Dear Readers,
As Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and Atheists, we mourn the thousands of people who have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces. We also grieve for those Israelis who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. We oppose Israel’s attacks on universities, schools, hospitals, and neighborhoods in Palestine. We call for an end to civilian displacement and proxy wars that place soldiers as well as civilian youth and adults in untenable situations.
We recognize that a sustainable future depends upon Israeli and Palestinian rights to safety, housing, education, food and civic life. It’s unacceptable that people will lose access to their homes and ancestral land. The restrictions to Palestinians’ basic freedoms are unacceptable. We stand with the United Nations, International Law and Human Rights Watch in calling for an immediate ceasefire.
To be allies, to affirm life, to stop the rise of anti-Semitism and racism against Palestinians, we have to question who benefits from aggression. We need to let our elected officials know that we want to advance long-term peace, not war. As to this conflict, we call for an end to governments that espouse extremist views. We can come together to stop this cycle of misery and violence. We need to be witnesses for ourselves and our love for humanity and advocate for solutions that emerge from peace activists with roots in the Middle East. We need a path forward that prioritizes grassroots, feminist organizing that centers human rights for all and reverence for the earth that makes life possible.
Peace and justice,
Becky Thompson
Martha Merson
Diane Harriford
Christopher Brokus
Arezu Kabuli
Hyam Saba
Sami Saba
Michael Massad
Bailey Williams
Chi Wong
Amy Liang
Paul Fernandes
Paul Walsh
Diane Marchioni
Wendy Stewart
Mary Rhei
Tania DiSciullo
Gareth Marshall
Sandy Wang
Abigail Cromer
Hibab Osman
Ellen Goodman
Kate Layte
Maxim Tamarov
Hannah Postman
Amy Goodrough
Natalie Falls
Leah Rosenbloom
Steve Low
Anna Fishman
Sarah Stillman
Laura Brown
Abby Graham
Gregory Reiser
Molly Kantrowitz
Sussan Atscouty
Jess Fellman
David Wein
Lucas Braun
Anna Singer
Elissa Martel
Jesse Wilson
Rose JC-Wilson