Statements on Gaza
Tempe Friends, having read the Minute on Gaza published by the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) in Britain, find it to be an eloquent and powerful statement, respectful of all sides, and rooted in the fundamental insights of Quakerism. Finding ourselves hard pressed to compose a better statement, we have chosen to re-post this Minute on our website (below). However, we also observe that this Minute necessarily has a British perspective, and find that it omits topics that we as Americans find significant. For this reason, we have formulated our own Minute (posted below) to complement the British Minute.
Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain At the Yearly Meeting in London at Friends House and online, 23–26 May 2025
Minute 30: Gaza
| Our clerks have prepared the following statement on the current situation in Gaza drawing on our discernment earlier in our Yearly Meeting. We are deeply distressed by the conflict that we are praying over, and we have struggled with how to find unity. We are led to unite with this statement, as amended in our meeting. | |
| “‘Fear is what happens in the absence of love.’ (Emily Provance, Swarthmore Lecture 2025) Radical peacemaking requires us to engage with and to acknowledge truth in all its discomfort, complexity and cruelty. Quakers historically have spoken truth to power. We need to heed the promptings of love and truth in our hearts and speak up now. Last year, Meeting for Sufferings minuted its alignment with the International Court of Justice rulings that the term apartheid was an accurate description of the situation in occupied Palestine and that there was a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza. Meeting for Sufferings felt compelled to speak out following decades of direct Quaker witness and peace work in Palestine and Israel. Since then, we have watched with horror as the Israeli government has deepened its collective punishment of Palestinians for the heinous, unjustified crimes of Hamas on 7 October 2023. Over the last three months, we have witnessed the deliberate mass starvation of a people and dismantling of almost all life-sustaining systems within Gaza. We have seen the forced movement of Palestinians and a stated intention to expel them from Gaza. We have heard Israeli government ministers incite hatred against and dehumanise Palestinians. We have heard language and witnessed actions that cannot be justified and strike at the core of our common humanity. In a world where we are seeing cases in many countries of outrageous inhumanity, dehumanisation and the cruel actions that follow from denying the worth and dignity of all, what is being done in Gaza is no less terrible for not being unique. Our long history of witness and peace work in Palestine and Israel gives us particular experience from which to speak on this issue. The fact that we are speaking about Gaza does not absolve us of our responsibility to learn about and respond to other atrocities around the world. We understand that genocide under international law must meet certain strict criteria. It means specific acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Genocide scholars are clear that genocide does not constitute one overwhelming, horrific act only, but is a process with many stages. With this in mind, and guided by the testimony and judgment of Palestinians, Israelis, and genocide and legal experts we look to and work with, we are therefore led to say that we believe that genocide and mass displacement are underway in the actions of the Israeli government and its military towards the population of Gaza, recognising that a legal judgment on this is a matter for the International Courts. We know that for many in the Jewish community, this word brings deep and real fear. Fear that the term ‘genocide’ fuels antisemitism, that it attacks their core Jewish identity and safety. That it reduces a complex, existential conflict to a simple story of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. We acknowledge the historical weight of this term for Jewish people, set against centuries of anti-Jewish hatred and crimes, and the ultimate horror and genocide of the Holocaust. We acknowledge the history and present day reality of anti-Jewish hatred in the UK, a hatred that was exported worldwide by British and other European colonial powers. We acknowledge the historic and current role of the British state in creating the context of this conflict and the tragedy we see playing out now. Central to Quakerism is the experience that there is that of God in everyone. From this belief – that all people are unique, precious, children of God – all others follow. We therefore abhor racism, including antisemitism, in all its forms. We grieve the pain and fear that our friends in Jewish communities are experiencing at this time. We see and uphold those in Jewish communities and in Israel working for peace and justice for Palestinian people. And so, we cannot say clearly enough: it is this current Israeli government that we are led to say we believe is committing genocide. Jewish people are not committing genocide. The Israeli people are not committing genocide. We abhor, and will challenge, any attempt to exploit our words to incite, fuel, or commit anti-Jewish and antisemitic hatred or violence. We abhor, and will challenge, any attempt to use our words to question the existence of Israel or the Israeli people’s right to live in peace and security. It is also a tenet of Quakerism that violence can never be the answer. That the means are just as important as the ends. This is our peace testimony that has led us for more than 350 years to eschew all war and all violence at all times. We cry out for the violence in Gaza to stop – for an end to the killing of Palestinians and for the Israeli hostages to be returned home. We cry out for Palestinians and Israelis to be safe and to live thriving, joyous lives in their homelands. Everyone deserves a place to live where they don’t feel scared. Our long work for peace tells us that security for some bought with the insecurity of others tears at our collective humanity and is only ever temporary. Peace can never be brought about by the systematic oppression of others. We therefore use the word ‘genocide’ after deep discernment. We use this word with the aim of opening eyes, minds and hearts. We use this word in the deep hope that the actions it describes will stop.” | |
| We know that making a statement is not enough. We draw Friends’ and meetings’ attention to Meeting for Sufferings minutes S/11/04/4 from April 2011, which asks Friends throughout Britain Yearly Meeting to boycott settlement goods, until such time as the occupation is ended, and MfS/18/10/19 from October 2018, which asks BYM to avoid investing in companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine. We ask Friends and meetings to reach out in love to Jewish people and communities they have connections with, and to understand and learn about atrocities across the world. We send this minute to Quaker Peace & Social Witness, and uphold them as they communicate this statement to partners working for peace in the region. We send this minute to Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations, and uphold them as they communicate this statement and seek to reassure our friends in the Jewish community and in other faiths of our continued support and love. We hold in the light the people governing Israel and Palestine and pray that they are moved towards peace and compassion. We uphold those in positions of power and pray for them as they “seek light on the road to peace.” Adwoa Burnley Clerk | |
Tempe Monthly Meeting: Minute on Gaza
The President and Congress of the United States have continued to authorize the supply of weapons to Israel. American weapons have prolonged this war and caused the killing and starvation of the Palestinian people. We should view this aggression for what it is: genocide of the Palestinian people. The funding of the war is wrong.
