After almost 15 years of collaboration, Defence for Children International Italy has decided to end its collaboration with International Social Service (ISS).

We deem this separation necessary, as we find it intolerable that an organisation dealing with children and families does not take a clear position on the ongoing genocide of the Gaza population by the Israeli government.

We cannot conceive of social services functioning without direct and precise reference to, and respect for, international law. The neutrality professed by the organisation to justify its inaction demonstrates, in our opinion, a hypocritical position that is complicit in the increasingly silent assertion of violence.

Silence is a lack of expression, words and position. Within this absence, we cannot be credible in our support for the children and families that ISS claims to want to protect. This silence conceals a false truce and an illusory state of peace in which children and civilians continue to die and suffer as a result of the ongoing massacre. Many states also choose to look the other way so as not to jeopardise their own interests. Individuals and organisations around the world maintained the same silence, with few exceptions, choosing not to respond to our appeal.

We asked the International Social Service to take a stand, but the organisation declined, offering vague and unconvincing reasons and declaring a neutrality with no objective or legitimate basis and reference.

In our view, this alleged neutrality risk to be a substantial part of the conditions that sustain the ongoing violence inflicted on the Palestinian population in Gaza and, increasingly, the West Bank. We are disappointed by this silence and superficial justification, as it makes us consider and feel that we have invested time and energy in an organisation that is not capable of speaking out for justice.

We are consciously using strong terms, but the situation that the organisation has chosen to ignore is much harsher and more tragic than this suggests. The International Social Service is still collaborating with an Israeli government agency that, as a member of the Assembly, had the audacity just few months ago to justify and propose the ongoing massacres as legitimate. We sought a response on this matter, but again there was silence.

We participated in the centenary celebrations of the International Social Service, believing that this tradition could bring quality, wisdom and clarity to the organisational system. However, the current situation and the surrounding silence confirm that simply being long-standing is not enough; it is also necessary to consider which side of history you want to be on.

We hope that our departure from the organisation will prompt reflection among its members and professionals. Their silence has also deeply disappointed us. 

We are at a historic moment that calls on us, if we are to truly support children, to understand what it means to be an adult and to take a stand in the world accordingly. Our choice is guided by the law and a rejection of violence. It is a choice that does not permit silence nor collusion with those who choose to look the other way.

Defence for Children International Italy