Thanks very much for the statement which you issued.

I have also been following what is going on in Gaza and I could not understand Why. Selfishness among our leaders is causing deaths and pains to innocent people! This reminds me what I heard and saw in Hiroshima. I agree with Keishi Miyamoto that we should continue praying and the same time remind leaders all over the world that, fighting/violence will not bring peace but more pain and hatred. This we have seen in other areas like Congo DRC, Southern Sudan, Darfur, Somalia just to name the few.

We sympathize with the people of Palestine and Israel for their pains and sufferings.

“Love and Peace” is our motto.

Rev Blandina Faustin Sawayael 
Programme Officer 
Norwegian Church Aid 
Tanzania 
East Africa 

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I’m deeply feeling concerned by this escalation of the conflict in Gaza and I’m so happy to hear about your statement. The killing of the innocents civilians and kids can’t be accepted or justified for any reasons. 

I’m supporting totally your statement and send all my solidarity to your initiative. All the religions must practice peace and show to whole world they are here for the peace, reconciliation, compassion, mercy and love. Any peace can’t be realized on the blood of innocent victims and without justice and respect of each others. 

I’m joining you to prayer and action to stop the killing of children everywhere, with all my hearth. Thank you.

Mesut Tufan
From Istanbul, Turkey, Author of documentary film, photographer and teaching Modern History of Middle East and Balkans in Yeditepe University in Istanbul. 

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THE MEMBERS OF OUR ASSOCIATION ALL OVER THE WORLD PROTEST AGAINST THE AGGRESSIVE ISRAEL POLITICS IN SEARCH OF POWER AND HEGEMONY!
WE WANT ISRAEL TO STOP IMMEDIATELY BOMBING AND ATTACKING THE PALESTINE PEOPLE IN GAZA, WHICH BOMBS HAVE KILLED CHILDREN AT SCHOOL!
WE WANT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO STOP GIVING SUPPORT TO ISRAEL!

Luiza Tomita
Executive Secretary and Treasurer
EATWOT – Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians

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I think that this conflict should motivate us to work harder to gather religions and to help children. It is not normal that children are the victims of a conflict.

And people don’t have right to use religions to make wars. Religions are the opposite of wars. They bring peace, they gather people together, they welcome interfaith dialogues… That is the message we should spread in the world. 

Meslaoui Nicolas
GNRC Belgium
Young participant at the third forum of the GNRC in Hiroshima

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I fully support the statement. I have no words to say how shocked and sad I am about what is happening in Gaza and about what is being done in my name.

In half an hour I will participate in a meeting of other peace activists who want to share and think together how we can better represent the voices of peace and non-violence.

Whatever we do and however how much we will demonstrate will not be enough and will not bring back the lives that were taken. This is again a tragedy that will lead to more tragedies and lack of peace in our region for many more years.

Please do not hesitate to condemn my government openly because it is necessary – there is no choice. This brutal violence against children and other innocents should not be allowed anywhere, under any circumstances.

Please forgive me for not being able to express myself better, and please pray for all of us Palestinians and Israelis because our future is in danger.

In friendship and with respect,

Dorit Shippin

GNRC coordinator
Israel

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None of the violence is acceptable. The rockets from Gaza aimed at Israeli communities are destructive and the suicide bombing incidents cannot be condoned- They constitute a violation of the sanctity of life. We strongly condenm the air and ground assaults from the Israeli Defense Forces leading to senseless deaths and injury of many innocent. people , specially children.. These must be end inmediately.

We are praying for all those who have been affected by these callous developments , but we need to engage in actions to stop the carnage and built a just and lasting peace.

Rev. Dra Ofelia Ortega
Vice-President of the Alliance of Reformed Churches
President of the World Council of Churches

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We extend our solidarity for the Campaign to stop killing the children and innocent people in Gaza.

M. Sundaresan, 
Founder, Sarvadhana Sangam,
Resource Country Coordinator, GNRC India 

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Thank you for your message… But… Excuse me, The situation is not like that. One cannot make resemblance between Israel and Gaza. Not at all. It is a true crime, a great massacre made by Israel. It is the truth. It is necessary to denounce and with high see this carnage. Here the countries which live at the border of Israel know well the misfortune made since 1948 by Israel. It is necessary to stop this massacre made by the Israeli government. It is a massacre which causes only hate for the future… Israel, Israel… that is enough. 

Father abdo RAAD, Lebanon

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Let us work together to condemn the carnage in Gaza. Let us pray together to seek for Divine intervention to help mankind see the folly and counterproductive nature of wars. Let us all demand for the cessation of ALL forms of violence, against Palestinians or Israelis.

Thanks you Rev. Miyamoto for the statements. We fully support the message sent to the conflicting parties.

Mustafa Ali 
GNRC Coordinator for Africa

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My compliments on this timely and well-crafted statement. I am happy to see GNRC taking a stance on vital issues of life and peace.

