by Diane Bowden | Jun 23, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Gaza, Israel, Peace and Social Concerns, Social justice
With thanks to Steve Chase for his May 3 presentation on AFSC’s position on apartheid in Israel/Palestine, the Peace & Social Concerns Committee recommends that Meeting consider endorsing the Apartheid-Free Pledge below.
However, since this merits more explanation, and we anticipate some discussion within our meeting, before asking for approval and acceptance of the Pledge, we encourage Friends to attend the following:
- Information Session on the Pledge, Community Room, Saturday June 27, 10:30-11:30am
- Threshing Session on the Pledge, blended, in-person and via Zoom, Saturday July 25, 4-5:30
The Pledge:
WE AFFIRM our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people;
WE OPPOSE all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and
WE DECLARE ourselves an apartheid-free community and to that end,
WE PLEDGE to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.
After due consideration by Meeting, the Committee anticipates bringing this to Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business in September.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 7, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Peace and Social Concerns, Social justice
Don’t miss the rescheduled May 3 discernment workshop on joining the Apartheid-Free Communities Coalition, to be held at Richmond Friends Meeting, in person and online.
An ice storm bumped our guest speaker from the February schedule, but now, fresh back from Israel/Palestine, Steve Chase will speak to Friends about nurturing a sustainable peace by ending our complicity with the US-backed system of apartheid in Palestine … how Quakers can work nonviolently and effectively for peace, justice, and equality for all Palestinians and Jewish Israelis.
On First Day, May 3rd, Steve will speak at 1:00, with ample time for questions and discussion. This will follow the usual 11:00 am worship, then snacks and finger food, at the Richmond Meetinghouse, 4500 Kensington Ave., Richmond 23221. Or all are invited to attend virtually at this zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84881595048?pwd=Wty8zKfYpVh8iBVeuD5oCrotOp20H2.1
Steve Chase is a long-time Quaker activist, educator, and writer. He is a member Friends Meeting of Washington and is FMW’s Liaison to the American Friends Service Committee. In 2017, he began his public ministry on seeking a just peace in Israel/Palestine with the publication of his Pendle Hill pamphlet #445, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions? A Quaker Zionist Rethinks Palestinian Rights.
by Diane Bowden | Dec 21, 2025 | Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Peace and Social Concerns
Watch for a new date for an event with Steve Chase from Friends Meeting of Washington (FMW), who will share his personal and several Meetings' discernment journeys toward joining the Apartheid-Free Communities coalition and working for a truly just peace in Israel/Palestine. The original program has been postponed due to weather and driving conditions.
A brief excerpt from Steve Chase’s overview on the topic follows, with the idea that whatever the outcome of the cease-fire...
“We ... know that there will not be a sustainable or just peace without ending Israeli apartheid. We are therefore prepared to take up the long-term ministry of working to build a strong international, nonviolent, anti-apartheid movement in solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli activists. This will require us to engage in peace and justice advocacy, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding efforts, and strategic nonviolent resistance—the four cornerstones of Quaker faith-based activism. ...
“... I often hear from people in the wider Quaker world who believe their congregations are just too divided, too ill-informed, or too apathetic to come to unity on Israel/Palestine. My response is that the experience of Friends Meeting of Washington proves that Quaker meetings can engage in deep discernment and move from fractured disunity and inaction to unity and powerful faith-based activism for peace, justice, and equality for all in Israel/Palestine.”
by Diane Bowden | May 20, 2024 | Gaza, Israel, Minuted Decisions, Peace and Social Concerns
We, the members of the Richmond (VA) Friends Meeting are heartbroken and stricken with horror and grief at the recent renewed eruption of violence in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. We call for an immediate ceasefire by both Israel and Hamas, the prompt release by Hamas of all hostages, and the release of all uncharged prisoners by Israel. We call on the U.S. to urge Israel to expedite the flow of humanitarian aid to relieve the tremendous suffering that has been created in Gaza with the immediate provision of food, shelter, water, and medicine. We strongly urge the United States to no longer provide Israel with weapons or funding for weapons.
As Quakers, we believe that each life is sacred, and we know that the use of violence as a means of settling conflict is unacceptable and leads to further violence, which we see happening around the region.
We strongly condemn Hamas’ horrific deadly October attacks on Israeli civilians, the inhumane treatment of civilians, and the taking of hostages, many of whom are still being held and are in danger. We also condemn the ongoing unrestrained and violent response by Israel in its siege of Gaza, which has left tens of thousands of civilians, including elderly, women, and children, dead or wounded and caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. People are suffering, dying, and being displaced in Gaza as a preventable humanitarian crisis worsens. Also, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are increasingly endangered by escalated violence by settlers and the military.
We hold in our hearts and in the Light all those in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and beyond, who grieve and mourn the deaths of their family and friends. We hold in the Light those who await the return of their loved ones who are being held by Hamas or who are held in Israeli prison without charges or trial. This ongoing violence continues to rip the hearts of those who grieve and leads to fear and hatred of the “other.” We condemn Antisemitism and Islamophobia and their accompanying rhetoric which dehumanizes the “other.”
We further call for Israelis and Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank to undertake a meaningful dialogue, with the support of international powers including the US. All must use every available resource to support a diplomatic rather than military resolution to the conflict - a resolution that prioritizes safety for all Israelis and Palestinians and which accords equal human rights to the Palestinians and respect for all.
We ask that Friends hold in the Light this urgent concern for peace and, if you are so led, to join us in calling for what we have set forth in this Minute.*
*Thank you to Virginia Beach Monthly Meeting for the template used for this Minute.
Approved at Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, May 19, 2024