IofC USA Statement on Conflict in Israel/Palestine
As an organization that seeks to transform conflict into cycles of healing, the unfolding events in Israel and Palestine strengthens our shared desire to see a new future of true justice and peace in the region.
IofC USA mourns the indefensible attacks against the people of Israel, and we condemn in the strongest terms the attacks of Hamas. We cannot and we will not attempt to justify the loss of life and violation of the body and spirit that happened both during and in the aftermath of Hamas’ violent assault in violation of U.N. International law.
We also condemn the ongoing human rights violations of U.N. International law and war crimes perpetrated in the Gaza strip by Netanyahu’s Governance of the nation of Israel; violence that now continues to impact innocent Palestinian civilians, both preceding and in response to Hamas’ brutal assault. Over the weekend, one of the Israeli airstrikes killed several family members of one of our dear colleagues, killing even the children in the household. We lift our voice calling for a ceasefire and to work towards creating the environment where a peaceful resolution to the crisis can occur.
This tragic and historic loss of life has impacted friends of ours in both Israel and Palestine, and we have spent the last few days checking in on them, holding space to engage, and grieving with our Palestinian and Jewish friends impacted by the violence of the past weeks.
While our Jewish friends try desperately to get in touch with their loved ones in the region and fear the worst, our Palestinian friends face the terror of the Israeli government’s military response to a horrific attack; an attack that Palestinian civilians do not bear responsibility for but whose human rights continue to be violated, nonetheless.
As an organization rooted in peace, faith, justice, and truth, we are called to condemn antisemitism, stand against white supremacy, and the countless ways the lives of our Jewish friends are threatened throughout the diaspora. We remain a committed ally and oppose those who threaten the lives and existence of the Jewish people.
That same love for humanity requires that while we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish and Palestinian brothers and sisters, we cannot show that same support to Netanyahu’s governance of Israel, which unfortunately continues to commit human rights violations and war crimes according to U.N. International Law in Gaza. From the Palestinian people to the people of Israel, a right to exist does not mean a right to “exterminate” or “eradicate” innocent human beings who also dream of a better future.
Furthermore, and more foundationally, we do not believe that injustice makes a society safer. In fact, injustice threatens security and weakens any nation where it exists. We believe that without justice there is no true peace and that any nation that denies justice to its least powerful will ultimately and eventually lose security for everyone.
Likewise, a movement that claims to be dedicated to freedom, but which refuses to recognize and protect the lives of innocent civilians and children should be held accountable for its impact. Any movement that dehumanizes and demonizes others only further entrenches the society they claim to care about into deeper cycles of violence.
The truth is we can condemn Hamas without delegitimizing the cries of freedom from systemic oppression and concern for the lives and human rights of Palestinian people. The truth is we can fight antisemitism and grieve with the people of Israel and the Jewish diaspora in a time of crisis while still condemning Netanyahu’s governance of Israel, which continues to violate human rights and collectively punish Palestinian civilians and children in the aftermath of a tragedy. Furthermore, we find the United States’ support of Netanyahu’s Governance of Israel without meaningful accountability and dedication to the human rights and survival of the Palestinian people during this crisis morally inconsistent, dangerously enabling, and unsustainable. These collective actions are further entrenching cycles of violence and are less than the shared and just future the Jewish and Palestinian people of the region need, deserve, and dream of together.
That is why we must stand with our Jewish friends who have lost so much in these recent attacks while also standing with our Palestinian friends who continue to confront violence and oppression and who fear for their survival. Our hearts and efforts towards a peaceful resolution are also extended to the families of those taken hostage. We also condemn the hateful murder of a six-year-old Palestinian American child over the weekend in Illinois. We condemn and stand against xenophobia and Islamophobia and stand with those who fear a return to the hateful climate that followed the tragic 9/11 attacks.
We must embrace complexity and leave room for a multifaceted form of justice.
After all, these are not simple issues. They are complex and arise out of complex conditions and history. Yet, we must confront these issues with the complexity of love. Love complicates, but it is a necessary complication. For in its beautiful complexity, love reveals to us how we so often sustain the very conflicts that we grieve.
We look forward and will work diligently toward the day where justice is the reality for both the people of Israel and Palestine; where we can proudly stand together, looking toward a brighter future. But we do every person impacted by this conflict no favors by claiming that the escalation of violence, dehumanizing rhetoric and retribution will get us any closer to that just future that we still believe is possible.
We remain committed to transforming the conflict engulfing this part of the world by pursuing truth, justice, a shared understanding, and hope for the future; a future where both the Jewish and Palestinian people are able to build, prosper and thrive.
United Towards a New Future,
Initiatives of Change USA