An invitation to greater engagement of the UU community in the international struggle for peace, the rule of law, and respect for the human rights of all people.

Curtis Bell 

As I write this in late May of 2022, the news continues to be all about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The costs of the invasion are already high – thousands of Ukrainian and Russian casualties, more than seven million refugees, and rapidly rising prices for energy and food across the world.  The costs are sure to grow higher.  Thus, many countries have already announced an increase in military spending, meaning that less money will be available for social goods. The war has also taken away the equally critical resource of the world’s attention from the crises of climate change, pandemics, and poverty.  The war could have even worse consequences - a war throughout Europe, world-wide deprivation of food and energy, destabilization of the world economic system, and even nuclear war. 

At the UUA's 2022 General Assembly, UUJME presented the program, "The Palestinian Experience: Five Short Films and Discussion."

The five short films, linked below, were shown and then discussed by Zainab Ramahi and Jehad Abusalim. Zainab is a Palestinian-Kashmiri lawyer and an expert on settler colonialism. Jehad is from Gaza and is an Education and Policy Associate with the Palestine Activism Program of the American Friends Service Committee. Zainab and Jehad provided the audience not only with facts and ideas but also with emotion and motivation. A recording of the June 26, 2022 program and discussion may be viewed here.

View the five short films at the links below:

Film: Of Land and Bread

Discussion: 4/10/22 3pm ET

On Sunday April 10, at 3 pm ET, join a discussion about the documentary Of Land and Bread. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem invited Palestinians to film daily life under occupation. View it free in advance, and then join the panel discussion on Sunday. Register here to watch the film for free and join the discussion. Watch the trailer here.
 
Abstract:
Of Land and Bread offers an unmediated view of life under Israel’s occupation. Composed entirely of documentary footage from B’Tselem’s video archive, it shows Palestinian daily life governed by Israeli state violence. This violence is carried out by uniformed soldiers and police, but also by Israeli settlers acting under their protection and with the backing of the state. It is a story of a vulnerable life, with no political rights or the right to protest, a life on the receiving end of the project of dispossession of land and resources which is the Israeli occupation, and where one’s only “defense” is the camera.
 
Panelists:
Dr. Ruthie Ginsburg – Faculty, HaMidrasha School of Art, Beit Berl Academic College, Israel
Jamal Najjab – (Moderator) Photojournalist and human rights advocate
Roy Yellin – Director of Public Advocacy, B’Tselem, Israel
 
The April 2022 Voices from the Holy Land Online Film Salon is co-sponsored by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The whole world was riveted on the May events in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and 1948 Israel. We are all relieved that a ceasefire has ended the eleven days of death and destruction. But our attention must not waiver. We must focus our attention now on the underlying sources of all this death and destruction. Only then can we prevent it from recurring and only then can we understand what we must do to ensure the safety and well-being of all people in Palestine/Israel.