After the Faculty Federation General membership meeting of February 22, members voted to present the following statement:

While condemning all violence against civilians on both sides of the ongoing conflict in Israel-Palestine, the University of Massachusetts Faculty Federation (Local 1895, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO) joins the many other unions throughout the United States supporting an immediate ceasefire. In tandem with calling for an immediate ceasefire, we also support the uninterrupted provision of water, fuel, food, and other aid to Gaza and a lifting of the blockade under which the territory has been suffocated since 2007. 
 
We support a resolution that will promote the safety, well-being, and equal rights of Israelis and Palestinians, and all others in the region who are all harmed by ongoing violence. A lasting peace must be negotiated based on international law and respect for human rights. In our unique role as a faculty federation, we affirm the right of students, faculty, and university communities to engage in robust dialogue, even on difficult and politically charged subjects, and we consider the freedom to do so a necessity for any institution of higher education in its pursuit of knowledge and truth.

In Solidarity!