The Acts of Convention

House of Bishops

The House of Bishops Committee on Social Justice and International Policy presented its Report #11 on Resolution D009 (Swords Into Plowshares: U.S. Accountability and Responsibility in Rebuilding Gaza) and moved adoption of a substitute.

Original Text of Resolution:

(D009)

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,

That the Episcopal Church call upon the United States Government to provide, as part of a process for building a negotiated and sustainable peace, significant funds for the long-term rebuilding of Gaza, such as: provision for extended medical and psychological support for the population, especially children, and financial support at a sufficient scale to rebuild homes, hospitals, schools, universities, libraries, factories, farms, and basic infrastructure such as roads and sea/air ports, and water, sewage, and electricity systems, investing equivalent funds to fund the rebuilding of Gaza as would have been spent on security assistance to Israel, all as part of meeting the moral and legal obligations of the United States to the people of Gaza given the U.S. role in providing military weapons and diplomatic cover for Israel’s horrifically destructive and indiscriminate war waged upon the people of Gaza and indeed the whole of Gazan society, including the very means of life and irreplaceable cultural equities, in response to the Hamas-led attack and atrocities of October 7, 2023.

Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,

That the 81st General Convention, recognizing the moral and legal obligations of the United States to the people of Gaza, given the role of the United States in providing military aid and diplomatic support for the war directly affecting the lives, property, and livelihood of the mostly non-combatant population of Gaza, as part of the Israeli government’s retaliation for the Hamas-led terrorist attack and atrocities of October 7, 2023, calls upon the United States government, through the Office of Government Relations, to provide, as part of a process for creating a negotiated and sustainable peace, significant and necessary aid for the long-term rebuilding of Gaza; and be it further

Resolved, that this aid address such concerns as: provision for food and clean water as well as extended medical and psychological support for the population, especially children; the restoration and rebuilding of homes, hospitals, schools, universities, libraries, factories, and farms; basic infrastructure such as roads, seaports and airports, along with water, sewage, and electricity systems; and be it further

Resolved, that the Office of Government Relations call upon the United States government to join with the United Nations, Israel, the European Union, Israel’s other allies, and Israel’s Arab neighbors, all of whom should be prepared to join in historic levels of aid and investment to fund the restoration and rebuilding of Gaza.

That the Episcopal Church call upon the United States Government to provide, as part of a process for building a negotiated and sustainable peace, significant funds for the long-term rebuilding of Gaza, such as: provision for extended medical and psychological support for the population, especially children, and financial support at a sufficient scale to rebuild homes, hospitals, schools, universities, libraries, factories, farms, and basic infrastructure such as roads and sea/air ports, and water, sewage, and electricity systems, investing equivalent funds to fund the rebuilding of Gaza as would have been spent on security assistance to Israel, all as part of meeting the moral and legal obligations of the United States to the people of Gaza given the U.S. role in providing military weapons and diplomatic cover for Israel’s horrifically destructive and indiscriminate war waged upon the people of Gaza and indeed the whole of Gazan society, including the very means of life and irreplaceable cultural equities, in response to the Hamas-led attack and atrocities of October 7, 2023.

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #5)