Meeting Minute

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.

We grieve for the loss of life and suffering witnessed in Israel/Palestine on both sides. We value the lives of all people equally. In keeping with our Quaker Peace Testimony, we maintain that WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER to ending a conflict that has endured for more than 100 years.

We call on the US government to end its military aid of the Israeli government and to fully restore UNRWA funding to aid Palestinians. The US government must stop sending the Israeli military more weapon

As members of Strawberry Creek Friends Meeting (Quakers) in Berkeley, California, and in keeping with our historic peace testimony, we are horrified by the killing on all sides in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and the larger Middle East. We support a lasting ceasefire, together with peaceful action by the United States and other world power, to bring about lasting peace, justice, and freedom.

Friends feel a responsibility to act on the immense suffering in Gaza, as well as the ongoing violence in the West Bank. All the peoples of Israel and Palestine deserve to live in peace.

The Salt Lake Quakers (Salt Lake Monthly Meeting) calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel by both sides, a return of the hostages, and a restoration of food, water, fuel and medical care to Gaza. The urgency and humanitarian need for this action cannot be overstated.

“the City of Bellingham believes in and advocates for the self-determination of all people, regardless of religion, race, or nationality”

We call on our government to reset its policy: to call for an immediate ceasefire and to pursue negotiations to free the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

As Quakers, we oppose war and seek a just and lasting peace in Israel/Palestine. We grieve the death of over 1,200 Israelis and over 33,000 Gazans, including 13,800 children (As of April 2024).

Ames Friends Meeting affirms the dignity and human rights of Palestinians, Israelis, and all persons.

Wellesley Friends are deeply grieved by the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank. We bear witness to the suffering, and urgently call for a ceasefire, ending the siege of Gaza, and the release of all people held as hostages.

We mourn their loss and suffering, and we call on Palestinian and Israeli leaders and their foreign enablers, including the US government, to recognize that essential humanity in the lives on the other side, to recognize the justice behind their territorial and national claims, and to envision and work for a world in which they can live either together or side by side in peace.

Adhering to our three-hundred-year-old peace testimony, we protest the use of our tax dollars for these military expenditures.

We are heartbroken by the terror, violence, and devastation in Israel and Palestine. War is never the answer. War is a betrayal of our humanity, and of what is most sacred.

As individuals at Sacramento Friends Meeting, we call on each person to work for understanding, seek opportunities for dialogue, repudiate violence, and remain steadfast in our commitment to peaceful resolution of this and all other conflicts.

Cannon Valley Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) calls for an immediate cease‐fire in the Middle East, an end to the United States providing weapons of war, and swift action to ensure urgently needed humanitarian assistance.

We unite with Friends and people throughout the world to urge the combatants from all sides to initiate an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages in Gaza and Israel.

Northampton Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) calls and prays for the end to all actions that lead to the destruction of lives in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

As members of the Quaker community in Newtown, Pennsylvania, we are a part of 375 years of testimony and action against all war and violence. We reaffirm the application of the peace testimony to the conflict in Israel and Gaza.