Your words would be more convincing if you provided specifics. What do you mean by “issues with characterization and framing”? What’s misinformation? Editorializing = expressing one’s position. Events that led to the current situation in Gaza, Rafah and Palestine are centuries old. What are you in disagreement about?
I agree with Antony’s post.
Thank you India. Your point about curiosity is well taken. I think this AIW gives congregations much room to ask questions and expand their knowledge of an extremely complex issue. This AIW calls us to educate through teach-ins about Palestine AND Israel, and to hold “sacred spaces for spiritual processing.” This is the section of the AIW that invites curiosity.
And the purpose of an AIW is to encourage “immediate engagement and action among UU member congregations and groups” (Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) Process for 2024). Personally, I don’t want to spend time wordsmithing while children and whole families in Gaza are starving and dying. Nor do I want to wordsmith while hostages are still captive. Too many have already been killed. We will not free many hostages by killing Palestinians. We have seen by now how hard work coming to a permanent ceasefire. That is all the more reason to work for a permanent ceasefire. We need action, immediately.
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Thank you for your excellent, well thought-out, clear comments and research.
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I believe in my heart that I am not anti-Palestinian or racist. I AM totally opposed to positions that take only one side into account.
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For me, the problem is that the further you read in the AIW, the balance disappears.
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I agree with others that this resolution is unbalanced.
To be more balanced, at a minimum this resolution should be amended to:
(1) Clearly denounce Hamas and the atrocities it has committed and its anti-Semitic ideology, and
(2) Clearly recognize the right of the state of Israel to exist with secure and recognized borders.
The AIW could then go on to support a two state solution, but maybe that is getting too much into the weeds of the solution.
Without that modification, the rhetoric about opposing anti-Semitism in the AIW seems very hollow and lacking in recognizing that Hamas is an anti-Semitic terrorist organization, and that Israel has legitimacy.
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I support asking questions and being curious. It’s how we learn. I’m a former teacher and I loved when students asked questions.
However, your statement, “If you are someone who believes in the premise that Palestinians deserve safety and self-determination, not at the expense of Israelis, but in tandem with them, I hope you consider supporting this AIW” does not take into account the safety of Israelis. I’d love to see ‘tandem’ peace and safety. For me, the question is how can we make THAT happen?
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And two more additions, which would make this more balanced:
First, in addition to acknowledging the pain and suffering of Palestinians displaced from Israel, how about acknowledging that a roughly similar number of Jews were forcibly displaced from Arab and other predominatly Muslim countries? This is a big part of the issue: in additon to many Palestinians who have fear and hatred of Israelis from this history of displacement, there are many Israeli Jews who have fear and hatred of Arabs from this history of displacement. Unless we acknowledge the pain on BOTH sides, there is no hope for peaceful solutions.
It is for example, little known by Americans that in 1900, Baghdad was one-third Jewish. Not any more! And they didn’t exactly leave “voluntarily”.
A short history of exodus in the Middle East - by Ed West
Second, do we really want to support all “peaceful” student protests without distancing ourselves from the many protests that “forcibly” interfered with the rights of others? Are we in favor of “peaceful protests” that forbid “Zionist” students from using the university library? Is that really a good path forward? A more balanced AIW would have qualifications that support peaceful protests that do not interfere with the rights of others in the community.
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I have to disagree with your very limited time frame you choose to comment on. I have followed the US news about Israel since I was in college. You may not know that 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from the land that would become Israel in 1948. For 66 years Israelis have tormented the Palestinians ever since. Benjamin Netanyahu supported HAMAS in 1987, when they fought the Palestinian Authority for control of GAZA. If there is any villian in this situation it is Netanyahu. This situation is EVIL against Evil. I support Palestinians and Iraelis, not their governments. So I’m on the fence about this AIW.
What language did you use? How did you express your opposition?
I understand about the government, not everyday Israelis, being the problem. However, I also have seen reports of Jewish Israeli citizens largely supporting the military actions—even as the rest of the world, or most of it, sees defiance of international law and disproportionate, collective punishment. Here’s a Pew Research poll of Israelis’ views on the war, published last month: Israel-Hamas War: How Israelis See It | Pew Research Center
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Thanks for you interest. I used the word “eliminate” , as in “Peace in the future can only come from the elimination of Hamas” .
Here is the system response:
Hi Chris,
Your post was flagged and has been removed for being out of covenant .
“they espouse a religion of hate and martyrdom.”
This statement is derogatory not to just an individual sect or theological stance, but to an entire religion, calling Islam a religion of hate.
“Peace in the future can only come from the elimination of Hamas.”
This statement is a statement calling for the death of people, and that is not acceptable language.
Best,
Was this session recorded? I"m only seeing this tonight on Tuesday (quite late). Thanks for your leadership on this difficult and important work during a beyond heartbreaking situation for so many.
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The Multifaith Clergy webinar was recorded and the link will be shared here by Thursday. Rabbi Brant Rosen was unable to present. Here is blog post by him with link to the video of a talk he gave with other faith leaders on the topic of solidarity with Palestinians.
