We, the Middle East Justice Project, come to you today with heavy hearts and ask that you join us in a moment of silence to mark a grim anniversary: one year of a genocidal assault on the Palestinian people carried out by the Israeli military with the full material, political, and diplomatic support of the United States. Our political leaders have rightfully commemorated the Israeli victims on October 7th, 2023. We humanize the nearly 1,200 people killed and 250 taken hostage; they have names, faces, families, and futures. Their fates are a tragedy. But the lines of what's considered acceptable political discourse have made it glaringly clear that the same level of empathy and human dignity are not afforded to the orders of magnitude larger number of Palestinian victims in the 76 years prior and 1 year since October 7th, 2023.

Our political leaders undermine the humanity and dignity of Arabs and Muslims with one-sided rhetoric in service to US political goals that ignore the horrors of human death, dispossession of land, political oppression, and environmental destruction when they think recognizing those tragedies would be inconvenient. Our principles here at First Unitarian call us to do better. When we say there is a unity that makes us one, we extend that to all people in this world. We stand with those who are dispossessed and suffering wherever they are, sharing in the full grief and joy of the human experience and striving for salvation for all people in this life.

Before we take our silence we ask that you internalize the following statistics not simply as numbers, but as whole human beings robbed of their lives and livelihoods. Since this war began in Gaza over 43,000 people, including over 12,000 children have been counted in the official death toll. Scholarly estimates of the full direct and indirect deaths range from 180,000 to 400,000 due to the inability to accurately count the dead and the continued blockade of water, fuel, electricity, medical equipment, and food. The official count includes over 900 entire families wiped out. The list of the dead includes 13 full pages of infants under the age of 1 year old and over 20,000 children have been orphaned. Additionally, over 170 journalists, 350 healthcare workers, and 200 aid workers have been directly targeted or deemed acceptable collateral damage.

The history of our time has not yet been written, but we are all but certain that it will see this as another genocide that America shares responsibility for. If we are to find the salvation that all hearts yearn for, it requires our shared liberation. We see the encroachment of fascism here at home and so many other countries, and governments inching toward war that threatens to become global. It is easier to look away and carry on with our busy lives, hoping "it can't happen here" but we know we must act, and we must care about liberation and justice not just here, but everywhere. Our own liberation is tied to Palestinian liberation by the actions of our government and by our shared humanity.

We now ask that you join us in silence and hope that you carry forward in your hearts these lost souls, shattered lives, and our call to action.

One Year Plus One Hundred Seven

Board of Directors of UUJME, October 2024

------------------------------

We mourn.

Exploding pagers. Targeted killing of innocent civilians, demolished hospitals, schools, refugee encampments, water supplies. Delayed and blocked relief convoys.

Genocide in Gaza, brutality in the West Bank, the bombing of Lebanon, and now the great threat of major Middle East war and conflagration.

At the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, Rev. Isaac Munther has preached: “In Gaza today, God is under the rubble. He is in the operating room. If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble. We see his image in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble. In every child in incubators.”

For the Netanyahu regime and its US and western enablers, there is no red line – there is no cruelty too great for them in their pursuit of corporate interests. The only winners so far are the skyrocketing profits of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Chevron, and the like. The remarks about a plan to reshape the Middle East are staggering in their arrogance and deadly intent.

It’s hard to remember, sometimes, that Netanyahu is not representative of all Israeli Jews, any more than Trump was representative of all Americans when he was President.

Israelis have suffered, too. From disinformation, displacement, fear of worsening war, concern for their own safety, and grief over the deaths and hostages from October 7th.

Not that we center their loss, because Palestinians are suffering and have suffered unimaginable losses. At least 42,000 are known to have been killed in Gaza and the number could be four times that. Half of the dead are children. Palestinians have also been subjected to terrible losses and trauma the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917, nearly 107 years ago, when Britain started enabling the eventual dispossession of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948. During the nonviolent Great March of Return in 2018, Palestinians suffered 36,100 injuries and 217 deaths. Mourn with them.

But it’s not a hierarchy of pain.

As Rabbis for Ceasefire say, “Mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living.” Each and every life is precious.

Our role as people of faith is to hold onto our humanity. Even in this bleak moral environment, where we need more people to raise their voices, we see millions more than ever before activated for peace, we witness unimaginable kindness in the midst of so much loss, and we know that despite the corruption of governments, people are good. People want peace. 

We are people living in a nominally democratic nation that is providing the weapons being used in Gaza, Lebanon and potentially in Iran. If a ceasefire had been achieved in the past few months, perhaps there would not have been exploding pagers, leveling of apartment buildings in Beirut, displacement of 1 million Lebanese people, and hundreds of missiles fired by Iran into Israel. Every life is precious and has worth. We must insist on siding with love and life.

We must call for our country to desist in its support for genocide in Gaza and members of a world community is to call for our country and others to desist from acts of "plausible" genocide and enabling of these acts in Gaza as demanded by the International Court of Justice. We must stop US support for wars in Lebanon and Iran., as demanded by the International Court of Justice. We must keep advocating for an end to the US supply of aid and weapons to Israel.

These efforts embody solidarity with Palestinians, supporting the Action of Immediate Witness: Solidarity with Palestinians that we helped to pass at the UUA General Assembly in June. We understand that safety is achieved through solidarity, an embodiment of love. 

