The Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) is a coalition of 14 Quaker congregations in Vermont and New Hampshire.
PUTNEY-As Quakers, we seek to abolish all wars and the causes of wars. We feel a deep and profound grief for the people of Palestine, who are being subjected to a daily and furious assault from bombing, and for the deaths and suffering of all Israeli and Palestinian civilians in this conflict.
The Israeli government has directed the bombing of Palestinian schools, hospitals, offices, and refugee camps, destroying 80% of the desalination plants and much of the farmland. Humanitarian aid is being blocked from entering Gaza.
These actions have caused most of the population to be without food or water, resulting in death by starvation as well as by the bombing. The current offensive against the Palestinian people continues and amplifies a pattern of military violence that has resulted in the deaths, displacement, and detainment of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
These Israeli actions toward an erasure of the Palestinian people are violations of international law and basic human rights and dignity.
Weapons being used to kill Palestinians are manufactured in the United States, and the United States government is fully supporting Israel. This makes this government complicit in this military violence. Although there is a significant movement for peace in Israel, the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused or has undermined all efforts for a ceasefire.
• We call for an immediate end of weapons sales and military funding to Israel.
• We call for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of unrestricted humanitarian aid: food, water, shelter, and medical care.
• We call for recognition of the human and civil rights of the Palestinian people.
• We support the work of the Israelis and Palestinians seeking a just and peaceful resolution to the long-standing conflicts leading to this war. We join our voices with the peacemakers.
Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends
Putney
Roger V. Jasaitis, clerk
The Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) is a coalition of 14 Quaker congregations in Vermont and New Hampshire.
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