“Here are my remarks from, “Gaza: Religion, Politics and Solidarity,” a program sponsored by Bright Stars of Bethlehem on May 5, held at the First Presbyterian Church in Evanston. It was my honor to speak in conversation with Palestinian liberation theologian Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb (founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem), Dr, Rami Nashashibi, (founder and Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network) and Dr. Iva E. Carruthers, (General Secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference).”
Continuing the discussion from [AMENDED] Proposed AIW - Solidarity with Palestinians:
Over and over again UUs here are opposing this AIW because it is not balanced. But it cannot be said too often that the situation in Israel/Palestine is not balanced between two equal parties. One ethnic group has oppressed another ethnic group for 7 decades and is now doing so in a terribly violent manner. This is not a war between Hamas and Israel and it did not begin on October 7, 2023. The major international human rights groups Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Israeli group B’Tselem have made this oppression clear in their reports on the apartheid character of the Israeli regime. If the immorality of this apartheid and oppression had been noted and corrected in previous decades we would not be confronting the current horror in Gaza. The International Court of Justice has declared that Israel is plausibly committing genocide in Gaza. What else can one call the denial of food, the bombing of apartments filled with people, and the destruction of hospitals? Do UUs really want to stand for the continuation of what is happening in Gaza? Do they really want to continue to support US complicity in what is happening there? Will UUs support the oppressed or the oppressor? It is as if we are coming upon a situation in which an Israeli soldier has his boot on the head of a Palestinian and is pointing a gun at him or her. Is it enough here to call for peace as a generality?
I also do not think that those opposing this AIW on the grounds of wanting more balance are truly considering the long term interests of Jewish Israelis. It does not seem to me possible for Jews in Israeli to be forever safe by depending only on force of arms and threat of arms. I do not think that they can be safe until they recognize the humanity and the human rights of the people with whom they share the land. Israel cannot survive forever with one half of the people oppressing the other half and denying them their humanity. I also think they cannot last and be safe in the region with their only tool being perennial war against their neighbors.
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Churches for Middle East Peace has an hour long On Demand Program about Palestine and their activism on the 2024 UUA GA Agenda — it can be accessed at Whova Community Web App
This session focuses on how we can use storytelling as a way to constructively engage our congregations, our communities, our elected officials to promote holistic peace in Palestine/Israel with special attention to the climate since the October 7th attacks and subsequent bombardment of Gaza.
The UUA is a member of CMEP.
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I want to thank India Wood for her sharing and her and Shira Ehrlich’s support for this AIW
There are several commenters who would ask me to ignore the asymmetry that has allowed the oppression of Palestinians over these past 75 years. I can not be convinced, and rather than admonish, I would ask for us to look to our common benevolent inheritance and trust in the necessity of an interdependent future.
But here is where we start. Many US domestic groups, believe in one or more of the innacurate to the obsurd generalizations that serve to disenfranchise Palestinians :
That they have no homeland.
Their aspirations are evil.
They are part of an Arab conspiracy to destroy Israel,
They are responsible for Jewish displacement in other Arab nations and, therefore, deserve their constant displacement.
That they can be treated as second-class citizens - not to marry, travel, or own as Jewish citizens.
That Hamas leadership and Palestinians are one and the same.
This is some of the background.
Israelis must be given security, and that security is tied to the emergence of a just understanding of inherent dignity in the place that is called Israel and that is also called Palestine. You can hope each will recognize that one cannot delegitimize the other.
October 7th 1,200 Israelis (of which 29 were children) were killed. In the 9-month indiscriminate destruction of Gaza (hospitals, orchards, wells, schools, churches, homes, graveyards) 37,000 Palestinians (15,000 Palestinian children) have been killed. Palestinians in other occupied territories are being displaced, imprisoned, and some killed as well.
The powers that fuel this and other organized violence are based on traditions whose destructive elements we must liberate ourselves from.
This Action of Immediate Witness is a request for dialogue and openness to recognize what is not okay for UUs to watch, fund, and allow to continue to shape our reality without at least calling for Immediate Witness.
The AIW is balanced. We are burdened and have been muted. May we end our silence.
Reference: “Peace for Israel and Palestine” October 22, 2023.
https://www.davisite.org/2023/10/listen-peace-for-israel-and-palestine.html
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Most Israelis have a war mentality toward Palestinians. Israelis feel that Palestinians are less than human, and be killed without remorse. This can be seen throughout history in the US during the Vietnam War the Vietnamese were Congs, in WWII the French were Frogs, Indigenous people were Heathens and worse, and Africans were treated the same or worse than Indigenous people. Hatred by an army against a foe’s army is normal because this allows to kill without remorse. A country feeling this way to another people is abhorrent (but common), and should be condemned. I agree that Israelis feel this way about Palestinians and I call it Evil and much as I feel Palestinians hatred for Israelite’s also Evil. This is a war of Evil versus Evil. Thank you for your comment.
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I have not yet watched “Where the Olive Trees Weep,” but the mention of Gabor Maté reminds me that the situation in Israel and the occupied territories is a story of trauma. Two deeply traumatized populations act out their trauma on one another, deepening the trauma for ensuing generations. Yes, for now one “side” has disproportionate power to do so, but there is no doubt that if the power imbalance were reversed, the level of death and oppression would be similar if not far worse.
The discussion playing out here is symptomatic of our collective ignorance about how trauma manifests in individuals and cultures. It’s also symptomatic of our own embodied inter-generational trauma, showing up as a tendency towards finger-pointing, resistance to complexity and nuance, and either/or binary thinking. That said, I love how respectfully this discussion is unfolding - those trauma symptoms are far less visible here than in most online discourse.
“Taking a stand” is not much help in healing multi-generational trauma, especially the trauma of people on another continent. Holding both populations in the light of love, sympathy, and support for their humanity and aspirations (other than the hope of eliminating the other) is probably the most helpful thing we can do. Offending one party through a lack of nuanced context probably isn’t helpful, although it might help limit the influx of weaponry to the conflict.
I lean hard towards a “yes” on this AIW, and I’d like it to be more nuanced/inclusive along the lines described by Vandermude. Mostly I’m appreciating my UU community for this exemplary discussion, and thinking that what we know about trauma could/should be more prominent.
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I’ve been discussing with my children what it would mean if our faith remained silent on the current war and violence in Gaza. I recognize that we have failed in recent history (2016 being notable) to articulate a moral stance of peace and justice on the conflicts in the region, and have struggled with disinformation and perfectionism. I reflected with my kids that even if we fail again, we can take heart in the broad coalition that has come together between Jewish and Muslim descent, congregations in every region, youth and adults, our leading BIPOC orgs BLUU & DRUUMM, and Palestinians and Israelis who are directly affected to craft a meaningful and critical Action of Immediate Witness. No one can take that away from us. While I would have supported more profound language, around militarism and anti-oppression, I respect this is a democratic and collective process that is ultimately imperfect.
With over 400 endorsing lay leaders and religious professionals, in my 30 years of General Assemblies this is one of the most vibrant movements for an AIW I have experienced. You can see the full list at uupalestineaction.org and here are some of my colleagues who have risked for cease fire and for peace:
- Rev. Viola Abbitt
- Rev. Scott Aaseng
- Rev. Aisha Ansano
- Rev. Kelly Asprooth-Jackson
- Rev. Roger Bertschausen
- Rev. Ali Bell
- Rev. Jacqueline Brett
- Rev. Sarah Caine
- Rev. Hannah Capaldi
- Rev. Abigail Clauhs
- Rev. Otto Concannon
- Rev. Emily DeTar Birt
- Rev. Tina DeYoe
- Rev. Alice Diebel
- Rev. Dayna Edwards
- Rev. Charley Earp
- Rev. Elaine Gehrmann
- Rev. Jo Green
- Rev. Annie Gonzalez
- Rev. Lissa Gundlach
- Rev. Shari Halliday-Quan
- Rev. Meagan Henry
- Rev. Catherine Ishida
- Rev. Kimberly Johnson
- Rev. John Gibbons
- Rev. Patrick McLaughlin
- Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti
- Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern
- Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long
- Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen
- Rev. Jolie Olivetti
- Rev. Leah Ongiri
- Rev. Millie Phillips
- Rev. Mitra Rahnema
- Rev. Bethany Russell-Lowe
- Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons
- Rev. Elizabeth Bukey Saunter
- Rev. Greta Jo Seidohl
- Rev. Sarah Skochko
- Rev. KC Slack
- Rev. Diane Teichert
- Rev. Eileen Wiviott
- Rev. Kate Lore
- Rev. Jason Lydon
- Rev. Benjamin Meyers
- Rev. Amanda Poppei
- Rev. Dr. JJ Flag
- Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
- Rev. Dr. Bill Sinkford
- Rev. Dr. Allison Tanner
- Rev. Dr. Maria Cristina Vlassidis Burgoa
- Rev. Dr. Michelle Walsh
- Rev. Dr. Marco Belletini
- Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley
- Rev. Dr. Molly Housh Gordon
- Rev. Dr. Myke Johnson
- Rev. Dr. Michael Tino
- Rev. Dr. Sabrina Trupia
- Rev. Kevin Alan Mann
- Rev.Dr. Clyde Gruss
- Reverend James Field
- Reverend Eric Kaminetzky
- Reverend Edith A. Love
- Reverend Sophia Lyons
- Reverend Hannah Roberts Villnave
- Reverend Matthew Cockrum
- Reverend Mitra Rahnema
- Sensayer Lóre Stevens
- Th.D. Amber Jayanti
- The Rev Dr Leonisa Ardizzone
- The Rev. Alexandre da Silva Souto
- The Rev. McKinley L. Sims
- The Rev. Dr. David Q. Hall
- The Reverend Bryan Plude
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