MennoPIN Update – May 26, 2023

MENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK
MennoPIN Update – May 26, 2023

In This Issue
Is Israel Unraveling from Within?
Forgotten Gaza
A Learning Tour to Palestine – Peacemakers Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Washington Post Documents Extrajudicial Killings in Jenin
Stay Informed on Palestine


Is Israel Unraveling from Within?

Update - may 26 - Is Israel Unraveling
A demonstrator with a sign against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a march against the government’s judicial reform bill in Tel Aviv, 1 April 2023 (AFP)

Is Israel beginning to unravel from within? Jonathan Cook, award-winning British author and journalist living in Nazareth, thinks so. Writing in Middle East Eye, Cook boldly states: “As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, the state-building project it cemented into place in 1948 by expelling 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland is showing the first signs of unravelling.”

Cook argues that Israel’s deep troubles arise not from external forces, such as pressures from the international community or military attacks, but from within Israel’s internal contradictions. The current divisions in Israeli society, evidenced by the massive protests again Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to overhaul and weaken the judicial branch of government, have roots, Cook contends, deep within the very founding of Israel in 1948.

Netanyahu’s recent merciless bombing of civilians in Gaza is one example of how he is trying to bring about unity through war, killing dozens of Gazans. As always, Palestinians pay the price, but the Islamic Jihad within Gaza plays right into Netanyahu’s hands when they launch their own missiles into Israel, killing a few civilians. Violence always begets violence.

Read more on why Cook believes that “[Israel’s] leaders have created a monster they can no longer tame,” click here.

Forgotten Gaza

Update - may 26 - gaza
Crowding Around the Gaza Boarder (Public Domain)

The recent daily bombing of Gaza by Israeli forces weighs heavily on the heart of Jonathan Kuttab, MennoPIN Steering Committee member and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). In addition to the horrendous pain and suffering caused by Israel’s eighteen-year-old blockade and periodic bombing of Gaza, Kuttab also laments the forgotten status of Gaza, even among supporters of Palestine: “It is truly tragic that much of the world, including those interested in Israel/Palestine, is only concerned about Gaza when there is actual fighting and deaths involved, but that as soon as a particular round of fighting subsides, it fades into oblivion…It is unconscionable how routine and forgotten Gaza has become.”

He continues: “Yet, we only think of Gaza when, our of their utter desperation and, usually, as a response to some Israeli provocation, [Hamas of the Islamic Jihad] shoot some of the home-made futile rockets into Israel, which leads to a punishing response by a sophisticated Israeli army.”

For Jonathan’s entire article, go here.

Peacemakers Pilgrimage to the Holy Land


Update - may 26 - pilgrimage

The Holy Land is rich in sacred history, a place where one can walk in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace; but it’s also a land rife with conflict and injustice, a place where people are seeking to make Christ’s message of peace, justice, and reconciliation a reality. The “Peacemaker’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land” will provide you with the opportunity to experience both the ancient stones of biblical history, as well as the “living stones” as embodied in the ministries of those working to promote Christ’s vision of peace with justice.

Learn more about the pilgrimage here


Washington Post Documents Extrajudicial Killings in Jenin

Update - may 26 - Jenin
(Washington Post)

Slowly, if cautiously, the mainstream media are giving more voice to Palestinians and evidence of their suffering. In a May 26, 2023 Washington Post exclusive investigation, a careful and harrowing analysis by reporters documents the “war crimes” and “extrajudicial killings” of three people last March in Jenin, including a 14-year-old child, Omar Awadin.

With graphic portrayal, the Post details every step of the attack by the elite Israel military unit known as Yamam, killing two unarmed “militants” amidst a crowded shopping area, filled with civilians, including the boy who was also killed. Yamam is under the control of Netanyahu-appointed right-wind extremist and Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.

Read the entire article here.

Stay Informed on Palestine

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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

OrganizationsFriends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel)Mennonite Central Committee Palestine and IsraelChristian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)U.S. Campaign for Palestine Rights (USCPR)Kairos PalestineKairos USAAmericans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)Christian ZionismPalestinian Christian Alliance for PeacePalestine PortalWeb PublicationsMondeweissThe Electronic Intifada+972 MagazineB’TselemPalestine InSight— 
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopinSteering Committee:
Anthony Khair (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)
Zachary Murray (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)

MennoPIN Update – May 16, 2023

MennoPIN Update – May 16, 2023

In This Issue

The Never-Ending Nakba
The World Cup and Palestine
Stay Informed on Palestine

The Never-Ending Nakba

Nakba

Today is May 16, 2023, one day after Palestine commemorates the Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe), the painful memory of when Israeli militants emptied nearly 500 Palestinian villages through massacres and forced removal, creating 750,000 refugees. The Nakba has continued for 75 years with the Israeli government, using a U.S.-funded military force, executing its policies of administrative detention, land confiscation, home demolition, the erection of dividing walls, settler colonialism, and assassination of civilians and press.

But even today, the Nakba goes on and on with a boy in Nablus shot down and killed by Israeli military might intent on maintaining absolute control of Palestinian lives. The Nakba is a never-ending spiral of suppression and the attempt to erase ever remnant of Palestinian life and culture.

In this issue of the MennoPIN Update, we share with you two articles by Palestinians who argue that the Nakba began years before May 15, 1948, the day Israel celebrates its beginning as a nation state. Jonathan Kuttab is a member of the MennoPIN Steering Committee, Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) and a human rights attorney, practicing international law in Israel, Palestine and the United States. Ghada Karmi, writing in Mondoweiss, was born in Jerusalem and received a Doctor of Medicine at Bristol University. She established the first British-Palestinian medical charity.

Jonathan Kuttab
As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba (“catastrophe”) of May 15, 1948, many commentators have been pointing out that the Catastrophe did not simply occur on that date or year but rather that it is an ongoing catastrophe, beginning prior to 1948 and continuing to the present day.

May 15, 1948 marks the creation of the State of Israel, and it represents the height of the campaign for the destruction of the Palestinian community which permitted that creation. Even prior to 1948, and well before the entrance of the Arab armies into the fight, the armed forces of the Zionists had substantially carried out a successful campaign to depopulate hundreds of Arab villages, drive out their occupants through terror and massacres, take over their lands and properties, and expand their control far beyond those areas allocated unfairly to them under the UN partition resolution of 1947. That resolution granted to the Zionists approximately 51% of the “territory” of Palestine, even though Jews constituted at that time only one third of the population. And, despite intensive efforts to buy land from wealthy absentee landowners, they only held ownership of about 7% of the land.

There are three basic elements to the Nakba. All three were essential for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. All three elements continue to operate today. First is the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of the land’s original inhabitants (and the barring of their return), which together with a massive influx of migration was intended to create a Jewish demographic majority. The ongoing refusal to allow Palestinian refugees to return, as well as continued attempts to push out additional numbers of Arabs in the years since, attests to the ongoing Nakba on the demographic front. As fragmentation and apartheid became the standard way of life for the remaining Palestinian population, the refugees were restricted entirely from accessing the “higher strata” of recognized rights, such as Israeli citizenship, East Jerusalem residency, West Bank residency, or Gaza residency (as opposed to outright exile).

Continue reading the full article here.

Ghada Karmi
It is that time of year when the annual commemoration of Israel’s creation in my homeland, and the disaster it led to, comes around, yet again with no end to the conflict in sight. Israel’s land grabs, ethnic cleansing, and human rights abuses against Palestinians continue unabated, unpunished, and unaccountable.

Seventy-five years ago, Israel was established on the ruins of Palestine. In that process, my family was forced to flee our home in Jerusalem. Israel’s creation, officially declared on May 15, 1948, marked the start of our long exile, even as our eviction was being celebrated for installing another people in our place. In the following decades, we watched helplessly as the new state grew in strength and dominance to become a regional superpower. Today, Israel is a nuclear power with an army ranked the fifth largest in the world. It enjoys the unstinting support of Western countries, most especially the United States. The U.S. provides Israel with advanced weaponry, intelligence sharing, and political and diplomatic support. The West regards it as an integral part of the Western world. The European Union has accorded Israel a privileged status in trade and access to EU research programs, exactly as if it were a European state. Marking Israel’s anniversary this April, the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, falling over herself with praise for Israel, even enthused that Israel had “made the desert bloom.”

Continue reading the full article here.

