Wednesday, December 13, 2023 3:19 PM
As the war in Gaza continues, the UUWF joins our fellow UU justice organizations in condemning the genocidal atrocities taking place there. It is our moral imperative to fight for the freedom of the Palestinian people, and to fight anti-semitism in all its forms.
We acknowledge the complex history surrounding this conflict. The Hamas attack and subsequent Israeli response is rooted in decades of colonialism, occupation, restriction of resources, terrorism, genocide, dehumanization, and retaliation. As complex as these issues are, UU principles demand that we speak out.
Women, Children, and Acts of War
All over the world and throughout history, women and children have been those most affected by war. Women and children are used as pawns, imprisoned or kidnapped and leveraged in negotiations like pieces of property rather than human beings. Gender-based violence, including rape, is used to terrorize, torture, and destroy innocent people, families, and communities. The current war in Gaza is no different:
- Women and children are estimated to be 67% of the over 15,000 Palestinian deaths since October.
- Out of 2.1 million people in Gaza, 1.7 million are internally displaced–800,000 of those displaced are women.
- At least 240 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel were women or teenagers.
- All of the 78 Israeli hostages released between November 24 and November 30 were women and children; 33 of them were under the age of 18.
- Mass sexual violence, including rape, forced nudity, and mutilation have been reported in recent days by survivors and first responders to the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.
We denounce the use of gender-based violence as a tool of war and the kidnapping and imprisonment of women and children as a method of intimidation and leverage.
U.S. Complicity
We recognize that the United States government has been complicit both here and abroad in all of these abuses, and remains complicit in this current crisis through continued funding, training, and weapons to the Israeli government. Just as we denounce militarized police, economic and racial apartheid, racialized and gendered violence, and Islamophobia and antisemitism in our own communities in the U.S., we call for an immediate end to the same injustices in Gaza and Israel.
Cease Fire Now
We join the thousands of people of faith across the globe in calling for the protection of women and children throughout the region; an end to US funding of the Israeli military; a permanent and unconditional cease-fire; a release of all hostages; immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza; and an international investigation of war crimes and human rights violations on the part of both Hamas and the Israeli government.
Never Again, for Anyone
Multiple truths are difficult, but they do not obscure our ability to know right from wrong. We reject the narratives that insist on a clean, simple analysis that discounts the injustices of Israeli occupation of Palestine. We also recognize that historic trauma and fears due to rapidly rising antisemitism are real and legitimate. We do not accept the assumption that opposition to the actions of the Israeli government is inherently antisemitic. We do not conflate Hamas with Palestinians or Jews with the Israeli government. We echo the words of Jews and Palestinians around the world who are acting in solidarity and saying together, “Never Again, for Anyone.”
Sources:
Washington Post
BBC
Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International
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