NORTHAMPTON — Standing Together presents a third way to treating the war in Gaza — a solution that neither involves rooting on the Star of David with Zionist ardor, nor endorses Hamas by seeing them as innocent rebels against a colonizing overlord.

If it seems unlikely that such a third path is possible, Standing Together’s co-directors Rula Daood, a Palestinian Israeli woman, and Alon-Lee Green, a Jewish Israeli, represent the possibility that the prospect of unity between Israelis and Palestinians is not as bleak and unrealistic as may be imagined. Together they have toured the United States over the past 14 months with the mission of igniting a grassroots movement, the largest of its kind, that believes that the solution to the war in Israel is solved by “Standing Together.”

Their tour has included large platforms in major American cities, and even visits to the offices of some of America’s notable political voices, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It is also a journey that they said has been a free fall from bad to worse, as they have been smeared and insulted seemingly without stop, all the while receiving threats against their lives.

As part of that tour, the co-directors made a stop in Northampton on Friday to share their message of “both and” rather than “either or” when it comes to the conflict in Gaza. Their latest visit was to Congregation B’nai Israel synagogue in Northampton, which drew well over 100 people early in the morning Friday.

“It should be possible to say, yes, we are standing for freedom for the Palestinians, but also for the safety of the Jewish people,” said Green, who added that when Israelis had been incited toward revenge after the attacks of Oct. 7, it was Standing Together that stood up to say: “This is time for a deal.”

“On the ninth of October we issued a call. We were the first ones in Israeli society to issue a call using the word deal,” said Green.

This “deal” approach would catch attention in Israel, and just a week after Hamas had attacked, Stronger Together had already attracted support from 60,000 Israeli citizens in the country numbering almost 10 million people. Despite those signatures, Green said that much of the country would go on to accuse them of being “delusional” — though they now describe the group as the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots movement in Israel.”

Daood described the current Israeli government as being an unholy regime dedicated to messianic principles, right-wing politics and fascism, but nonetheless acknowledged its existence as a sovereign nation. She said that pursuing an agreement for the release of hostages and an end to the war is a “good thing” but emphasized that the “only solution for both of us is a solution of Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

“Our fight is understanding that both of us deserve equality on that land, and what we do in each and every struggle is a struggle for both of the people who are living on that land. That is one thing we hold and understand and we work towards it,” she said.

According to Green, any fruitful “deal” involves first addressing the deep-seated traumas brought about by the conflict. Another crucial, perhaps related aspect includes focusing on the reality of people’s lives in the region.

“Our attempt, our work,” he said, “is not located in the sphere of language learning or asking what kind of words do we use, but it’s actually existing in the space of organizing. Organizing means that you work with people, and the starting point of what you do is with the realities of people — the experiences of people, the interests of people.”

He continued: “I try to imagine myself coming to a person in the West Bank in Gaza or in Israel using some of the high terminology, or you know, the ideas that are suited to, papers in academy.”

He also called on the Israeli government to recognize, as the people of the country steadily are, that despite their desire to seek revenge it also must be acknowledged that the war does not suit their own interests as a country, but if the war continues it could lead to the leveling of Israeli cities and killing off families.

Both speakers celebrated that there has been progress, however, in winning over the Israeli people to speak out against the war. Despite the Israeli people initially favoring of retaliation and revenge toward Hamas, 71% of Israelis now demand an end to the war, they said.

In short, Green invites, “Palestinians and Jews to stick together, to imagine together, to ask the tough questions together, and to act together.”

But in addition to garnering attention for the cause to spread their message of unity, Standing Together also organized a campaign that provided up to 400 trucks full of food and hygiene products to send into Gaza, which are crucial since Israel barricaded imports to Gaza. This move, she said, was both humanitarian but also political, since the food was delivered with the intention of empowering the people of Gaza who are under threat of police brutality if they speak out.

Local involvement with their mission is also possible by participating in the local chapter of Friends of Standing Together. There is one in western Massachusetts that gathers in downtown Northampton every other Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and every other Wednesday at 12 p.m. to vocalize their desire for peaceful coexistence in the region.

Sponsors of the event Friday included B’nai Israel, Beit Ahavah, and the Jewish Community of Amherst.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.