Quakers join global Christian leaders in call for Gaza ceasefire
This Holy Week, Quakers added their voice to that of more than 140 faith leaders calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to foreign military support for Israel.
The open letter to world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, highlights the onset of famine in Gaza, the high death toll and Israel's genocide trial at the International Court of Justice.
“As the ongoing devastation, bombing, and ground invasion in Gaza continue into their sixth month, Palestinians, including our Palestinian Christian siblings, cry out to the world, asking, 'Where are you?'" the letter said.
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World leaders have responded with empty rhetoric and political volleying about addressing the 'humanitarian crisis' in Gaza
- signatories
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“World leaders have responded with empty rhetoric and political volleying about addressing the 'humanitarian crisis' in Gaza while ignoring the direct causes of the catastrophe," it continued.
“Those causes are the daily bombing and ground invasion by the Israeli military, in addition to the shutting off of basic life-sustaining services to more than two million people who are suffering the consequences of crimes not their own."
Adwoa Burnley, clerk of Yearly Meeting, added her name to others including the bishops of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Guatemalan Catholic cardinal, Mennonites, and the Church of England.
“The horrific actions Hamas committed on October 7th in no way justify the massive deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military," they wrote.
More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
This figure does not include those still buried under rubble and those who did not reach hospitals.
The letter, coordinated by Churches for Middle East Peace, was released as Christians around the world prepared to commemorate the suffering of Jesus.
“We repent of the ways we have not stood alongside our Palestinian siblings in faithful witness in the midst of their grief, agony, and sorrow," the letter said.