We, the undersigned:
Raniero La Valle, Tomaso Montanari, Bishop Giovanni Ricchiuti (President of Pax Christi), Father Franco Mosconi (Archbishop of Manfredonia), Elena Basile, Ginevra Bompiani, and many others…
Hereby declare our decision to make the city of Gaza our legal domicile, in the juridical sense that distinguishes between “residence” and “domicile”—the latter being the place dedicated to care and commitment.
We choose Gaza, each according to a place that bears witness to pain and resilience:
Some of us have taken as our domicile the Parish of the Holy Family, which was bombed by the Israeli army even though it sheltered hundreds of refugees;
Some have chosen Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and its destroyed incubators;
Others have found their domicile in Al-Farouk Mosque in Rafah, which has become a graveyard for all faiths;
Or in the Samir Mansour Library, a symbol of life and culture;
Or in Deir al-Balah, or at the crossings, where people are killed trying to earn their daily bread;
Or in any home, street, gathering, or address in wounded Gaza.
We call on everyone who rejects the tyranny of war and believes in human dignity to join us in this symbolic declaration, and to choose Gaza as their domicile.
In doing so, we jointly take on the responsibility of rebuilding Gaza—not for profit or exploitation, but out of human solidarity and moral duty.
Today, Gaza represents the extreme of cruelty in the exercise of power—a threat not only to its own people, but to all peoples of the earth, and to every culture striving to survive.
And yet, hope for humanity may rise from the heart of its tragedy, if this suffering is transformed into a force of resistance against war, a support for life, and a defense of dignity, freedom, and reconciliation among people.
We believe that defending Gaza is defending our common human home.
We envision the children of this land, as numerous as “the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17), as being immune to extermination, erasure, or enslavement.
Our motto: “Blessed is Gaza – May She Remain Alive”
Yes, let its reconstruction begin, not for profit, as war profiteers do, but to revive every valley of death, and bring down every peak of tyranny (Isaiah 40:4).
And suppose the number of “symbolic residents” in Gaza grows into hundreds. In that case, thousands, then countless people across the world, will become the “stone” rolling down the mountain that crushes the oppressor’s tents (Judges 7:13-14), announcing the end of tyranny and mass killing.
—
To join the initiative:
📧 Send your name to the email address:
domiciliatiagaza@primaloro.com
You may print this commitment on a business card, include it in your email signature, or any other document.
The names of the participants will be published on the PRIMA LORO website, making it accessible to all and turning it into a global message.
You can support this initiative in any way possible:
individually or collectively, through media or politics, personally or as part of an organization—according to your available tools and creativity.
—
Initial Signatories:
Raniero La Valle, Tomaso Montanari,
Bishop Giovanni Ricchiuti (Pax Christi),
Father Franco Mosconi (Archbishop of Manfredonia),
Elena Basile, Ginevra Bompiani,
Domenico Gallo, Alex Zanotelli,
Felice Scalia (S.J.), Claudio Grassi,
Nandino Capovilla, Francesco Comina,
Sergio Mercanzin, Vito Micunco,
Paolo and Rosmaria Bertagnolli,
Enrico Peretti, Raul Mordenti,
Agata Cancellieri, Stefania Tozzi, and many more…
—
Important Note:
If you are a recipient of this statement and agree with the initiative, please share and disseminate it widely.
Every show of moral support helps create effective pressure on the policies behind the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and helps restore humanity’s lost voice.
