ALL OUT TODAY at 1PM!! -- Buffalo Jews, Muslims, Christians Gathering to Mourn the Genocide in Gaza and to Demand Arms Embargo Against Israel

Interfaith Holiday Gathering for Peace in Palestine will feature wide range of religious organizations marking the holiday season by remembering families in Gaza

Buffalo, New York (December 21, Saturday, 1pm) — Jewish Voice for Peace Buffalo will gather with several other faith organizations to hold an Interfaith Holiday Gathering for Peace in Palestine at the intersection of Bidwell and Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo on Saturday, December 21, 1pm, to mark the holiday season by remembering families in Gaza who continue to face bombardment, starvation and displacement, and by continuing to demand an arms embargo against Israel.

Community members of different faiths will join the gathering, which will include singing, holiday themed signs, and short speeches followed by a procession down Elmwood to the Unitarian Universalist Church for continued fellowship and warmth. In keeping with the holiday spirit, the theme of the gathering is “Peace on Earth Includes Palestine.” Co-sponsors of the gathering include Jewish Voice for Peace Buffalo, the Christian Peace Collective of WNY, the Muslim Public Affairs Council of WNY, and others.

The interfaith gathering comes as the world-leading human rights group, Amnesty International, has declared that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.2 million people have been displaced, virtually all of Gaza has been flattened, and hundreds of thousands of people, including tens of thousands of children, have been killed, injured or remain unaccounted for. The U.S. continues to supply billions of dollars in weapons for Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians.

“As Jews of conscience, this holiday season for us is marked by our bottomless mourning over Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians that is scandalously being waged in our name. We gather with our Muslim and Christian friends to demand that our WNY lawmakers finally end this horror by halting arms shipments to Israel, which is the single act that could finally stop the annihilation of Palestinians in Gaza.”

Anna Falicov, Organizer, Jewish Voice for Peace Buffalo

"This is the final opportunity for President Biden to redeem himself and force Israeli war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire that ends the Israeli government's ever-expanding genocide in Palestine and to impose a total embargo on Israel of U.S. offensive weapons in compliance with U.S. National Security Memorandum (NSM-20)." Khalid Qazi, President, Muslim Public Affairs Council of WNY

“As the holiday season begins for millions around the world, the Christian Peace Collective of Western New York joins our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters in standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people who are suffering death, starvation and life-threatening injuries in a systematic campaign of destruction that has lasted more than a year. Medical, educational, religious, humanitarian, and cultural institutions have all been destroyed. For those observing Christmas in Gaza, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, there will be no time to celebrate this year, as they endure more horror, displacement, and loss. As Christians, it is imperative that we advocate for peace, compassion and justice in the Holy Land and all over the world.” Fr. Raphael Barberg, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church and Christian Peace Collective of WNY, Niagara Falls

Media welcome: Interviews will be available with representatives of Jewish Voice for Peace-Buffalo and others. Photos and videos of the action will be available upon request.

Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine.