[AMENDED] Proposed AIW - Solidarity with Palestinians

I am writing in support of this AIW Solidarity with Palestinians. The world feels so confusing and makes no sense and it seems a struggle to communicate about so many things with all my people, be it family or strangers or fellow congregants. When I learn about a people who are being dehumanized, hurt, rendered voiceless and whose history has been slowly and continually erased by more powerful entities some part of me that is a wounded inner child jumps up to stand at their side. Though I also have an inner colonizer, one who wants to lean back on its privilege, stay comfortable, “this is how its always been” it says, “stay safe don’t stick your head up/neck out, people will think you are a terrorist if you stand up for them! You’ll be kicked out!” But the more I continue to learn about the 75+ years of oppression of the Palestinian people the more I realize I have been holding on to an illusion of freedom/safety when I fear “loss” for standing up. The loss is already happening for us all when such crimes that are being committed against Palestine are allowed to continue, the bombing of hospitals and refugee camps, targeting of UN/Aid workers, targeting of children, targeting of the press, cutting off access to water, electricity and food, forced starvation, perfidy, illegal settlements, apartheid, the seemingly complete uselessness of international laws and accountability, the attacks on free speech. The Palestinian’s are carrying this weight on their own, that alone I feel should have us running to their side. Standing with Palestinians is not standing against anyone else, only the colonial mind who doesn’t know the history or has forgotten we are all human will argue that, because Palestinians are humans, they want to live free and safe and have their homes back, it is not what the colonial dehumanizing mind would have us believe that they are one dimensional irrational beings filled with hatred and fighting a religious war, no, they are humans, they want to live in safety and freedom. No one lives in safety and freedom under occupation and apartheid, not even the oppressors. I hold dear the sentiment that none of us our free until all of us our free. I will continue to learn how to de-colonize my own mind and re-humanize myself and others when the system finds them peripheral to building power, living the loving free world I want. Thank you to all who have worked so hard on this AIW and all who have contributed, it feels like it will help point us in the right direction. My words/actions are inadequate, i’m sure i’m forgetting something or saying it terribly, I wish I could do more, I wish this AIW did more, but it is all in the right direction.

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Dear Friend,
I agree with all who decry Israel’s policies. However, I oppose this AIW as strongly as I can about any issue that I care about. After the opening paragraphs, the AIW becomes completely one-sided.
Please look at some of the opposing comments (especially Antony Van der Mude’s). You can find his comments using commandF or by typing his name in the search bar. (I do not know him personally.)
One aspect of the problem, as I see it, is that the Palestinians are oppressed and everyone, including me, wishes to liberate the oppressed. However, this AIW will not help solve the bigger problems, including Hamas’ stated desire to eliminate Israel. This AIW does not address nor even acknowledge that fact. Hamas uses their own citizens to hide behind.
Israel needs protection. This AIW is extremely anti-Israel. Some other wording would be less one-sided and inflammatory. This one is harmful and deeply disturbing to me.
I’d love to see a cease-fire. But who’s going to get Hamas to agree to that?

Thank you for participating and for what I hope will be a change in your heart.

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As a Palestinian-American and raised-UU, I find myself wondering why we have centered others feelings over real circumstances Palestinians experience under occupation. The evidence is broadcast to us daily of what we are witnessing. For those that wish to move forward and see peace: we cannot do so without acknowledging the horrific history and present oppression done to Palestinians.
I give my heart to everyone who has worked hard to raise the voice for Palestinians.
Resistance is born from oppression.

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Jews of conscience all over the U.S. & the world have been standing up for a permanent ceasefire and justice for the long oppressed Native people of Palestine. They are crying out “Not In Our Name,” “When we said Never Again, we meant Never Again for Anyone,” “If not now, when?” They put themselves on the line out of deep commitment to their Jewish core values. They also point out how dangerous it is for Jewish safety in the world for criticism of the apartheid state of Israel to be conflated with actual antisemitism.

I believe the present horror show in Gaza cannot be understood without recognizing that, from the beginning, Israel was a colonialist project backed by Western powers to serve as a client state for their interests in the Middle East. This is why the U.S,. has been so staunchly backing & funding Israel with U.S. tax dollars for decades. From 1948 onward, Israel has done to the Palestinians much the same thing that the European colonialists did to the Native people of the Americas. The European Jews who emigrated to Palestine in 1948 at the behest of the U.K. started out with a massive ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, confiscating their homes and towns, murdering thousands, depriving them of statehood and human rights, turning them into refugees and driving them into Gaza, which a number of prominent Israeli scholars call a concentration camp and/or “the largest open air prison in the world.”

This inhuman situation is what brought about the rise of Hamas and other radical Islamic groups. That does not excuse what Hamas did last Oct. 7th but it does help explain why it came to that. The present very far right Netanyahu regime in Israel is basically fascist & extremely racist; they make no bones about their intention to eliminate the people they openly call “human animals.” They do this in the name of Israeli safety but what they are doing is among other things making Israelis less safe by feeding into the actual antisemitism that’s out there and fostering the rise of a whole new generation of Islamic extremists.

