In This Issue
With the start of this new year, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some of the many ways which Mennonites showed up and spoke out for peace with justice in Israel/Palestine in 2024.
While we welcome the ceasefire and celebrate the release of hostages/prisoners, uncertainty abounds, and we all know that a temporary pause in violence in Gaza is not a realization of true peace. At at time when many of us are understandably growing weary, our hearts are also telling us we must stay the course. May this update provide encouragement and strength to commit more fully to this work in 2025.
2024: A Year of Solidarity
| Mennonites across the United States have come together in faith-based witness, striving to uphold the dignity and humanity of every person as we seek to end the Israeli occupation. In 2024, Mennonite and Mennonite-affiliated/partner organizations, congregations, committees, and individuals: Advocated for the reinstatement of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Supported solidarity-building pilgrimages to disrupt violence and create environments for healing Joined other faith-based communities in pledging to dismantle Israeli Apartheid Equipped Anabaptist congregations with educational resources such books, liturgies, and documentaries. Hosted numerous speakers and talks, offering opportunities to learn from Palestinians, scholars, and one another. Launched a campaign to plant olive trees that support Palestinian livelihood Mobilized in acts of peaceful civil disobedience (see green inset below) Faithfully prayed with specific requests for peace Carried on our long-standing commitment of providing humanitarian assistance to displaced Palestinians Wrote letters-to-the-editor and opinion pieces, providing a faith-based perspective and alternative to mainstream media’s insufficient coverage Urged elected officials and petitioned city councils to champion a permanent ceasefire and end military aid/arms sales to Israel Held vigils and stood together with Jews and Muslims in grief and prayer Engaged in difficult conversations with family and friends and refused to remain silent This is just a small sampling of the myriad of ways Mennonites have served as peacemakers for Israel and Palestine over the past year. A huge shout-out to all of you who have stepped up in solidarity on either a local or national level, in ways both big and small. Every effort matters. For some of you this work is new, yet for many others, you have been active around this issue for many years. While we all struggle with discouragement at times, we can take comfort and courage knowing we are not in this work alone, as demonstrated so clearly above. We stand in solidarity with each other and the Palestinians and Israelis who so desperately seek peace. As we move ahead, let us continue to lean on each other and our Lord, whom we look to for our hope and strength. |
Mennonite Action
Thanks be to God and the cloud of witnesses that brought Mennonite Action into being!
During 2024, Mennonite Action encouraged mobilizations across the United States and Canada providing the tools and strategies for hundreds of actions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Mennonite Action and MennoPIN share board members (three MennoPIN Steering Committee members serve on the Board for Mennonite Action and Adam Ramer, Fundraising and Partnership Director for Mennonite Action, has joined MennoPIN’s Steering Committee) and often work together in our shared vision for the liberation of the Palestinian people.
For those looking to learn more about Mennonite Action’s work and to join their movement click HERE.
Reflections by Jacob Janzen, MennoPIN Christian Zionism subcommittee member
My contribution to this month’s MennoPIN Update was being drafted as a reflection on the outgoing Administration of the US Government, when news of the ceasefire agreement came in. It’s intimidating to offer thoughts on events as they unfold in real time, in part because things happen so quickly, but also because claims that are made sometimes prove false after additional scrutiny is applied. This issue seems most particularly acute in something so contentious as the Israel/Palestine conflict.
We encourage our readers to seek multiple reports on the same events and think critically about where omissions and exaggerations are employed to gain sympathy. We do our best to learn as much as we can, recognize the limits of our perspective, and trust that God’s omniscience will win out in the end.
Relative to the fast pace of events we read about in the news, the work of the MennoPIN Countering Christian Zionism subcommittee can feel excruciatingly slow. But we are focused on shaping the lens from which all other events are seen. We continuously calibrate our own moral compass in the hopes of helping others to do the same. There are no versions of Zionism that justify what has been done to the Palestinian people. But among them, Christian Zionism is the least defensible. It asserts that the Second Coming of Christ can be instigated by treating people in very un-Christian ways.
Our advocacy at MennoPIN is based on the firm belief that all people are God’s people, and we are called to love and serve everyone. We also recognize that the efforts we undertake out of love may be perceived by some as misguided. MennoPIN is open to healthy dialogue when it leads to a greater understanding of one another. Comments may be sent to info@mennopin.org
For as much as we feel relieved by the news of the ceasefire, it is hard to trust the long-term intentions of a US Government with several people in key positions that hold these views. Our work as Peace and Justice advocates is as important now as it has ever been. Please engage as much as you can.
2024: A Year of Generosity
In 2024 we experienced tremendous generosity from our Anabaptist Community both for the work of MennoPIN but also for the direct relationships we have created through Gaza Twinning.
More specifically, thanks to many of you, $13,000 has been contributed to support Tareq Abuhalima’s family who continue to live in tents on the beach in Gaza* and for our Twinning partnership with leadership from the Gaza YMCA.
In addition, $6,000 was donated to support the work of MennoPIN and $1,100 was donated to plant olive trees in the West Bank.
MennoPIN could not be as effective without this important financial support, so thank you!
*If you are experiencing extreme cold where you are, please remember how cold it must be for those living in tents in Gaza. Please continue to keep those people in your prayers, and consider additional contributions that can alleviate their suffering.
2025: Looking Ahead
MennoPIN and other peace and justice organizations are gearing up to gather once again for the MC USA Convention: Follow Jesus 25, scheduled for July 8-12, 2025, in Greensboro, North Carolina. MennoPIN has submitted two seminars for the convention. Assuming our proposals are accepted, one will feature Jonathan Kuttab, steering committee member and well-known Palestinian-Anabaptist international human rights attorney, who will provide an update and an Anabaptist response to Gaza. The other seminar will include Reverend, Dr. Alex Awad, Palestinians Christians Alliance for Peace, who will address Christian Zionism.
Be sure to stop by the MennoPIN exhibit and also be on the lookout for an announcement this spring with more details and invitations for you to join us there.
Reminder: Palestine-Israel Book Study
On February 25 at 7:00 pm, Western District Conference will host a Zoom discussion of Apeirogon, by Colum McCann. The book tells the story of Israeli and Palestinian fathers who both lose their children, one to an Israeli rubber bullet and the other to suicide bombers. When they learn each other’s stories, their loss connects them and together they attempt to use their grief as a weapon for peace.
Special guest, Tareq Abuhamila, will introduce the discussion with an update of current life conditions in Gaza and the ceasefire agreement. Questions about the ceasefire and responses to the book, are all a part of the hour-long gathering.
Please register by emailing wdc@mennowdc.org by Monday, February 17th
Grab a copy and join us!
Mennonite Palestine Israel Network
MennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. To find out more, please visit our website.
info@mennopin.org | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | x.com/mennopin
Steering Committee
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Dave Janzen (Fellowship of Hope, Elkhart, IN)
Michael George (Landisville Mennonite Church, PA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Zachary Murray (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)
Adam Ramer (Co-coordinator of Mennonite Action, New York, NY)
David Bluford (Rainbow Mennonite Church, Kansas City, KS)
Gretchen Merlot (Philadelphia, PA)*
**Since October 2024, MennoPIN has benefited greatly from the contributions of Gretchen as our new Communications Volunteer. Her efforts are critical to bringing these updates to you every month! She has taken up the mantle from Lydia Miller, who was also a big help.
MennoPIN 