‘It is time for everyone – including the international community – to recognise that no military solution will bring a permanent end to violence.'
BYM ‘shocked and deeply saddened’ by Israel and Palestine
‘Behind these rising numbers of deaths and casualties are individual lives ended or changed irrevocably. We mourn those lives already lost and call for an immediate de-escalation.’
Quakers in Britain are shocked and deeply saddened by the major escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine, Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) said last week.
The statement came on 11 October 2023, when more than 1,200 people had been killed in Israel and more than 900 in Gaza. Over 2,700 people had been injured in Israel, and 4,250 in Gaza, with more than 260,000 Gazans displaced from their homes.
BYM said: ‘Behind these rising numbers of deaths and casualties are individual lives ended or changed irrevocably. We mourn those lives already lost and call for an immediate de-escalation.’
BYM condemned the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians and the taking of hostages. It also condemned the violent actions of the Israeli state in Gaza, including airstrikes into areas with high civilian populations, and cutting off water, electricity, and access to humanitarian relief.
‘We have said before that these cycles of violence must be understood in the context of Israel’s military occupation of Palestine, including the blockade on Gaza. The past year has seen record levels of attacks on Palestinian communities, and a sharp increase in human rights violations. This includes demolition of homes and schools, repression of nonviolent protests and mass-arrests.’
BYM said it believes the situation can only be resolved when the occupation has ended and the inherent equality, dignity and worth of all is realised.
‘It is time for everyone – including the international community – to recognise that no military solution will bring a permanent end to violence. Only a just peace based on international law can do that. We urge the UK government and international leaders to ensure humanitarian access and response. We call for a ceasefire and release of hostages to prevent further loss of life and suffering for Israelis and Palestinians.’
Meanwhile, a controversy blew up on social media over Meeting houses offering space for events in support of Palestine.
Manchester Central Meeting was one of a number that had leased room to the Socialist Workers Party, which went on to advertise a ‘Victory to the Palestinians’ event with an image of violent revolt.
‘This meeting will celebrate heinous violence’, said one user on X (formerly Twitter), sharing the image and prompting many angry responses.
On seeing the ad, Manchester Friends cancelled the booking, as did Quakers in Cambridge and elsewhere with similar bookings.
BYM decided to send new guidance to Area Meeting trustees and wardens: ‘The current escalation in conflict in Israel and Palestine is an important issue to many groups that book meeting spaces at Quaker meeting houses. However, not all these groups will share the Quaker position on nonviolence, and it is worth being particularly vigilant over the purpose of new bookings, or how existing bookings might be used differently to normal.’
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