So many of us feel heart-sick, filled with rage, anxious, tense, hopeless. It’s important to acknowledge that our reactions are normal, even healthy. We are human and the real problem is when we are numb to terror, oppression, and violence.
Instead of being paralyzed by the news, ignoring the pain, or retreating ~ we need to gather together, support one another, reflect on our spiritual beliefs and values, and act with intention to build love around us and to end all violence.
As we mourn the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and also oppose the ongoing occupation of Palestine, ICPJ is planning a community gathering to reflect, pray, and work for peace and justice in the Middle East. Please hold the evening of Saturday Nov. 4 to gather. Contact Info@ICPJ.org if you would like to join us to organize the local gathering.
Right now, we urgently call you to action.
We condemn the brutal Hamas attacks and taking of hostages and continued violence against those held hostage.
We mourn the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives.
We oppose the Israeli government’s ongoing, devastating destruction and blockade in Gaza, and its decades of dehumanizing apartheid policies.
As people of conscience we call for an immediate ceasefire and disinvestment of the US in military aid to the Israeli government. Revenge in Gaza is not defense and will not contribute to Israeli civilian safety nor to the release of hostages. Rather, it will escalate the cycle of violence and loss of life, weaponizing grief into the murder of more civilians.
Peace and justice begin with safety for all.
No genocide funded in our name, with our taxes.
Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to support the Ceasefire Now resolution in Congress and disinvestment in Israeli military aid.
(A copy of the resolution can be found here.)
Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Detroit office phone: (313) 961-4330
Washington DC office phone: (202) 224-4822
Send email via: https://www.stabenow.senate.gov/contact
Senator Gary Peters (MI)
Detroit office phone: (313) 226-6020
Washington DC office phone: (202) 224-6221
Send email via: https://www.peters.senate.gov/contact/email-gary
Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-6th District)
Ann Arbor office phone: (734) 481-1100
Washington DC office phone: (202) 225-4071
Send email via: https://debbiedingell.house.gov/contact/
(Dingell’s district includes most of Washtenaw County and significant parts of Monroe, Oakland, and Wayne Counties. To find out if you live in the 6th District, enter your zip code here.)
Additional information from the American Friends Services Committee here.
