In response to the Israeli war in Gaza, the Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones, the Green Party candidates for Governor and Lt. governor of NY released the following statement:

We denounce Israel's ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza. Each day brings news of a rising death toll, with it a nearly 80% civilian casualty rate. This can hardly be considered an accident when Israel has targeted and bombed at least 46 schools, 56 mosques, and 7 hospitals. Gaza's only Power Plant was bombed 3 times in a single night. Its water supply and sewage systems have also been targeted.

As Governor and Lt. Governor of NY State, we can -- and will -- support the efforts to Boycott, Sanction and Divest from Israeli firms. New York State must divest from it's financial relationships with the State of Israel until it ceases the systematic and ongoing violation of Palestinian human rights. This is a policy the Green Party of the United states has supported since 2005.

Many NY State politicians -- including Governor Andrew Cuomo -- have leapt to defend Israel's "right to defend itself." But we cannot endorse a false equivalency between the blockaded and sieged population in Gaza and Israel, one of the most powerful militaries on the planet. It is unfortunate the Governor Cuomo and many New York officials turn a blind eye to the terrible living conditions, deaths and daily humiliations that exist in Gaza and the West Bank. The U.S.'s $3.1 billion in military aid to Israel each year is indefensible. Nor can we justify it when we consider what those billions could provide for our ailing communities, schools, and public transportation.

Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace laureate, has criticized Israeli policies toward the Palestinians in the territories as "humiliating:"

"In South Africa, we could not have achieved our democracy without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the apartheid regime. Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. It doesn't matter where we worship or live. We are members of one family, the human family, God's family."