Eight national and international Quaker organizations jointly shared a vision for peace in Palestine and Israel that points toward a different future. They invited all Friends meetings, churches, schools, and organizations to join them in endorsing their call for peace with justice. PYM has signed onto the statement.
At Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the Presiding Clerk and General Secretary are charged with speaking on behalf of the yearly meeting which includes signing on to statements. In the case of this statement, Melissa Rycroft, Presiding Clerk, and Christie Duncan-Tessmer, General Secretary, first consulted with the Middle East Collaborative which is made up of PYM Friends who have longstanding relationships and intimate understanding of the dynamics in Israel and Palestine. They also referred to Friends’ history of involvement in the Middle East in which Friends have consistently worked to ameliorate and resolve the now century-old Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It has long been important to PYM leadership that statements offer more than facts and feelings but also include action steps or commitments to a response. The Different Future statement includes a section that calls for action. The actions put forward for the Israeli government, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups, our government, and Friends and meetings in our community are in alignment with our Faith & Practice and our testimonies.
Melissa and Christie recognize that the descriptive paragraphs of the document include statements and characterizations that would not be universally accepted by all Friends. They chose to sign onto the statement and to encourage Friends and meetings to consider the actions steps, despite the document’s imperfect narrative. It is unlikely that there is a statement that can capture the complications and contradictions and speaking imperfectly at this point is better than not speaking. They made the choice to take a stand for people and against debilitating violence and destruction.
Some PYM meetings have also signed onto the statement. Friends can see the full list of endorsers and download the statement from AFSC’s website. Quaker meetings and organizations can endorse the statement online.