World Cup and Palestine

Feb - world cup

Photo: A Palestinian flag in the crowd during the Tunisia vs. Australia soccer match in Qatar. (Credit: Showkat Shafi?Al Jazeer)

After watching the most eventful World Cup final people would think that Argentina won the Qatar World cup. However, Palestine took the World Cup’s respect and love from every fan worldwide who were chanting Free-Palestine at the first ever World Cup hosted in an Arab country. These fans raised the Palestinian voice and flag everywhere in Qatar supporting the Palestinian cause in disgust of the Abraham accords which neglected Palestinian’s rights by
giving more power to Israel that was approved of Gulf countries such as The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. The Arabic Gulf has always been against Israel due to the horrific violations they have caused towards Palestinians. However, the Abraham accords were initiated to begin “peace treaties” between the gulf and Israel. Yet, these treaties were only made by high end officials for national interests resulting as bilateral trade and commerce opportunities for these countries. This neglected people’s opinions about the situation and left Palestinians with no hope as their own have ignored them. During the World Cup these countries’ true voices spoke their minds to the world and opposed these “treaties” and exposed them for dehumanizing Palestinians. The people of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, and thousand of soccer fanatics worldwide raised the Palestinian cause in solidarity to tell the world that Israel is an apartheid state who has been abusing their power towards Palestinian civilians. Fans even denied getting interviewed by Israeli channels in Qatar to show their disapproval towards these accords by public humiliation of the Israeli journalists. The World Cup has always been bringing people together from different nationalities over a soccer game. Yet, this one brought the whole world together to stand up against apartheid.

Stay Informed on Palestine

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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

Web Publications

December 2022 MennoPIN Monthly Update

December 2022 Monthly Update

In This Issue

Christmas Greetings and a Request
Israel’s Election: Apartheid Unmasked
Norway Gets it Right on BDS
An Invitation to Engage with the Gaza YMCA
The Firing of Katie Halper
HR 2374 – Peace and Tolerance in Palestine Education Act
Stay Informed on Palestine
Prayer

Christmas Greetings and a Request

No please

Well, maybe not everyone around the manger was filled with adoration, but all of us on the MennoPIN Steering Committee are grateful to walk with you as we together seek peace, justice and freedom throughout Palestine, that “peace on Earth and good will to all” the shepherds heard sung. We hope you had a blessed Christmas and that 2023 brings for you renewed energy and a sense of hope for all of the people of Palestine.

We rarely ask for financial support, but as 2022 comes to a close, please consider a gift to MennoPIN. In July of 2023 the Mennonite Church USA will hold a convention in Kansas City, MO. MennoPIN plans to have a strong presence at the convention in two ways: (1) through an exhibit booth in which we plan to raise up the realities and dangers of both Christian Zionism and Israeli apartheid and (2) through workshops that show what it is like on the ground in Palestine and how we can all contribute to and work for the end to the occupation and apartheid. We are especially hopeful to have present one of two people from Gaza, with whom we’ve developed relationships through the MennoPIN Gaza Twining Initiative, to help lead at least one of the workshops.

To have a successful presence will involve financial costs and that is why we are asking for your help. All members of the steering committee are volunteers, and we have no paid staff. So, every penny you contribute will go to our efforts at MennoCon23 and other projects during 2023. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please send a check, made payable to Peace Mennonite Fellowship with a notation in the memo line for MennoPIN, to Joe Roos, MennoPIN, 479 Crosby Street, Altadena, CA 91001. Thank you very much!

Israel’s Election: Apartheid Unmasked

Jan - election

Look who helped Netanyahu regain power – his new good friends Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Givr (credit Mondoweiss)
 

Last month Israel conducted its fifth national election in the past three years. Benjamin Netanyahu, under criminal investigation, won the election as Prime Minister, but only by bringing the extreme right-wing elements into his coalition. Itamar Ben-Givr, the leader of the Jewish Power party and Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Party, have teamed up with Netanyahu to form by far the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Finally, for Apartheid Israel, the masks have come off.

Both men and their respective followers are heirs and devoted followers of the late infamous Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was declared illegal in Israel since the mid-1990s. Now, Givr and Smotrich are bring Kahane’s racism and extremism to the center of Israeli politics under Netanyahu. Both have been granted significant governmental posts which promises to have dire consequences for Palestine. For example:

Givr wants to establish a “migration ministry” with the purpose of expelling Palestinians who he considers disloyal to Israel. Just after the election, Givr stated: “It’s time to show [Palestinians] who is master of the house here.” In October 2022, just before the elections, he pulled a gun and threatened to shoot nonviolent protestors in Sheikh Jarrah. In December 2021 he also pulled a gun on a Palestine security guard who asked him to move his illegally parked car. Over the years, Givr has been indicted by Israeli courts over fifty times and convicted a dozen times, including supporting a terrorist organization. And now he has great power over Palestinians.

Smotrich, with a racist history and as a self-described “proud homophobe,” has declared his commitment to formally annex the occupied West Bank and to expel indigenous Palestinians who do not accept permanent subjugation under Israeli rule. He told a right-wing religious gathering: “According to Jewish law, there must always be some inferiority.” He went on to explain that Palestinians who accepted this second-class citizenship would be considered “resident aliens.” And for those who resisted second-class citizenship: “The Israeli military will know what to do.”

The Biden Administration, which has publicly shown it wasn’t totally pleased with this situation, has not signaled any consequences for Israel. Netanyahu has tried to appease international opposition by claiming that there is no need to worry, that he will keep Givr and Smotrich under control. To think of Bibi as the adult in the room is laughable to the absurd.

The liberal American Jewish community, spokespersons and lobbyist are, however, taking the change in government seriously. Thomas Friedman, ever the Israeli defender, recently wrote in the New York Times that he thinks Israel is in serious danger of losing international support. And on the day following the election, Jeremy Ben-Ami, head of the J-Street lobby, stated bluntly: “Last night’s election results in Israel are deeply troubling for all who care about Israel and who care about liberal democracy globally…The likely formation of an ultra-right Netanyahu government should force a moment of serious reckoning for all American’s who care about the nature of the US-Israel relationship and about a just, equal and democratic future for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Even if the aftermath of the Israeli elections produces, in the long-term, cracks in the US-Israel relationship, in the much shorter term, Palestine will likely suffer greatly, and a violent response becomes an increasing possibility. Israeli apartheid is impossible to deny.

Norway Gets it Right on BDS

Norwegian flag.

The Jewish newspaper Haaretz and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS) have just reported that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, with assets valued at $1.3 trillion, will reportedly end investments in firms tied to apartheid Israel’s illegal settlement enterprises in Palestine. If Norway follows through, this will be one of the biggest victories of the BDS, initiated by Palestinians as one way to nonviolently oppose the Israeli occupation and violence inflicted upon Palestinians on a daily basis.

She was Just Looking for Her Cat – Now She’s Dead

Jan update - Jana
Jana Zakarneh (inset) and her body being carried to her grave by mourners [Credit: Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty]

16-year-old Jana Zakarneh lived with her family in Jenin, Palestine. Earlier this month she heard gunshots and climbed to the top of her home to look out for her cat. One moment she was standing on the roof, searching for the cat. The next moment she was lying dead in a pool of her own blood, shot by an Israeli sniper with four bullets, one in the head, one to her face and two in her chest.

At first Israel claimed she was an unfortunate victim of crossfire between Israeli military units and Palestinian terrorists. When it was later shown that the so-called “terrorists” were hundreds of meters away and out of the line of sight of Jana, the story changed to one of an unintended civilian killing. There will be no investigation, military forces said, and no one will be held accountable.

Jana was the 36th Palestinian minor killed by Israel this year, and the 224th Palestinian to lose their lives to Israeli gunfire.

An Invitation to Engage with the Gaza YMCA

Jan update - Gaza YMCA
Parents and visitors mill around at an art display from students of the Gaza YMCA

You are invited to a 1-hour conversation with leaders of the Gaza YMCA on January 14, 2023. Two years ago, the Fellowship of Hope in Elkhart, IN began a relationship with the Gaza YMCA through MennoPIN’s Gaza Twining Initiative.

Through bi-weekly Zoom conversations between the Fellowship of Hope and the Gaza YMCA, the Indiana Mennonite community has “enjoyed and been challenged by the relationship, according to David Janzen. Gaza YMCA leaders Suheil Tarazi and Hani Farah will talk about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the compelling work that the YMCA has been doing to support families in the midst of dire conditions caused by the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza and the frequent bombings of Gaza by Israeli military aircraft and drones.

During the Zoom conversation, you will hear directly from Christian Palestinians and get a better picture of what life is like on the ground in Gaza, a 2,000,000 person outdoor prison in which Israel allows into Gaza barely just enough food to meet the bare minimum daily nutritional requirements to live.