If a ceasefire had been achieved in the past few months, perhaps there would not have been exploding pagers, leveling of apartment buildings in Beirut, displacement of 1 million Lebanese people, and hundreds of missiles fired by Iran into Israel. Every life is precious and has worth. We must insist on siding with love and life.

Respecting the human rights of every human being is the only path into the future. We keep working toward the world we know is possible. We rise to that vision.

UUJME's Mission: 

To work within the Unitarian Universalist community to educate and mobilize individuals, congregations and denominational leaders to recognize and counter inequality and injustice in Palestine-Israel and to support our allies in the global justice and anti-oppression movements.

Download the Newsletter Highlights File to post on your local bulletin board.

To volunteer to help us with graphics, outreach, organizing, and other tasks, please send an email to [email protected].

In this newsletter:

• Chalice Moment - Resources for Sunday, October 6th Worship Service
  
  
• DRUUMM Vigil for Gaza - October 6 (8 pm ET) - Register at https://www.druumm.org/events
  
  
• Webinar - October 9 (7:30 pm ET) - Register at Author Talk - Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism 
  
  
• Film Salon - October 20 (3 pm ET) - Voices from the Holy Land - film series: The Past and the Present Tell Us: Palestine’s Future has to be Different!
  
  
• Monthly Palestine/Israel 101 Teach-In - October 24 (7 pm ET) - Register at Palestine/Israel 101 Teach-In for October 2024 
  
  
• Join us in taking action - Tell your senators to support the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval
  
  
• Promote the Action of Immediate Witness: “Solidarity With Palestinians,” 
  
  
• Webinar - October 5 (12 pm ET) - with Israeli Jewish scholar Ilan Pappe - Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace - Meeting Registration - Zoom
  
  
• Share the Plate with UUJME - Donation

Chalice Moment

What many have feared has come to pass: an escalation with Israel detonating pagers injuring many people in Lebanon, civilians as well as combatants, and bombing to assassinate Hezbollah leaders, followed by more bombing and an attempted ground invasion. No one anywhere in the region is safe. We must keep insisting on diplomacy, ceasefire, ending the occupation, and a political resolution.

UUJME will be posting a statement on our Blog soon.

In the midst of grief and fear, it is good to be part of solemn and mindful ritual and worship. Being that this time is a time of grief as well as the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we are grateful to our organizer India Wood for initiating the creation of Resources for Sunday, October 6th Worship Service featuring Jewish and other faith leaders' content, and that this resource has been included in the UUA's Worship Web. 

DRUUMM Vigil for Gaza - Sun. Oct 6 @ 8 pm ET - Open to all!

We invite you to join us on Oct. 6 for “Still Here: A Unitarian Universalist Vigil for Gaza” at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT. UUJME among several co-sponsors of this important grief processing space of witness.

UUJME Webinar on Antisemitism - Wednes. Oct. 9 @ 7:30 pm ET

It's true that antisemitism is on the rise. Lorber & Burley's book helps explain the relationship of antisemitism to white nationalism and other bigotries, what’s missing in contemporary debates about antisemitism, and how to build safety through solidarity. Join this webinar for a presentation by the authors, and then participate in Q&A.

RSVP at Author Talk - Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism - Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (uujme.org).

SAFETY THROUGH SOLIDARITY takes the fight against antisemitism out of the hands of status quo defenders, and into the hands of social movements. Using history, analysis and interviews with front-line organizers, it situates the fight against antisemitism where it belongs– alongside the fight against all forms of oppression. Lorber and Burley help us break the current impasse to understand how antisemitism works, what’s missing in contemporary debates, and how to build true safety through solidarity, for Jews and all people.

Shane Burley is known for his work on the far-right and left-wing social movements. He is the author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017) and Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021), and editor of the anthology ¡No pasarán!: Readings on Antifascism (AK Press, 2022).

Ben Lorber is Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates, a social movement think tank, where he studies and publishes on antisemitism and white nationalism. He previously worked as national campus organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace, supporting justice-driven young Jewish communities across the country, and has written extensively on antisemitism, Israel/Palestine and Jewish identity.

You can obtain the book at a number of outlets listed at Safety through Solidarity by Shane Burley, Ben Lorber: 9781685890919 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books.

Read the book ahead of the event, if you can, and attend the webinar to hear the presentation and participate in Q&A with the authors.

UUJME Monthly Teach-In on Palestine/Israel - Thurs. Oct. 24 @ 7 pm ET

Take action - Tell your senators to support the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval

In the words of the Side with Love communication sent on October 2:

We can honor the commitments of our 2024 General Assembly’s Action of Immediate Witness, “Solidarity With Palestinians,” and move towards the necessary humanitarian demand of calling, yet again, for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, and for the U.S. to stop shipments of military weapons to Israel.  

Join us in taking action and renewing this commitment by calling your representative to ask that they support the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which blocks a proposal to send $20 billion in weapons to Israel. 

Discussion with Israeli Historian Ilan Pappe - October 5/12 pm ET

Christian Zionism and the Israel Lobby: A Conversation with Ilan Pappe

Dr. Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian and professor of history at the University of Exeter, where he leads the European Centre for Palestine Studies. He is the author of numerous books including The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Those who donate $100 or more to the organizer of the event, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP), will receive a copy of his most recent book: Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (One World Publications, 2024). UUJME is a proud co-sponsor of this event.