Netanyahu is Trump squared. He has a vested interest in keeping the slaughter going because, if it stops, he’s likely to be ousted from office, whereupon he’ll be liable for prosecution for corruption. He’s also been observing his Hannibal Directive, a policy whereby hostages are to be sacrificed to prevent the hostage takers from having any leverage. Israeli’s with loved ones who were taken hostage know this. That’s why they’re in the streets passionately demanding a ceasefire that would make it possible to save the hostages and calling for Netanyahu to be ousted.

Since the U.S. corporate media gives at best poor (& usually biased) coverage of what’s going on, most Americans don’t know much if anything about these realities. If we care about truth & justice, it’s up to us to educate ourselves via more trustworthy sources. If anyone’s interested, I’d be glad to supply info on some of those.

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Thanks to those who composed this Action of Immediate Witness. From the comments I have seen here, no one seems to be an expert on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. That includes me. We are all making decisions based on our current knowledge. Bottom line: Children and entire families from Gaza have been killed or are starving. UUs share the concerns of many Jews, Muslims, and Christians for a permanent ceasefire.

Acknowledging the complexity of Israeli/Palestinian relations is crucial if we are to play any part in bringing peace to this part of the world. As a Jewish UU who has worked with If Not Now, an anti-Zionist Jewish group advocating for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, I have been heartened to see UUs, Jews, Muslims, and Christians working towards this end.

This AIW provides room for us to practice radical love. Namely, room to learn from each other, as well as from Palestinians, Jews, and Christians. It is up to us to proceed with curiosity.

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Although I appreciate your comments regarding the focus on Hamas as the responsible party - both on October 7 and even now, as they most likely were aware (based on lessons of history) what they were bringing down upon Palestinians in Gaza. I also think the reference to attractive women and rape is unduly inflammatory (rape is awful regardless of whether the women were attractive or young).

AND, I agree the intent was to break support for Israel. AND, I believe Israel was counseled on how the current invasion would damage support. AND, I believe the Israeli response is criminal and unproductive in the long term.

I DO NOT support the way Israel has managed Gaza, the West Bank, or this war. AND, I do not support this AIW, because I feel it fails to call for an action that requires mutual responsibility, cooperation, and enough faith in the future to move forward. It will be very hard. Mutual responsibility and mutual accountability, I believe, are required for a future peace.

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I fully support this AIW. I am concerned that we are not reckoning with the legacies and histories of the settler colonial racist ideology of Zionism. Our religious ancestors, including Rev. John Haynes Holmes, were complicit and even active supporters of the creation of the state of Israel in the land of Palestine. It is vital that we learn history of the last 150 years to understand the ways the creation of Israel has always been a white supremacist project. The ongoing genocide in Palestine is an affront to Unitarian Universalist values. If we do not engage more fully in opposing this genocide and pushing our faith communities to wrestle with the implications of Zionism, we are missing out on the possibilities of justice that are necessary for our faith to be on the right side of liberation struggles.

I am disappointed that many of these comments suggest that there is a lack of concern for Jewish people. There is an ocean wide distinction between Judaism and Zionism. To suggest that Jewish people are a monolithic group in support of Zionism is itself an anti-semitic sentiment. Not all Jews are the same. Neither is it appropriate to center Jewish feelings when we are talking about the genocide of Palestinian people. This is like centering white people’s feelings when talking about the impacts of chattel slavery. Our faith does have a history of centering feelings of the privileged over the material realities of oppressed people under a problematic understanding of “meeting people where they are at.”

Over the last decade we have passed numerous AIWs that called for the abolition of prisons and one that called for abolition of police. These have been hard conversations and yet we have made huge strides in understanding the inherent anti-Blackness of carceral systems. We must do similar work when it comes to Palestine. We cannot claim an abolitionist politic or theology if we do not support a free Palestine. If our theologies are to challenge the validity of punishment, then we must oppose the Israeli government’s collective punishment of all Palestinians.

Supporting this AIW is not just a political act, it is a spiritual and theological one. Unitarian Universalist theologies call us to abolish the hells that exist on this earth right now. We are not waiting for some otherworldly heaven nor are we afraid of eternal damnation. We are, however, committed to creating just heavens here on earth and eradicate the hells that are destroying the sacred lives of so many. Palestinian liberation is required for an ethical Unitarian Universalist theological understanding of the world. It is necessary that we simultaneously embrace the history of our liberal theology while opening our arms to the transforming power of a liberation theology. The divine, however we understand it, is not neutral in the face of oppression. The divine knows suffering and knows liberation. We must learn from Black Liberation Theologies, Latin American Liberation Theologies, Palestinian Liberation Theologies, Jewish Liberation Theologies, as well as critical Postcolonial theologies. These will guide us as we make decisions about how we engage in the world. The freedom struggle for Palestine is not simply about our individual understandings of reason and justice. It is part of a larger theological, spiritual, political understanding of what it means to center love in our collective lives.

