Join Revs. Sharon Watkins and Geoffrey Black: Petition for Gaza
Join Rev. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ by signing a Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) petition to help Gazan families in need!
Click here to read the Heads of Denominations’ Letter to President Obama.
The blockade of the 1.4 million residents of Gaza that began in 2007 is nearing its 1,000 day milestone, and continues to have widespread adverse humanitarian and social effects. 70% of Gazans live on $1 per day. Sanitation facilities have been damaged and raw sewage flows into the sea. Some drinking water is contaminated. Unemployment is soaring towards 40%. According to the UN, 11% of the children are malnourished. During the war a year ago as many as 20,000 homes and many schools were damage or destroyed and have not been rebuilt due to import restrictions. U.S. Members of Congress were told recently that many students lack basic school supplies.
Donald C. Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt said recently during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that “there is no reason for humanitarian stress to persist in Gaza or for the people of Gaza to suffer because of the misdeeds of Hamas. Both Israel and Egypt need to be encouraged to open Gaza’s borders to necessary humanitarian relief and to the requirements of normal life, such as building materials and the like.” Without prompt action, a generation of jobless Gazan young men without hope for a better future is fertile ground for radicals and militants.
CMEP is calling on the President to persuade Israel to lift the closure of its border with Gaza in a secure manner.
Please help gather more signatures! The petition will be delivered to the Administration during this Easter season! The deadline to add your name is Good Friday, April 2.