Statement
The tragic events of October 7, 2023 when Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis and took over 200 Israelis hostage shocked and appalled the FMC community. At the same time, the disproportionate response by the Israeli government entailed the near-destruction of Gaza, the displacement of over 90% of its population, and the killing of over 47,150 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children. The escalating violence showed no sign of stopping as long as the U.S. vetoed ceasefire resolutions put forth by the UN Security Council and continued to supply Israel with weapons, diplomatic cover, and billions of dollars in military aid.
Friends at FMC prayed for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages, an end to the killing by both sides, and a search for a path to lasting peace in the region. We recognized that what was transpiring in Gaza evoked a range of responses within our community that required discernment about how we might actualize our Quaker beliefs and principles in the face of this overwhelming violence. Clearly, our bedrock commitment to nonviolence and to seeking that of God in everyone would guide us as a community bearing witness to the extreme suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Israel.
Our Work So Far
Ian Harrington organized our Meeting’s first event in response to Gaza in 2023 with the Peace & Social Justice Committee of FMC. In January 2024, the Gaza Sub-Committee was formed with 4 members: Skip Schiel, Dinah Starr, Don Gianniny, and Sarah Allen. The initial focus of the committee’s work was on educating the Meeting about what was happening in Gaza (with presentations, film screenings, discussions), fund raising, legislative work, and other kinds of activism.
Our fund-raising efforts included a concert organized by Nancy Hewitt that raised $5,000 for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and the Ramallah Friends School. Also, Meeting for Business approved using $12,000 of our unrestricted funds to make a $4,000 donation to each of the following organizations: the AFSC humanitarian aid program; the Gaza Mental Health Program; and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA).
One month earlier, in October 2024, the Gaza Sub-Committee shifted its focus toward drafting a minute that reflects the sense of the Meeting and represents foundational Quaker values and principles. To this end, we welcomed input from the Peace and Social Justice committee and others who are part of the FMC community. As part of the work of discernment, we shared with Peace and Social Justice a joint statement on Israel/Palestine approved by eight leading Quaker organizations. The statement is entitled “A Different Future Is Possible” (aka “The April Statement”). On October 22, the Committee on Peace and Social Justice approved “A Different Future Is Possible.”
Our next step was to present The April Statement in a worship-sharing event held on November 10 — before presenting it to Meeting for Business. The responses we received were useful in our ongoing work of developing a minute reflecting the shared sense of the Meeting. However, in December, after considering the April Statement, Meeting for Business was unable to come to unity with it.
The work of drafting our own minute has been a process of deepening discernment. Since we began this task in October, the minute has gone through multiple revisions as Friends at FMC have shared their concerns and criticisms. We have tried to address these while working steadfastly to create a document consistent with core Quaker values and with our awareness of the profound suffering of the Palestinian people. Before the first phase of the ceasefire took effect in January 2025, civilians in Gaza were under constant bombardment and displacement while facing extreme deprivation of food, water, secure shelters, and adequate health care, among other necessities.
It should be noted that in early January, the Gaza Sub-Committee held a second worship-sharing event in which we presented the latest draft of our minute. Before the worship sharing, the draft was made available to the entire FMC community. Those who either read the minute or attended the worship sharing were invited to share their concerns. As a result of our efforts to gauge the sense of the Meeting, we now have a large and growing collection of thoughtful views. These will enable us to refine the minute in ways that will be even more sensitive to and respectful of our Meeting’s diverse viewpoints, and will further the goal of arriving at unity. Our committee met weekly through January to consider the messages shared with us in response to the proposed minute.
Looking Ahead
It is clear to us that the responses from our community reflect struggles with sharing differing heart-felt perspectives. We feel a good next step would be to organize a workshop and are considering inviting someone such as Alex MacDonald who gave a NEYM workshop “Having Successful Conversations on Palestine/Israel.”
