(Adopted and forwarded to SAYMA at Monthly Meeting for Business,

Swannanoa Valley Friends Meeting, June 5, 2016)

From Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) we have learned that there is a humanitarian crisis on the verge of eruption in Palestine and that meeting that crisis could constitute a significant step toward easing tensions and fostering cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.

The humanitarian crisis is the probability that by the end of 2016, people in Gaza will run out of drinkable water. This crisis has been caused by Israeli bombings in the past, which destroyed much of Gaza’s water infrastructure, and Israel’s current blockade of Gaza, which prevents shipment into Gaza of both water and materials necessary to rebuild crucial water infrastructure.

We of Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association (SAYMA) join FCNL in calling on the U. S. government to take three crucial steps: first, to press Israel to double its sale of water to Gaza; second, to press Israel to increase its electricity sales to Gaza; and third, to press Israel to allow Gaza to rebuild its water and sewage infrastructure.

We ask every Meeting and Worship Group in SAYMA to communicate with its Representative and Senators on this issue. (Friends might want to use further information given by FCNL in its Washington Newsletter of May 2016 devoted entirely to the Israel-Palestine issue.)