S. Koo

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The indiscriminate killing of innocent human beings, mostly children & women, in Gaza by Israeli army is a blatant slap on the face of the peaceloving humanity. Every action has a reaction and the brunt of wrath & hatred Israel is accumulating by this crime will one day bounce on the peaceful & innocent Israelis themselves. Every peaceloving Israeli must realize this and force their so called democratic government to behave rationally rather then behave like an irrational monster.

Let us pray to Allah Almighty so that sanity prevails to all sides of this conflict.

Kazi Rafiqul Alam
President
Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Bangladesh

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I have passed through the same destiny that Palestinian children are living today and I have lived in the horror they live in today. 
Children carry the horror inside throughout their lives and this destroys their future from today. 
Hatred is the worst weapon to destroy all humanity. 
These bombs are not killing Palestinian children only, but destroying all humanity! 
This war is not against Palestinians, it is agains all innocent people. 

Everyone has a right to live, let’s not stay silent when these rights are bombed! 
Let’s not stay observing the shame that history is writing! 
We should feel guilty in front of our next generations for not doing anything to stop violance. We should do something to stop this bloody page appear in the history of humanity!
Let’s not support cruelty and injustice by our silence!

When we – GNRC members met in Hiroshima Peace Park, we could feel the disaster and the griev happened years ago. 
How many Peace Parks do we need to struggle against war and cruelty? 
There are so many Peace Parks in our hearts – Hiroshima, Iraq, Chechnia, Kosova, Garabag, Gazza… But the flowers of these parks are lives of innocent people. 
Let’s come together with the pains of the Pecae Parks in our hearts and let’s stop the silence and tolerance to violence! 

We want to live together, not to kill and be killed! 

Aygun 
Baku, Azerbaijan

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It is a great concern of GNRC members to witness such violence in Gaza and Israel in the name of religion. We should stand united together in this period and renounce such war and be committed in working for processing dialogues between the two parties. 

Dadhi Ram Khanal
Member, GNRC South Asia
Nepal

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The statement is trying to be balanced on a ground that is not balanced at all, I can’t believe it when I read it . …it is a political statement that doesn’t take into consideration the facts on the ground… with respect to whom drafted it, the security council resolution was much better than this statement.

Renad
Tamer Institute
Palestine

– – – – 

You may kindly add my name to the list of signatories to the statement.

Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen, Denmark

– – – – 

Olá amigos,
Gostaria de transmitir a minha total indiganção pela morte ou sofrimento de cada criança ou adulto por causa da guerra, qualquer guerra.
José Carlos Antunes
Portugal

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On behalf of the GNRC Arab States Members, I would like to draw your kind attention that the GNRC Arab States Members were surprised by the “Statement on Recent Escalation of the Conflict in Gaza “ issued on 9, January, 2009, because the input of all GNRC Regions has not been sought as is the tradition of the GNRC in similar events, where the wording of any GNRC general statement used to be circulated and approved before it was issued. 

We were also appalled by the second paragraph of the Statement which is charged with political opinion and does not truly reflect the spirit of the GNRC as an inter-religious and not a political body. When the GNRC Arab States Region proposed in Hiroshima to have a resolution on the Gaza Children under siege and the Iraqi children, the answer was GNRC is not involved in politics!!! 

Just for the sake of clarification, we would like to register our regional conviction that what is happening in Gaza is not a simple war in its self with equal powers; it is rather a massacre targeting Palestinian civilians and children. Thousands of political statements and UN Resolutions condemned Israel as the occupying power have been issued on this inhuman massacre. The Statement ignores the fact that Israel is an occupying force and that the Palestinians are practicing their legitimate right for independence. The Israeli war on Gaza started 3 years ago with the Israel siege on Gaza. Gaza’s children under siege suffered starvation and malnutrition. Gaza’s children under siege died on hospital beds because of the lack of medical equipment and supplies. 

106, 111, 127, 162, 171, 228, 237, 248, 250, 251, 252, 256, 259, 262, 265, 267, 270, 271, 279, 280, 285, 298, 313, 316, 317, 332, 337, 347, 425, 427, 444, 446, 450, 452, 465, 467, 468, 469, 471, 476, 478, 484, 487, 497, 498, 501, 509, 515, 517, 518, 520, 573, 587, 592, 605, 607, 608, 636, 641, 672, 673, 681, 694, 726, 799

These numbers are some of the UN resolutions condemning Israel since 1955 for what it has been doing in Palestine. Not to mention, the countless resolutions that were vetoed by the United States and were not passed. 

What is needed now is a statement urging the Global Community to work deeper in promoting peace building through enhancing common moral and ethical values in protecting Children all around the world without any political connotation.

Please find attached some articles and pictures related to these massacres.

Sincerely yours,

Rev. Prof. Dr. Qais Sadiq
GNRC Arab Region Coordinator
P. O. Box 410286

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Dear Rev. Qais Sadiq,

Thank you for your e-mail. You expressed sincerely what we all think of the Israeli aggression and of the accepted reaction from the Arigaton Foundation.

God Bless You
Mohammad Sammak