To make a donation, visit Donate — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (pcap-us.org).

Share the Plate with UUJME

UUJME has received several "share the plate" donations from congregations over the past year. We are very grateful for this. If your congregation has a tradition of sometimes sharing the plate offering, please consider asking your congregation's leaders to plan a share the plate collection for UUJME. We are a 501c3 non-profit and can provide a tax ID. Donations can be sent by check to

UUJME

PO Box 380355

Cambridge MA 02238-0355

or can be made online via the Donation page on the website (https://www.uujme.org/donation).

Help us build on the amazing grants we have received, to make our plans sustainable into the future! Consider becoming a monthly donor. That option is available on the donation page of our website.

We rely on the generosity of our supporters to carry out our programs! Please help us make a difference and donate to UUJME in whatever amount you are able—gifts are appreciated and none are too small. Click here to donate.

Our vision is of a just peace in Palestine-Israel that reflects our UU values of respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every human being and justice, equity and compassion in human relations. Our mission is to work within the Unitarian Universalist community to educate and mobilize individuals, congregations and denominational leaders to recognize and counter inequality and injustice in Palestine-Israel and to support our allies in the global justice and anti-oppression movements.

Copyright © 2024 UUJME All rights reserved.

Dear UUA Press Release Team,

This letter is written to you on behalf of the SWANA DRUUMM Caucus. Your statement released on September 23rd of this year titled Living Our Shared Values Amid Ongoing Violence was extremely harmful to our community. We found it fraught with misconceptions, untruthful obfuscations, painful disregard, and a prevalent categorization of dehumanizing rhetoric. Our caucus is everlastingly compassionate, patient, and faithful. We have lived in this society and understand that our demonization is used as a tool for nation building. Parsing through the propaganda, stereotypes, and even linguistic mistranslations can be difficult for non-SWANA folx. We’re tired, however, we are willing to take the time to break through those colonialist underpinnings, belief structures, and societal formations. It has no longer become productive to share our grievances in a manner which does not share our dynamic cultural lens. That is what this letter is going to convey: The manner by which your statement was harmful, and a critique of the general narrative which the letter pronounced; a narrative which is objectively false.

Your statement begins by recounting the aspirations of Raghad Ezzat Hamouda, an English literature student living in Gaza. It then mentions the October 7th attack, immediately after recounting Hamouda’s story. This implies to readers that Hamas is the cause of inaccessibility to schooling. The use of passive language further perpetuates this narrative. For example, you say, “few schoolbooks that remained accessible to students in the weeks after Hamas’ attacks on October 7th are now scattered and burned.” Where this statement fails is describing how these books were “scattered and burned.” How the Israeli military has been methodically destroying every school in Gaza using demolition charges. Secondly, you reference the “death of parents, caregivers, and siblings across generations,” however you do not indicate how they died. They were killed in Israeli airstrikes, by Israeli soldiers, using Israeli drones, or Israeli artillery funded by the United States. Not naming this is a complete obfuscation of the truth. The parents of Palestinian children did not disappear into thin air. They were murdered by the state of Israel: discriminately and indiscriminately.

Israel has been strategically bombing infrastructure for decades. These bombing campaigns have taken place in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2022. In each bombing campaign Israel killed mostly civilians. The ruling Likud party refers to this military tactic as “mowing the grass,” which has of course, all too predictably, morphed into full scale annihilation of the Palestinian people. The framing in your statement serves to deny this fact. By only mentioning the displacement of “Gaza’s 625,000 schoolchildren” you erase the thousands of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military. Over the past year, Israel has killed over 40,000 people and maimed or injured over 100,000. This intentional mass killing by Israel includes forcible starvation measures, the poisoning of aquifers, and the blocking of medical aid. Renowned medical journal The Lancet conservatively estimates that these deaths will reach 186,000 or 7.9% of all people living in Gaza.

Furthermore, only naming Hamas as the sole attacker on October 7th comes across as a further dehumanization of Palestinians and Arabs. It paints the picture of Arabs as “mindless fanatical barbarians” who are reflections of a one dimensional intolerant society. In reality, the attack on October 7th was a joint-militant operation, led by Hamas, which saw a broad coalition of Muslim militants (from various Islamic branches), secular Marxists, democratic socialists, communist revolutionaries, Pan-Arabists, and many other factions with varying ideologies. And since Israel’s ground invasion, more militant factions from a diverse set of backgrounds have joined in the fighting. Insistence on only citing Hamas is not only misleading, but it denies that Palestinian society is a complex and dynamic system with a coherent conjoining view of liberation. Instead, we’d rather you use the term “Hamas-led” or “joint-militant attacks” to more accurately reflect the situation.

The statement then goes on to recount the story of Eden Yerushalmi, a student who was abducted on October 7th. Yerushalmi gets a far longer and more empathetic paragraph than Hamouda. It laments at her captivity, her death, her calling in life, and the trauma of her family. Hamouda is not given this same level of care. All we get from her is a quote: “‘The war destroyed all my ambitions and there was nothing left.’” Do you see the issue here? You illustrate the life of Yerushalmi in a way which allows us to empathize with her, and the relatable Westernized lifestyle she lives. The same care and consideration is not given to Hamouda. The trauma of Hamouda’s family is not mentioned, her calling in life is not mentioned, the death of her family members are not mentioned, or the blatant fact that there is a high likelihood she will die by the military machine of Israel. We are genuinely baffled by this apparent imbalance within the statement.

