Sidebar Minutes

As Quakers, we value peace. We are guided by simplicity, peace, integrity, community and equality. We are committed to resolving differences through communication, mutual respect and reconciliation, not aggression or coercion. We respect the sovereignty of all people and nations. The coercive actions of our current administration: occupying US cities and violence against their residents, the action in Venezuela, and threats to own Greenland contribute to a “might is right” belief that will likely lead to more violence, loss of life and suffering, and no clear endpoint.

As Quakers we value equality and community.    We seek to strengthen community by caring for each other, regardless of our country of birth.  We stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, many who came seeking asylum from threats to their life and well-being.   We strongly oppose the actions of our current administration, which seek to instill hate and mistrust of our immigrant neighbors, is causing deep harm to communities and families. 

As Quakers we value integrity living truthfully with our words and actions aligned. The actions of our current administration repeatedly seek to obscure the truth by preventing impartial investigations and attempting control of the media and systems of justice.  When individuals who speak honestly in opposition to policies are removed or silenced, we are deprived of a clear understanding of what is truly happening.  We affirm our right to free speech and being able to hear a diversity of perspectives in our media.  We commit to seeking truth rather than accepting the falsehoods that are presented to us.

As Quakers we believe that there is sacredness within every human being.  We strive to nurture a world in which every person is treated with dignity and respect, free from fear and division. Our communities grow stronger when all are welcomed and cared for as members of the human family. Policies which encourage aggression towards sovereign nations and dehumanize individuals stand in opposition to justice and compassion.  Actions which foster love, justice, and care for one another are the true foundations of a peaceful world. Olympia Friends Meeting commits to these actions.

February 8, 2026

The oppression and genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli government (not the Israeli/Jewish people) continues. Since October 2023, over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands are unaccounted for under rubble. The lives of over 17,000 children have been brutally ended. Hospitals and schools continue to be bombed. Since March, the Israeli government blockade has prevented humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, a violation of international humanitarian law. Food and medical supplies are prevented from getting into Gaza. Three quarters of Gaza’s population are at ‘Emergency’ or ‘Catastrophic’ levels of food deprivation (WHO).

American tax dollars aid Israel in its genocidal campaign. Many of us feel frustrated as the world looks on in silence, wondering what we can do. We look to national Friends organizations for guidance.

Olympia Monthly Meeting joins American Friends Service Committee in endorsing the campaign to boycott Chevron, which is complicit in this genocide due to its extensive natural gas network off the coast of Palestine/Israel, providing both energy and hundreds of millions in tax dollars to the Israeli war machine. That money helps fuel the bombardment of more than 90 percent of homes in Gaza and the violent displacement of Palestinians.

We have carefully deliberated and educated ourselves on the situation in Gaza, and we are taking this public stand, agreeing that as a Meeting we will boycott Chevron as long as it continues to fuel Israel’s war crimes.

We encourage all Quakers to join us in renouncing complicity in this genocide and take a moral stand in whatever ways they discern. This stance aligns with our Quaker testimony in support of peace, and against all war and the killing of human beings.

Suggested actions:

• Don’t buy gas from Chevron
• Write to Chevron CEO ((Suggested message: Tell Chevron CEO Mike Wirth You’re Boycotting Chevron) “I am joining the growing global boycott of Chevron, demanding that your company no longer conduct business that gravely violates Palestinian human rights and benefits Israel’s genocidal regime of apartheid.”