On Sunday, a man in Boulder, CO attacked participants at a “Run For Their Lives” event, injuring 12 people. This comes a week after two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed in Washington, DC. As a Quaker organization, AFSC firmly opposes violence in all its forms. No one should face violence, detention, or repression for exercising their right to free speech. We hold the victims and their loved ones in the Light.
Over the same week, Israel escalated airstrikes on Palestinians in Gaza. On Sunday the Israeli military opened fire on starving people waiting for food, killing more than 30 and injuring dozens more. Today Israeli soldiers shot and killed another 27 people trying to access food. We hold the victims and their loved ones in the Light.
Israel has killed more than 54,400 people since the genocide in Gaza began, with tens of thousands more buried in the rubble. We are calling for a permanent ceasefire, full humanitarian access, and an end to U.S. military funding for Israel.
Everyone deserves to live in safe, thriving communities with access to food, healthcare, and housing. We work for a world where everyone can exercise their right to self-determination, free expression, and the ability to participate in the decisions that shape their lives. No one should be subjected to violence because of their identity, where they were born, their political or religious beliefs, or for any reason.
Some elected officials and media outlets are exploiting the attack in Boulder to stoke racist, anti-Palestinian, and xenophobic sentiments because the alleged attacker was not born in the U.S. This is a dangerous and divisive distraction that will prevent us from addressing the root causes of violence. The identity of the attacker must not be used as a justification for systemic cruelty against immigrants, Muslims or Arabs; this will only beget more violence and suffering.
Ending violence – in the U.S. and around the world – means building a future in which all people have freedom, equality, and justice. It means acting in solidarity against racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, sexism, transphobia, and all forms of oppression. It means creating a world where our resources are focused on meeting our basic needs so all can thrive. It means ending genocide and occupation in Gaza and wherever it occurs.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine Light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.