By Helen Bezuneh,
Special to the AFRO
More than 40 organizations and businesses in the Baltimore area sent a letter asking Maryland congressional members to join the call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine on Dec. 5. Representing more than 200,000 individuals, the group of civil rights, student, Jewish, veteran, faith and street violence prevention organizations are urging Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.-02) and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.-03) to help stop violence in the region by standing alongside the likes of other pro-ceasefire congressional members such as Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07).
“In a time when Torah and Jewish values are being weaponized by many to call for greater violence, my Jewish community and so many Jewish Marylanders uplift that our tradition honors ‘pikuach nefesh’—saving a life, as a value that supersedes all else,” said Rabbi Ariana Katz, the founding rabbi of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl, in a statement shared exclusively with the AFRO. “Immediate ceasefire is the only way to pikuach nefesh in the face of the heinous bombardment and invasion of Gaza.”
Signatories of the letter include Anti-Imperialist Action UMBC, Jewish Voice for Peace Baltimore, the Baltimore Abortion Fund, Baltimore Palestine Solidarity, IfNotNow Baltimore, Women Leading Baltimore, the United Maryland Muslim Council and more.
“We grieve for the 1,200 killed during Hamas’ October 7th attack and the more than 15,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military – almost half of whom have been children – since then,” the letter reads. “These deaths include the relatives and loved ones of Maryland residents.”
“As our representatives, we urge you to publicly and unequivocally call for an immediate ceasefire, to sign onto or introduce a Ceasefire resolution and to do everything in your power to pressure the Biden administration to do the same.”
The letter highlights that Israel has severed access to essential resources such as water, electricity, fuel and supplies in Gaza. As a result, they note, residents are on the brink of starvation, and the dire situation has led to the displacement of over a million Gazans.
“Thousands of Baltimoreans have made phone calls and participated in protests against Israel’s genocide in Palestine, and still our elected officials ignore us” said Anna Evans-Goldstein, a project officer with Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy, in a statement shared exclusively with the AFRO. Goldstein played a role in organizing the letter after a sit-in led by members of the Jewish community took place at the office of Rep. Mfume.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil liberties organization in the U.S., also signed the letter.
“The catastrophic carnage, death and devastation in Gaza, funded by billions of U.S. tax dollars, is reminiscent of some of the darkest periods in human history,” said Zainab Chaudry, Maryland director for the Council, in a statement shared exclusively with the AFRO. “We are urging members of congress to demonstrate moral courage in this critical moment and take immediate action to help save innocent lives by supporting an immediate, permanent ceasefire and the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid.”
The letter also bears the signature of the Baltimore Peace Movement, formerly known as Baltimore Ceasefire, a group dedicated to addressing violence in Baltimore.
“As a citizen of the world, I understand that oppression, trauma and misunderstandings that lead to violence painfully impact the whole of us—while peaceful, equitable and humane problem-solving helps to heal the whole of us,” said Erricka Bridgeford, founder of the BaltimorePeace Movement, in a statement shared exclusively with the AFRO. “Please honor our humanity by calling for a ceasefire between Israel and occupied Palestine.”
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