AfP's Call to Action: Israel-Palestine

Publication last updated: February 2, 2024

The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), a nonpartisan global peacebuilding network of 200+ organizational members operating in 181 countries working to end violent conflict and build sustainable peace, stands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza by all parties to the conflict, urgent humanitarian access to deliver much-needed assistance, adherence to international humanitarian law, and the end of increasing settler violence in the West Bank. We also call for preventing and reducing the threat of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia globally. We call for the status quo no more; we must all demand that all parties to the conflict and the international community work toward an inclusive political solution that allows all people in the region to live in dignity and safety.

We strongly encourage all AfP members to endorse Save the Children and Oxfam’s open statement calling for an immediate ceasefire, which nearly 900 organizations—including AfP—and more than 1.2 million individuals have signed. Since October 7th, violence and humanitarian suffering in the region have reached unprecedented levels, including hostage-taking, the use of chemical weapons, the destruction of schools and hospitals, and the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. In the first 100 days of the conflict, more than 10,000 children in Gaza were killed—1% of Gaza’s child population. Nearly 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or have been separated from their families amid the conflict.

We mourn peacebuilders we have lost, including Vivian Silver, a dedicated Canadian-Israeli peace activist who helped start the Alliance for Middle East Peace and founded two of its members, Women Wage Peace and the Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation. Joel Braunold, Managing Director at Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, stated, “She worked to influence policy and drove sick Palestinian children to their hospital appointments—showing how you could make a difference at every level. She built coalitions knowing that finding common ground even with those she had immense disagreements with was essential for change to occur, knowing that discomfort was part of the assignment.”

As peacebuilders, we must honor Vivian’s legacy and continue to amplify and support Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders. Every day, countless Israelis and Palestinians work together to build sustainable peace, but too often their stories go untold. These peacebuilders include AfP partners, such as the members of the Alliance for Middle East Peace—a network of over 170 peacebuilding organizations working to prevent conflict and build peace in the region—and Hands of Peace. But without resources, this work cannot be done. We call on the U.S. Congress to double peacebuilding funding in the region via the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA) from $50 million per year to $100 million moving forward, as well as the inclusion of $25 million for MEPPA in supplemental funding for the region.

AfP, which leads the Prevention and Protection Working Group, released an atrocity risk assessment on the increasing violence in the West Bank in early December 2023, with recommendations for the U.S. Government to prevent and reduce violence in line with the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act and the U.S. Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities. AfP welcomes the Biden Administration’s recent Executive Order on Imposing Certain Sanctions on Persons Undermining Peace, Security, and Stability in the West Bank. This Executive Order is a critical first step to reduce and prevent escalating violence in the West Bank, Israel, and the region.

As a result of the violent conflict, antisemitism and Islamophobia are increasing globally, and it is critical that the peacebuilding sector work to prevent and reduce violence and hate. Since October 7th, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have increased 360%, while the last three months of 2023 saw a 178% increase in complaints of anti-Muslim hate in the U.S. compared to the same period in 2022. The FBI has warned that since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, “the volume and frequency of threats to Americans, especially those in the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities in the United States, have increased.” The EU is also observing “a very clear rising trend of anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Semitic narratives.” The publications and tools compiled below are critical resources that can help the public, the private sector, policymakers, universities, and beyond effectively reduce and prevent increasing violence globally. If you have an item that you would like to see added, please contact Nick Zuroski.

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Policy and Advocacy, Policy ActionNick ZuroskiAfP, Policy Brief