This AIW calls us to learn, engage, and push ourselves. These are things we must always do. Do not allow false suggestions of anti-Semitism deter an embrace of the struggle for collective liberation.

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“After the opening paragraphs, the AIW becomes completely one-sided.”
Agreed.
“One aspect of the problem, as I see it, is that the Palestinians are oppressed and everyone, including me, wishes to liberate the oppressed. However, this AIW will not help solve the bigger problems, including Hamas’ stated desire to eliminate Israel. This AIW does not address nor even acknowledge that fact. Hamas uses their own citizens to hide behind.”
My problem, too.
I share this as a person who vehemently opposes oppression while asking for better language in this AIW.

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I do not believe discussing this AIW will hurt the denomination. I truly believe that entering disagreements with curiosity, an open mind, and good intentions will help everyone more deeply understand these difficult issues (most of all, me).

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I feel you have spoken well, Holly, and I applaud you for taking the risk of standing up for what your heart and your gut tells you is right. What’s befalling the innocent Palestinians trapped in Gaza under those bombs we supply and being deliberately starved day after terrible day–that gets to me where I live. Especially the children, 15,000 of whom have been slaughtered with many more orphaned, starving, losing limbs, having amputations without anesthesia because Israel is keeping medical supplies out while it bombs hospitals and targets doctors, nurses, and other medical caregivers.

By a vote of 15-2 The UN World Court of Justice found good reason to call this genocide and the International Criminal Court has issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu & Gallant +three Hamas leaders for crimes against humanity in violation of international human rights law. In their collaboration with the Israeli war criminals, the U.S. & U.K. stand virtually alone in the world now. Our credibility as a beacon of democracy & rule of law has been decimated. Not to mention the suppression of free speech on college campuses all over America and the brutal militarized-police attacks on peaceful demonstrators that are being justified by labeling the demonstrators ‘antisemitic’ even when many of them are in fact Jewish. This is a very dangerous precedent right here in our own backyard.

I’m hoping we UUs will be at the forefront of doing what needs to be done to end the carnage and to save our own democracy.

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Caren:
I truly hope with all my heart that you are right and that I am wrong. This is one of the times in my life that I have wished to be wrong more than I can imagine.

But my conscience and my principled quest for truth in love have led me to state what I did. We shall see, during this General Assembly and its aftermath, how well I understand the situation.

To quote John Wesley’s dictum (sometimes misattributed by UUs to Francis David):

“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?”

Even though I passionately disagree with this AIW, I know that there are many (maybe most) who feel it should pass just as passionately as me. Our paths to the Beloved Community are different, but I believe that we, as individuals, are committed to all of us getting there. The path is not always easy, but we must work toward it.

This is why I stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and witness to the terrible things that are happening and getting worse each passing day. I care very, very much, but I must work towards the end of violence for them and all other human beings the best way my conscience, my heart, and my mind tells me.

Hear, hear, Rev. Jason! Thank you for speaking the truth with such eloquence and for calling us to honor the values we profess when faced with an injustice so staggering & inhumane it can hardly be comprehended.

Let us not engage in a false equivalency that cancels out the difference between the oppressed and the oppressor.

May love prevail.

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Dear Friend,

I’m sorry that we hold different opinions on this. I value our friendship, and I have worked and thought long and hard about this issue since Oct. 7th. I have read all the comments. I am firm in my support of this Action of Immediate Witness at this time. I do not hold opinions or take analysis lightly, as you well know.

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Let us also proceed with a commitment to justice and the courage that requires.

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When it comes to genocide, I don’t see how there can be more than one side.

Let us not engage in a false equivalency that serves to justify brutal colonialist oppression.

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Thank you Jason for your words, wisdom and solidarity. This AIW is critically important for us to live into who we say we are - on the side of the oppressed, against apartheid, liberation for all.

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I am for this AIW. “Never Again” must mean Never Again for Anyone" or it doesn’t mean anything at all. The cynical attempt by many to equate all support for Palestinians with support for Hamas/Terrorism, and the equally cynical attempt to equate any criticism of Israel with Antisemitism, cannot be allowed to stand.

Nor can we be fooled by the argument that Israel is simply “responding to October 8” as if Gaza hasn’t been under an illegal siege for years, that Palestinians in the West Bank are under constant threat from both illegal settlers and the IDF, or that Israel is an Apartheid state.

Like it or not, there will be no peace in Israel for anyone until there is peace in Israel for everyone.

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This AIW allows us to live into we say we are as Unitarian Universalists - on the side of the oppressed, against apartheid, and certainly against genocide. The actions of the Israeli government are unconscionable and we have a moral obligation to name that and the US governments complicity in this. A vote to place this AIW on the agenda will give us the opportunity to hear from all.

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Yes! Amen and thank you so much for this prophetic and invitational post.

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I have endorsed this AIW and am strongly in favor of it. While the attack on Jewish people on October 7 was heinous, so too has been Israel’s response. It is appropriate and important that as Unitarian Universalists, we endorse collective liberation–for Palestinian people as well as Jewish people.

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