AFSC Statement on UN Request to Serve Palestinian Refugees in Gaza
Read the below statement from November 1948 when the UN asked AFSC to provide humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees displaced to Gaza from their homes in what became Israel. Discuss this query with your small group: What do you think of AFSC’s descision, and is it in alignment with Quaker Testimonies?
“The United Nations enquiry whether the Quakers would undertake a large-scale relief program in the Palestine area bring the AFSC face to face with a challenge larger and more fraught with political implications than it has yet had to face. Acceptance will strain our resources of personnel and administrative capacity to the utmost. We take the risk of failure which will be a public failure, and even if we have some success we shall certainly not satisfy everyone. We cannot avoid censure from some quarters in a scene where ‘sweet reasonableness’ is utterly lacking. We shall be in a world limelight, and we will have to face some compromises away from our traditional ways of working. On the other hand, refusal would be a grave decision. Success in Palestine is a vital necessity for the future of the UN. The opportunity to demonstrate the power of the non-violent approach is enormous. The political people have turned to us because they believe we have something more to offer than merely a politically neutral position.”
For more info, see PYM history of AFSC statement.