday for his call for peace and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
Magen Inon, a London-based Israeli teacher recounted how his parents, Bilha and Yakov, were killed by Hamas during their assault on kibbutzim in southern Israel.
“We pray that they did not suffer in the last moments. And the only consolation I have is that they died together, inseparable in life and death. We miss them so much,” he said.
Inon urged the assembled crowd of activists in Brighton to reject the view that calling for peace is idealistic: “We who advocate for peace are also called naive, but thinking that if you just hit someone harder, they will finally get it, they will finally give up, is pure insanity. It is time we face reality. There are roughly seven million Jewish Israelis and roughly seven million Palestinians between the river and the sea and no one is going away.”
He continued, “Menachem Begin, who was both the first right wing Prime Minister of Israel and the first to sign a peace treaty, said ‘war is avoidable, but peace is inevitable’ at some point in the future.”
That was true for “the French and the Germans, the English and Scots.. and Gunners and Spurs fans”, he added humorously in a nod to the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham that had taken place just before his speech.
“There will be an end to the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The question is, how long will it take us to get there?” he said.
The teacher’s call to back moderate Israelis and Palestinians who wanted to make peace a reality was applauded by party activists.
“Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis were marching the streets calling for a deal, calling for an end to the war and for the hostages to be done brought back home. We need to support those Israelis who are marching in the streets. Similarly, there are Palestinians who are advocating for peace while advocating for a non-violent diplomatic process between Israel and Palestine. We need to support those forces in the Palestinian community.”
He went on to urge the Liberal Democrats to demand that the government play a more active role in supporting pro-peace civil society organisations in Israel and Palestine and “efforts to change reality” on the ground as well as address tensions in the UK.
Inon was introduced on stage by Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran, who is herself of Palestinian heritage. She told the JC: “It was incredibly moving to hear from my friend Magen Inon this afternoon. In particular his message of hope for a peaceful future from the devastation that he and his family felt on October 7.
“By inviting him to Liberal Democrat conference we have showed that some of us with direct connections to the region have the same values and are living the future that we want others to have.”
