In October, 2006 the Philadelphia City Council passed the following resolution regarding the Combatants for Peace organization.  We are grateful to them for their support of this important work.

RESOLUTION Honoring Salaiman Khatib of Ramallah, Palestine and Yonatan Shapira of Tel Aviv, Israel in their work with the organization, Combatants for Peace

WHEREAS, William Penn founded this city and named it Philadelphia, meaning City of Brotherly Love, based on a vision of a place where people of diverse belief and practice were welcome and could live together in peace and harmony; and

WHEREAS, today in this same city, our citizens and especially our youth, suffer from violence and fear of violence in our streets, in our schools and homes, while tools for violence abound in the form of guns, and feed a culture that equates violence with strength, authority and respect; and

WHEREAS, the organization Combatants for Peace offers a powerful model, from former soldiers and fighters who were each others’ enemy, for transforming a culture of violence into a culture of nonviolence, and who bring to this transformed culture the combatant’s worthy values of strength, authority and respect; and 

WHEREAS, recognizing the futility of violence, these former enemies have acted against fears, both personal and societal, and have laid down their arms to meet and dialogue with one another, stating, “We refuse to be enemies.”

WHEREAS, they have brought their message of heart and hope from their homeland to our city – to universities and schools, to religious institutions,  to community groups and to private gatherings; and

WHEREAS, we citizens of Philadelphia still aspire toward William Penn’s vision of a diverse and peaceful society today, and find  inspiration in the story of Combatants for Peace;  be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend these two men, Sulaiman Khatib and Yonatan Shapira, for their work with the group, Combatants For Peace.