No registration is needed. Simply log into the Zoom meeting on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at 10 am Eastern/9:00 am Central/8:00 am Mountain/7:00 am Pacific/5 pm Gaza. The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86324229910?pwd=emszSlJRQkprWnVJU0laQnZlekVpdz09

The Firing of Katie Halper

Jan update - Halper

 In recent years the politics and civics around the concept of antisemitism have become more complicated. The organization International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) released a ‘working legal nonbinding’ definition of antisemitism in 2016. The working definition seeks to give a broad application of what antisemitism means. However, IHRA defines about half of their examples of antisemitic activity in connection with criticism of Israel. IHRA’s working definition has been adopted by the US State Department, The ADL and sum 20 U.S. states in varying degrees.

This language has been, as Rebecca Ruth Gold states, an intervention, “in public discourse by way of obfuscation. Defining and adopting this definition in a broad way allows for the muddling of that public discourse. This could be in part why Katie Halper, a Jewish political commentator for The Hill, was fired. In September of 2022 Katie Halper was let go due to her approval of Rashida Tlaib’s description of Israel as an apartheid state. This approval of criticism was labeled antisemitic. Unfortunately, Halper being fired from The Hill is not an isolated event. Recently the new UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, reportedly was deemed antisemitic by Israel and ‘one-sided’ by the US’s representative to the Human Rights Council at the UN.

What makes the public discourse around the firing of Katie Halper contentious is there has also been an increase in antisemitism within U.S. society. The most prolific example of this would be Ye (Kanye) West’s recent unearthing a slew of antisemitic talking points across many platforms. This language is harmful to Jews and ought to be condemned. Yet, antisemitism and critique of a nation-state’s actions are not one in the same; even though there can be overlap in some cases. However, Jewishness is not intrinsically tied the nation-state of Israel. For some tying Jewishness to the current state of Israel is seen as antisemitic itself because it renders a Jewish identity as monolithic, as are Jews who support Israel as Medinat Yisrael.

Within this contention however, we should recognize the firing of Katie Halper is a signal that antisemitism is being used to divert culpability from Israel. Efforts to call attention to a rise of antisemitic actions can coexist at the same time of denouncing the actions of Israel against Palestinians. We ought to be able to condemn both types of actions within public discourse if we want to bring about a more peaceful world. In many ways the Mennonite commitment to peace building requires us to span multiple arrays of injustice and have a prophetic voice towards it. Bridging a place of division for reconciliation is a place that Mennonites have historically held. But, as Desmond Tutu argues, true reconciliation of people is through the proclaiming of sin or injustices, and the healing that comes from rehabilitating each party to themselves which will bring about a new way forward from the ashes of conflict.

HR 2374 – Peace and Tolerance in Palestine Education Act

On April 5, 2021, Democratic Representative Brad Sherman introduce to the House bill H.R. 2374. The bill is entitled Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act and seeks to surveil Palestinian education in Palestine Authority governed areas and Gaza. Through this surveillance the U.S. government would be required to not fund or support any education that they deemed harmful to the state of Israel.

What the bills defines as harmful education is wide, but these are some of the topics: (1) maps that are misleading or include Jerusalem as the capitol of Palestine; (2) using math of the deaths of Palestinians during the First or Second Intifada, (3) portraying violence or aggression against Israel or Israelis, and (4) that no language or definition Israel as an apartheid state should be included. If this is not upheld in the event of the Bill being passed, the U.S. would withhold funds from the UNRWA budget or any other organization that supports education in Palestine receiving U.S. government funds.

The fight for peace and not further harm is the goal in any conflict, however, this bill raises some concerns. The first is the push for the US to control Palestinian education in respect to the State of Israel. At the moment Palestinian civil society has been constricted heavily by the sanctions coming from Israel. This would further limit that space by disallowing Palestinians from determining their own story and politics through their shared history; especially after the Department of State’s adoption of IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. The second is while Palestinian education is brought under suspicion, Israeli education gets a pass. Often times, Israeli Hebrew texts books participate in similar dehumanizing rhetoric that could be found in Palestinian educational materials. A third way forward would be to not only call to reform of one side of educational materials but all.

Stay Informed on Palestine

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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

Web Publications

Prayer

 The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos, III spoke out at a Christmas tree lighting at Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate on Saturday, the 17th of December. Addressing the crowd from the balcony of the Imperial Hotel in the Old City, he warned that Christians in the Holy Land have become target of repeated attacks by radical Israeli groups in a deliberate attempt to expel them. Lord, we echo the words of the Patriarch in our prayer: “We long for peace and so let us not rend this fabric of our historic common life that has provided room enough down the ages for all who call the Holy Land their home.” Sabeel Wave of Prayer

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

Steering Committee:
Anthony Khair (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)
Zachary Murray (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)

October 2022 MennoPIN Monthly Update

MennoPIN Monthly Update: October 2022View this email in your browserMENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK
October 2022 Monthly Update

In This Issue
Did the WCC Silence Palestinian Voices?
A New Free Film called “Boycott”
Ben & Jerry’s and Book.com call out Israel
Google’s Complicity in Israeli Apartheid
Stay Informed on Palestine

Did the WCC Silence Palestinian Voices?Sep - wcc
The World Council of Churches (WCC), representing over 350 global denominations and church bodies from 120 countries, met in August 2022 for its 11th General Assembly since its founding shortly after World War II. Under the theme, “Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity,” it was not until the final day of the nine-day assembly that the issue of Palestine and Israel came up, but unity was nowhere to be seen. During the deliberations there was both the good and the bad.

The Good. The Anglican Church of South Africa brought forth a resolution naming Israeli apartheid and encouraging the assembly to stand with Palestinians as well as Israelis. The resolution was supported by 17 church bodies. But the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) strongly opposed the use of the word “apartheid” in the resolution.

After vigorous debate, the resolution was edited to say, in part: “[N]umerous international, Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations and legal bodies have published studies and reports describing the policies and actions of Israel as amounting to “apartheid” under international law. Within this Assembly…We are not of one mind.” Even lacking unity on the use of the term “apartheid,” the WCC agreed to study the issue of Israeli apartheid, which could at some point have a positive impact.

The Bad. One of the primary objections to the edited resolution was the priority of unity over justice. Rev. Chris Ferguson, former General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, put it this way: “The German church leaders did not succeed in closing the door on the WCC’s study of apartheid, even though they effectively reframed the suffering of Palestinians as a question of church unity rather than justice.”

Emphasizing the priority of justice, Rev. Tyrone Pitts, General Secretary Emeritus of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, stated bluntly: “I was raised under Jim Crow laws in the U.S. During my time in Palestine, I saw Palestinians suffering under apartheid.”

An equally troubling question arose from the Kairos Palestine Solidarity Network in Germany: Were Palestinian voices silenced at the WCC assembly? There were only three opportunities for Palestinians to speak. One young Palestinian woman was disallowed because her remarks were deemed unacceptable because it included the word “apartheid.” She was offered a reworded statement that did not include “apartheid” and she, out of conscience, would not read it. She was then told she could not speak at all. One workshop on Palestine, led by biblical scholar and pastor Munther Isaac was held at a hotel outside the assembly area, attended by very few people. Isaac said that Palestinians were “disheartened” by the relatively week resolution wording: “What is happening is apartheid. The facts are on the ground.”
A New Free Film Called “Boycott”Voices from the Holy Land has just released a new film entitled: “Boycott.” They are promoting it as “A bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation designed to penalize companies and individuals that choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record…Boycott is an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats of freedom of speech.”

To register to see the October 9 viewing of Boycott, register here.
Ben & Jerry’s and Book.com Call Out IsraelSep - ben and jerrys
PALESTINIAN ARTISTS PAINT A MURAL IN GAZA CITY TO HONOR BEN & JERRY’S DECISION TO BOYCOTT ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS. JULY 29, 2021.
(PHOTO BY YOUSSEF ABU WATFA)Airbnb backed down after promising to not have listings in Israeli settlements, but Ben & Jerry’s and Book.com are not letting up. Ben & Jerry’s is suing its parent company Unilever to block the sale of its Israeli business, stating that “we continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” The suit states that “the company’s core values of advancing human rights and dignity, supporting social and economic justice for historically marginalized communities…are integral to Ben & Jerry’s identity.

