Announcements and Statements


Announcements
Thee Quaker Podcast – Quakers vs ICE

A group of Quakers sued the Department of Homeland Security. Find out why and what it could mean for faith communities everywhere. 

https://player.simplecast.com/b64d1e1b-a31e-4df9-a9c4-833bd210fb0a?dark=false

Updated Tacoma Friends Minute on Conflict in Israel and Gaza

This updated Minute was approved at Called Business Meeting June 29, 2025. (The January 2024 Minute is below in the Community Statements section.) Due to ongoing hostilities, we are led to update the previous Minute. We recognize that some of the statistics have already changed, however the core message remains – open the borders immediately to allow unfettered humanitarian aid access into Gaza.

Our newly updated Minute states:

  • Since March 2, 2025, the Israeli government has blocked almost all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, driving more than 2 million people into a deepening famine. This comes after over 600 days of bombing, forced displacement, and nearly two decades of blockade.
  • Right now, all of Gaza’s population is at risk of famine. Nearly half a million people—mostly children—are facing catastrophic hunger, death, and malnutrition. These conditions are not a natural disaster. They are the result of deliberate political choices and a clear violation of U.S. and international humanitarian law.
  • Food is being weaponized as a tool of control. The Israeli government has blocked the United Nations from operating its 400 aid locations and substituted them with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). This is a new Israeli and U.S. backed system led by military contractors, not humanitarian professionals.
  • The GHF operates only four inadequate aid hubs, which ignore the medical, water, and shelter emergencies that go beyond food. The Israeli government provides oversight without transparency, independence, or accountability.
  • The GHF fails to meet basic needs and puts lives at risk. As of June 4, Israeli forces have killed nearly 100 Palestinians and injured hundreds more at or near GHF distribution points. Witnesses say people were fired upon from drones, tanks, and helicopters while waiting for food.

This is a moral moment. Our Quaker testimonies call us to affirm the following: 

  • Violence will not result in lasting peace or security for anyone.
  • The catastrophe in Gaza jeopardizes safety for Jews and Muslims throughout the world, not just in conflict zones.
  •  A permanent ceasefire and open borders for a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza are immediate actions that will address the crisis and begin the process of healing.
  • World leaders in the 1920s set the stage for ongoing dysfunction in the Middle East. Today leaders must prioritize working together with Israelis and Palestinians for justice and stability in the region.  
  • Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions all call for this righteous work.

As Tacoma Friends, we will work for understanding, seek dialogue, repudiate violence, and commit to peaceful resolutions in all conflicts. Therefore, we commit to participating in peaceful local actions, as individually led, seeking enduring peace and coexistence in Palestine and Israel.


Tacoma Friends Booth at Tacoma Pride Festival, July 12, Wright Park

If you’d like to help with planning or staffing the booth, please email tacomafriendsmeeting@gmail.com.

Quaker Booth at the Tacoma Mosaic Festival, July 26 & 27, Wright Park

This booth is in conjunction with Olympic View Friends Church. The focus will be on Palestine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If you’d like to help staff the booth, please email tacomafriendsmeeting@gmail.com.

Opportunities for Action

Community Statements

Tacoma Friends Minute on Conflict is Israel and Gaza, approved by Meeting for Business January 14, 2024

TFM Land Acknowledgement that the meeting house sits on Puyallup Tribe unceded territory, recognition of our responsibility for harm, ongoing commitment to right relationships, and repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery.

2024 State of the Society Report “Tacoma Friends Monthly Meeting’s cup is full and runneth over! . . .”