In This Issue
Interested in Planning MennoPIN’s Presence at Convention?
Want to Join the Steering Committee?
Next Webinar: Thursday, November 17 at 7 pm EST
Boycott HP Week of Action
U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights
New MCC Resource
For Further Reading

Going to Convention Next Year?
If you are going to the Mennonite Church USA convention next year in Orlando and have interest in helping to shape MennoPIN’s presence there, join our new subgroup: Orlando 2017! We want to have a booth in the exhibit hall, help lead workshops, hand out flyers, and garner as much support as possible for a strong resolution on Israel-Palestine. Also, please consider volunteering to be a delegate from your congregation, so that you can vote directly for the resolution. If you’d like to join the Orlando subgroup, please email mennopin@gmail.com with Orlando in the subject line.

Want to Join the Steering Committee?
As we get better established as a network, MennoPIN’s Steering Committee is formalizing our structure. We welcome feedback on our proposed guidelines. We also welcome nominations for people to serve on the Steering Committee. If you are interested or want to nominate someone else, send an email to mennopin@gmail.com,with Steering Committee in the subject line. For the person you are nominating, note name, Mennonite congregation affiliation, and brief description, including interest and experience with Israel-Palestine. The Steering Committee will then bring a slate of nominees to you for approval.

Next Webinar: Thursday, November 17 at 7 pm Eastern / 4 pm Pacific
A Rabbi and a Pastor walk through a checkpoint:  Relating to Jewish neighbors while working for justice in Palestine
Are you passionate about peace with justice in Israel-Palestine, but unsure how to engage with Jewish friends, colleagues, or neighbors? Pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin and Rabbi Linda Holtzman will share stories of their work together co-leading tours to Israel-Palestine, listening and speaking to various audiences about their experience, and engaging their respective communities. The webinar will include conversation about what has and hasn’t been helpful, and some ideas for building relationships together. Please join and invite your friends. Sign up here.

Also, the October 13 webinar on Kairos Palestine with Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is now available online. It provides a great overview of Palestinian Christians and the Kairos Palestine call.

Boycott HP Week of Action: November 25-December 3
The week of Nov. 25-Dec. 3 will be Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Days of Action around the world targeting Hewlett Packard. November 29 is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. For more information and to sign up, click here.

U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights
The U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, of which MennoPIN is a member, announced it is changing its name to the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Just prior to the U.S. Campaign’s national conference on October 14-17 in Arlington, Va., several MennoPIN representatives joined a meeting of more than 70 faith-based advocates working for justice in Palestine.

New Resource from Mennonite Central Committee
A new resource, “MCC and Palestine and Israel: Commonly asked questions,” is now available online from MCC.

For Further Reading
Back the Boycott: The Canadian Mennonite endorses BDS

—
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
Erica Littlewolf (White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, Busby, MT)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

 

As you know, the Israel/Palestine Resolution was tabled in Kansas City last summer. As we look forward to a revision being presented at the Mennonite Church USA convention in Orlando next summer, the steering committee is already starting to organize for a MennoPIN presence at the convention. There are two ways that you can help prepare for the convention:

1. Educate the delegates in your congregation and conference. The Kairos Study guide is a great resource for a Sunday School class or other adult forum.

a. Printed guides are available from MennoMedia.
b. A PDF can be downloaded from MennoPIN.
c. Please consider making a contribution to MennoPIN so we can provide copies of the Kairos Study Guide to all conference leaders.

2. Contribute to the cost of a booth and printed materials in Orlando. We estimate that we will need $1500.

a. Please make checks out to “Pleasant View Mennonite Church” and clearly write “MennoPIN” in the comment line.
b. Send checks to:

Pleasant View Mennonite Church
Attn: MennoPIN
1101 N Lucas Street
Mount Pleasant, IA  52641

As convention planning gets underway, we will be in touch with updates on our end, but please do let us know what you all are doing as well.

Thank you for your support and all the work you do for a just peace!

—
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
Erica Littlewolf (White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, Busby, MT)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

In This Issue
“Peace in Palestine and Israel Portfolio”
Help Support Jonathan’s Work
Gaza: Take Action
Study Guide Available
Prayer
For Further Reading

“Peace in Palestine and Israel Portfolio”
Everence Trust Company has created a “Peace in Palestine and Israel Portfolio” that provides qualified investors with an investment option that is “monitored and regularly evaluated for exposure to companies on the current [American Friends Service Committee] divestment lists related to Israel and Palestine.” See the attached flyer or contact an Everence Advisor for more information.

