RJIM Statement on Palestine
We, the Restorative Justice Institute of Maine, are a community organization, dedicated to promoting equity, healing, and accountability. To further these goals, we are committed to dismantling white supremacy, challenging oppressive power structures, and working toward decolonization within our local community and abroad. We have engaged in challenging, but necessary, internal discussions regarding Israel's occupation of Palestine and the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. Collectively, we have reaffirmed our commitment to advocating for a just and peaceful resolution rooted in human rights, international law, and restorative justice principles.
A recent report authored by the United Nations Special Rapporteur found “reasonable grounds to believe the threshold indicating Israel's commission of genocide is met” (Amnesty International, 2024). This finding underscores the gravity of the situation and the urgent need for accountability and concerted international efforts to address this conflict.
For the past nine months, people around the world have been demanding urgent action to end the genocide in Palestine. In line with these persistent calls and our own commitment to justice, we join the collective voices calling for:
An immediate ceasefire from all parties to halt the violence and prevent further loss of life
The unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to alleviate civilian suffering
A halt to weapons funding that enables the conflict to continue
An end to the occupation of Palestine and respect for the rights and dignity of all people in the region
A free Palestine, acknowledging their fundamental right to existence, freedom, and self-determination
The release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and the release of thousands of Palestinian hostages held without charges by Israel under the guise of detainment
Accountability for violations of international law and human rights by all parties
We do not support the targeting of civilians, including the indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on Israeli civilians (including the attacks on October 7th), nor the preceding and subsequent indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians by Israel’s IDF and vigilante citizens. We recognize that resistance to oppression and occupation is justified; and we recognize that, as the occupying power, Israel’s government bears particular responsibility for perpetuating violence and oppression. Reaching a just resolution requires confronting the harsh reality of Palestinian suffering and taking concrete steps to end the occupation, dismantle the apartheid system, and make reparations. We express our hope that RJ/TJ could be utilized in this context one day, recognizing that, first, we must call for genocide and violence to stop.
Restorative justice is derived from ancient wisdom and practices of circle-keeping of Native Peoples, who have resisted and continue to resist colonialism globally. We honor and stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, without whom there would be no such thing as restorative justice. One core principle of restorative justice is that “the world is profoundly interconnected” (Boyes-Watson & Pranis, n.d., p. 1). MLK Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.” RJIM diverts people away from the criminal legal system, addressing its disproportionate impact on marginalized populations by working with those most susceptible to violence, yet least likely to access official systems. This includes BIPOC, immigrants (including undocumented immigrants), LGBTQIA2S+ people, those who are economically disenfranchised, those living with disabilities, and survivors of sexual violence.
We must also recognize that the oppression of Palestinians, is rooted in systems of racism, white supremacy, and colonialism– much like the genocide committed against the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island by European settlers. These are the same systems that fuel violence against communities of color worldwide. The exchange of training between U.S. police forces and the Israeli military underscores the interconnections between state violence in both contexts against Palestinians and the killing of Black, Brown, Indigenous, other people of color, LGBTQIA2S+, neurodivergent, & other marginalized or oppressed communities.
As a U.S.-based organization committed to racial justice and decolonization, we have a moral obligation to call out our government's complicity in Palestinian suffering through military aid and diplomatic support for Israel's policies. Our US tax dollars fund the bombs dropping on Gaza and the guns pointed at Palestinian children. True solidarity means demanding an end to U.S. funding that enables human rights abuses and amplifying voices working for justice and dignity for all people. We cannot fight for racial equity while ignoring U.S. support for Israeli apartheid.
While focusing on the urgent situation in Falasteen, (pre-colonized name of Palestine), we also express our solidarity with other peoples resisting racism and colonialism worldwide– the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, Kongo, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, Tibet, Tigray, Myanmar and beyond. We recognize the interconnected nature of struggles for liberation while insisting on the specificity of each context.
Our own organizational journey has reinforced our conviction that justice can only be achieved through fearless truth-telling, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to human rights. We pledge to continue having the tough conversations as we work toward transformative solutions rooted in accountability, equality, and healing, and we hope our community will do the same.
Guided by our values as a restorative justice organization, we will continue to advocate for Palestinian human rights and self-determination as part of a larger vision of global justice and collective liberation. We invite you to join us in the difficult but necessary work of building a world where all people can live freely with dignity. We hope you will join us in embodying restorative values, inviting in challenging, hard conversations, and speaking out against injustice.
“I truly believe that Palestine is a moral litmus test– that one’s position on Palestine is indicative of a sense of what global liberation is all about; so that when we support Palestine, we’re not saying that we only support Palestine– we’re saying that we support struggles for freedom and liberation all over the world. And precisely because of the tenacity of the Palestinian people, precisely because they have refused to give up since 1948, since 1967– when I visited Palestine in 2011, I talked to a man who was a storekeeper, and he said to me, 'As long as there is still a single olive tree left in Palestine, we will fight for the liberation of our people.' The reason why we point to Palestine as indicative of struggles for liberation all over the world– Black people have been very much inspired by the struggle in Palestine; and we know that if we manage to defeat Zionism, we will be able to defeat racism everywhere.” –Angela Davis
