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On Oct. 17, my church gathered for a prayer vigil grieving the attack against Israel and the retaliation against the people of Gaza. The loss of life, kidnapping and destruction of hospitals is an utter catastrophe. We prayed for the dead, the survivors, the families and for peace.
The world needs an immediate ceasefire. We need the bombs to stop. We need humanitarian aid. We can’t sit back and allow this devastation of Gaza to continue. Retaliatory strikes will not heal Israel’s wounds. We are just watching more blood be spilled.
On Oct. 18, the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses.” I think we should be ashamed of ourselves. We must call our representatives and the president to demand a cease-fire. We have to stop sending troops and arms in support of vengeance. I cannot understand the depth of rage that Israelis must be feeling, but we can find peaceful ways to support and comfort our ally.
My church gathered to pray for peace. I am so glad that we did. The people of Gaza need more than prayers, they need us to work tirelessly for peace. We closed our vigil with words from the Beatitudes. “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted … blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be fed … and blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.” We need to mourn, we need justice and we need peace.
Rev. Zeb Green
Freeport
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