For a recent reflection on boycott, divestment, and sanctions from Mennonite pastor James Rissler, following his return from a “Come and See” tour, read Praying for Peace in Israel-Palestine. And read Rachelle Friesen’s report on Mennonite Church Canada’s resolution supporting boycott and divestment, passed at their annual meeting earlier this month.

Help Support Mennonite Church USA Staff Position on Israel-Palestine
Former MennoPIN steering committee member Jonathan Brenneman is beginning a special one-year Mennonite Voluntary Service assignment, to support Mennonite Church USA members who are committed to educating, acting and prayer for peace in Israel-Palestine. Contact Jonathan via email if you would like to connect with him in your local area.

Mennonite Church USA welcomes contributions to support Jonathan’s work. Checks should be made to Mennonite Church USA, with “MVS Partners in Peacemaking” in the memo line and sent to 718 N. Main St., Newton, KS 67114-1703. Or go to http://mennoniteusa.org/give/, click on Donate to the Purposeful Plan, and at the box at the bottom designate your contribution for “MVS Partners in Peacemaking.”

Gaza: Take Action
This month marks two years since the devastating war in Gaza. Only 10 percent of homes destroyed in the war have been rebuilt, and Gazans continue to live under a suffocating blockade. Watch and share this short video, sign a petition online and send a message to your Member of Congress.

Reminder: Kairos Palestine Study Guide Available
If you are wondering how to talk about Israel-Palestine in your local congregation, check out our study guide on the Kairos Palestine document. Available for download as a PDF from our website or in print from MennoMedia for $5.

Prayer from ACT Palestine Forum
God of life, who cares for all of creation, and calls us to justice and peace, may our security not come from arms, but from respect. May our force not be of violence, but of love. May our wealth not be in money, but in sharing. May our path not be of ambition, but of justice. May our victory not be from vengeance, but in forgiveness. May our unity not be in the quest for power, but in vulnerable witness to do your will.  –From ACT Palestine Forum

For Further Reading
No Way to Treat a Child by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach
July Update from Kairos Palestine
Israel’s Water Cuts: West Bank “In Full Crisis Mode”
Check out the July issue of The Mennonite, which includes reflections by Meghan Good and Ervin Stutzman

—
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
Erica Littlewolf (White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, Busby, MT)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

In This Issue
Webinar on June 21
Steering Committee transitions
Anti-BDS Legislation
Let’s Talk Apartheid
Study Guide
Support Our Work
Updates from Other Denominations

Join Us for a Webinar June 21, 12 pm Eastern / 9 am Pacific
MennoPIN is co-sponsoring another webinar. Jonathan Brenneman, who is beginning a special 1-year assignment with Mennonite Church USA on Israel-Palestine, will share his plans for the year and how you can connect with him. There will also be brief updates from others working on Israel-Palestine.

The webinar provides a way for those who have participated in a learning tour to connect with one another and continue their work, but is open to all who have interest. To participate, send an email indicating your interest to mennopin@gmail.com and you will receive instructions on how to join.

Steering Committee Transitions
Over the last months, we have seen some transitions on the MennoPIN steering committee. With the start of his role with MCUSA, Jonathan Brenneman is finishing up his time on the steering committee. At the same time we welcome Erica Littlewolf. Erica is from the Northern Cheyenne Nation of southeastern Montana and currently lives in Kansas, working for Mennonite Central Committee Central States with the Indigenous Visioning Circle. Learn about Erica and other members of the steering committee at https://mennopin.org/about/steering-committee/. And stay tuned for more conversation on Steering Committee service and transitions later this year.

Tell Congress: Oppose “Combating BDS Act of 2016”
The U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, of which MennoPIN is a member, has issued an action alert urging members to contact Congress opposing legislation restricting the use of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Take action now.

Many states have also introduced anti-BDS legislation. The RightToBoycott website is a great resource to see whether anti-BDS legislation has been introduced in your state and to get the legal and organizing resources you need to mobilize to challenge it.

The Mennonite Church and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Let’s Talk about Apartheid
This great piece by Cody O’Rourke asks, “How is it that a peace church failed to pass a boycott, divestment, and sanctions resolution at the last convention? It is important that the church take an active role shaping the contours of conversation that properly represent the plight of the Palestinian people.” Read the whole article.

