Approved in Yearly Meeting Sessions 7/28/06
Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting affirms the 340-year-old testimony of the Religious Society of Friends against war. We seek to live in that Spirit that takes away the occasion for war.
The recent warfare in Israel and Lebanon breaks our hearts. We are particularly concerned that the great majority of the killed and wounded on both sides have been civilians. We are praying for the safety of all persons in these nations.
We believe that our own nation can do more to end this conflict. We call on our government to work for an immediate ceasefire. We support our government’s call for an end to arms shipments to Hezbollah but also call for our government to attempt to limit Israel’s use of U.S.-supplied-and-funded weapons.
We further call on our government to support multilateral efforts, particularly working through the United Nations, to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. We urge our government to pursue a more balanced policy whose goal is sustainable and secure states in Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.