Bookings.com recently decided to display a safety warning on its listings in the illegally-occupied West Bank. It said it notify customers traveling to Israeli settlements that the areas are “conflict-affected or high-risk…and may pose greater risks.” Hopefully, Bookings.com will stick by its commitment.
Google’s Complicity in Israeli ApartheidSep - GoogleAriel Koren, a Jewish Google worker, was recently reassigned to Brazil after she registered a protest with the company for Google’s Nimbus Project, a joint effort with Amazon and the Israeli government and military. She charged that “Google systematically silences Palestinian, Jewish, Arab and Muslim voices concerned about Google’s complicity in violations of Palestinian human rights.” 700 coworkers signed a petition siding with her in Google’s act of retaliation against her.

On Democracy Now! Koren stated that she and other Google co-workers started to organize a group they called Jewish Diaspora in Tech. Google’s retaliation against her and others there, Koren said that Google is putting forward “false narratives of antisemitism that are designed to squelch folks who speak out for Palestinian rights. And this is a tool that Google is using to protect its business interests with Israel, and in this case, to silence opposition to Project Nimbus.” Koren chose to leave Google.
Stay Informed on PalestineMennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

OrganizationsFriends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel)Mennonite Central Committee Palestine and IsraelChristian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)U.S. Campaign for Palestine Rights (USCPR)Kairos PalestineKairos USAAmericans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)Christian ZionismPalestinian Christian Alliance for PeacePalestine PortalWeb PublicationsMondeweissThe Electronic Intifada+972 MagazineB’TselemPalestine InSightPrayerPrayer
Religious leaders came together in the heart of Jerusalem to pray for peace in the Ukraine. Christian, Druze, Jewish and Muslim leaders met in Moscow Square and stood by the Russian Orthodox Church. They prayed beside a letter posted on the wall. It was written to the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and asked him to bring his influence to bear on President Putin to take immediate steps to de-escalate the conflict.  Lord, we join with the faith leaders in Jerusalem and around the world in their prayers for an end to the hostilities taking place in Ukraine. We pray for the millions of refugees and for all those who are trying to support them. Lord, in your mercy…Sabeel Wave of Prayer— 
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopinSteering Committee:
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Hannah Markey (Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office, Washington, DC)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)

March 2022 MennoPIN Monthly Update

MennoPIN Monthly Update: March 2022View this email in your browserMENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK
March 2022 Monthly Update

In This IssueIn This Issue
Jonathan Kuttab on Palestinian and Israeli Violence
Amnesty International Joins Apartheid Call
Targeting Elbit, Puma and Pillsbury
MennoPIN Online Christian Zionism Survey
Jonathan Kuttab and the Two-State Solution – April 5 Webinar
Become a Gaza Twinning Congregation
Stay Informed on Palestine
PrayerJonathan Kuttab on Palestinian and Israeli ViolenceMar - gunAs Easter, the Passover and Ramadan converge in the weeks ahead, violence in Palestine/Israel is a very real possibility according to Jonathan Kuttab, MennoPIN Steering Committee member and Executive Director of FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America). After the recent killing of eleven Israelis by Palestinians, while not condoning the violence, Jonathan writes: “The biggest problem, however, with those who decry Palestinian violence is not just their selectivity and the higher value they place on Jewish and Israeli lives, or even their failure to examine the socio-political context that led to violence in the first place. It is that their critique of violence is limited only to death and injury by individual actors who shoot, stab, or bomb their enemies.

He continues: “For Palestinians the violence perpetrated against them is not limited to Israeli guns and shootings, albeit significant. It is often more subtle and pervasive and covers all areas of their lives. The symbol of Israeli violence for Palestinians is often not the gun, but the bulldozer.

Read his entire article hereAmnesty International Joins Apartheid CallMar - Apartheid photoOn February 1, Amnesty International released a report titled Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity. Included in the report is documentation of the Israeli government’s human rights abuses and violations of international law. Additionally, the report highlights the U.S. government’s responsibility in perpetuating apartheid, as the U.S. continues to sell arms to Israel and ignore ongoing human rights violations.

Since the report was issued, it has received a wide range of responses ranging from praise to condemnation. Criticisms of the report largely include accusations of antisemitism and claims that Israel is wrongfully demonized. In a February 1 tweet, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) stated that the label of apartheid further incites hatred and increases antisemitism. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) called the apartheid charge an “outrageous accusation”, suggesting Israel is unfairly and disproportionately targeted by the international community. These perspectives were similarly articulated by nine Democratic House members in a joint statement.

Pushback has also come from the Israel lobby in the U.S., although differing responses taken by lobby groups expose internal divisions. For example, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said the report was a “misguided and backward-looking effort to vilify Israel” and heighten antisemitism. J Street similarly rejected the label of apartheid; however, the organization cautioned against misplaced accusations of antisemitism, stating such charges “do a further disservice to the critical fight against the very real scourge of antisemitism.”

While the Amnesty report elicited condemnation from some members of Congress and lobby groups, it simultaneously fueled global efforts to speak out against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. In an opinion piece written by David Hearst for Mondoweiss, he applauds the report, stating that it demonstrates apartheid is not “an accident of history” but rather a systematic establishment of a Jewish majority state. Hearst argues that the Israeli government is losing support globally, in part due to reports like Amnesty’s and the advocacy efforts of grassroots movements. On January 29, Episcopalians in Washington, D.C. adopted a resolution to “oppose Israel’s apartheid,” offering another example of the global push to reject Israel’s apartheid regime.Targeting Elbit, Puma and PillsburyMar - Pillsbury
As private manufacturers continue operating in illegal Israeli settlements and further oppressing Palestinian people, global campaigns have arisen to boycott these companies and document their violations of international law. For example, General Mills produces Pillsbury products in the illegal settlement of Atarot, and therefore Pillsbury profits from the oppression and dispossession of Palestinians. In response to Pillsbury’s actions, congregations and faith-based coalitions have joined in the Boycott Pillsbury campaign. In November, Ainsworth United Church of Christ of Portland, Oregon pledged to be a Pillsbury-Free-Church in support of Palestinian human rights.

In addition to Pillsbury, Puma is complicit in normalizing Israel’s illegal settlements. Puma is the primary sponsor of the Israeli Football Association (IFA), which includes teams located in illegal settlements. Additionally, Puma has and continues to license with manufacturers located in settlements. Delta Galil, Puma’s former licensee, is listed in the UN database of illegal settlement companies.

Finally, activists continue to boycott Elbit, a defense and security company. Elbit is the Israeli government’s largest security contractor, producing the surveillance systems, drones, and ammunition used to oppress Palestinians. In the UK, activists have repeatedly occupied the Elbit subsidiaries to shut down production. Despite these efforts, Elbit’s stocks have risen by 40 percent since Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, as European nations have started updating and expanding their military operations.MennoPIN Online Christian Zionism SurveyOne aspect of our work is confronting Christian Zionism and offering resources for congregations to become more familiar with this issue. We aim to learn more about your congregation and how we can increase awareness around Christian Zionism. Please consider taking a few minutes to complete this survey.Jonathan Kuttab and the Two-State Solution – April 5 WebinarMar - WDC
On April 5, the Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA is interviewing Jonathan Kuttab about his book on the Two-State Solution to finding a solution to the seemingly intractable violence between Israel and Palestine. To register, send an email to wdc@mennowdc.org.Become a MennoPIN Gaza Twining CongregationYVS MennoPIN photo 1
In response to the MC USA “Seeking Peace in Israel Palestine” resolution, MennoPIN launched its Mennonite Twinning Initiative with Gaza, inviting congregations to participate. Since then, several congregations have joined with groups in Gaza to share relationships, tell stories, understand better each other’s context and to share together in mission.

Manhattan (KS) Mennonite Church has teamed with the Youth Vision Society (YVS) and, in addition to biweekly Zoom calls of mutual support with YVS staff, the photo above shows one way in which they teamed with YVS to provide food and medical supplies to needy families in Gaza.

Fellowship of Hope (IN) has teamed with the Gaza City YMCA with biweekly Zoom calls and was able to help support the YMCA after Israeli bombs in May 2021 did significant damage to their building

You, too, can become a MennoPIN twinning congregation and develop similar relationships of mutual benefit. Our experience so far shows that those in Gaza feel deeply supported by the congregation and the congregation is impacted by their partner in a deep and powerful way.

