On June 16, 2025, our international community joined together for Fast for Freedom: A Joint Day of Fasting for Gaza, led by Combatants for Peace.
🕊️ Why are we fasting?
Fasting and hunger strikes have historically been used as a powerful nonviolent tool for resisting injustice. Palestinians in Combatants for Peace who served time in Israeli jails have participated in hunger strikes to demand their basic human rights, and so we follow their lead in this action. Fasting is also a spiritual and symbolic ritual that many religions practice as a form of reflection and self-examination. By fasting, we say loud and clear: We refuse to continue as usual while starvation is being used to destroy an entire people and destroy the shared future of all of us.
On June 16th, we left our tables empty as an act of love, grief, and nonviolent co-resistance. While fasting, AFCFP hosted a sacred hour of reflection, witness, and collective action. This gathering was facilitated by three powerful spiritual leaders: Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah, Tahija Vikalo, and David Katibah, each bringing wisdom from their diverse traditions. Participants were also invited into small-group connection (this portion was not recorded to honor privacy). Through this fast, we used our bodies and voices to call for an end to the deliberate starvation in Gaza and to affirm the truth that our lives are intertwined.
Speaker Bios:
Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah: A graduate of the London School of Economics, Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah became the first lesbian to lead a mainstream congregation. Following retirement, Elli is now BHPS Emeritus Rabbi. A pioneer in the area of LGBTQ+ inclusion and same-sex marriage, Elli is also deeply committed to promoting human rights, social justice, interfaith dialogue, Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, and tikkun olam, repair of the world.
Tahija Vikalo serves as the Executive Director of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom. In her professional career of 20 years, she has worked in the non-profit field, in international development and peacebuilding, and in education and immigration for private companies. Tahija is focused on inclusion and diversity in the Muslim American communities and is dedicated to social justice and gender equality.
David Katibah is the Director of Communications and Christian Engagement at The Telos Group. As an American of Syrian descent, David is passionate about conflict transformation in the Middle East and the transformative potential of Christians participating in peacemaking around the globe. Outside of Telos, David writes about peace, poetry, and imagination on his substack, “Awakenings,” and serves on the board of Peace Catalyst International, a global Christian peacebuilding organization.