Gaza Appeal
The Faith and Public Issues Commission of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches announces General Assembly support of the 'Faiths Working Together Appeal' for Gaza.The Faiths Working Together Appeal is a call by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Head of the Muslims Charities Foundation and the Head of the Movement for Reform Judaism to help raise funds for the Gaza emergency work of Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.The fund is open to all but has been initiated by the Archbishop with the support of people in the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities in this country. The Disaster Emergency Committee has agreed to support this additional initiative which has similar aims to their own appeal but which enables people of faith to demonstrate their unity.
The Rev Dr Williams said: "We understand the complexity of the situation in the region and we support the rights of Israel to security and self defense and Palestinians to self determination, believing that this can be best achieved through a lasting peace settlement. We cannot, however, stand by in the meantime. We are bound to play our part in the relief of suffering in the region generally and in Gaza in particular at the present time. We are assured that Christian Aid, PHR-Israel and Islamic Relief are able through their existing work to guarantee that funds are used for humanitarian purposes on the basis of need alone regardless of ethnicity, religion or nationality. They have long experience in many parts of the world and are trusted by their local partners."
People wishing to donate to this cause may do so by clicking on the Gaza image on the home page of the General Assembly Website www.unitarian.org.uk.