You can explore becoming a MennoPIN Gaz Twinning Congregation by visiting our website here https://mennopin.org/mennonite-twinning-initiative-with-gaza/ or send an email to mennopin@gmail.com with Twinning Initiative in the subject line.Stay Informed on PalestineMennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

OrganizationsFriends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel)Mennonite Central Committee Palestine and IsraelChristian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)U.S. Campaign for Palestine Rights (USCPR)Kairos PalestineKairos USAAmericans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)Christian ZionismPalestinian Christian Alliance for PeacePalestine PortalWeb PublicationsMondeweissThe Electronic Intifada+972 MagazineB’TselemPalestine InSightPrayerPrayer
On Monday, the 21st of March, religious leaders came together in the heart of Jerusalem to pray for peace in the Ukraine. Christian, Druze, Jewish and Muslim leaders met in Moscow Square and stood by the Russian Orthodox Church. They prayed beside a letter posted on the wall. It was written to the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and asked him to bring his influence to bear on President Putin to take immediate steps to de-escalate the conflict.  Lord, we join with the faith leaders in Jerusalem and around the world in their prayers for an end to the hostilities taking place in Ukraine. We pray for the millions of refugees and for all those who are trying to support them. Lord, in your mercy…Sabeel Wave of Prayer— 
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopinSteering Committee:
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Hannah Markey (Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office, Washington, DC)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)

January 2022 MennoPIN Monthly Update

MennoPIN Monthly Update: January 2022View this email in your browserMENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK
January 2022 Monthly Update

In This IssueMennoPIN Online Engagement Survey
Sabeel/FOSNA Memorial Service for Desmond Tutu
MennoPIN Gaza Twinning Initiative
Jonathan Kuttab: “Anti-Semitism is a Sin. Period.”
Six New Booklets from Sabeel
Haaretz Publisher – Israel is an Apartheid State
Stay Informed on Palestine
Prayer
MennoPIN Online Engagement SurveyAs we reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2022, MennoPIN is eager to hear from you! What content do you want to receive from us in this new year? Would you like to see us active on social media? Please take a moment to complete this brief survey (less than one minute) and let us know how we can better engage with you. We greatly appreciate your feedback and thank you so much! 

Sabeel/FOSNA Memorial Service for Desmond TutututuSabeel (Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in East Jerusalem) and FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America) have teamed up to hold a memorial service in honor of Desmond Tutu and his strong and powerful support of Palestinian freedom and justice. Tutu said many times that Israel’s apartheid state was worse than that in South Africa. Tutu was a patron of both Sabeel and FOSNA.

Join Sabeel and FOSNA in this special service on Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 8 pm Jerusalem time/1 pm Eastern/noon Central/11 am Mountain/10 am Pacific. You can register here.

Become a MennoPIN Gaza Twining CongregationYVS MennoPIN photo 1In response to the MC USA “Seeking Peace in Israel Palestine” resolution, MennoPIN launched its Mennonite Twinning Initiative with Gaza, inviting congregations to participate. Since then, several congregations have joined with groups in Gaza to share relationships, tell stories, understand better each other’s context and to share together in mission.

Manhattan (KS) Mennonite Church has teamed with the Youth Vision Society (YVS) and, in addition to biweekly Zoom calls of mutual support with YVS staff, the photo above shows one way in which they teamed with YVS to provide food and medical supplies to needy families in Gaza.

Fellowship of Hope (IN) has teamed with the Gaza City YMCA with biweekly Zoom calls and was able to help support the YMCA after Israeli bombs in May 2021 did significant damage to their building

You, too, can become a MennoPIN twinning congregation and develop similar relationships of mutual benefit. Our experience so far shows that those in Gaza feel deeply supported by the congregation and the congregation is impacted by their partner in a deep and powerful way.

You can explore becoming a MennoPIN Gaz Twinning Congregation by visiting our website here or send an email to mennopin@gmail.com with Twinning Initiative in the subject line.

Jonathan Kuttab: “Anti-Semitism is a Sin. Period.Jan - anti-SemitismJonathan Kuttab is a member of the MennoPIN Steering Committee, Executive Director of FOSNA and a long-time human rights attorney in Israel, Palestine and in the United States. For FOSNA he recently pinned an editorial entitled: “Anti-Semitism is a Sin. Period,” in which he distinguished false charges of anti-Semitism from the all-to-resent acts of true anti-Semitism. You can read his article here on the FOSNA website. 
Six New Booklets from SabeelSabeel has recently published six new booklets written by Naim Ateek on Palestinian Liberation Theology. You can find brief review of each booklet here and write to purchase them here.  
Haaretz Publisher: Israel is an “Apartheid State”
Jan - HaartezAmos Schocken (Credit: Haaretz)Haaretz is one of the most respected newspapers in Israel and Adam Schocken is the third generation of his family to be its publisher. Recently, Schocken became one of a growing number of Israeli voices to call Israel an apartheid state. In response to a right-wing member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Schocken made this statement:

The product of Zionism, the State of Israel, is not a Jewish and democratic state, but has instead become an apartheid state, plain and simple.”

Stay Informed on PalestineMennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

OrganizationsFriends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel)Mennonite Central Committee Palestine and IsraelChristian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)U.S. Campaign for Palestine Rights (USCPR)Kairos PalestineKairos USAAmericans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)Christian ZionismPalestinian Christian Alliance for PeacePalestine PortalWeb PublicationsMondeweissThe Electronic Intifada+972 MagazineB’TselemPalestine InSightPrayerPrayer
Dozens of Palestinian Bedouins have been wounded in a crackdown by Israeli forces on a protest against continuing Israeli forestation work on land residents say they privately own near the southern city of Beer al-Sabe (Beer Sheva). The Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) use tree planting as a method of preventing Palestinians from accessing their land and to obliterate Palestinian villages. O’ God, we pray for all those injured as they protested against the unjust forestation on Palestinian lands. We pray that those responsible for the planting, will cease their actions and allow those who own the land to live in peace with full and unrestricted access to their lands. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers. Sabeel Wave of Prayer
— 
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopinSteering Committee:
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Hannah Markey (Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office, Washington, DC)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)

October 2021 MennoPIN Monthly Update

October 2021 Monthly Update

In This Issue

The Israeli on Palestinian Human Rights Organizations: Responses

  • Jonathan Kuttab
  • Palestinian Christians
  • B’Tselem
  • Front Page Ad in Haaretz
  • Free Mohammed Halibi

The New Sabeel Cornerstone Issue
Stay Informed on Palestine
Prayer


The Israeli Attack on Palestinian Human Rights Organizations: Responses

Oct - attack

Benny Gantz, former election opponent of Benjamin Netanyahu and current Israeli Minister of Defense, has named six Palestinian Human Rights organization as terrorist organization, making those organizations and those who support them subject to criminal prosecution including arrest, seizure of bank accounts, shutting the doors of those organizations and more. It is the next step in the Israel government’s suppression of the Palestinian people and an outrageous violation of international laws. Below are some of the initial responses to this indefensible threat to human rights in Palestine.

Jonathan Kuttab – Jonathan is co-founder of Al Haq, one of the six organizations named as terrorist, MennoPIN Steering Committee member and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). Jonathan’s full response is posted on the FOSNA website. Here are some excerpts, including ways you can respond:

I was…shocked, though not surprised, when Israel today declared Al-Haq, together with Addamir, Defence of Children International-Palestine, and three other human rights organizations to be “terrorist organizations.” This is a far cry from the polemical, false accusations thrown at us occasionally by Israeli propagandists like the NGO Monitor. It carries practical consequences, such as the seizure of assets, arrest of personnel, and the criminalization of anyone who donates to or cooperates with us in any way.

The fact that Israel is choosing now to attack all six human rights organizations is deeply troubling. It may mean that we are finally becoming effective and successful, that Israel realizes it has lost the public-relations war, and that the world now knows and acknowledges the reality that it is an apartheid state and a systematic violator of human rights and international law. The Defense Minister may be afraid that the day is approaching when he and other politicians and army generals may face prosecution before the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and he decided to silence these organizations and cripple their activities.

Another explanation, I am afraid, is that Israel no longer cares about its reputation and no longer fears international public opinion, or any sanctions by the international community. The fact that it has been successful so far in avoiding accountability, and that just a few months ago it ransacked the offices of Defense for Children International in Ramallah with little or no push back emboldened it to do whatever it wants without fear of repercussions. Its assault on civil society can go on unchallenged!!

For this reason alone, it is imperative that we must act now. Our churches, first and foremost, but also our elected representatives must hear from us immediately. Israel must know that its actions are monitored, noted, and will lead to consequences. At the very least, it can no longer claim to be a democracy and be part of the Western world. It can join the likes of Saudi Arabia and North Korea if it chooses, but as long as it pretends to be a democracy and lays claim to billions in economic and military aid from the United States and preferred trade treatment from the US and Europe, it must be made to abide by international standards, and at the very least, stop its attacks on human rights organizations. 

So please join with FOSNA and others in this action.

Learn More. Take Action:

Call now and urge your church, as well as your representatives in Washington, to take action and stop this assault on human rights activists and organizations.”

