I am on the steering committee of a grassroots organization in the Bay Area and was asked to work on a statement about the situation in Iraq with my friend, the Rev. Dr. Diana Gibson, who is currently teaching at Santa Clara University. As you can probably already guess, we are opposed to U.S. military intervention in Syria. This message is addressed to you, the people of America who have an opportunity to make your voices heard.
As people of faith from diverse traditions, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice joins with a growing number of faith organizations and people of good will around the globe in condemning chemical weapons use in Syria or anywhere, and insisting that the world community, in particular our own United States government, respond to this tragedy using diplomatic and political tools, not military intervention. We implore Congress to refuse to authorize any military action against Syria. Bombing and killing Syrians to send a message that bombing and killing Syrians is wrong makes absolutely no sense.
U.S. military interventions in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan over the last 60 years make it clear that war as a solution to world problems is not the answer. By denying the president the authority to use military force against Syria, the United States Congress could bring us one step closer to the end of senseless war.
If the Syrian government did, in fact, use chemical weapons against its own people, the world has tools available to respond to that heinous act. The United Nations should call on the International Criminal Court to investigate all parties that may be using chemical weapons or committing crimes against humanity in Syria. The U.S. should convene a meeting of the 189 signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention so that they can collectively decide how to respond as called for in the terms of the treaty. Meanwhile, our House and Senate should pass pending bipartisan legislation prohibiting military aid to Syria. Crimes against humanity and those who commit them can, are, and must be justly dealt with in courts of law. Bombs, no matter how precisely targeted, do not have the power of juries and judges to differentiate between innocent and guilty.
In preparation for the upcoming Jewish Holy Days, Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center writes that during Rosh Hashanah we are to “plead with God – which means also with ourselves – to move from the throne of Punitive Justice to the throne of Compassionate Repair.”
“Drop gas masks, not bombs,” is the metaphor Waskow proposes. Translated, he means, “use the power of the U.S. in nonviolent, non-military, nonlethal ways to counter Assad’s (or the rebels’) possible use of chemical weapons.”
Pope Francis has also addressed the situation in Syria. “I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from the deep within me. How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed! … Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake. War begets war, violence begets violence.”
Francis announced that Saturday, Sept. 7, in St. Peter’s Square, “we will gather in prayer and in a spirit of penance, invoking God’s great gift of peace upon the beloved nation of Syria and upon each situation of conflict and violence around the world. Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace!”
In addition, the Roman Catholic Fides news agency reported that the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badreddin Hassou, the spiritual leader of Sunni Islam in Syria, expressed his desire to join the Pope in this prayer.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation states, “The world community needs to act forcefully to bring those responsible for using chemical weapons – anyone who commits war crime – to justice. But U.S. military action will hurt more than help, increasing violence and risk of more chemical weapons attacks. There is a nonviolent path forward in Syria.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also calling for restraint, urging, “Diplomacy should be given a chance and peace given a chance. It is important that all differences of opinion should be solved through peaceful means and through dialogue.”
Now President Obama has given each member of Congress an historic opportunity to stand up and be counted. Each representative and senator needs to hear from us, the American people, to let them know that once and for all we reject the indiscriminate killing of innocents in response to the killing of innocents.
This is our historic opportunity to make our voices heard. Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice urges you to contact your senators and representatives today.
****************************
Craig Wiesner is co-founder of Reach And Teach, the peace and social justice learning company, and is on the steering committee for Multifaith Voices for Peace And Justice. Reach And Teach also manages web operations for Tikkun.
The Rev. Dr. Diana Gibson is a lecturer at Santa Clara University in the Department of Religious Studies. She is the coordinator of Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice and is the former co-director of the Santa Clara County Council of Churches.
Are ti saying we shod not shift the rubble that has already been bombed?
I have seen first-hand, the effects of “shifting the rubble” on the battered body of an eight year old, on the ashen faces of his parents, in the eyes of a six year old girl who lost her entire family to one stray missile. That is not justice, it is slaughter. I am convinced that sending hell-fire from afar to punish a dictator or a brutal regime only brings more hell to innocent people, already trapped beneath the boots of oppression, only to have to face more pain and suffering than the average person living in peace in our country can’t even imagine.
No. It is time for a 21st century nation, which can cut off a dictator’s money with the click of a mouse, which can isolate a regime by making any modern communications tools useless, which can shame any side in a fight by showing the world exactly what they are doing real time, to join with its allies and say “no” to war and “yes” to a promise that those who commit crimes against humanity will be hunted down for the rest of their lives, captured, and brought to justice.
Now is the moment to help the Syrian people and all those who face oppression, violence, and death that we will stand up for them and not simply allow our governments to toss bombs at the situation and pretend that we’ve made a difference.
Nick Kristoff at the New York Times linked his column to this video of a Syrian government napalm attack on a school playground in northern Syria. It’s horrifying to watch, but I suggest everyone view it before thinking about whether Bashar al-Assad even has the capacity to be shamed in the first place.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10275520/Syria-footage-of-napalm-incident-emerges.html
Was this an attack, or an “accident”? It can’t be an attack for one country and an accident for another. This is the best reason to use diplomacy.
They seem to be tossing bombs at each other if you have not noticed.
How do you propose we help the Syrian people fight oppression? Syria is not Berkley, Ca
Agree 100% with these words of wisdom above.
Tact with diplomacy, not further war, is the solution to the Syrian crisis.
I have written to several members of Congress and have urged them to vote NO to President Obama’s request for war actions against President Assad and urge you to do the same.
Peace, Shalom, & L’Shana Tova – Happy New Year to everyone.
Has Assad given any indication he wants peace?
What site will be bombed? The Chemical Weapons Plant (Sarin ?) which will then cause more civilian death! If there is proof of Chemical Weapons then give Assad 48 hours to turn them over to a UN body for destruction. Everyone will be winners.
Assad had long admitted he has chemical and biological weapons long ago. That was no secret
The torah commands us: ” Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.” It is true, the United States military should not have to get involved in the Syrian conflict. But what about Syria’s so-called moderate Islamic neighbors (Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) ? Is it their ethical duty to stand by and say “that’s too bad” and do nothing while their own Moslem brothers and sisters are being exterminated with poison gas by the thousands? Each of these neighboring Islamic countries has sufficient military capability to make it clear to the Assad regimen in a very tangible way that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated. And yet, these morally bankrupt countries do nothing to stop the mass-murder of their own Moslem brothers and sisters. By passively allowing this crime against humanity, these countries become de facto accomplices to wholesale murder. That leaves us here in the United States. We must search our own consciences and ask ourselves if we too can stand idly by the blood of our neighbors and do nothing?