The Stones Cry Out, a faith-based collaborative effort focused on raising the voices of Palestinian Christians, will hold several events in Washington DC next week, September 23-25. For a detailed schedule, contact Doug Thorpe, dthorpe@spu.edu.
Events include a march to Capitol Hill, a nonviolent direct action, and an interfaith prayer service of lament and solidarity.
Speakers will include: Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI); Josh Paul and Lily Greenberg Call, both of whom resigned from their jobs with the administration to protest the war on Gaza; Medea Benjamin (CODEPINK); Don Wagner; Miko Peled; Mark Braverman; Osama Abu Irshaid (American Muslims for Palestine); Ariel Gold (Fellowship of Reconciliation); and more.
The following declaration from Christian clergy will be presented on the steps of the Capitol.
There is another way for Israel and Palestine: A declaration of faith and urgency from Christian clergy to the goverment of the United States
SUMMARY
“Are you able to help us get our freedom back? For this is the only way you can help the two peoples attain justice, peace, security and love.”
Moment of Truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering.
Released in 2009, this cry from the Christians of Palestine has provided a roadmap to action for church leaders and for people of faith throughout the world to stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle for their rights, their homeland, and a future of peace, dignity and coexistence in the land called Holy. “What is the international community doing?” the document continues. “What are the political leaders in Palestine, in Israel and in the Arab world doing? What is the Church doing?
As Christians and as Americans, we confess and acknowledge our nation’s deep complicity. We have continued to arm Israel in its fruitless attempt to achieve security through the brutal suppression of the Palestinian national movement. Our support for Israel’s policies has brought not security for the citizens of Israel but unending conflict and fear. We grieve for both peoples: for the Palestinians, who, despite enduring unremitting suffering and losses, continue the fight to preserve their culture and identity in their cities, universities, farms and villages. We grieve for the Jews of Israel, whose dream of liberation from millennia of marginalization and slaughter has turned into a nightmare of fear and insecurity.
The United States alone has the power to pull Israel back from its descent into militarism and barbarism. Calling for “ceasefire” is not enough. After the bombing has stopped, we must not continue to support a status quo that will inevitably bring more violence, loss and suffering.
On July 4, 12 former U.S. government officials who had resigned due to “grave concerns with…U.S. policies towards Palestine and Israel” issued a statement titled “Service in Dissent.” Our policy, they wrote. “It has not made Israelis any safer, while it has been devastating for the Palestinian people. U.S. policies in this regard have been deeply damaging for our global credibility, the credibility of U.S. values, and the credibility of the West.”
As Americans and as practitioners of a faith that originated as a grassroots movement of resistance to tyranny, we are in full alignment with these words. The Declaration that follows concludes with a series of demands, among them the following:
- That the policy of the United States be to bring about an end to military occupation and illegal settlements, including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. All further military aid must be conditioned to Israel’s compliance with this policy.
- That Congress immediately address violations of the Leahy Law and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act, that prohibit providing military aid to foreign security forces that have committed gross human rights violations.
- That the United States support efforts toward a negotiated settlement that brings an end to the decades-long violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.
- That the United States government oppose efforts, on local, state and federal levels, to silence voices calling for changes in our policy toward Israel by equating criticism of Israel’s unjust actions with antisemitism.
- That the United States support initiatives between Israelis and Palestinians and interfaith partnerships that combat apartheid and occupation and create opportunities to work for a common future of mutual respect and dignity.
Read the complete text of declaration and add your voice by signing with your name, title and affiliation.