All people are equal and should be treated with dignity and respect

But for decades, the Palestinian people have faced Israeli settler colonialism and occupation enforced through racist and discriminatory legal regimes, forced displacement, blockade and movement restrictions, and systematic human rights abuses. According to legal scholars and the international human rights community, this situation constitutes the crime of Apartheid. It must end.

As people of conscience and loving communities, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their call for equal and full rights. Inspired by the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, we want to declare our own communities “Apartheid-Free.”

Let’s build an Apartheid-Free world, starting with our own communities: our faith congregations, cities, campuses, and workplaces. We need to educate ourselves and others about racist laws and state systems at home and abroad, and we want to ensure that our communities do not contribute to the maintenance of Apartheid regimes. Together, we can work to promote freedom, justice, and equality for all.