Minute on Peace in Palestine, Approved by the SVFM in May 2015
We hold the Israelis and the Palestinians in our hearts. Everyone suffers in the cycle of violence rooted in their struggle over land. We want to support everyone enmeshed in this struggle who rejects racist and violent values. We stand with Jewish people everywhere who have suffered anti-Semitism for centuries and with Jewish Israelis who fear for their national security. We stand with Muslims everywhere who suffer from profiling and hate speech because of the misguided actions of extremists. And we stand with Palestinians who suffer under an Occupation of their lands and who suffer hardship and discrimination in Israel, in the West Bank, in Gaza, and exiled in many nations.
Love moves us, without regard to religious or cultural identity, to express solidarity with those who are oppressed and as well to address with compassion those who suffer because they oppress. In the pursuit of justice, which is the only foundation for a true and lasting peace, we are prompted to different expressions, depending on our gifts and leading. In this spirit, we ask SAYMA Friends to consider acting as led in any or all of the following ways:
- Support nonviolent peace-building organizations working in the region, especially those involving collaboration across political lines.
- Call for and support cooperative efforts by Israelis and Palestinians to rebuild the shattered communities of Gaza.
- Express our concerns to the international corporations that actively support the Occupation or engage in discriminatory labor practices.
- Avoid purchase or use of products manufactured in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
- Lobby Congress and the President to suspend military aid to Israel.
We are convinced there will be the possibility of security and peace for Israelis and Palestinians only when the Occupation is ended. We believe in the transforming power of love manifest in nonviolent practices that can lead to a just and sustainable peace and can yield opportunities for forgiveness and reconciliation