Peace & Justice Consensus Resolution
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Greetings Peacemakers and Changemakers,
As we look out at the world, we see now more than ever the time for the voice of conscience to hold power accountable and advocate for a new future of freedom and liberation. As a nearly century old global movement and peace building organization based on Love, Unselfishness, Honesty, and Accountability, Initiatives of Change USA has answered the call to advocate for those in our movement impacted by the unjust killings and conditions in the Israel Palestine conflict. In addition to IofC USA’s prior statement, the Solidarity Fund donations to our peacebuilders who have been impacted by the aftermath of Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza after October 7th, and IofC USA’s long standing dedication to fighting the reality of growing antisemitism, we have been organizing a resolution with our city advocating for the human rights and dignity of everyone impacted by the conflict from the hostages taken to the thousands of Palestinians and children needlessly killed in this conflict.
Starting January 8th, members of the Richmond community from a multitude of backgrounds and organizations have been going to every city council meeting to ask the council members to pass a ceasefire resolution. They presented an initial resolution; however, city council members were unwilling to patron or pass this version despite continuous community presence at city council meetings for several months.
A council member has since decided that they would draft their own resolution and approached us at IofC USA to help coordinate with more community voices. Through a process of working with city council members, local religious leaders, Jewish voices, Palestinian voices and local peace and justice organizations we have formed a consensus resolution for Peace and Justice in Israel and Palestine. This resolution has been collaborated on with the input of community members, city council members, and various local organizations, including Students for Justice in Palestine at VCU, American Muslims for Palestine Richmond, Richmond Peace Education Center, RVA Jews 4 Palestine, Richmond Democratic Socialists of America, Virginia Coalition for Human Rights, Sunrise Movement RVA, RVA Healthcare Workers for Palestine, United Campus Workers VCU, VCU NAACP, Initiatives of Change USA, and many more.
Through a process of working with city council members, local religious leaders, Jewish voices, Palestinian voices and local peace and justice organizations we have formed a consensus resolution for Peace and Justice in Israel and Palestine. This was a long process of negotiations and compromise to discover what we can say together as a city that would make a meaningful impact to deter the ongoing assault on Palestinians and to release all hostages, Israeli & Palestinian.
This resolution doesn’t say everything we want it to, but it definitely sheds light on the war crimes that Israel has been committing, and continues to commit, against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. It ties the cause back to our community in Richmond and highlights how our city is affected locally by global issues.
We are disappointed to learn that there are some in our community who have launched an attempt to convince and influence the city council to remain silent and not say anything about the atrocities happening in Gaza even though the Consensus Peace & Justice Resolution calls for the release of all hostages. As Dr. King said, “Our lives begin to end when we become silent about the things that matter.” Dr. King, knew as one of the greatest change makers in history, that silence does not achieve the justice requested by the oppressed. We cannot cherry pick the legacy of Dr. King and ignore that he was anti-silence on oppression, anti-war and militarism, anti-segregation, and one of the strongest proponents of the need for moral courage. We can stay in silence and begin the end of our lives, or we can speak with moral courage and the fierce urgency of now in order to begin a new beginning of how we can live together in a mutual garment of destiny and shared humanity.
In the history of achieving justice for the most oppressed, we do not come from the legacy of a silent people, and we are not a silent city thus our leaders should no longer be silent. Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a country that has brought a plausible case against Israel for carrying out genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people, said “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Many of our local community members have lost dozens and dozens of family members in Gaza and will continue to see their loved ones killed if our elected officials do not start breaking their silence or neutrality.
We ask that you read the resolution and ask your Richmond City Council member to patron & pass the Consensus Resolution for Peace & Justice for Palestine and let Richmond City Council know that #SilenceIsNotAnOption.
STATEMENTS SUPPORTING RESOLUTION:
“As a Palestinian it’s hard to understand that there are people who don’t believe I should exist, that I don’t have the same inherent worth as them, that believe that their safety is only achieved by starving and bombing my people. Richmond has a storied and difficult history, the onus is on us to change that by consistently and loudly standing on the right side of history to atone for the sins of our city’s past. This ceasefire resolution to stand for peace for all shows that Richmond is doing the work, and makes me feel that my safety matters in my city. Peace is not a debatable or controversial stance to take, it is the only stance to take.”
“As a Palestinian this resolution means that we either stand by our morals as a city unified against injustice or we don’t. Richmond being the capital of the confederacy, means we have to fight tooth and nail to make our city stand by oppressed people worldwide. This resolution shows that as Palestinians we will not only do everything in our power to make everyone use their voice to stand against injustice, but we will also put everything we have on the line for justice.”
“This resolutions represents the voice of the people in Richmond and across the world. As a Palestinian and human being I am beyond disappointed with the state of this world where I have to plead with the leaders to care about the lives of others. A resolution that calls for peace and basic human rights should be obvious, there is no better option but to call for a ceasefire and support the resolution that takes a stand against genocide.”
“Support of the ceasefire resolution should not be controversial. This document has been written by a diverse community of Richmonders that has included Jews since its inception. It is a damaging and dangerous lie to say this resolution is in any way harmful. As Jews of conscience, we proudly stand in support of our Palestinian community in Richmond and abroad in demanding immediate and permanent ceasefire to begin a long overdue process of liberation and justice for the Palestinian people.”
“Calling for the most minimal respect for human life and adherence to international law is not anti-Semitism and does not threaten my safety as a person of Jewish descent living in Richmond. I feel more safe when elected officials are willing to speak up against the attempted annihilation of any group of people. The legacy of the Holocaust is “Never Again” and this resolution is clearly in keeping with that message and that promise.”