Teachers Around the World Demand an Immediate Ceasefire

We are teachers; we teach children. We teach them about society and how they will grow up to be full participants in society. We teach them about empathy and solidarity; and we teach them, when they see obvious injustice, that they should act.

We are horrified to be witnessing a deliberate, catastrophic humanitarian tragedy being inflicted on Gaza. We say this because we do not believe that the killing of children can be justified as "collateral damage," in the pursuit of a murderous, illusory, self-defeating and futile goal. Nor do we accept assurances that efforts are being made to avoid the deaths of children.

Since October the 7th, over 13,000 children have died violently in Gaza; 4551 of them were school students. An additional 8,193 children have suffered injuries. We teach children every day, we know that these are not just numbers. Each of these children is as precious as your own child. These are innocent lives, cut short in the most barbaric manner.

To date, 231 of our teaching colleagues in Gaza have been murdered, and 762 injured in brutal attacks by the Israeli army, which has been given billions of dollars by the United States to destroy Gaza. Schools - the bastions of hope and enlightenment - are being mercilessly and illegally targeted. A staggering 281 schools have been bombed or damaged; 83 are severely damaged; one-third are inoperable; and seven are utterly destroyed. To compound this tragedy, 133 schools are now makeshift shelters for displaced civilians, clinging to the vain hope that schools will not be targeted.

We cannot turn a blind eye to the unambiguous war crimes that are being committed; to the genocidal assertions made by members of the Israeli cabinet; nor to the on-going ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, to facilitiate colonisation of their land.

If you also believe that the mass slaughter of children, the assassination of teachers and the destruction of the educational system of Gaza is unacceptable, then we ask you to join us in saying stop. Just stop. Simply stop.

We, the undersigned teachers from every corner of the globe, urgently demand you use your influence and resources to champion an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and in the West Bank. The time for diplomatic solutions and decisive action is now. We demand an immediate permanent ceasefire and the effective application of international law.

Your contribution doesn't mean you are pro one group or against another. Your petition means you are pro humanity