Reminder: Kairos Palestine Study Guide Now Available!
If you haven’t yet received the new study guide on Kairos Palestine, get your copy today. The four-part study provides a great way to help your congregation learn more about Israel-Palestine. It is available as a free download from our website or in print from MennoMedia for $5.

Support MennoPIN’s Work
Thanks to those of you who contributed to the cost of producing and distributing the study guide. If you would still like to donate, please write a check to Pleasant View Mennonite Church, with MennoPIN in the memo line. Mail to: Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Attn: MennoPIN, 1101 N Lucas Street, Mount Pleasant IA  52641.

BDS in Other Denominations
This summer many other denominations have taken or will soon take up the issue of Israel-Palestine at their denominational assemblies. Read about these efforts: United Methodist Kairos Response | Israel-Palestine Mission Network of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East

—
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
Erica Littlewolf (White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, Busby, MT)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

In This Issue
Study Guide Now Available
Give to MennoPIN
Palestinian Children’s Rights
Atlanta Church Summit
Wave of Prayer
Also Recommended

Kairos Palestine Study Guide Now Available!
We are delighted to announce that a study guide for Kairos Palestine is now available! Many thanks to MennoPIN member Rod Stafford, who adapted a study guide from the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for a Mennonite audience.

This four-part study provides a great way to help your congregation learn more about Israel-Palestine. It is available as a free download from MennoPIN’s website. Print copies are available for $5/each from MennoMedia.

Help support MennoPIN’s work
Help us cover the costs of producing the study guide and ensuring that key leaders in the church receive a copy. To donate, please write a check to Pleasant View Mennonite Church, with MennoPIN in the memo line. Mail to: Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Attn: MennoPIN, 1101 N Lucas Street, Mount Pleasant IA  52641. Thank you!

Congressional Letter on Palestinian Children’s Rights
The No Way to Treat a Child campaign has worked with Rep. McCollum’s office on a congressional letter to President Obama, requesting that he designate a Special Envoy for Palestinian Children. Urge your representative to join the letter, which is open for signatures until May 20.

Atlanta Church Summit
On April 19-20, Palestinian and U.S. church leaders met in Atlanta. They released a statement, “Pursuing Peace and Strengthening Presence: The Atlanta Summit of Churches in the USA and the Holy Land.” Ervin Stutzman, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, is a signatory. The document affirms the use of “economic leverage on commercial and governmental actors to end unfair and unjust practices and policies which violate international laws and conventions.”

Resonating with the Kairos Palestine document, this is yet another affirmation of the call for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions as a nonviolent response to Israel’s colonial occupation of Palestinian life and land. Statements such as this–as well as this letter to the Mennonite World Review that calls us to “Stand with Palestinian Christians”–are helpful correctives to the tendentious representation of boycotts and divestment as “coercive.”

From the Sabeel Wave of Prayer…
God of justice, we are at a loss when we see countries who are in power ultimately have no power to stop the land-grabbing and illegal settlement building Israel engages in. Strengthen the voices of the international community, God, and do not let them give up. Open Israel’s ears to hear so that peace can one day come to this land. Lord, in your mercy…

Also Recommended
Kairos Palestine has issued an alert, Bethlehem in Danger, raising concerns about construction on the separation wall that cuts through the Cremisan Valley.

Sen. Patrick Leahy and 10 House members sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on Feb. 17 that lists several examples of alleged Israeli and Egyptian “gross violations of human rights” that should be examined. The letter led to an interesting exchange between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Senator Leahy.

—

Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Jonathan Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

Dear MennoPIN Friends,

Greetings! We are following up on our last update regarding Rev. Alex Awad and his availability to speak at annual conference meetings. Many of you know Rev. Awad. He is a Baptist minister and a significant evangelical Palestinian leader who has a long-standing and close relationship with Mennonites. He served as a headmaster at Hope Mennonite School near Bethlehem in the 1980s. When Bethlehem Bible College was founded with strong support from Mennonites, he became a professor and dean of students there. For years, Bethlehem Bible College has been a close partner of both Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Mission Network.

Over the next year, Rev. Awad has agreed to help us do the work that we committed ourselves to last summer in Kansas City (see “A statement of Support for our Palestinian and Israeli Partners in Peacemaking” in English and Spanish). He will be available to lead workshops, speak at area conference assemblies and be available for other kinds of conversation. This is where we need to act. Do you know if your area conference is taking advantage of this opportunity? Have you asked your pastor or area conference moderator to invite Rev. Awad to your annual meeting? (For a list of MCUSA area conferences visit here.)

