This week, we were alarmed as Israel expanded its war in Gaza into the occupied West Bank, launching a major attack in the territory on Monday.
The operation is the largest in the West Bank in more than two decades. Israeli forces have killed at least 18 Palestinians and wounded more than 30 others, and it is ongoing.
Three months after President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire proposal to end the Gaza war and free the hostages, negotiations have stalled without a deal.
With election day quickly approaching, the voices of ordinary voters matter even more as we decide who is going to represent us in Congress in 2025.
Earlier this week we urged our network to engage with candidates for office and got a great response. It was exciting to see your passion for this work. Candidates can impact our communities, and you can influence their priorities.
This week, we mourned and honored the more than 100,000 people who were killed in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 79 years ago.
As we reflected on this solemn anniversary, we joined partners and friends around the globe to recommit to the urgent work of ensuring that nuclear weapons are never used again.
Traveling throughout the Middle East in January, FCNL’s Bridget Moix and Hassan El-Tayyab saw firsthand how the regional violence sparked by the Isarel-Gaza war was getting worse daily. Reflecting on their experience, they warned that these escalations would “continue until there is a ceasefire.”
The months that have passed since then have proven their words true and exacted an enormous human toll. Today, the region is closer to the brink of a major war than ever.
FCNL is mobilizing advocates for peace to urge lawmakers to support an immediate ceasefire, prioritize humanitarian aid in Gaza, and secure the release of all hostages.
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.
Meanwhile, outside the offices of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker group, a cadre of interfaith demonstrators gathered holding signs that read “ceasefire now” and “no more arms to Israel.”
The moral urgency of a ceasefire is painfully clear. But it’s crucial that Congress also recognizes that ending the war is vital for our own national security.
We are halfway through 2024, and global warming is continuing to break records, with scientists increasingly predicting that this year could surpass 2023 as the hottest year. One thing is abundantly clear: climate change is more than a potential threat—it is here.
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