The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) condemns U.S. military involvement in the expanding conflict between Israel and Iran. The involvement of the United States will only escalate a deepening crisis of war in the region, lead to an even greater loss of life, and prevent diplomatic resolution to the region’s geopolitical challenges.

This action by the U.S. government represents a moral failure and Unitarian Universalists (UUs) are compelled through our religious beliefs to speak out against it. Throughout our 200-year history and especially in recent times, UUs have supported peacemaking efforts and addressing the root causes of conflict. This includes a General Resolution that UUs passed at our General Assembly in 1979 and a 2010 Statement of Conscience on Creating Peace, in which UUs expressed, “we repudiate aggressive and preventive wars, the disproportionate use of force, covert wars, and targeting that includes a high risk to civilians… We affirm a responsibility to speak truth to power, especially when unjust power is exercised by our own nation.” Additionally, in 2008, UUs opposed a U.S. attack on Iran in an Action of Immediate Witness.

We renew our opposition to attacking Iran in the wake of this action. Unitarian Universalists will continue to work for a world where our shared values of pluralism and interdependence are realized, and where the inherent dignity and worthiness of all people are recognized.

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