June 28, 5:00 PM Jerusalem time, 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Kuttab Brothers Debate the Future of Palestine: Where are We Now and Where are We Going?

Register Here!

The situation in Palestine is becoming increasingly dire. Daily ferocious and deadly attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue, alongside the blockade of humanitarian aid and medical care for those most in need. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, ongoing violence from settlers and the Israeli army against Palestinians persists, including harming civilians, land confiscation, and destruction of property. In Israel (1948 territories), Palestinians are facing unprecedented levels of discrimination and violence. 

Public declarations and positions by Israeli officials are undermining efforts not only for a ceasefire but also for a genuine and viable solution that ensures peace and security for all residents of the region. Subjugating the Palestinians seems to be the only solution offered by these politicians and there seems to be wide support for them.

Additionally, many experts warn that the Palestinian Authority is on the verge of collapse, rendering it even more powerless than before to provide for its population and protect it from these relentless attacks and violations, even in statements of condemnation.

The ongoing struggle has left many around the world with questions about the future of Palestine and the nonviolence resistance movement.

The Crucial Questions:

• Where is the Palestinian movement for liberation standing now?

• What is the future of the Palestinian political leadership?

• Is there any viable solution to the occupation and what does it look like?

Joining us to answer these questions and many more are two brothers who have dedicated their lives to Palestinian liberation and peace.

EPF PIN will be hosting a meet and greet with Jonathan Kuttab.

Where: OMNI Louisville, Continental I Room

400 S 2nd St
Louisville, KY 40202

When: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Monday, June 24, 2024

Join the Episcopal Peace Fellowship at the Episcopal Church's 81st General Convention for a reception with honored guest Jonathan Kuttab on Sunday, June 23rd at the Omni Hotel in Louisville Kentucky from 6:30 - 7:30pm.

“How Long, O Lord?”

Disciples Solidarity Visit—Palestine

June 11-17, 2024

The following ministries are endorsing the trip: Disciples Palestine-Israel Network; Kairos Palestine, Global Kairos for Justice, Sabeel Liberation Theology Center, Friends of Sabeel North America, Kairos USA.

The trip is open to all who want to learn about the current crises in Palestine, express their support for the Palestinian people, and commit to return to tell what they have seen, heard and learned. Hosts Jeff & Janet Wright, members of Heart of the Rockies Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and former Global Ministries long-term volunteer mission co-workers, have worked in Palestine for over twenty-five years and led many alternative pilgrimages to the region. Jeff is a volunteer on the Kairos Palestine staff and writes occasionally for the online magazine, Mondoweiss.

Siraj Center, located in Beit Sahour just outside of Bethlehem, has made the trip arrangements—booking lodging, making meeting arrangements, providing transportation and seeing to other details. We’ve used Siraj for many years and count on them for their service and their concern for pilgrims’ safety.

For more information, contact Jeff & Janet Wright

+1 (970) 217-3065; jeffwright103@gmail.com

One Year of Apartheid-Free Communities

Friday, June 7 at 12 noon ET/ 9 a.m. PT

It's been nearly a year since AFSC helped launched this initiative to show solidarity with Palestinians by taking action against Israeli apartheid. More than 335 groups have joined our efforts! This Friday, join us to celebrate our inaugural anniversary and recommit ourselves to the work ahead. This webinar will be part of the AFSC Action Hour for a Cease-fire now series. Register here.

IPMN is sponsoring a delegation to Palestine/Israel from May 26 - June 6, 2024. This solidarity trip will include visits with Christian congregations, leaders of denominations, human rights groups, prisoner groups, and Muslim and Jewish partner organizations. If you are interested in being a part of this important trip, email info@theipmn.org.

Our partners have asked us to Come and See and Go and Tell.

Let’s do it!

Monday, March 25, Protest Vigil at the Jewish Community Center in ABQ 5-7 pm

Tonight, Monday, March 25, a number of ally groups are holding a protest vigil at the Jewish Community Center which is hosting the Israeli Consul General from Houston, a direct arm of the Israeli government, who is a genocide denier and strong proponent of the extreme-right Israeli government refusing to stop the war on Gaza, moving ahead with ethnic cleansing and countless war crimes against academics, medical facilities, and journalists.

Distribute the flyer widely and show up for Albuquerque and justice!!