By the 4th paragraph, Lebanon is mentioned, yet no details are given. It does not mention Israel’s detonating of thousands of pagers which in an instant maimed thousands and killed dozens. A terrorist attack which was intentionally conducted on the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila Massacre, to further traumatize the Lebanese people. The people of Lebanon are terrified to touch their devices, afraid that their phones, laptops, and tablets will explode in their face. None of this is mentioned, instead Israeli society is once again lifted up and centered. You say, “Israeli citizens take to the streets to demand the return of the hostages” then equate it to the global student protests. These protests are extremely different. The global student protests are calling for an end to genocide, whereas protests in Israel are not. In truth, the vast majority of Israelis are in support of the genocide in Gaza. The protests in Israel are demanding a release of hostages and regime change. They are protesting to preserve the state of Israel, because they believe continuous wars will result in an abolition of the Israeli colonial experiment. While these protests nationwide are massive, they are nowhere near comprehensive. The protests are in some ways a continuation of the protests which were taking place before October 7th. The entire SWANA region was watching Israel closely, and many concluded, including Israel academics, that Israel was on the verge of civil war. Divide between secular Zionism and ultra-orthodox Zionism has been growing for decades. Before October 7th, it was culminating into a situation in which far-right leaders were on the precipice of galvanizing an Israeli settler army to take control of Israel and secure a Jewish-only-state through the ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians. This, unfortunately, is the only logical end result of a society which teaches its children hate and conditions them to be occupational soldiers right after high school.

Additionally, the ceasefire negotiations and hostage negotiations are not a multifaceted issue. Hamas and international negotiators, over the past 11 months, have repeatedly put forward ceasefire proposals which would see a release of Israeli hostages. In each instance, Israel has denied any proposal put forward which would put an end to hostilities and see a release of hostages. By not mentioning this fact your statement acts as a further obfuscation of truth. You perpetuate the “bothsideism” myth of equal contest. Israel is in control here. Israel has always been in control. Gaza has been an open-air-prison for almost two decades. Israel has used Gazan labor to grow its produce, work in its factories, build its roads, homes, and overall treat Gazans similar to how the U.S. treats undocumented immigrants. Equivocating the two societies, as if they are equals, is not acceptable.

This statement combined with the unaddressed harm at the last General Session of the General Assembly, feels like a double blow to our community. We are specifically referring to the AIW: Solidarity with Palestinians, and several of our members being targeted in the Whova chat, plus the amount of lies and misinformation that was allowed to be spewed without a fact check. The amount of emotional labor we put into that GA, just for our voices to be heard, took a physical toll on many of our members. We worked countless hours trying to get our UU community to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of the Palestinian people. For our community it weighs heavily upon us. We would like to point you to the SWANA DRUUMM Caucus statement for more information regarding our perspective.

We hope that this letter proves useful to you in recognizing what mistakes were made. Next time you put a statement like this out you should reach out to the SWANA DRUUMM Caucus. We’d be happy to review any statements or help formulate a statement which reflects our humanity. As individuals from SWANA we have unique insights which have been cultivated throughout our lifetime. We are more knowledgeable than those just now learning about the plight of the Palestinians or just now learning about the lived experiences of SWANA. Please, use our knowledge, perspectives, stories, and our dynamic cultural lens. As the SWANA DRUUMM Caucus we politely request that you take this statement down or revise it heavily. You are welcome to formulate the new statement off of this letter or reach out to us for assistance.

Sincerely,

SWANA DRUUMM Caucus

UUs for Justice in the Middle East is pleased to announce that the Rev. DL Helfer is now a member of the UUJME board.

DL was the main proposer of the Action of Immediate Witness: Solidarity with Palestinians that we worked in coalition to pass at the UUA General Assembly in June 2024. They have also been an integral part of the wonderful UU Vigils for Gaza that are produced by Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM). You can view the recorded vigils at DRUUMM - BIPOC Unitarian Universalist Ministries - YouTube.

Rev. DL Helfer is non-binary, and in general avoids boxes which trap them into "this" or "that." Instead, they search for possibility, for deeper truths, and share those glimmers of possibility with others. DL is also a licensed social worker working with transgender and gender diverse children and youth. Rev. DL hails from Southern California but now calls Providence, RI home. They share that home with their beloved partner and two overzealous cats.

DL's entry into Palestinian Solidarity has roots in their late mother's social activism but was fostered by their partner's longtime Palestinian Solidarity activism with Jewish Voice for Peace. As a Jewish UU, DL hopes, believes, and is driven by a belief in collective liberation. DL identifies as a Community Minister.

The "Faux Program"

How to get "onto the agenda" if you’re shut out

To see the example "faux program," click the link in the top heading.

We have all obtained fliers and passed them out to crowds or at meetings to promote our good causes. Here is a way to overcome the reluctance of some participants to accept from your hand--much less read--a bit of information that might challenge them to think, one that is not a candy-coated production of the official sponsors: include the word PROGRAM on the front face of a flier.

Even in the age of the cell phone, one of the most powerful ways to get information to people is to put an 8.5 X 11-inch sheet of paper, filled on both sides with text and images, into their hands. Ben Franklin and Edward R. Tufte advise us to put this tool to work: the pamphlet–a.k.a. the leaflet, the info sheet, the flier.

