IMYM Friends Call for a Cease-fire in Gaza
IMYM’s P&SJ Roundtable on October 28, helped to encourage peace action steps among IMYM Meetings when Friends reported their Meetings were drafting minutes and asking their clerks for called meetings, urging a Gaza cease-fire to abate the terrible suffering there.
At least seven IMYM meetings have adopted cease-fire minutes -- Tempe, Albuquerque, Moab, Santa Fe, Boulder, Mountain View, and Fort Collins. Friends then shared this action with their Congressional Representatives and Senators, as well as the White House.
The IMYM Roundtable web site shares “action minutes” and encourages Friends to ask their clerks for called meetings to discuss adopting this peace action. (See IMYM.org, P&SJ Roundtable, P&SJ Action Minutes.)
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Two key documents contribute wording for the minutes. Here is Fort Collins’ minute, citing the letter of concern from five key Quaker organizations. 
https://afsc.org › newsroom › quaker-organizations-call-ceasefire-and-humanitarian-protections-
It is followed by Boulder’s minute incorporating wording drawn from FCNL.
https://www.fcnl.org › resources › publicly-call-ceasefire-israel-and-palestine
10,29Fort Collins Friends Meeting has unity in support for the letter written and signed by the American Friends Service Committee, Canadian Friends Service Committee, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Quakers in Britain, and Quaker United Nations Office calling for ceasefire in Gaza. We also recognize that the casualties are increasing daily. We request that all parties involved in the conflict referenced in the letter be encouraged to immediately adopt humanitarian actions for all people.
Minute 2023-28
This minute of support will be sent to IMYM and to our congressional representatives.
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Boulder Friends Meeting: Statement on Israel and Gaza, Approved Nov. 5, 2023
We are heartbroken by the recent violence in Israel and Gaza. As Quakers, we deeply mourn the loss of all lives and pray for those who have lost loved ones due to this latest escalation. We unequivocally condemn Hamas’ attacks and inhumane treatment of civilians and call for the immediate release of all hostages. We also condemn the indiscriminate and violent Israeli response that has already claimed thousands of civilian lives.
More war and weapons won’t bring peace. In the face of growing violence, lawmakers must:
• Work to de-escalate this situation by calling for restraint, ceasefire, de-escalation, and respect for international law.
• Protect lives—those of the Israeli hostages and the millions of civilians who live in Gaza.
• Address the root causes underlying this explosion of violence.
We call for an immediate ceasefire, de-escalation, and restraint to prevent further civilian harm in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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