State College Friends Meeting in State College, Pennsylvania adopted the following statement:
Friends, the world stands on the edge of immense human suffering.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran, striking cities across the country and calling for regime change. In the first wave of attacks, more than 175 people—mostly children—were killed when a school was hit. Among the dead was the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (As reported by the American Friends Service Committee: What you need to know about the U.S. war on Iran.)
This war is already adding to the weight of global suffering. Rising fuel and fertilizer prices are pushing tens of millions in developing countries toward hunger. Across Africa and Asia, harvests shrink; people who had no part in this war are among those suffering most. Even if the bombing ends, the damage to food systems, families, and fragile economies will last for years.
As Friends, we cannot turn away. Our faith calls us to witness—to “utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end.” (Declaration of Friends to Charles II, 1660)
We are united in deep grief and moral outrage at the war being waged by Israel and the United States. This war, funded by our tax dollars and sustained by our government’s weapons and support, has already taken thousands of civilian lives and continues to destroy homes, hospitals, water systems, and the means of survival for entire communities.
When war becomes a tool of domination; when children and schools are targets; when destruction is justified in the name of security or power; we must say: Enough.
Enough of war.
Enough of vengeance.
Enough of killing in our name.
Jesus—and so many voices of wisdom through the ages—have called us to be peacemakers: to love not only our neighbors, but our enemies; to care for the weak and vulnerable; to build life rather than destroy it.
Friends, it is time to act. Let us hold our nation’s leaders—the President, Congress, and all in authority—accountable for this violence. We call upon them:
To stop the flow of weapons and funds that fuel this war;
To press for an immediate cease-fire;
To use every diplomatic and peaceful means available to end the fighting.
Let us hold in the Light all who suffer—the civilians killed or displaced, the families deprived of food and medicine, and even the soldiers caught in this tragedy.
And let us act, each in our own sphere of influence, to stop the harm that falls on the most vulnerable, to speak truth to power, and to work ceaselessly for a peace built on justice and compassion.
May we not be stunned into silence, but instead rise in courage—choosing peace, building one another up, and helping to heal the earth from the wounds of war.