Minute of Endorsement of Quaker Gaza Statement

Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends

October 2025

[Minute #16] Presiding clerk Erin recognized Friend Paul Parker (he/him, Eugene Friends Church) who brought forward for consideration the international Quaker statement, “Quakers Discern Genocide is Occurring in Gaza and Urge Courageous Action.” Copies of the statement had been distributed earlier in the day, and an electronic copy was shared with online participants. 

Paul acknowledged that to bring this statement for endorsement with only fifteen minutes remaining in the schedule placed Friends in a difficult position. Nevertheless, he was compelled to proceed because of the gravity of suffering in Gaza and the importance of bearing witness to the world as well as the injustices suffered by those who have advocated for justice in Palestine. He also emphasized that because the situation had been studied and the statement had been proposed by eight international Quaker organizations, SCYMF can have confidence that the statement has been thoroughly vetted by global Friends, who just like us, seek the Spirit’s leadership.

Several Friends spoke strongly in favor of the statement. One Friend who had just returned from Palestine reported that the statement reflected what she saw in the West Bank. Another Friend reported that what she learned from the Friends School in Ramallah was consistent with the statement. Another Friend said this was a strong statement for justice and could even have gone further. One Friend was deeply concerned that the statement continued a long-standing AFSC partisan pattern of blaming Israel. Nevertheless, this Friend supported endorsing the statement because it calls for the end of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

SCYMF APPROVED endorsement of “Quakers Discern Genocide is Occurring in Gaza and Urge Courageous Action.”