In the steering committee, we see this as a great opportunity not only to learn more about the situation in Palestine-Israel, but to discern together ways to demonstrate accountability to our Palestinian and Israeli brothers and sisters. In particular, we hope that Rev. Awad’s presence at area conferences over the next year will help move Mennonite Church USA to support the original resolution presented in Kansas City (read in English and Spanish) and heed the Kairos call to support Palestinian and Israeli efforts at nonviolent resistance, in particular through boycotts and divestment.

—
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Jonathan Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

In This Issue
Good News on BDS!
Take Action
Volunteer Opportunity
Isaac Villegas Running Palestine Marathon: Support MCC’s Work in Gaza
Upcoming Events
Also Recommended

Good News on BDS! G4S Divests and Ahava relocates from West Bank
On March 10, private security conglomerate G4S announced that they were selling off their Israeli subsidiary. G4S has been a target of BDS activists due to their involvement in running Israeli prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are held, as well as providing scanners at Israeli military checkpoints.

Ahava, the Dead Sea cosmetics company that has been a major target of BDS for maintaining a manufacturing plant in the West Bank will be relocating its facility within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

Take Action
MennoPIN has endorsed a statement on anti-BDS legislation that is being circulated by Friends of Sabeel North America. You can add your name to it as well. Learn more about the legislation here.

Volunteer Opportunity
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI-U.S.) has, for the first time, some full scholarships available that will cover all costs of participation for this unique three month service opportunity. Application forms, with dates for upcoming terms, are online. For more information, please contact Steve Weaver.

Isaac Villegas Running Palestine Marathon to Support MCC’s Work in Gaza
Isaac Villegas, pastor of Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, is running the Palestine Marathon to raise funds for MCC’s work in Gaza. For the Palestinians, there is no escape from the wall, there’s no outside, as Lena Khalaf Tuffaha writes in her poem, “there is nowhere to run to” (excerpted below. Here’s an opportunity to let your money be used by people as they rebuild their own lives, for as long as they can, as long as their communities are allowed to exist, even as the walls keep on closing in on them.

“They call us now.
Before they drop the bombs.
They think of it as some kind of war time courtesy.
It doesn’t matter that
there is nowhere to run to.
It means nothing that the borders are closed
and your papers are worthless
and mark you only for a life sentence
in this prison by the sea…
You live in the wrong place
and now is your chance to run
to nowhere.”

Upcoming Events
April 16: Atlantic Coast Conference Spring Assembly, featuring Alex Awad; Frazer (PA) Mennonite Church

Also Recommended

• Check out this story on Racial Profiling in Israel, making true Dr. Martin Luther King’s words, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
• Also, read about evangelicals challenging a decades-long stance of blanket support for Israel’s government.
• Not made in Israel: Recognizing that goods produced in Israeli settlements are NOT the same as those made in Israel.

 

—
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Jonathan Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

