Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, meeting in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, October 24-27, 2014, expresses its grief at the loss of life and livelihood suffered by both Palestinians and Israelis as a result of the 2014 Gaza War, and commends the efforts of United States Secretary of State John Kerry and the international-donor community in securing substantial funding for the rebuilding of Gaza; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council calls upon all parties to the Conflict, and their international partners, to work toward conditions in the Gaza Strip that will make peaceful and sustainable rebuilding possible; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council reaffirms this Church’s longstanding commitment to positive investment in the Palestinian Territories as indispensable for the creation of the economic infrastructure of a future Palestinian state, and request that the Economic Justice Loan Committee consider supplementing its 2013 investment in the Palestinian Territories with new economic investments designed to benefit the Palestinian people and to challenge dioceses to make similar investments; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council reaffirms The Episcopal Church’s understanding that the only pathway to a just and lasting peace is a two-state solution, negotiated by Israelis and Palestinians, in which a universally recognized secure Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, exists alongside a sovereign, viable, and universally recognized secure state for the Palestinian people, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council urges both parties to refrain from all unilateral actions that complicate the pathway toward negotiations, including continued Israeli settlement building in the Palestinian territories, the employment of violence of any sort, particularly violence deliberately targeted at innocent civilians, and the pursuit of legal, political, or military strategies that exacerbate differences between the parties that must be resolved through negotiation; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council commends the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and its bishop for their courageous and unremitting witness to peace for all Israelis and Palestinians and their work to provide for human need within their jurisdiction, including in the Gaza Strip; and urge the support of all Episcopalians for those efforts; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council urges all Episcopalians to stand in solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians working toward peace in the land called holy by all the children of Abraham.