Quakers align with ICJ on Israel and Occupied Palestine

Separation Wall, Bethlehem, dividing West Bank from Israel. Image: ICN/JS

Source: Society of Friends

Invoking their commitment to the truth, Quakers have come into alignment with International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings on Israel and Occupied Palestine.

At a recent meeting, Quakers accepted that 'apartheid' is an accurate description of the situation in occupied Palestine.

They also affirmed that there is a plausible risk that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza.

The decision by the national representative body of Quakers in Britain, Meeting for Sufferings, followed months of deep thought and prayer, which Quakers call discernment.

The first skill [in addressing conflict] is naming: being clear and honest about the problem as I see it.

- Quaker faith & practice 20.71

In recording their decision, the body quoted the Quaker book of faith and practice: "The first skill [in addressing conflict] is naming: being clear and honest about the problem as I see it."

Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights experts and lawyers have said for years that the Israeli government is maintaining a system of apartheid against Palestinians in occupied Palestine.

In July this year the ICJ determined that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is "illegal" and must end "as rapidly as possible".

It also found that Israel is in breach of article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This article prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.

Quakers have direct witness of the discrimination being experienced by Palestinians having worked on and in Palestine and Israel for decades.

This includes different roads for different peoples, different justice systems, and different systems and permits for all aspects of life, including to access work, build homes, receive medical treatment, go to school, and worship.

Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said: "We are not naive to the difficulties of building true peace, one where love and respect for those on the other side of metaphorical and literal walls abounds. The work required for this is long and hard.

"Our decades - centuries - of peacebuilding and reconciliation experience also tells us that speaking uncomfortable truths with love, including to friends who find it distressing and painful to hear, is a necessary step on that journey to true peace."

"We don't have to wonder what horrors might happen if this situation continues unchanged," said Parker.

"The violence of the last seven decades, the attacks on October 7, continued rocket attacks into Israel, the Israeli military campaign over the last year in Gaza - at risk of being deemed genocide by the ICJ - and the West Bank, and now the widening of that violence into Lebanon and the surrounding region show us all too clearly.

"It is beyond time for this unbearable situation to end. We pray that steady heads and loving hearts prevail, fast."

Read the full minute from Meeting for Sufferings here: www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2024-10-minute-our-work-in-israel-palestine