- Target:
- Seeds of Peace
- Region:
- GLOBAL
Dear Seeds of Peace Family,
We hope that you all are living a reality that is much safer and more peaceful than that of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. For the past four months, the Israeli Army, an entity that many members of the Seeds of Peace family belong to, has raided more than 5,000 houses, killed more than 22 Palestinians, and closed many charity institutions and Palestinian TV channels in the West Bank. In Gaza, the Israeli Army has killed more than 2,150 Palestinians and seriously wounded 10,000 Palestinians.
According to the UNRWA, 85% of these causalities are innocent civilians, especially women and children. More than 480,000 Palestinians have been displaced with no place to go. They have no access to water and electricity. Gaza is a dystopia. Homes, mosques, churches, and hospitals have been bombed into oblivion; war crimes committed, illegal weapons utilized. In addition, more than 1000 Palestinians were kidnapped by Israeli forces inside Israel for protesting the belligerent occupation. Of course, we are reciting the ordeals of the recent spurt of violence only. We are appalled that we use numbers and percentages to describe the atrocities in Palestine. Yet, it only illustrates the colossal extent of Israeli crimes against humanity and the international law.
Times like these remind us of the mission that Seeds of Peace preaches for: a mission that motivates us to challenge the status quo in the Holy Land and other parts of the world. It was at Seeds of Peace where we learned to not only create change but to be the change. But how can we 'be the change we wish to see' if our reality is not acknowledged? The great Desmond Tutu has taught us that, “To be neutral and silent in situations of injustice is to take the side of the oppressor.” We refuse for Seeds of Peace to take the side of the oppressor. International law states that while Palestinians are the occupied and oppressed, Israelis are the occupiers and oppressors.
We, as members of Seeds of Peace family from different countries, are requesting from the organization a word of justice. We request Seeds of Peace to acknowledge the brutal Israeli Occupation of Palestine. What Palestinians are enduring should be a clarion call for the entire world to not just acknowledge the occupation, but put an end to it. This is crucial for Seeds of Peace, if we want peace that is longer than three weeks. We ask you to demonstrate your support by signing this petition. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at acknowledgeoccupation@gmail.com
We call on the Seeds of Peace Administration to publicly acknowledge the Israeli Occupation of Palestine within the 1967 borders. By staying silent in this situation of injustice, Seeds of Peace implies that it takes the side of the oppressor.
What Palestinians endure must be a clarion for the entire world to not only acknowledge the Israeli Military Occupation, but put an end to it. While we want the organization to maintain its principles and its mission of inspiring peace, we know that peace will never come while there is an occupation of the Palestinian people.
We expect acknowledgment of this reality to change the dynamics of Seeds of Peace Summer Camp, Regional Programming in the Middle East and the organization’s media (website, articles, etc). Thus, we request the administration to share with us a timeline for the process of implementing the acknowledgment of the Israeli Occupation by the 20th of September.
We expect Seeds from different countries in the Middle East region to be involved in this process.
The Acknowledging the Israeli Occupation of Palestine petition to Seeds of Peace was written by Let's Acknowledge Occupation and is in the category Politics at GoPetition.