[Episcopal Peace Fellowship press release] The National Executive Council of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship joined by the fellowship’s Palestine/Israel Network, is proud to stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter Movement in unequivocal support of its ”Vision for Black Lives” issued on August 1.

“The policy demands listed in the platform cover a wide variety of intersecting issues, all of which are also important to the mission of Episcopal Peace Fellowship and our mission to oppose war and violence in all its forms,” said EPF Executive Director the Rev. Allison Liles. The platform accurately describes the connections between colonialism at home and abroad and courageously advocates for the rights of all God’s people.

In pledging our support and solidarity, we do so motivated by our Baptismal vow to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” And we do so from our own long history of acting with others to give voice to those denied dignity and justice and subjected to oppression and dehumanizing conditions by the powers-that- be, be they in Ferguson, Baltimore, Haiti, Honduras, or Palestine.

In this regard, the EPF National Executive Council and Palestine/Israel Network applauds the platform’s recognition of the commonality of the civil rights struggle of American blacks and black and brown people everywhere, most notably Palestinians, who, for too long, have labored, without adequate voice in this country, against the daily indignities of an oppressive Israeli occupation. In reiterating the need for Black/Palestinian solidarity and courageously endorsing boycott, divestment, and sanctions as a legitimate non-violent economic tool aimed at bringing about an end to occupation, the Black Lives Matter Movement has joined a growing coalition of organizations giving voice to those everywhere who seek liberation and self-fulfillment. The Episcopal Peace Fellowship is proud to be part of that coalition.

“As the platform so eloquently articulates, we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people – collective liberation will be a product of all of our work,” Liles said. As part of that larger coalition of Christians, Jews, and those of other faith and none, we firmly reiterate our profound love and concern for all the people of the Holy Land, both Israelis and Palestinians, and reject attempts by opponents of the Movement’s Platform to equate honest and legitimate criticism of unwise policies of the Government of Israel with anti-Semitism.

The Episcopal Peace Fellowship has championed peace, nonviolence and social justice issues since its founding on Armistice Day in 1939.

Read more about EPF here.