If you are attending a public or private event where the ongoing genocide in Palestine ought to be mentioned, but will not be, then you might consider this variation on the flier: You can compose a “faux program,” the French word for “fake” being “faux,” pronounced like “foe.”

Begin by studying the publicity for the upcoming event, and copy some of the phrases onto face 1 of your flier, along with the word PROGRAM in big letters. Be sure to also include this phrase, in very tiny type: “This flier is not a publication of ____________” [insert the name of whoever is actually sponsoring the event]. That protects you from accusations of fraud and copyright infringement.

Second gather up the information that you wish people would pay attention to, and fit it onto faces 2,3, and 4 of the flier in a bi-fold format. See above illustrations. There’s not much page space. Say it concisely. Provide short URL links.

Third, when you lay out the flier, choose the “landscape” option, and select “two columns” to create the correct frame for a bifold pamphlet. Save the final version as a PDF, for consistent appearance on the page when it’s printed.

Fourth, when you begin to print this flier, just run one (1) copy initially as a test. Check that the printout is two-sided AND that the interior faces of the folded flier (face 2 and 3) are both right-side up (when compared with faces 1 and 4).

Finally, with a stack of your faux programs happily under your arm, stand on the public sidewalk outside the event and hand it to folks who are arriving. Another nonviolent-protest-volunteer can perhaps enter the event and place the program in strategic spots. For example, if there are booths or tables with information, do a “flier exchange”: take one of their fliers and give them one of yours.

We used this method with good results at the Interfaith Unity Walk 2024 in Washington, DC, A gathering of perhaps 250 people walked from temple to church to mosque to shrine (etc.) all along Massachusetts Avenue, “to advance understanding and cooperation across diverse faith traditions and cultures in our nation’s capital for the betterment of all.” Good cause. Lovely people. Beautiful autumn day.

I smiled and said, “Here is a Complimentary Program. No, it’s not the same as the one you already have. It mentions some people who might like to be part of activities like this, but are not here today. Thank you for taking it. Please let me know if you have any questions.”

We had some good conversations as we walked or enjoyed a delicious meal provided by the Sikhs. Over the course of two hours, we saw the exteriors and the interior spaces of eight beautiful buildings. The US/Israel ongoing destruction of churches and mosques in Gaza, however, was never mentioned from any lectern. In the closing ceremony, an imam prayed that we will never see “another 9-11 in America. Peace, peace, peace,” he said. He seemed worried for his congregants, and for everyone, in the coming months and years. So was I.

I’m grateful to the mentors who demonstrated this nonviolent method of creating a faux program and offering it to an audience. The action might be seen as “disruptive” by some critics, but it is hardly so. Yes, we intend it to be a little bit confusing; it causes the reader to stop and use their brain to evaluate. What is this thing that I am reading? What is it telling me? Does this piece of paper nudge me, shock me, whisper to me, insult me, light compassion within me?  

-Steven Sellers Lapham   

UUJME August 2024 Newsletter

UUJME's Mission

To work within the Unitarian Universalist community to educate and mobilize individuals, congregations and denominational leaders to recognize and counter inequality and injustice in Palestine-Israel and to support our allies in the global justice and anti-oppression movements.

To print this newsletter for sharing during fellowship time at your congregation, visit our News and Events page and look for the August 2024 Newsletter tile. The blog post will have a link to a PDF file with graphics.

To volunteer to help us with graphics, outreach, organizing, and other tasks, please send an email to [email protected].

In this newsletter:

Chalice Moment

First UU Apartheid-Free Congregations

Announcing New Board Member and Additional Organizer

Starting a UUJME Chapter or Becoming a UUJME Local Advocate

Participate in Empty Cups for Gaza Witness Ritual at Ingathering/Water Ceremony Worship

New Resources for Congregational Engagement - Action of Immediate Witness Follow-up

• Flyer and postcards to UU congregations
• First monthly Palestine/Israel 101 Teach-In: August 29, 6 pm Eastern
• DRUUMM Vigils for Gaza - Recordings

UUs Showing Up - Photo Collage

Webinar - September 15 - with Israeli Jewish scholar Ilan Pappe - Meeting Registration - Zoom

Film Salon - September 15 - Israel, Palestine, BDS, and Boycotting in the United States

Solidarity Opportunities - Direct Aid:

• Help Feed Starving Palestinians: Gaza Soup Kitchen
• Join UUJME's Solidarity Circle with Green Olive Collective
• Host a Film Screening to Benefit Creative Cultural Center of Jenin

Share the Plate with UUJME

Chalice Moment

The situation in Gaza as well as the West Bank continues to be dire. More than 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military and settlers, enabled by funding and support from the U.S. and other countries, since October 7. While figures for Gaza are officially stated as over 40,000 Palestinians killed, the Lancet medical journal ran an article claiming that the death toll is likely to be over 180,000. If one considers bodies under the rubble uncounted, injured family members unable to report additional deaths, and deaths from dehydration, starvation, and medical conditions and diseases untreatable due to the decimated health care system, this number seems likely. In fact, by now it is likely that 10% of the 2.3 million people in Gaza have been killed. Sanitation is nearly impossible. Vaccinations are not available. People are suffering from hepatitis, and now polio is spreading, leaving a young child paralyzed from this preventable disease with more to come. Nearly 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, and nearly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners languish in Israeli jails, with hundreds subjected to brutal torture. Four Palestinian towns in the West Bank are being attacked by Israeli forces by bulldozer, helicopter, and fighter jets as well as ground troops. Let us light a chalice and renew our dedication to take action in solidarity with Palestinians. There is only side to take on genocide. We are called to side with life and love. A ceasefire is the only way to stop the deaths of Palestinians and hostages, and a permanent political solution is the only way to true safety. Solidarity can help to achieve the just peace that is needed. This newsletter lists many ways that you can engage on the issue.