Pray-in for a Permanent Ceasefire: A Nonviolent Witness for Gaza

Pray-in at the U.S. Capitol Calls for Congress to Support a Permanent Ceasefire

When and where: Thursday, March 21, 1-2pm at the Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Avenue NE, with a nonviolent witness action to follow.

RSVP here

Why: The crisis in Gaza and pending full invasion of Rafah demands immediate public action and witness. In addition to the 31,000 killed in the war, at least 27 Palestinians have died from starvation just recently. For Christians, nonviolent witness includes urging for a just peace, especially now as our Muslim family members enter their holy month of Ramadan.

What: All are welcome to join a public pray-in as part of an ongoing Lenten Ceasefire Campaign. We will offer a prayerful vigil with press invited, and then a nearby nonviolent witness action. We will raise our voices together, asking our Creator for guidance and strength as we urge those in power to do the courageous work of nonviolent peacemaking.

We urge all parties to:

a) Publicly call for bilateral ceasefire to prevent the further loss of life

b) Support demilitarization rather than supplying additional military aid or arms to Israel 

c) Focus on a release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners held without due process 

d) Support robust humanitarian assistance and restarting U.S. government funding to UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees
e) Work diplomatically to end the siege on Gaza and end the occupation of the Palestinian Territory in order to address the root causes of the violence, accountability for harm, and move all parties toward a lasting, just peace that protects all human life and ensures long-term security and sustainability in the Middle East

MI Conference Church and Society Division
Task Force Promoting Justice in the Middle East

This is an in-person event

Thursday, February 29 at 9:AM

Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W Eleven Mile Rd, Farmington Hills, MI 48336.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sSLQSuZzUat4nl-u54ADJdUtfYmr8GIw/view?usp=drive_link

As Black History Month draws to a close, we will reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. who said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" with respect to the current crisis in Gaza. We'll explore what the oppression of Palestinians means for the freedom of African Americans and the need for solidarity in pursuit of liberation.

We'll hear from Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. Then a panel discussion moderated by Detroit journalist Terrance Friday of CBS-TV will feature Palestinian activist Lexi Zeidan, Joshua Feinstein of Jewish Voices For Peace, Ossama Siblani, Editor of the Arab American News and Rev. Quantez Pressly of Third New Hope Baptist Church.

After the panel discussion, there will be a breakout session where all the attendees will divide into small groups for an organized round table discussion, moderated by a faith leader.  

Enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast after you sign in at 8:30am. 

Sabeel presents:

Challenging Apartheid and Religious Extremism: Zionism and Antisemitism

with Hadar Cohen, Thomas Suarez, and Anthony Lerman

1:00pm ET

Almost four months into the war on Gaza, the International Court of Justice has directed Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza, yet refrained from ordering a ceasefire. In December 2023, the Supreme Court of India rubber-stamped the government’s unilateral abrogation of Article 370, which previously afforded Kashmir a special status that included the right of self-determination. Discussions of the international rule of law, settler colonialism, and its violence have taken the center stage. At this dark moment in history, we must address the connections, parallels, and distinctions between Palestine and Kashmir, for as the Indigenous Peoples in North America remind us, the settler colonial project and genocide is ongoing.

The present situation demonstrates once again how legal apparatuses, be it UN outfits or Supreme Courts, fail to uphold justice currently and historically: affirming abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, failing to prosecute illegal settlements and the breaking of treaties and documented land rights, refusal to prosecute genocide when it fits official legal definitions, not following up with charges when official human rights institutions (like OHCHR) document violations, not upholding the right of the occupied people to armed resistance against an occupier, and so on.

The roundtable addresses the legal frameworks providing parallels and distinctions between settler colonial projects in Palestine, Kashmir, and Turtle Island. It aims to demonstrate how the Indian, Israeli, Canadian, and US governments build on each other's actions to reinforce their settler colonial agendas, what lessons have been learned from North American settler colonial experiences, as well as what the ICJ ruling on Gaza means for India, a state under two genocide alerts.

The event consists of two threads: the first one will cover the broader themes of legal framework and ramifications in Turtle Island, Palestine, and Kashmir; the second will hone in on the lived experiences from the three geographies, providing a grounded view of resistance and ways forward as they relate to settler colonialism.  

