Palestine

We believe that the Palestinian people deserve freedom and the right to live in peace and with dignity. 

We, as Unitarian Universalist people of faith, must be nuanced, sensitive and compassionate when talking about a free Palestine. 

We reject the assertion that the actions of the government of Israel are taken on behalf of Jewish people everywhere and that criticism of these actions constitutes anti-Semitism. Instead, we align ourselves with the value, fundamental to Unitarian Universalism as well as both Judaism and Islam, of the infinite worth and sacredness of all human life.

 

The actions of the Israeli government have been and continue to be unconscionable and severe and contribute to the ongoing violence and horror that has been perpetrated against the oppressed Palestinians.

 

The Israeli government’s tactics are modeled after settler colonialism and mirror the ways the United States has engaged in land theft and disregarding treaties made with the Indigenous people of North America. We reject the notion that land theft, genocide via bombing, starvation and isolation, and apartheid policies contribute to the safety and security of the people of Israel.

 

We understand that there is no easy answer to the rampant and horrific violence being perpetrated by a powerful government on a group of people who are not allowed dignity or rights. 

 

As Unitarian Universalists, we are called to truth telling, with compassion and care. We are called to truth telling with sensitivity and with love. We are called to truth telling by naming the imbalance of power operating here, an imbalance that means that the powerful state of Israel has the onus on it to bring peace and to stop the brutalizing oppression of the Palestinian people.