Calling for an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.

     We acknowledge that this is a decades-long conflict with many battles, treaties, broken treaties, and many recent losses of life;

    We acknowledge that the Oslo II Accord was signed on September 1995 by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and witnessed by US President Bill Clinton as well as by representatives of Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Norway, and the European Union in Washington, D.C;

     We acknowledge that the Hamas attacks were extremely violent, leaving over 1,400 dead in Israel, including many innocent women and children. They also injured an estimated 3,400 and kidnapped over 200 people; 

     We acknowledge that Israel has retaliated by targeting civilians and rescue crews in Palestine and has killed over 3,000 and injured over 12,000 within the past 12 days. 30% of those were children, while 70% were either children, women, or elderly residents. They also cut the water, electricity, and food from Palestine, leaving a region of 2 million people, nearly half of them children, at risk of starvation, with nowhere to go; and,

     We acknowledge that our own country has made similar mistakes during our wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, in our own country, and in other conflicts around the world.

Therefore, our current concerns as of October 18, 2023, are as follows:

1. We are concerned that our government is offering military support to Israel while its leadership continues to push for genocide in Palestine. Their leadership has repeatedly referred to the entire civilian population as animals, terrorists, and Nazis in order to justify the killing of over 1,000 children just within the first 12 days of its siege on Palestine.

2. We recognize the similarity to the threats and actions from Hamas. We request that both parties be treated with a similar refusal to support in genocide.

3. We are concerned for the well-being of the hostages taken in Israel and support all good-faith efforts for their immediate release.

4.  We are concerned that the continued escalation of this war will generate more conflicts in the region. This escalation could lead to more deaths and injuries of innocent people and more instability and violence throughout the world, including in the United States.

5. We are concerned that the escalation of this war will lead to the further involvement of the US military, further exposing our soldiers and their families to the risks of war.

6. We are concerned that these escalations will lead to more spending on military budgets, leaving our communities deprived of the investments they need to survive through times of economic uncertainty and escalating natural disasters.

Now, therefore, our asks are as follows:

1. We ask that our government leaders do everything in their power to bring an immediate ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine.

2. We ask that our government leaders prioritize peace for the sake of innocent civilians in the Middle East and the safety of our soldiers and our families in the United States.

3. We ask that our government leaders recognize the need for a sustainable Palestinian state and the need for complete freedom of the Palestinian people.

4. We ask that our government leaders co-sponsor an Israeli-Palestinian negotiation aiming and resulting in a comprehensive peace agreement.

5. In the interim, we ask that our government leaders require both sides to respect the existing borders in order to maintain a strong diplomatic relationship and economic partnership between the US, Israel, and Palestine.