First UU Apartheid-Free Congregations

Partly in response to the call of the UUA General Assembly Action of Immediate Witness, Solidarity with Palestinians, two UU congregations have taken the step of signing the pledge to be apartheid-free. The first was the UU Church of Berkeley. The second was the All Souls UU Church of Shreveport, Louisiana. Thanks, congratulations and best wishes to the people who organized this effort, including a local UUJME advocate and local chapter co-leaders, as well as members at these congregations as they embark on the aspirational journey to dismantle ties with Israeli apartheid.

Taha, a member of All Souls UU Church of Shreveport, Louisiana, said "This could not have been possible without individual members within the congregation being so vocal about the need for UUs to stand in opposition to the occupation of Palestine and the genocide of Gaza. Every single board member voted yes without hesitation because they see what is happening on TV and social media and find it unconscionable to not act and show our public opposition to apartheid." Susan, the Director of Religious Education, expressed gratitude to the minister and board president at how supportive they were throughout the process.

These congregations join the UU social justice groups that have previously signed: UUJME (one of the 13 original signatory groups), Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, the UU College of Social Justice, the UUJME Chapter of Massachusetts, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Find out how to get started on your journey at https://apartheid-free.

Announcing UUJME's new board member and additional organizer

New board member: Rev. DL Helfer

UUJME is very pleased to announce the addition of Rev. DL Helfer to the UUJME board. DL was an officiant for the DRUUMM-led UU Vigils for Gaza since last fall and was the main proposer of the Action of Immediate Witness, Solidarity with Palestinian, that passed at the UUA General Assembly in June 2024. We look forward to collaborating with DL for continued education and transformation in the UU community.

Rev DL Helfer is non-binary, and in general avoids boxes which traps them into “this” or “that.” Instead, they search for possibility, for deeper truths, and share those glimmers of possibility with others. DL is also a licensed social worker, currently working with transgender and gender diverse children and youth. Rev. DL hails from Southern California but now calls Providence, RI home. They share that home with their beloved partner and two overzealous cats. DL’s entry into Palestinian Solidarity has roots in their late mother’s social activism but was fostered by their partner’s longtime Palestinian Solidarity activism with Jewish Voice for Peace. DL. As a Jewish UU, DL hopes, believes, and is driven by a belief in collective liberation. DL identifies as a Community Minister.

New part-time organizer: Joshua "Jolly" Hollamon

UUJME is delighted to welcome Jolly to our organizing team, working alongside India Wood who was hired in June as our first-ever organizer, and our Organizing Committee. This hiring is funded in part by the Fund for Unitarian Universalism and the Unitarian Universalist Fund for Social Responsibility. 

Joshua “Jolly” Hollamon (they/he) is a Los Angeles based activist, with organizing expertise around climate justice and local politics. They previously held the Climate Justice Organizer position at the UU Justice Ministry of California. He has been active in building a healthier and more sustainable community, from traveling to DC to lobby with congressmen to organizing and supporting community events. In 2020, they co-managed the incubation and operations of a new drop-in, homelessness access center. This led to extended outreach to unhoused neighbors, providing service to the previously unserved Sherman Oaks neighborhood. He has been a front-line activist and coalition builder in various movements including the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. They support their local congregation, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, as a member of the Animal Ministry and Building & Grounds Committees. They are also on the Board of Urban Partners Los Angeles, a nonprofit that provides weekly food distribution to the community, a diaper distribution, and tutoring to young children. Jolly is delighted to continue their work as a faith-based organizer through UUJME.

Please donate as you are able to support making the organizer positions sustainable into the future. If you are ready to find out more about how to start a UUJME chapter in your congregation, city, or region, please reach out to [email protected].

To read about India Wood, our other organizer, visit UUJME Hires First Organizer!

Start a UUJME Chapter or Become a Local Advocate

Join the growing community of UUJME chapters and local advocates! After passage of the Solidarity with Palestinians Action of Immediate Witness at the UUA General Assembly, congregational leaders and members are curious to find out more. Starting a UUJME chapter or becoming a UUJME Local Advocate in your congregation can provide support and continuity for helping members engage on the topic of Palestine and Israel. UUJME has decades of experience in developing relevant education, helping UUs to transform their understanding and to find ways to engage.

Chapter leaders and local advocates go through an application process and are added to a monthly meeting where people can share ideas and gain support while building community. In the meetings, tips are shared about organizing people from your congregation to learn and take action and advance notice of critical learning and processing opportunities. Our internal email list provides key education. We have two part-time organizers ready to meet with you to answer questions and help you get the ball rolling!

Reach out to [email protected] and [email protected] to find out more. We can set up a Zoom meeting to get to know each other and answer your questions.