In This Issue Join us for a webinar on Feb. 25! Is Rev. Alex Awad speaking at your Conference meeting? Injustice in Israel “No Way to Treat a Child” campaign United Methodist Church Board of Pensions Third Thursday action alert Human Rights Watch report MCC Palestine blog entry Also recommended Join us for a webinar on Feb. 25! If you have been part of a learning tour to Israel/Palestine, or even if you just want to learn more about the issue, please join us for a webinar on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 12:30 pm Eastern. A representative from MennoPIN, as well as staff from Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA) and Mennonite Central Committee, will provide updates and talk about ways to get more involved. To join this free webinar, RSVP online. Is Rev. Alex Awad speaking at your Conference meeting? Do you know which Mennonite Church USA Conference your congregation is a part of? Do you know when and where your Conference annual meeting is taking place? Over the next year Rev. Dr. Alex Awad—former pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church and dean of Bethlehem Bible College—will be speaking at MCUSA Conference annual meetings. Recently Rev. Awad reflected on the ongoing violence in Israel/Palestine, noting that “killing civilians is not the path to achieve political goals.” Ask your pastor or your Conference staff about the opportunity to host Rev. Awad at your Conference annual meeting! In Mennonite World Review: Injustice in Israel “Divestment and boycotts are extreme measures, taken in extreme circumstances, but the Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers we spoke with see them as the only nonviolent forms of protest they have left…We are deeply troubled by how our financial lives are enmeshed in policies of occupation through our investments, purchases and tax dollars.” Read the full reflection from a group of Mennonite learning tour participants. “No Way to Treat a Child” campaign Some MennoPIN members have talked about impactful it was when they met with Military Court Watch on a learning tour to Israel/Palestine. The “No Way to Treat a Child Campaign,” which aims to expose the impact of Israeli military detention on Palestinian children, is a great way to follow up on those learnings. Learn more about the campaign, including how to start a local chapter in your area. United Methodist Church divests from Israeli banks United Methodist Kairos Response recently announced that the $20-billion Pension and Health Benefits Fund of the United Methodist Church has declared the five largest Israeli banks off limits for investment and has divested from the two that it held in its portfolios. Third Thursday action alert A resolution that would support illegal Israel settlements by conflating the occupied territories with Israel has been introduced in the House of Representatives. Learn more and take action through this update from Global Ministries. Human Rights Watch issues strong report against settlement businesses Human Rights Watch released a 162-page report on January 19 calling for businesses to stop operating in, financing, servicing or trading with Israeli settlements in order to comply with their human rights responsibilities. Arvind Ganesan, director of the business and human rights division said, “Settlement businesses unavoidably contribute to Israeli policies that dispossess and harshly discriminate against Palestinians, while profiting from Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and other resources.” From MCC Palestine’s Advent Reflections – Joy St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Joy is the greatest cleanser, and it is the greatest testimony to our faith.” Once again, we look to our Palestinian and Israeli partners who are living lives as peace-builders. They are the great testaments to the joy of the Gospel, the joy that Jesus’ birth brings. They teach us how to celebrate and be joyful in small ways, such as in the warm hospitality of a cup of coffee and a visit, and in large ways, by sharing their stories of both hardship and success. They show us the ways in which we can be hopeful and joyful through lived example. We at MCC Palestine and Israel are blessed to be witnesses to these lives of testimony to joy, of testimony to peace. Also recommended Occupation Captured: View these weekly photo essays of life in Hebron by Christian Peacemaker Teams Netanyahu, US envoy trade jabs over ‘two-standards’ of law in West Bank: At a conference in Tel Aviv on January 18, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro was unusually critical of Israeli policies in the West Bank. Finally, check out this week’s PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly for a discussion on boycott, divestment, and sanctions, and the church. — Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin Steering Committee: Jonathan Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH) Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS) Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA) George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM) Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC) Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

Advent Prayers

During this Advent season, join in a daily prayer vigil for hope, healing, and justice in the Middle East. You can use these resources from Kairos USA or ACT Palestine, as well as submit your own prayers to their website for shared use.

You can also invite your congregations and friends to join Sabeel’s Wave of Prayer every Thursday as well as share Sabeel’s Christmas Message from Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid…to you is born…a Savior” (Luke 2:10-11).

Christmas Giving

Looking for a Christmas gift that can also be a conversation starter? Try Equal Exchange Olive Oil: http://equalexchange.coop/olive-oil or Ten Thousand Villages products from the West Bank: https://www.tenthousandvillages.com/. Purchase of these products helps support sustainable livelihoods and fair wages for many living in the West Bank, while fostering care for the life and history of the land.

PeaceSigns

As the violence between Israelis and Palestinians continues, a recent PeaceSigns article tells the story of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy named Abed al-Rahman Obeidallah, who was killed by an Israeli soldier in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Take action by calling your members of Congress at (202) 224-3121. Tell them you are dismayed by all acts of violence, and ask them in their public communications to acknowledge the broader cycle of violence created by the Israeli military occupation.

MCUSA Resolution

Several members of MennoPIN’s Steering Committee participated in a roundtable November 19-20 on Israel-Palestine convened by Mennonite Church USA, to determine next steps for following up on the “Saturday resolution.” The resolution calls for education, reflection, discernment as we pray and act for peace in Israel-Palestine over the next two years. MennoPIN will work with various Mennonite agencies to help implement the resolution, as we work toward passage of a stronger resolution in 2017.

International Day of Solidarity

November 29 marked the United Nations’ International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This year, the day also brought protests around the world asking the UN to end its contract with G4S, a security company that provides services and equipment to Israeli prisons where Palestinian prisoners are detained and often tortured without trial.

More than 1800 Palestinians, including 300 children, have been arrested and imprisoned since the beginning of October. You can use this form to send a letter to the UN asking them to end their contract with G4S.