Palestinian Christian Organizations

Jerusalem, Palestine – Palestinian Christian organizations condemn and denounce in the strongest possible terms the decision of the Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz issued on 22/10/2021 against six Palestinian human rights organizations…The decision designates the six organizations as ‘terrorist organizations’ as a prelude to closing them and banning their activities. The use by Israeli occupation of its domestic political legislations in “fighting terrorism” to incriminate these organizations, came after years of systematic campaigns against Palestinian civil society organizations with the aim of silencing them and their supporters in international organizations and coalitions that stand for peace and justice.

This designation targets all Palestinian civil society organizations, particularly those working to defend Palestinian human rights, document violations against Palestinians, offer legal aid, and carry out international advocacy work on their behalf, urging the international community to safeguard the human rights of Palestinians, particularly their right to self-determination, and ending the Israeli settler-colonialism and its Apartheid regime.

We, the undersigned Palestinian Christian organizations, while reiterating the illegitimacy of this arbitrary decision and its grave implications to civil society organizations and human rights defenders, call upon countries, the international community, partners and donors in general and international Christian institutions in particular, to reject and condemn this decision, prevent the Israeli occupation state from moving forward with these arbitrary and illegitimate practices in violation of international laws, to pressure Israel to revoke the decision; and to continue to support the right of Palestinians to justice, freedom, and dignity. Diyar Consortium, Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, East Jerusalem YMCA, YWCA of Palestine, The Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI), Arab Orthodox Union Club Jerusalem, Arab Educational Institute, The Palestinian Christian Initiative / Kairos Palestine, Bethlehem Bible College, and Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation

B’Tselem (a leading Israeli Human Rights Organization)

Last Friday, Israel’s new government crossed a line that no Israeli government has dared to cross, designating six Palestinian civil society organizations “terrorist organizations.” The shameful declaration says nothing about these organizations—but speaks volumes about the violence, brutality and arrogance the Israeli regime has been routinely employing against Palestinians for decades.

B’Tselem stands in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues. We are proud of our joint work over the years and of our shared struggle against the apartheid regime and the occupation…Whatever the outcome of the recent declaration, one thing is clear: the Palestinian struggle for human rights, liberty and equality will continue and B’Tselem will continue to stand in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues—until apartheid is abolished.

Front Page Ad in Haaretz (by 20 Israeli civil society organizations in the Israeli daily newspaper)

The Minister of Defense’s designation of prominent Palestinian civil society organization, among them our colleagues in the Palestinian human rights community, as terrorist organizations, is a draconian measure that criminalizes critical human rights work. Documentation, advocacy, and legal aid are fundamental activities for the protection of human rights worldwide. Criminalizing such work is an act of cowardice, characteristic of repressive totalitarian regimes. Civil society and human rights defenders must be protected. We stand in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues and call on members of the Israeli government and international community to oppose this decision unequivocally.

Free Mohammed Halabi!

Oct - Halibi
The Friends of Sabeel North America is inviting justice and peace-minded people to sign a petition to free Mohammed Halibi, imprisoned human rights working in Gaza and serving as World Vision’s Gaza Director. The petition reads in part:

We are asking for your help in seeking #Justice4Halabi. Upon returning home after a meeting in Jerusalem in 2016, World Vision Gaza Director Muhammad El-Halabi was arrested on the false charges of diverting millions of dollars of Australian aid money to Hamas, importing heavy metal rods for Hamas’ underground tunnels, and aiding in their military expansion. At his trial, no physical evidence was presented to support any of these charges. Likewise, World Vision conducted its own investigation into these charges. After multiple audits and investigations by both World Vision and the Australian government, they found no evidence that any money had gone missing. Israel, which had confiscated all of World Vision’s records and computers in Gaza and had access to all border crossing records, could not provide any evidence of Halabi, or even World Vision, having ever used the only crossing between Gaza and Israel that imports such materials. Despite there being no credible evidence by prosecutors, Halabi has been imprisoned for more than five years and also been denied bail.

You can read the full petition and sign here

New Sabeel Cornerstone Issue

cornerstone
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel) has issued its latest publication, Cornerstone. You can read the issue, “Being Faithful Witnesses: Serving God in a Changing World” here.

Sabeel also offers two excellent opportunities to engage with Palestinian Christians on a weekly basis. Kumi Now connects activists around the world with organizations working on the ground in Palestine and Israel to bring a just and lasting peace based on international law and nonviolence. Every Tuesday morning (at 11:00 am Eastern time) a live online Zoom will let you engage Palestinian leaders and get up-to-the-minute reports on developments in Palestine. You can register here to receive information on how to join in.

Also, on every Thursday morning, Sabeel offers a weekly worship live online Zoom. The worship is led by Sabeel co-founder, Naim Ateek. His reflections on current lectionary passages illuminate scripture from the eyes of Palestinians. Participants also engage the scriptures with each other. You can be invited to the weekly times together by emailing your interest to prayer@sabeel.org.

Stay Informed on Palestine
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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

Web Publications

Prayer
“A Prayer,”
Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian Poet

The goddess I pray to
isn’t from the world beyond.
Those who receive the loaf as a miracle
know who she is.
She sweats and bleeds with them,
she breaks her bread with them each day.

Blessed are you, justice,
among women and men,
so let your name be hallowed,
let your kingdom come.

March 2021 MennoPIN Monthly Update

March 2021 Monthly Update

In This Issue

Celebrate Easter with Sabeel and FOSNA
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Lawsuit Dismissed
Biden Steps and Missteps Toward Palestine
Jonathan Cook on the Israeli Election
Kumi Now – Rising Up for Palestine
Stay Informed on Palestine
Prayer


Celebrate Easter with Sabeel and FOSNA

Mar - Easter in Jerusalem SM(3)

MennoPIN invites you to a special Easter Saturday resurrection celebration with the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) and the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel). The celebration takes place on Saturday, April 3 at 9 am Pacific/noon Eastern Time/7 pm Palestine.

The first Easter celebration took place in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Christian community has kept the celebration going ever since. Every year on Holy Saturday Palestinians participate in a unique commemoration of the resurrection via a stream of candles from the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre). Last year the pandemic didn’t allow this unique tradition. FOSNA and Sabeel Jerusalem created a virtual worship service to continue the spirit of the tradition in which Christians from around the world will join Palestinian Christians in their traditions and connect with their current struggles.

Like those living in the land in the time of Christ, Palestinians are under a brutal military occupation. Like the early Church, Palestinians find hope in Jesus’ message of liberation, his solidarity with the oppressed, and his resurrection. Our preachers this year will further the themes of interconnected liberation struggles. Palestinian Christian activists Nora Carmi and Jean Zaru will be joined by Bishop William J Barber II, of the New Poor People’s Campaign. Also, Sabeel co-founder, Naim Ateek, will lead everyone in a ceremony to bring together a community of care to work for collective liberation.

Register for this special Easter Saturday celebration here.  


A Conversation About Justice & Peace for Palestine/Israel
 Another upcoming event, sponsored by the Western District Conference (Mennonite Church USA) and the Palestine Task Force, will provide a safe space for informal dialog around current conditions in Gaza and the West Bank and MennoPIN’s Gaza Twinning Initiative. There is no cost to participate, and you can register with an email to wdc@mennowdc.org


US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Lawsuit Dismissed

Mar - jnp vs uscpr
(Credit: U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights)

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) recently brought a lawsuit against the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), accusing it of providing “material support for terrorism” through their use of language and with their support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). JNF is an Israel organization devoted to buying and developing Palestinian land for the purpose of building Jewish settlements in the West Bank. USCPR is a leading voice for Palestinian rights in the United States that has participated in the “Stop the JNF” campaign, an advocacy campaign seeking to challenge JNF for international law violations.

The kind of lawsuit filed by JNF is typical of a growing practice of suppressing activism in support of Palestinian rights. Palestine Legal is a U.S. organization seeking to protect the civil and constitutional rights of people in this country who speak out for Palestinian freedom. Palestine Legal has reported that between 2014 and 2020 there have been 1,707 incidents of suppression targeting supporters of Palestinian rights.

Federal Judge Richard Leon responded to a request to dismiss the lawsuit stated in his ruling: “While the plaintiffs make broad allegations that the US campaign provided financial assistance to Hamas, they fail to plead factual allegations sufficient to support these claims. The more specific factual allegations…are simply too removed from a terrorist act or organization to state a claim under the [Anti-Terrorism Act]…Plaintiffs’ argument to the contrary are, to say the least, not convincing.” 

