Common Ground

Not In My Name, as a predominantly Jewish organization, is deeply committed to a peaceful and just resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, a resolution that will provide safety, security and freedom for Jews, Palestinians, and all others living in this region.  We believe that such a peace can only be achieved when Israel withdraws from its settlements in the Palestinian territories and addresses the legitimate national and human rights of the Palestinian people.  We do not accept that Jewish survival depends on unconditional support for the Israeli government and its policies.  Rather we believe that the future safety and survival of our people rests on our ability to live in peace with our neighbors and to work to ensure justice and security for all people.

We therefore advocate for:

1. An end to Israel's military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem and a complete withdrawal from its settlements and occupation infrastructure;
   
   
2. The removal of the illegal wall Israel is erecting inside the West Bank;
   
   
3. An immediate end to collective punishments (banned under international law) and human rights violations of Palestinians including demolition of homes, arbitrary arrests, torture, the closure and encirclement of villages and communities, an end to the uprooting of trees and travel restrictions;
   
   
4. The rights of Israelis and Palestinians to self-determination and collective sovereignty within a political entity or entities of their own choosing; full equality, civil rights and economic justice for all;
   
   
5. A shared Jerusalem; a Middle East free of nuclear weapons;
   
   
6. A just resolution to the plight of Palestinian refugees; the applicability of international law including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country," and UN Resolution 194, reaffirmed annually since 1948, which asserts the right of Palestinian refugees to return;
   
   
7. Freedom from violence and terror for all people of the Middle East; we condemn violence by any party against innocent Palestinian or Israeli civilians;
   
   
8. Equitable distribution of critical natural resources, including water, oil, gas, electric power;
   
   
9. The cessation of all US government aid to Israel that serves to support its occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.