Intermountain Yearly Meeting – Statements of Conscience
Tempe Friends find themselves in unity with the following Statements of Conscience approved by the body gathered for the Intermountain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) meeting for business on May 31, 2025, and re-posted here:
Middle East Violence
Members and attenders of Intermountain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) mourn all loss of lives, homes, and communities that are the result of violence in the Middle East, regardless of the nationality or politics of these victims. We, as the Intermountain Yearly Meeting, object to the role that the United States has played by supplying weapons and other war supplies to Israel but not ensuring humanitarian aid and the human rights of the people in Gaza. This includes the right to food, water, clothing, housing, and medical services, as well as the right to be free from torture.
We call on the United States government to:
–suspend arms sales, military aid, and financial support for the acquisition and/or use of warfare weapons to the government of Israel;
–restore funding from the United States to the United Nations Relief and Works Administration (UNRWA)
–hold Israel accountable to its agreement in March 2024 to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza by stopping the use of starvation as a weapon of war and to allow all humanitarian aid to enter and be distributed to the people of Gaza and other war-affected areas
Faith Guiding our Witness
As Quakers, members of Intermountain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, we believe in the inherent worth of every person. We heed the calling of leaders of the world’s faith traditions to practice a universal love for all members of the human family and a reverence for the earth, our shared home.
In this Statement of Witness, we call upon ourselves, and all within our human family to recommit to the sacredness of life, and to our divine kinship with both the least and the most powerful among us.
We are called upon to act on the core values of our faith and our shared principles in many diverse situations. We may soon be required to respond in ways not yet realized and to join in initiatives not yet in place.
We rely on our Quaker traditions and on the inward guide of continued openings for actions we may take. We seek in every circumstance to speak the truth of our faith and to answer that of God in everyone, respecting the dignity, worth and humanity of each person. We further commit ourselves to the stewardship and care of our planet, our collective home, all life upon it, its resources, both renewable and limited, and the systems that sustain us all.
We recommit ourselves:
· to the practice of nonviolent witness when any of our human kin are treated with violence, or denied the fundamental requirements for a dignified, peaceful life in community with each other;
· to look to all our possessions, to determine if the seeds of war, exploitation of others or degradation of environment lie within them;
· to seek to remedy the interpersonal and environmental violence that may exist in our own lives and communities and to restore peaceful relations with each other and the Earth.
We rely upon the Spirit of all life to guide us to act in love, growing in compassion in all our endeavors to live this commitment, and to act in harmony with these values. We sincerely believe that all life on this fragile world and all hopes for an enduring human community depend on these commitments being honored widely and lived as caringly as possible.
Action on Climate Change
We, members and attenders of Intermountain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), recognize that climate change is a rapidly worsening crisis that is already affecting both human and nonhuman life on our planet, and that the heaviest impacts of this crisis fall on the most vulnerable among us.
As Friends living in the USA high-carbon society, we have a special responsibility and opportunity to live up to our testimony of stewardship. Our immoderate use of the earth’s resources violates the entire biosphere.
This is not just one concern, among many, to be carried by only some among us. We ask every Friend to follow their conscience in committing to do everything possible to ameliorate this looming disaster.
Actions we commit to taking may include: strong advocacy at all levels of government, nonviolent civil disobedience, divesting from fossil fuel companies, and lowering our personal fossil fuel use. We can provide an example for others to follow and join with others to provide leadership around these issues.
We are challenged to act with a focus and fearlessness appropriate to the urgency of the times. Although the problems we face are large, complex, and may seem overwhelming, we believe that following our faith can lead us to unity and hope, knowing that we are a part of the rising tide of thousands around the world who seek to restore our beautiful earth. Love, rather than fear, can lead us through the crisis.