Speakers:

- Turtle Island: Sylvia McAdam (Assistant Professor, Windsor Law) & Megan Scribe (Assistant Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University)

- Kashmir: Imraan Mir (Attorney, writer, researcher) & Ather Zia (Associate Professor, Anthropology and Gender Studies, University of Northern Colorado)

- Palestine: Jonathan Kuttab (International Human Rights attorney) & Mariam Barghouti (Palestinian American researcher, writer, journalist based in Ramallah)

- Moderators: Azeezah Kanji (Legal academic and writer, Toronto) & Dean Accardi (Assistant Professor of History and Global Islamic Studies, Connecticut College)

The Episcopal Church has established itself as a leader in corporate engagement seeking to encourage socially responsible investing and corporate governance. The church began this work with a shareholder resolution introduced at a General Motors shareholder meeting by then Presiding Bishop John Hines as part of initiatives to oppose the South African apartheid regime.

Today, the Executive Council Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) implements the resolutions of the church’s General Convention and Executive Committee applying to corporations and corporate activities. Through shareholder resolutions and campaigns led by corporate engagement leaders such as the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, the Mercy Sisters, and Heartland, CCSR strives to put into practice the mind of the church (such as the role of justice in corporate life), as expressed by elected an appointed leaders from General Convention and the Executive Council, to positively influence corporate behavior and activities.Today, corporate engagement has become a primary driver for the work for social change.This workshop, moderated by JoAnn Hanson of Church Investment Group, will be a conversation among CCSR members. They will discuss CCSR's history and methodology andthen turn to current issues being engaged by the CCSR. Our panelists will share how you can be involved, whether your church invests or you are looking at your personal portfolios.

Panelists include:

• Brian Grieves - Vice Chair, Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility; Honolulu County, Hawaii (FOSNA co-chair)

• JoAnn Hanson - President, Church Investment Group; Tuxedo, New York

• W.B. McKeown - Lawyer, not-for-profit organizations and Consultant, Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility; New York, New York

• Diane B. Pollard - Financial Consultant and member of the Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility; New York, New York

• Winnie Varghese - Rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church; Atlanta, Georgia

• Diana Wilcox - Rector, Christ Church; Bloomfield & Glen Ridge, New Jersey

All are invited to join in this international, online consultation featuring Rev. Prof. Mitri Raheb, Founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem and author of Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible. Responses will be offered by Atalia Omer and Revelation Velunta. This event is being co-organized with the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice.

Main Speaker:

Rev. Prof. Mitri Raheb is the Founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. The most widely published Palestinian theologian to date, Dr. Raheb is the author and editor of 50 books including: Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible (2023) and The Cross in Contexts: Suffering and Redemption in Palestine (2017). His books and numerous articles have been translated so far into thirteen languages. Rev. Raheb served as the senior pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from June 1987 to May 2017 and as the President of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011-2016. A social entrepreneur, Rev. Raheb has founded several NGOs including the Christian Academic Forum for Citizenship in the Arab World (CAFCAW). He is a founding and board member of the National Library of Palestine, and a founding member of Bright Stars of Bethlehem, a US 501c3 non-for-profit organization. He is an elected member to the Palestinian National Council as well as the Palestinian Central Council. Read full bio at https://www.mitriraheb.org/en/page/short-bio

Respondents:

Atalia Omer is a Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies Professor at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. She is also a senior fellow and Dermot TJ Dunphy Visiting Professor at the Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative at Harvard University’s Religion and Public Life program. She earned her PhD in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University. Her research focuses on religion, violence, and peacebuilding as well as theories and methods in the study of religion and Palestine/Israel studies. Omer was awarded an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2017, resulting in the publication of Decolonizing Religion and Peacebuilding (Oxford University Press, 2023). Among other publications, Omer is the author of When Peace is Not Enough: How the Israeli Peace Camp Thinks about Religion, Nationalism, and Justice (University of Chicago Press, 2015) and Days of Awe: Reimagining Jewishness in Solidarity with Palestinians (University of Chicago Press, 2019). She is also a co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Oxford University Press, 2015).

Revelation E. Velunta is Associate Professor of New Testament and Cultural Studies at Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. He also coordinates the Master of Theology Program and the Union Theological Open Seminary (UTOS). He has taught at Vanderbilt University, Teologiska Hogskolan Stockholm, Philippine Women’s University, Philippine Christian University (Manila and Dasmarinas campuses), and Southern Christian College. His work celebrates the pedagogy of the oppressed and insists that there are other ways of reading and doing. More specifically, his Jeepney Hermeneutics (featured in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Bible and Gender Studies) invites students of the Bible to “beat swords into ploughshares.” His latest book, Reading the Parables of Jesus inside a Jeepney, both in its Kindle and Printed versions are Amazon.com bestsellers. Velunta has graduate and postgraduate degrees from Vanderbilt University and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Israel is central to the political and cultural life of the American Jewish community. But it has also become a deeply divisive subject, as painful generational cracks have emerged within the Jewish community over the Israel-Palestine conflict, inspiring argument, protest and even censorship.

