Permanent Ceasefire Now

May 30

With a history of service to communities often overlooked and underrepresented, Quest Center is an organization dedicated to the belief that all people deserve competent and compassionate care regardless of income, insurance, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, race, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, HIV status, or chronic health conditions. We believe this commitment must extend beyond our own Quest community here in Portland, OR and to those around the World.

We have heard from our Quest community, and we stand in unity regarding our concern for Palestinian human rights and the ongoing apparent genocide against Palestinian people. We call on the U.S. Government, and all people of consciousness to stop the genocide of Palestinians.

We recognize the deep impact that this may have on our community.

Though we have reached out internally, we feel it is of great importance that we continue this conversation with our larger Quest community. A recognition of the Palestinian struggle is necessary in our commitment to dismantle all systems of oppression and colonialism.

Quest endeavors to be a place of healing and community.

For some of us, this looks like sharing space in grief together. For others of us, this may be much more private. Quest would also like to acknowledge that you may not want to engage in this conversation while you are engaged in services here, and that is okay.

We wholeheartedly agree with leading Palestinian rights groups, such as Jewish Voices for Peace who have said: “The massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli citizens are horrific war crimes. There is no justification in International law for the indiscriminate killing of civilians or the holding of civilian hostages.

The Israeli and American governments continue to weaponize these deaths to fuel a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.”

Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the ongoing death and destruction. As individuals and communities cope with the devastation of the situation, Quest Center for Integrative Health acknowledges the variety of emotions and concerns you may be experiencing.

In an attempt to be of assistance, Quest staff have compiled a collection of resources which may be found below.

Quest Center will do its best to ensure you feel safe and supported here.

Human rights mean nothing unless they are universal. Permanent ceasefire now.

Resources & Fundraisers

You can use apps like 5Calls to streamline the process of calling our representatives. They provide phone numbers and a script you can use. The downside to calling is that many calls are going straight to voicemail or have voicemail boxes full.

In this case, we recommend using faxzero.com to send a direct fax to your representatives. It's free! Here is a tutorial on how to use Fax Zero.

If you're feeling particularly overwhelmed and hopeless, this Social Change Ecosystem Map created by Deepa Iyer is something I have personally returned to. The link goes more in depth, but ultimately it's a framework that is supportive in identifying your personal strengths and how those could be applied to collective change. There are visuals and prompts for reflection.

Here are some journalists and organizations documenting Palestine.