A Moment of Silence for Unity and Peace
Monday, October 30 @ 8:45 A.M. (ET)
“At the heart of our efforts to save innocent lives in this conflict and in every conflict, for that matter, is our core belief that every civilian life is equally valuable. There is no hierarchy when it comes to protecting civilian lives. A civilian is a civilian is a civilian, no matter his or her nationality, ethnicity, age, gender, faith.” – Secretary Antony J. Blinken at the UN Security Council Ministerial Meeting on the Situation in the Middle East October 24, 2023
In the spirit of Secretary Blinken’s remarks at the UN Security Council, all employees are invited to join together in unity for a moment of silence and reflection to mourn the innocent lives that were lost in the current conflict and stand united against terrorism and all forms of hate–in the world and in the United States.
We, the faith-based organizations at the Department of State and USAID, encourage the workforce to join a simultaneous gathering at the Harry S. Truman building, the Foreign Service Institute, the Ronald Reagan building, and virtually on Monday, October 30, at 8:45 a.m. ET for brief remarks by representatives of our organizations followed by two minutes of silence to honor the innocent lives lost in ongoing conflicts.
Co-sponsored by Employee Organizations: Department of State – American Muslims and Friends at State (AMFAS), GRACE, Jewish Americans in Diplomacy (JAD) and USAID – Jewish Affinity Group (JAG), USAID Muslim Employee Resource Group (UMERG)