Biden Steps and Missteps Toward Palestine

Mar Biden and Abbas
(Credit: AP/Bernat Armangue)
 The new Biden Administration is following through on some of its campaign promised toward Palestine, but also leaves much undone.

In a recently released US State Department memo, The US Palestinian Reset and the Path Forward, the administration is taking some positive steps forward. Immediately Palestine will receive $15 million dollars in COVID-19 assistant and there is the promise of reversing several of the Trump Administrations positions. The memo describes the US vision as one to “advance freedom, security, and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians in the immediate term, which is important in its own right, but also as a means to advance the prospects of a negotiated two-state solution.” The State Department memo includes the following:

  • A two-state solution framework based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps and agreements on security and refugees
  • Re-establishment of diplomatic contact with the Palestinian Authority both in the US and Palestine
  • Return to a full range of economic, security and humanitarian assistance programs through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency

The administration has also hinted that they are opened to taking a firmer stand against Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank. But nearly every president in the past few decades has expressed the same view, but never put teeth into their opposition and continued to fund Israel’s military to the tune of many billions of dollars per year. Will Biden be different?

And Biden has already stated that he will not return the US Embassy to Tel Aviv and that he fully accepts the normalization of Arab nations enhance relationships with Israel. Beyond that, Biden has also left no doubt that he opposes the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. Perhaps worse of all, Biden has clearly embraced the definition of anti-Semitism espoused by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. As the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Kara McDonald: “The Biden Administration embraces and champions the working definition [of IHRA]. We applaud the growing number of countries and international bodies that apply it.”

We can affirm the positive steps taken by the Biden Administration, but there is much to push them on in the months and years ahead. 

Jonathan Cook on the Israeli Election
 Jonathan Cook is a freelance journalist based in Nazareth who writes extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the election is still unresolved (as has been the case in the past several elections), Cook is clear about who won: “The far-right is triumphant.” He goes on to say that extreme religious and settler parties hold a firm majority in Israel’s new parliament, holding at least 72 seats in the 120-member elective body. By comparison, the center-right parties, Blue and White and Yesh Atid, garnered a mere 25 seats; the center-left parties, Labor and Meretz took only 13 seats; and the remaining various parties could manage together just 10 seats.

Although the far right has a substantial majority, Cook believes they “could easily form a government – if it wasn’t mired in a now seemingly permanent crisis over the figure of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. Despite perceptions abroad, in Israel, according to Cook, Netanyahu is actually one of the more moderate figures in the extreme religious and settler bloc, placing him closer to Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party as compared to even his own Likud Party.

Although Likud emerged as the largest party vote-getter, they still do not have a clear path to a 61-seat majority. While Netanyahu continues coalition negotiates to victory, President Reuven Rivlin will meet with all party leaders on Monday, April 5, before deciding which party leader to receive the mandate to form a government. Kumi Now – Rising Up for Palestine

The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, located in East Jerusalem, has started Kumi Now to connect activists around the world with organizations working on the ground in Palestine and Israel to bring justice and lasting peace based on international law and nonviolence. Here is how Sabeel describes Kumi Now: “In response to our current situation and adhering to our principles of justice, inclusion, and nonviolence, Sabeel has been moved to act. After months of collaboration with local Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals, Sabeel is excited to introduce the Kumi (Rise Up) project. We wish to invite local and international individuals and organizations to join the Kumi project to work as a united force.”

To keep current on what is happening in Palestine and join others from around the world in support of Palestine, we encourage you to be part of Kumi Now You can view the current week’s Kumi Now here
Stay Informed on Palestine
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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

Web Publications

Prayer

After twenty years of planning and construction a new wastewater treatment plant has been put into operation in Gaza, with help from German investment. The plant has been built in the town of Bureij and will process wastewater from eleven communities with one million inhabitants. It will be powered by a biogas plant and a solar plant on the same site…Lord, we are thankful that many families in Gaza will now have access to potable water. We continue to pray for those people who go for days without running water due to the low levels of freshwater in ground reserves. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers. Sabeel Wave of Prayer— 
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Anita Rediger (Emmaus Road Mennonite Fellowship, Berne, IN)
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Washington, DC)
Jonathan Brenemann (Syracuse, NY)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)

January 2021 MennoPIN Monthly Update

MENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK
 
January 2021 Monthly Update
 
In This Issue
It’s Biden Turn Now – What’s Up for Palestine?
The Capitol Insurrection and Israel
B’Tselem Calls it Like it Is: Apartheid
Kumi Now – Rising Up for Palestine
Stay Informed on Palestine
Prayer

 It’s Biden’s Turn Now – What’s Up for Palestine


(Weather forecast for Washington, DC, from January 19)

Good riddance 45 and hello 46. There is a lot on the new president’s plate, but what will Joe Biden do for Palestine, and when? Here are two administration views into the crystal ball and a perspective from Palestine.
 
While campaigning in October, now-Vice-President Kamala Harris said that Biden and she would do this about Israel/Palestine: “Joe and I also believe in the worth and value of every Palestinian and every Israeli and we will work to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, prosperity and democracy. We are committed to a two-state solution and will oppose any unilateral steps that undermine that goal. We will also oppose annexation and settlement expansion. And we will take immediate steps to restore economic and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reopen the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem and work to reopen the PLO mission in Washington.”
 
However, Biden’s choice for Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, gave another less promising perspective in his recent Senate confirmation hearings. In fact, he spent a fair bit of time applauding Trump’s policies: “The Abraham Accords…push forward on normalization with Israel…It makes Israel safer.”
 
Regarding Jerusalem and the US Embassy move there, Senator Ted Cruz asked Blinken: “Do you agree that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and do you commit that the United States will keep our embassy there? Blinken responded, “Yes and Yes.”
 
And when Senator Lindsey Graham asked Blinken if he considered Israel a racist nation, Blinken replied: “I do not.” Graham patted him on the back: “Good start.”
 
It is likely that Biden will re-enter US funding for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) and reopen the Palestinian consulate in Washington, DC, but Blinken’s testimony is a far cry from Harris’ pledge.
 
What do Palestinians think of the prospects for positive change under the Biden administration?
 
Samia Khoury, co-founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in East Jerusalem, tells the following story: “The joy and relief at seeing an end to the Trump era reminded me of the story of the widow who was living in a very small and crowded house with her family. She sought the help of her parish priest and he advised her to get a goat. What a crazy suggestion she thought as I hardly have room for my children. But she took his advice hoping for a miracle, which the church keeps talking about. She got herself a goat, and God knows what she went through for two weeks until the priest checked in on her and advised her to remove the goat. Ah, she sighed in relief. The house seemed so spacious and she was happy and ever so grateful for the advice of the priest, although the house was the same.
 
Acknowledging her relief at Trump’s departure, Samia is realistic about what a Biden administration might do, given the disappointment of the Obama/Biden era: “Shielding Israel and turning a blind eye to all its violations in the occupied territories has always been the normal stand of the US.
 
Still, with a resilience characteristic of the people of Palestine, Samia dares to hope for change, that “Mr. Biden will launch a new dawn by realizing that justice for the Palestinians and ending the occupation will actually not only be the right thing to do but will also benefit Israel and grant it the security that it demands and which it constantly uses to justify all its violations.
 
It will be up to those of us in the US, who seek justice, peace, and freedom for the people of Palestine, to put the pressure on the Biden administration to make Samia’s dream, and the dream of all Palestinians, come true.
 
 The Capitol Insurrection and Israel


(Credit: Ali Abunimah Twitter Feed) 

The Capitol insurrection on January 6 was a frightening affair. Egged on by Donald Trump, hundreds of white supremacists took Trump at his word, barged through the Capitol, smashed their way throughout the walls and halls of Congress, assaulting police officers, killing one, in an effort to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States and possibly taking congressional women and men as hostages. “
 
Among the flags and signs being waved at the Capitol was an Israeli flag, as the photo above (lower center) shows. But there were others expressing clearly anti-Semitic attitudes. One participant wore a t-shirt with the slogan “6MWE” for “Six Million Wasn’t Enough.” Another wore a hoody saying, “Auschwitz Camp, Work Brings Freedom.”
 
The insurrection did not go unnoticed by Palestinians and those who support justice in Palestine. Here are a few comments:
 
Ali Abunimah, Editor of the Electronic Intifada: “This is a story for me because of the Israel parallel. There were, of course, Israeli flags brandished at the Capitol Hill riot. And it’s no coincidence: Israel’s proudly stated principle of Jewish supremacy, higher Jewish rights to land and office, has long been a model for white supremacists [in the Unites States].”
 
