Faith leaders demand U.S. act for Human Rights in Palestine.

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Dear John,

This past Eid al-Fitr, we hosted an interfaith press conference with Jewish-Muslim-Christian faith leaders at the MPAC Los Angeles office to call on the U.S. Government to stand by its priorities on leading the global fight for human rights. What has happened to the Palestinian people is an ongoing pattern of behavior that is an unacceptable violation of human rights, U.S. maritime/international law, and religious freedom. This event, pinned to the Muslim celebration of Eid to conclude the month Ramadan, was shadowed by the recent violence and violation of religious freedom and human rights for worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
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Our President, Salam Al-Marayati noted, “for [the United States] to preach about religious freedom when it does not consider this to be one of the most important issues on religious freedom only means that it is losing more and more credibility, especially when the U.S. government is financing and protecting this outrageous behavior.” Throughout the gathering, leaders from each Abrahamic faith emphasized the belief that people drive meaningful change where governments fail to respond. Many called for the U.S. government to make good on its promise of religious freedom. Others called for equitable treatment and accountability. These leaders, of different faiths and different opinions, were united around the principles of justice, human dignity, and civil rights:

“The violation of any of these fundamental human rights against any human being must be called what it is. Injustice. Plain and simple. We must call it what it is. Injustice. When human beings are denied the freedom to practice their religion as they wish, we must call it what it is. Injustice. When human beings have their ancestral land confiscated, we must call it what it is. Injustice. When human beings have to watch as their home is bulldozed, we have to call it what it is. Injustice. When human beings are denied freedom of movement, we must call it what it is. Injustice. When human beings are confined to an open-air prison like in Gaza, we must call it what it is. Injustice. When the life of children is snuffed out by bombs raining from the sky, each of these we would call gross human rights violations and injustices here in the United States, unless we are hypocrites. We must use the same moral standard for Israel and Palestine.”

- Rev. Dr. Reinhard Krauss, Executive Director of Academy for Judaic, Christian, and Islamic Studies (AFJCIS)

What was clear in the overarching sentiment shared by the speakers is that the root of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is justice and human dignity. Captured succinctly by Reverend Mike Kinman, “We are calling not just for an end to violence, we are calling for an end of the oppression that sparks the violence. When we deny each other that decency, we deny the humanity in ourselves.”

Click here or the video above to watch full press conference ([link removed]) .
In Peace,

Rummi Khan
Chief Operating Officer, MPAC

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