Witness Support, in proposing the following Minute, asks our Meeting to take steps toward building peace with justice in Palestine and Israel.  We carry deep sadness over the ongoing violence and mistrust between the two peoples, aggravated by their histories and current trauma.   As Quakers, we endeavor to listen deeply to all sides in any situation of conflict, and recognize that of God in all people involved.

In the persistence of this conflict, we see that no lasting solution can come unless the just claims of all sides are in some measure satisfied.  We propose the following Minute, seeking to play some part in ending the occupation that takes basic livelihood away from the Palestinian people, and the desperate reciprocal violence that takes basic security away from the Israeli people.

MINUTE:

Storrs Friends Meeting supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.  In doing so, we ally with the leadership of the American Friends Service Committee and the several Monthly Meetings and other Quaker assemblies that have affirmed similar Minutes.  We ally with other faith organizations that have done the same. 

As a Meeting, we will communicate to specific American companies that their profiting from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict only fuels it, and we will refrain from purchasing any products made in West Bank settlements.  As individuals, we will consider the meaning of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement and leave it to our individual judgments to make personal choices.

The following informational and support documents are in the Community Room:

1. Background to the Palestine/Israel Conflict
2. AFSC’s “Principles for a Just and Lasting Peace in Palestine and Israel”—available on-line at http://afsc.org/document/principles-just-and-lasting-peace-between-palestinians-and-israelis
3. A brief history of Quaker leadership and participation in boycotts/Max Carter
4. AFSC’s “Boycott, divestment and sanctions explained” found at:  http://afsc.org/story/boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-explained
5. AFSC’s Israel/Palestine Investment Screen—found on AFSC’s Website
6. United Methodist Church list of Israeli products made in West Bank settlements:  https://www.kairosresponse.org

Respectfully submitted,

Joyce Rawitscher and George Rawitscher, Co-Clerks, Witness Support Committee