Jewish Voices for Peace commented that: “Many white supremacist groups both hate Jews and love Israel. Depending on their specific ideology, they may admire Israel as a model ethnic supremacist state, share its Islamophobic and anti-Arab views, and/or want Jews to be corralled in their own state far away from the US.”
 
Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent figure in Palestine political circles, said: “While people in Palestine and in many other places in the world are struggling to achieve democracy, there are those in the US who are actively sabotaging theirs. Despots everywhere thrive on repression, oppression, and violence.”
 
A friend of MennoPIN in Gaza, whose organization we support through the MennoPIN Twinning Initiative, showed empathy in return when she wrote to us: “We feel sorry for what was happening in the USA a few days ago, though we are sure that every cloud has a silver lining, and the American people will come over this hard situation for sure. Our hearts, prays, and souls are with you and your people. Keep safe and in peace.”
 
 B’Tselem Calls it Like it Is: Apartheid

 

B’Tselem, the largest Israeli human rights organization, has designated Israel as an apartheid regime for its human rights violations in Palestine. It is the first time they have given that label in their 30-year history. In what many have called a ”watershed moment,” B’Tselem stated: “In the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, the Israeli regime implements laws, practices and state violence designed to cement the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians.”
 
Israel responded to the B’Tselem report by trying to prevent them from lecturing at schools, but B’Tselem said it would not be deterred and will continue giving virtual lectures on the subject to a school in the northern city of Haifa, stating that “B’Tselem is determined to keep with its mission of documenting reality, analyzing it, and making our findings publicly known to the Israeli public, and worldwide.
 
You can view the full B’Tselem apartheid report here and their illustrated website here.
 
Kumi Now – Rising Up for Palestine
 

The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, located in East Jerusalem, has started Kumi Now to connect activists around the world with organizations working on the ground in Palestine and Israel to bring justice and lasting peace based on international law and nonviolence. Here is how Sabeel describes Kumi Now: “In response to our current situation and adhering to our principles of justice, inclusion, and nonviolence, Sabeel has been moved to act. After months of collaboration with local Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals, Sabeel is excited to introduce the Kumi (Rise Up) project. We wish to invite local and international individuals and organizations to join the Kumi project to work as a united force.”
 
To keep current on what is happening in Palestine and join others from around the world in support of Palestine, we encourage you to be part of Kumi Now by registering for weekly sessions here and visiting their YouTube channel here.

Stay Informed on Palestine 
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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:
 
Organizations
Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel)
Mennonite Central Committee Palestine and Israel
Christian Peacemaker Teams
U.S. Campaign for Palestine Rights (USCPR)
Kairos PalestineKairos USA
Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)
Christian Zionism
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace
Palestine Portal 

Web Publications
Mondeweiss
The Electronic Intifada
+972 Magazine
B’Tselem
Palestine InSight

Prayer

This week’s Kumi Now online meeting at 6pm (Jerusalem Time) on Tuesday, the 19th of January, will focus on the work of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition, (ICAHD). Jeff Halper, the founder of ICAHD, will discuss the refusal of the Israeli authorities to grant building permits to Palestinians. Even if Palestinians wish to build on their own land, very few permits are granted. When Palestinians go ahead and build without the permits, their homes are demolished by the Israeli authorities. Many Palestinians are even forced to bulldoze their own homes to avoid paying demolition costs… Lord Jesus, we come before you with hearts full of grief as we think of the Palestinian families forced to watch the destruction of their own homes. Lord, you experienced a harsh life under occupation during your ministry on earth, with nowhere for you to lay your head, (Matt.8:20). We pray for an end to this deplorable practice of home demolition in the occupied Palestinian Territories. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers. Sabeel Wave of Prayer— 
Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Anita Rediger (Emmaus Road Mennonite Fellowship, Berne, IN)
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Joe Roos (Peace Mennonite Fellowship, Claremont, CA)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Washington, DC)
Jonathan Brenemann (Syracuse, NY)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)

December 2020 MennoPIN Monthly Update

December 2020 Monthly Update

In This IssueChristmas Greetings from MennoPIN
Inside the COVID Relief Bill – Half a Billion Dollars for Israel
A Hopeful Note on the Biden Administration
Turning Olives into Energy
A Poem from Noor Hindi
Stay Informed on Palestine
Prayer
Christmas Greetings from MennoPIN


(Credit: FOSNA/Maher Naji) 
We wish you a blessed Christmas, even as this devastating year draws to a close. Through the exhaustion and pain of 2020, we hope for the renewal of our spirits as we wait expectantly for the child Jesus to come once again into our needy world. We hope for replenishment and renewal in our labor of love in support of the people of Palestine amidst their ongoing suffering and pain. And we hope that a new administration will offer some positive steps forward for Palestinians as we hold their feet to the fire. Have a blessed New Year!
Inside the COVID Relief Bill – Half a Billion Dollars for Israel

If you thought the 5,593-page COVID relief bill was singularly designed to address the needs of people and small businesses suffering from the pandemic, you would be wrong. Three examples (there are more) that have nothing to do with COVID relief:

  • On pages 341 and 342, $500,000,000 to Israel for its Iron Dome defense system, short range ballistic missiles and more.
  • On pages 2630-2633, opposition to China’s interference in the education of Tibetan monks and the selection of future Dalai Lamas.
  • On pages 244, important classification of certain racehorses as three-year old property.

A Hopeful Note on the Biden’s Administration


Joe Biden introducing Antony Blinkin as his nominee for Secretary of State
(Credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images)

We all know that the Biden Administration will not do what Palestine deserves and needs – full freedom and justice. It is true that, during the campaign, Vice-President Elect, Kamala Harris, told The Arab American that “Joe [Biden] and I also believe in the worth and value of every Palestinian and every Israeli and we will work to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, prosperity and democracy.” We hope that this is one campaign promise they live up to.

Biden’s cabinet picks bring a ray of hope to that direction. Secretary of State Elect, Antony Blinken, and National Security Adviser Elect, Jake Sullivan, have outlined a shift from the Trump Administration that will emphasize diplomacy and human rights which may revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and bring Israeli and Palestinian officials to the negotiating table with fewer concessions for the Israeli government. That’s not nearly enough, but at least a step in the right direction.
Turning Olives into Energy in Gaza


(Photo by Mohammed Talatene/picture alliance via Getty Images) 
Tamer Abu Mutlaq, seen above, is a trained engineer living in Khan Yunis is southern Gaza. Of course, there are very few paid jobs for engineers in Gaza, so Tamer was unemployed. Using his education, Tamer had an idea. Why not take olive waste and turn it into energy he wondered, and he figured out a way to do exactly that. Making environmentally friendly fuel pellets from olive skin, pits, and pulp, Gazans can now use the resulting pomace wood to warm their homes and cook their food.

The resilience and creativity of the people of Gaza and the West Bank under such oppressions conditions is remarkable and deeply inspiring!
A Poem from Noor Hindi


(Credit: Stephen Bivens Photography)
Noor Hindi is a Palestinian-American poet and reporter. Her poems and essays appear or are forthcoming in The RumpusjubilatGay magazine, American Poetry ReviewAndroit Journal, and elsewhere. Hindi is the equity and inclusion reporter for Devil Strip magazine. The following poem appeared in Poetry magazine, December 2020.
Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People are Dying

Colonizers write about flowers.
I tell you about children throwing rocks at Israeli tanks
seconds before becoming daisies.
I want to be like those poets who care about the moon.
Palestinians don’t see the moon from jail cells and prisons.
It’s so beautiful, the moon.
They’re so beautiful, the flowers.
I pick flowers for my dead father when I’m sad.
He watches Al Jazeera all day.
I wish Jessica would stop texting me Happy Ramadan.
I know I’m American because when I walk into a room something dies.
Metaphors about death are for poets who think ghosts care about sound.
When I die, I promise to haunt you forever.
One day, I’ll write about the flowers like we own them. Stay Informed on Palestine
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. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

Web Publications

Prayer

This Christmas we turn our eyes to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and we see a suffering town. The pandemic has hit the economy of the town hard with over 7,000 people working in the tourism sector, now unemployed for over nine months. Some families are having to withdraw their children from schools, forced to make hard choices between education, food or medicine. Others can no longer afford to pay rent and are having to move back in with their parents and grandparents…Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world, (John 8:12). When we light our Advent candles remind us that we will not walk in darkness if we follow your light. When the darkness of poverty, oppression, illness and bereavement press in hard, lift our eyes to your light of hope. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers. Sabeel Wave of Prayer