Bethlehem Today

This Advent, some of our congregations are focusing on Bethlehem today and the experience of colonial occupation, lifting up the stories of Palestinians, and reflecting on our response as U.S. Mennonites. What are you doing this Advent season in your congregation to remember Bethlehem today? We would love to share your stories on the MennoPIN facebook page and website!

 

Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Jonathan Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)

Friends,

In the midst of increased violence in Israel-Palestine, encourage your congregation to continue to pray fervently for justice and peace. Here are some resources to use:

• Prayers from The Lutheran World Federation – Jerusalem Program
• Sabeel’s Wave of Prayer 

More on the Current Violence

• Hebron, a city in the southern part of the West Bank where Christian Peacemaker Teams works, has been the site of much of the violence this past month, with 10 Palestinians killed. CPT’s “Occupation Captured” provides compelling photos documenting life under occupation in Hebron.
• Mennonite Central Committee and other Christian agencies working in Israel-Palestine issued a statement calling “on the international community to address the root causes of the conflict by redoubling its efforts to safeguard international humanitarian law and human rights.”

Join Us

If you have not yet responded to our request to let us know your city/state/zip, congregation, and area conference, please do so by sending us an email with that information. This will help us to facilitate connections between MennoPIN members locally and also to organize better as we look ahead to the next Mennonite Church USA convention.

Fall MCC Palestine Update

Many of you have visited Israel-Palestine on learning tours hosted by Mennonite Central Committee. Here are a few highlights from their fall update:

• Over one year after the end of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, the situation in Gaza remains dire. A recent UN report warns that Gaza could become “unliveable” by 2020 without immediate and radical action, including the lifting of the blockade.
• The village of Susiya, which lies between an Israeli settlement and archeological site, was slated for demolition and bulldozers had arrived on the scene in early August. With outcry from the international community, the bulldozers have left for now and it seems the Israeli authorities are seeking to negotiate with the village. Unfortunately, while international attention was turned to Susiya, demolitions were carried out in many other communities in Israeli-controlled Area C.

#BlackPalestinianSolidarity

A recent video was released under the hashtag #BlackPalestinianSolidarity that features more than 60 Black and Palestinian artists, writers, and activists highlighting the shared experiences of racism and oppression that both communities are confronting, holding up signs such as “Gaza Stands With Ferguson” and “When I see them, I see us.” Angela Davis explained:

“Mutual expressions of solidarity have helped to generate a vigorous political kinship linking black organizers, scholars, cultural workers and political prisoners in the U.S. with Palestinian activists, academics, political prisoners, and artists…That the Palestinian people have refused to surrender after almost seven decades of continuous struggle against Israeli settler colonialism is a great encouragement to black people in the U.S. to accelerate our ongoing struggles against racist state violence. These powerful images represent a journey from struggle against tyranny to a collective hope for a just future.”

This expression of solidarity reminds us that our work for justice in Palestine-Israel must also include work for justice at home, actively dismantling structures of oppression such as racism and poverty as well as militarism.

Announcement from Mennonite Church USA: Israel/Palestine Learning Experience, March 2016

Interesting in deeper understanding of the conflict in Israel and Palestine? In meeting with Palestinian pastors and church leaders? In visiting important sites in the Biblical story?

Consider participating in a “Come and See” mini-tour in conjunction with the Christ at the Checkpoint conference (March 3-6, 2016). The tour will involve three days of immersion in the realities of occupation in the West Bank.  The conference that follows (March 7-10) is hosted by Bethlehem Bible College and will create space for Palestinian and American evangelicals to enter into honest conversation about the realities faced by the Palestinian church and the challenges of working for justice in the spirit of Jesus in this context.

After the conference you can choose to participate in a three day Holy Land tour and visit sites in the Biblical story in Bethlehem, Galilee and Jerusalem. The “Come and See” tour and conference will cost roughly $1000 plus airfare and the Holy Land Tour will be an additional $395 or $515 depending on lodging choices. Mennonite Church USA pastors and leaders who participate in the first tour and conference can apply for a $1000 scholarship.  

Recommended Reading

We are lifelong Zionists; here is why we’ve chosen to boycott Israel

Frequently Asked Questions about KC2015 Delegate Assembly Resolutions, Part 2

 

Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Jonathan Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Tom Harder (Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS)
Joy Lapp (Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Mt Pleasant, IA)
George Muedeking (Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, NM)
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (Peace Fellowship Church, Washington, DC)
Timothy Seidel (Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA)