Meeting Minute

The Middle East conflict is escalating quickly and the United States needs to use the leverage we have to bring peace. We must win a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon while ensuring a broader regional war does not break out between Iran and Israel.

Members and attenders of the Boulder Colorado Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) deeply mourn the loss of all lives, homes, and communities of people who are victims of the current wars in the Middle East.

As members of Campus Friends Meeting in Wilmington, Ohio, we carry with us the legacy of generations of peace activists at Campus Meeting and Wilmington College. We hold up our belief that all people have the Inner Light, that of God and the universe in all living beings, and stand opposed to acts of state violence that undermine our shared humanity.

“We seek a world free of war and the threat of war” is a foundational principle of Quaker Public Policy. Our Quaker faith & practice compels us to speak. We are appalled by the destruction of human lives in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.

As Quakers, members of the Religious Society of Friends, it is our fundamental belief that there is light, or goodness, or that of God in everyone. Quakers are guided by our Peace Testimony, and the belief that nonviolent confrontation and mitigation of conflict can lead to reconciliation, and recognition of humanness in one another. The commitment to this peace testimony does not only take the form of passive resistance, as we condemn all war and uses of violence.

From the earliest days of Quakerism, members of the Religious Society of Friends have connected with the divine spark in others and nurtured it, and have sought to avoid the violence of war, which engenders destruction, alienation, and the loss of countless lives. In our imperfect society, it is critical that we remain true to the foundations of our faith by seeking the good in ourselves and others, and working to make the world a just and peaceful place for everyone. War is not the answer.

As a Meeting we hold a variety of views and opinions on the current siege on Gaza, but as Quakers we are called to make a statement. Quakers approach conflicts through discernment and living into the question, and we also oppose mass killing and violence. This conflict is not something which we can wait to address; this is a present and dire moment that requires response.

We recognize the war now being fought between Israel and Hamas is rooted in tragic complexity that has resulted in more and more suffering since October 7. We recognize brilliant minds and compassionate hearts have sought since 1948 to bring peace to the region of Israel and Palestine, yet war or the threat of war has remained a constant in that region for 76 years. We recognize there are no words we can say, even if expressed with soaring eloquence and impeccable logic, that would cause people at war in Israel and Palestine, upon hearing them, to lay down their weapons and live in peace.

Let us seek paths to work for peace, to act in faith and love, with persistence, patience, and courage. We ask everyone, including those in power, to learn from and work with the peacebuilders, who have labored long and hard. May they lead us all in creating an enduring peace built on justice and reconciliation that provides safety, sovereignty, and a future free of war as Palestinians, Israelis and all people of the region become partners pursuing the sacred goal of Peace.

We express our sorrow as a religious community for our history of participation in cultural erasure, abuse, patronization and subjugation of Indigenous Peoples. We commit to work together with descendants bearing the burden of those harms towards revelation of avenues to atone for past wrongs and achieve right relations going forward.

Lopez Island Friends Meeting (LIFIM) recognizes that human life is sacred, and that Spirit can guide us individually and collectively. LIFM supports individual discernment in a spirit of love and truth in making reproductive healthcare decisions, as we do in other areas of conscientious moral choice.

As members of the Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Montclair, New Jersey, we proclaim this Peace Testimony. We believe that there is that of God in every person. We believe that violence only perpetuates violence. Therefore, we oppose the use of violence, and we work to realize peace, together with justice and compassion, to heal this world.

We are called to act in faith and love, with persistence, patience, and courage, as partners and hands of the divine spirit as we pursue the sacred goal of peace, shalom, salaam.

As Quakers, we are committed to nonviolence and we respect the universal sanctity and dignity of all people. We urge our government to redouble efforts including those outlined in this minute.

As Adelphi Friends Meeting, we pray that this lengthy conflict be ended quickly in a way that insures freedom, safety, and justice for all. Let us seek paths to work for peace with the tools available to us.

A just and lasting peace would insure that all cultural and religious identities are respected with equitable geographic and economic resources.

Quakers in Italy are deeply grieved by the destruction, suffering and deaths in Gaza and in Israel/Palestine. We demand an immediate cease-fire. I Quaccheri in Italia sono profondamente affranti dalla distruzione, dalla sofferenza e dalle morti a Gaza e in Israele/Palestina. Chiediamo un immediato cessate il fuoco.

We offer our services in any fair and non-violent way we can to help fulfill these petitions, and we continue to hold both peoples in the Light for peace and justice for them and their posterity.

We, the members of the Richmond (VA) Friends Meeting are heartbroken and stricken with horror and grief at the recent renewed eruption of violence in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. We call for an immediate ceasefire by both Israel and Hamas, the prompt release by Hamas of all hostages, and the release of all uncharged prisoners by Israel. We call on the U.S. to urge Israel to expedite the flow of humanitarian aid to relieve the tremendous suffering that has been created in Gaza with the immediate provision of food, shelter, water, and medicine. We strongly urge the United States to no longer provide Israel with weapons or funding for weapons.