The road not taken

Edward Hurst urges Friends to return to their traditional role of impartial peacemakers

by Edward Hurst 14th September 2012

As a Quaker and a Jew, I fear the Religious Society of Friends may be about to forfeit its ability to be effective peacemakers in the Israel/Palestine conflict. No longer will we be perceived as impartial intermediaries, but as political advocates of the Palestinian cause.  Israel and Palestine has been a major Quaker concern for at least fifty years. So much has been said, to the relative neglect of other terrible conflicts – the Congo (over 2 million killed), the Sudan Civil War (at least three million killed) and Sri Lanka (25,000 murdered) – that I have been reluctant to join this debate. Yet, I feel compelled to write.