As Heathens, we denounce violence and raise the voices of the innocents caught in its grasp.

UPDATE 11.21.2023 an addendum calling for a ceasefire and a return of hostages has been made here.

It has been weeks since Hamas militants stormed the Israeli-Gazan border and unleashed carnage through the streets, fields, and homes of neighboring Israeli settlements.The footage taken by both the IDF and Hamas soldiers showed the gruesome extent of these attacks; the bodies of innocent civilians, from infants to elders, illustrated the slaughter. Thousands were left dead, and over 200 people were kidnapped. This ground assault was accompanied by the bombardment on Israeli towns by over 5000 rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza.

In retaliation, the Israeli government ordered its military to the Gaza Envelope (the Israeli settlements around the Gazan border) and delivered deadly airstrikes on Hamas targets within the Gaza strip whereby thousands of Palestinian civilians have died and millions of them are left in the impossible situation of fleeing a war that approaches them on all sides. The IDF has as well shut down all water and power to the enclave to deprive Hamas of any means of preservation–which deprives the same necessary means of basic survival to all of the 2.2 million people who live in Gaza.

Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic terror attacks have both spiked across the globe.

Jewish and Arab Heathens worldwide are constantly pressured to “take a side” or presumed to have already taken one based on a religious identity they haven’t claimed in years. They seek refuge in spaces like their own Heathen community only to find themselves ostracized, attacked and gaslit because of their family’s complicated relationship with Israel or Palestine.

For some Heathens this conflict has hit them at home  The Troth must and will stand ready to comfort and counsel those Heathens who need strength in this time of crisis.

We are no different than our friends in other faiths in that we want to elevate all of humanity to live in a world of peace and plenty.

Part of our spiritual growth is learning compassion and extending our moral understanding to include those whom others have forgotten.We cannot wash our hands of this conflict, nor of its broader effects to inspire hatred and violence across the world.

We are told that to desire the security of Israeli citizens is to desire the extermination of the Palestinians. We are told that to desire the restoration of statehood and the human rights of Palestinians is to desire the annihilation of the state of Israel. We are told this conflict is necessary, the death of children justified in scripture and the tears of orphans are the payment for the fulfillment of prophecy.

We reject the presentation of false choices and the notion that this conflict is necessary or desirable to achieve some other end.

And we must not turn away from the horrors of this war.

We mourn for the thousands of innocents murdered, the millions who will be displaced, and pray to the good Gods that peace, plenty and healing will be restored to the ever-giving Earth.

We cannot forget our fundamental duties as Heathens to serve others with courage, to give hospitality to the refugees and with generosity to bring comfort to the widowed, the orphaned, and the wounded.

As the Gods have given to us, so must we give.

Innocent Palestinians caught in the war zone are in desperate need of aid and support and the situation is dire. Their already precarious access to basic needs like food, shelter, medical care and water has been cut off by the military operations in Gaza.

UNICEF is coordinating relief efforts. And Doctors Without Borders is providing emergency medical services.

Olive trees are vital sources of food and economic growth for Palestinians in the West Bank. These trees are the lifeblood of many of those communities. Penny Appeal has a campaign to help Palestinian farmers replant trees that are being vandalized and destroyed by illegal settlements.

EDIT 16 November: The Troth has not taken a position on Zionism. Zionism is not the question being debated here; rather, addressing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. As such, we have taken down the link to a donation page due to the donations going through an organization with deeply and explicitly Pro-Zionist positions that run contrary to that stance.

The mistake was ours. We ought to have done constant vetting to be certain that organizations that handle causes we ask people to donate to are in line with our positions as an organization, or that commit us to positions we haven’t taken. Instead, we offer an alternative for those who want to help.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, in cooperation and coordination with the Red Cresecent and the Magen David Adom, are also supplying relief efforts to all (both Palestinian and Israeli) who are subjected to the horrific violence and devastation of this war.

We also acknowledge that since we originally wrote the statement (Mid-Late October), conditions have changed, and we will update and amend our statement accordingly to reflect the concerns of our membership, the greater heathen community and the present realities of this war.