Dear Honorable Congressman Troy Carter,

We are people of faith throughout the state of Louisiana. We thank you for the courage and moral fortitude you displayed on December 1 by publicly calling for a “bilateral ceasefire in the ongoing Middle East conflict.” This is a crucial first step to saving thousands of innocent people. Upholding life is one of our universal sacred values we hold as interfaith leaders and members.

You are in our prayers as you best discern how to use your leadership at this pivotal moment. We pray for you to exhibit the moral courage to act within your legal and constitutional authority for what is right and just.

Our deeply held values call us to demand an end to the immediate catastrophe in Gaza and an end to the causes and conditions that contribute to this ongoing suffering. We ask you to go beyond rhetoric and take action to ensure the end of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza so as to protect Palestinians, Jews, and other impacted individuals’ lives and the cycles of pain and suffering.

As citizens of faith, we refuse to have our resources continue to contribute to suffering. We demand human rights for all. As your constituents and fellow Louisianans, we specifically ask for you to immediately:

1. Sign onto Representative Cori Bush’s October 16, 2023 House Resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid to Palestinians. https://bush.house.gov/imo/media/doc/bushceasefirenowresolution.pdf
   
2. Investigate the possible role the port of New Orleans plays in the shipping of any white phosphorus abroad to be used in weapons.
   
3. Support efforts to divest the Port of New Orleans from economic, technology, and trade efforts with Israeli practices of occupation and siege.
   
4. Support divestment from militarism. Over the past 20 years, $21 trillion dollars of our tax dollars have been spent on militarism. We support those dollars to be used for education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the common good.

Thank you for your time and attention to this most critical human rights issue. Our resources are precious. May they be used to sustain life, not end it. We know that the burden you shoulder is a tremendous one, and it has never been more important to the dignity of human life and morality. May we work for a more just and humane world, where people can live freely.

With you in deep prayer as the undersigned faith leaders and Louisianans of faith:

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Note to signatories: please mention your religious affiliation and title (if any) in the comments field when you sign.