Witnessing Ritual: Empty Cups for Gaza at UU Ingathering/Water Ceremony Worship Services

This fall, UUs for Justice in the Middle East is inviting UUs to participate in a symbolic act of witness during their water ingathering service by bringing an empty cup or other container to the service. 

UUs across the country are taking this prayerful action in sympathy with the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who are denied potable water by Israel, a war crime that is enabled by the United States. These people are dying of starvation, thirst, preventable disease, and weapons of war.

UUJME chapter members, local advocates, and other congregants who would like to participate can decorate a paper or reusable cup with designs (e.g., keffiyeh pattern, prayers for Palestine and peace, kites, watermelon, or the faces of healthy Palestinian children), bring that container to the front during the ceremony, spill some "missing water" into the vessel, and then leave the cup behind beside the water communion vessel. UUs could also bring two containers - one with water as usual and one that is empty.

For more information about how to perform this act of witness in the face of ongoing violence, visit our blog post that includes recommendations for discussing with your minister and worship leaders, an example script, newsletter blurb, and links to an explainer video as well as artwork to print and tape onto your container: https://www.uujme.org/empty_cup_for_gaza_ingathering_water_ceremony 

Please email pictures and videos of your Empty Cups for Gaza witness to [email protected].

Resources for Congregational Engagement - Action of Immediate Witness
Follow-up

Engagement flyer and post card

UUJME and other UU groups and leaders are continuing to provide resources for Unitarian Universalists to engage on the topic of Palestine/Israel. The Action of Immediate Witness, Solidarity with Palestinians, calls on UUs to Witness, Educate, Organize and Advocate. 

The flyer and post card listing ways to engage on Palestine/Israel will be emailed and mailed to all UUA congregations; click here for a printable flyer to distribute at your congregation earlier than our mailing planned for September. 

The following are spaces being set up for engagement that are planned for the coming months, including webinars and other opportunities. We are also promoting interest in joining Diverse Revolution UU Multicultural Ministries for BIPOC UUs and highlighting the caucus for Southwest Asian and North African UUs formed by DRUUMM in 2023. Our aspiration is also to support a UU Jewish Caucus centering solidarity with Palestinians.

• Listening Circles
• Palestine/Israel 101 Teach-ins - first monthly session Thurs. August 29 at 3 pm Pacific/6 pm Eastern - RSVP at https://www.uujme.org/palestine_israel_101_teach_in
• Solidarity Circles
• Empty Cups for Gaza Ingathering Water Ceremony Information
• Resources Teach-ins
• Sacred Grief Spaces
• Author/Scholar/Activist Talks
• Countering Anti-Palestinianism
• Countering Antisemitism - a talk with Shane Burley and Ben Lorber on their recent book Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism - Tuesday October 10 at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET - RSVP at https://www.uujme.org/author_talk_safety_through_solidarity_fight_antisemitism
• Becoming Apartheid Free - UUJME will host monthly info sessions about what it means to become an apartheid-free congregation or group. This month the first two UU congregations signed the Apartheid-Free Pledge! In the UU community, they join UUJME, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the UU College of Social Justice, and the UUJME Chapter of Massachusetts. Read more at https://apartheid-free.org.
• Starting a UUJME Chapter

Vigils for Gaza by Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries

DRUUMM has initiated eight meaningful vigils for Gaza online since last fall. You can access the recordings of several. We highly recommend inviting a group to watch together, or at least on your own. This provides an important grief processing space for healing and coping with the ongoing violence against Palestinians in Gaza. To see past vigils that were recorded, visit their YouTube. These have reached hundreds of UUs. It is a deeply touching experience that will bring you comfort and community. UUJME was a proud co-sponsor of these vigils. The most recent vigils were held after passage of the Action of Immediate Witness in summer of 2024. 

The most recent vigil recordings:

Part I: Raising Voices for Palestine: Palestinian, SWANA and BIPOC voices

Part II: Raising Voices for Palestine: UU Jewish Voices

UUs Showing Up for Justice                           

It has been beautiful to see Unitarian Universalists showing up to demand an end to the war on Palestinians. We worked with others to develop a T-shirt design and had a batch shipped to DC in time for the Interfaith Action for Palestine protesting the convention of the Christians United for Israel. UUs were there for vigils and direct action, and we are thankful for your witness and courage. More UUs participated in Not Another Bomb across the country and at and around the Democratic National Convention to push the party to call for a ceasefire, ending military aid to Israel, and to allow a Palestinian speaker. 

Multifaith Prayers for Peace: Solidarity with Gaza Event 

Multifaith clergy and leaders in the DC area showed up to speak words of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The UU Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, one of the proposers of the Action of Immediate Witness, was one of the speakers. Gratitude to Rev. Abhi and all the others who spoke, and the many UU clergy and leaders across the country that are conducting similar acts of witness.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/MbhRj3MU-FE?si=BkZP7tkMORRxptok

UUs in Solidarity with Palestinians: from DC to Reading to Brooklyn to Chicago (and many more) to Palestine

Email us your photos from vigils, talks, rallies, and protests so we can inspire one another.

Discussion with Israeli Historian Ilan Pappe - September 15, 2024, 9 am PT/12 pm ET

Christian Zionism and the Israel Lobby: A Conversation with Ilan Pappe

Dr. Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian and professor of history at the University of Exeter, where he leads the European Centre for Palestine Studies. He is the author of numerous books including The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Those who donate $100 or more to the organizer of the event, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP), will receive a copy of his most recent book: Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (One World Publications, 2024). UUJME is a proud co-sponsor of this event.