Focusing on the stories of two young Americans raised to defend Israel at all costs, Israelism traces their awakening to Israel's dehumanization of Palestinians and the ongoing violence of the occupation.  The film explores the past, present, and future of the relationship between American Jews and Israel, as growing numbers question whether support for Israel should condition and define their Jewish identity.  Featuring a range of American Jewish thinkers, community leaders and activists, Israelism asks how and why Israel became the cornerstone of American Judaism, what the consequences have been, and what will happen as divisions continue to grow.

Register to watch "Israelism" for free at your convenience; then join the Q&A Discussion 1/21 with:

Erin Axelman: filmmaker, co-founder of Tikkun Olam Productions

Simone Zimmerman: Jewish American activist, co-founder of IfNotNow

Lubna Alzaroo: instructor at University of Washington specializing in settler colonialism

Peter Beinart: editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, professor of journalism, CUNY and Publisher, The Beinart Newsletter

https://www.voicesfromtheholyland.org/events/sun-01212024-1200/israelism

EDIT: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CHANGED TO JANUARY 13TH

Palestinians on the ground are calling on us all to join this virtual rally on January 13 at 1pm ET!

Go to youtube.com/@liveforpalestine24 to attend.

This week we are joined by Reverend Naim Ateek, Reverend Carrie Ballenger, Reverend Elaine Enns, and Ched Myers for a special Christmas service.

The Readings of the week:

Romans 16:25-27 

25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Every day, Palestinians wake up to a new nightmare. Sam Bahour and Mariam Barghouti’s brave political commentary and research work highlight the trials of Palestinian life under occupation. This is vital to the congressional advocacy and human rights activism with which we engage. This program will offer their insights and critique of current realities as well as priorities in this moment for the Palestinian movement as well as advocacy in the US. Sam Bahour resides in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He does business consulting as Applied Information Management (AIM), specializing in business development with a niche focus on the information technology sector and start-ups. Bahour was instrumental in the establishment of two publicly traded firms: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He is Co-founder & Emeritus Member of Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE) and currently serves as an independent Director at the Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. and a board member at Just Vision. He writes frequently on Palestinian affairs and has been widely published in leading outlets. He is co-editor of HOMELAND: Oral History of Palestine and Palestinians (Olive Branch Press, 1993), tweets at @SamBahour, and blogs at epalestine.ps. Mariam Barghouti is the Senior Palestine correspondent for Mondoweiss. Her coverage has focused on the rise of armed resistance, the lives of resistance fighters and the roles of the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Previously she was a researcher and political analyst. She was also a monitoring and evaluation consultant for international humanitarian aid agencies in the levant. Her political commentary has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, BBC, amongst others.

Israelism

Event Date

October 15, 2023

Time

3 pm ET/ 12 noon PT

Israel is central to the political and cultural life of the American Jewish community. But it has also become a deeply divisive subject, as painful generational cracks have emerged within the Jewish community over the Israel-Palestine conflict, inspiring argument, protest and even censorship.

Focusing on the stories of two young Americans raised to defend Israel at all costs, Israelism traces their awakening to Israel's dehumanization of Palestinians and the ongoing violence of the occupation.  The film explores the past, present, and future of the relationship between American Jews and Israel, as growing numbers question whether support for Israel should condition and define their Jewish identity.  Featuring a range of American Jewish thinkers, community leaders and activists, Israelism asks how and why Israel became the cornerstone of American Judaism, what the consequences have been, and what will happen as divisions continue to grow.

Watch the film for free at your convenience; Join the Q&A Discussion

Eric Axelman: filmmaker, co-founder of Tikkun Olam Productions

Simone Zimmerman: Jewish American activist, co-founder of IfNotNow

Lubna Alzaroo: instructor at University of Washington specializing in settler colonialism

       Peter Beinart: editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, professor of journalism, CUNY and Publisher, The Beinart Newsletter

You must register to get the free film link and to participate in the Q&A discussion.

Register at Tinyurl.com/VFHL-October2023.

Watch the Trailers: Tinyurl.com/VFHL-IsraelismTrailer