NEYM unites on a statement about Palestine-Israel

(Dating back to late 2014, after a summer of unprecedented violence over Gaza and inspired by a statement from Britain Yearly Meeting in August 2014, Friends Meeting at Cambridge, followed by Salem Quarterly Meeting, and finally the Yearly Meeting itself unites on the following statement.)

Minute 2017-46 Annual Sessions at Castleton, Vermont, August 8, 2017

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) testimony on peace, justice, and nonviolence is based in our experience of the divine in all of creation and within all persons. Thus, we are deeply troubled by the suffering and injustice caused by the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and we are concerned that our government perpetuates that violence by continuing to send billions of dollars of military aid to the region.

We call upon our nation to:

• Cease sending United States military aid and selling weapons to the entire Middle East.
• Continue diplomatic efforts with all parties and remain in dialogue even with those who have acted violently.
• Join the international court system and accept its jurisdiction.

We call upon all nations to:

• Work with the United Nations Security Council to end military aid and arms sales from all outside countries to all parties in this conflict.
• Support the United Nations efforts to bring justice, peace, security, and reconciliation to all parties in the conflict.
• Take measures to assure that international laws are applied universally.

We call upon all individuals and communities to:

• Support and learn from the many organizations that bring Israelis and Palestinians together for justice and peacemaking.
• Examine how anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and privilege affect our understanding of the conflict

We are deeply grateful to the Friends who have worked over many months in preparing and seasoning this minute. We ask Friends to report back on what insights and conclusions they have in addressing this conflict.

(Equally unprecedented, that business session opened with African drumming, and closed joyfully with drumming, singing, and dancing in the aisles, thanks in large part to Toussaint Liberator.)