To make a donation, visit Donate — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (pcap-us.org).

Film Salon - September 15, 2024 - 12 pm PT/3 pm ET

Monthly Film and Discussion with Voices from the Holy Land

In Conversation: Israel, Palestine, BDS, and Boycotting in the US

Sunday, September 15, 12 pm Pacific/3 pm Eastern

First they ignore you, then they attack you, then… 

That old saying seems to reflect the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement’s experience since its inception. But where is this movement today? 

As the world calls for a ceasefire and an end to hostilities in Israel-Palestine, join our Q&A panel to explore the challenges faced by this nonviolent economic movement, successful advocacy, and ways to take on an active role in this movement and environment.

Register at the link above, watch the film at your convenience, and join the online film salon on September 15 at 3:00 PM Eastern for a discussion of BDS - and state/local/university response with: - Olivia Katbi - North America coordinator for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement - Adrienne Pine – Author, Visiting Professor, Anthropology and Social Change at American University - Merrie Najimy - Education Committee Chair, Institute for The Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism

Solidarity Opportunities: Direct Aid

Please join the growing UU community taking solidarity actions that support an end to oppression of the Palestinian people.

Help Feed Starving Palestinians: Gaza Soup Kitchen (GSK) Mutual Aid

In addition to UNRWA, MECA, ANERA, and World Central Kitchen, there are direct aid opportunities to help feed Palestinians in Gaza. Before the war, there were 500 aid trucks getting into Gaza every day, and that has slowed down to much less because of Israel blocking the entry of aid. Dozens of children have already died of starvation and dehydration, with a United Nations alert stating that 96% of the population faces food insecurity at crisis levels or higher, going days without food. The Gaza Soup Kitchen is our focus this month, an initiative of the extended family of Hani Almadhoun, Director of Philanthropy for UNRWA-USA. Your donation will be direct aid; there is not a nonprofit associated with this fundraiser.

To see daily photos and videos from the soup kitchens, visit Hani's Facebook Page.

Join UUJME's Solidarity Circle with Green Olive Collective

This is an incredible opportunity to build relationships between Unitarian Universalists here and Palestinians living under military occupation.

You are warmly invited to sign up for the UUJME solidarity circle as a member of the recently launched global Solidarity Network of the Green Olive Collective, a group of Palestinians and Israelis making common cause, opposing oppression, and advocating for a just peace. How does it work? If you join the Green Olive Collective as a paying member on a sliding scale, you'll have access to monthly Zoom events to build relationships with Palestinians in the West Bank who are continuing to struggle from the violence of the occupation. You'll also get advance invitations to take part in global solidarity actions. 

To become a member as part of the UUJME solidarity circle, click the Join button below to fill out the membership form. Choose UUJME in the drop-down under Are you becoming a member as part of a solidarity circle? Click the drop-down under Select your currency to choose the correct one for your country. Then the monetary amount fields will appear to choose your desired monthly membership fee. You will receive a confirmation email and future communications about the monthly gatherings.

Host a Film Screening for Mutual Aid to Benefit Creative Cultural Center of Jenin

UUJME was invited by past UUJME board member Rev. George Kimmeach Beach to engage with a project supporting the Creative Cultural Center of Jenin. You can schedule a film screening or film festival with a package of five films to choose from, either in-person at your congregation or community location or via Zoom with proceeds from the event fee that you charge to be transferred to a bank in the UK and from there to the center director in Jenin. The city is under severe attack this week and support is needed. 

The current packaged films are: 

• The Silent Protest, 2019 
• An Orange from Jaffa, 2023
• 120 KM, 2021 
• Bethlehem 2001, 2020
• One Minute, 2015 

Reply to this email if you are interested in more information.

Share the Plate with UUJME

UUJME has received several "share the plate" donations from congregations over the past year. We are very grateful for this. If your congregation has a tradition of sometimes sharing the plate offering, please consider asking your congregation's leaders to plan a share the plate collection for UUJME. We are a 501c3 non-profit and can provide a tax ID. Donations can be sent by check to

UUJME

PO Box 380355

Cambridge MA 02238-0355

or can be made online via the Donation page on the website (https://www.uujme.org/donation).

Help us build on the amazing grants we have received, to make our plans sustainable into the future! Consider becoming a monthly donor. That option is available on the donation page of our website.

We rely on the generosity of our supporters to carry out our programs! Please help us make a difference and donate to UUJME in whatever amount you are able—gifts are appreciated and none are too small. Click here to donate.

Our vision is of a just peace in Palestine-Israel that reflects our UU values of respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every human being and justice, equity and compassion in human relations. Our mission is to work within the Unitarian Universalist community to educate and mobilize individuals, congregations and denominational leaders to recognize and counter inequality and injustice in Palestine-Israel and to support our allies in the global justice and anti-oppression movements.

Copyright © 2024 UUJME All rights reserved.

As Unitarian Universalist congregations across the country prepare for the church year to begin anew, many congregations begin their fall with an Ingathering Water Service -where members bring a sample of water from their summer travels or their beloved communities and add it to a communal vessel at the front of the worship hall. For many congregations, this is a cornerstone ritual of Unitarian Universalism, and a powerful tradition that holds deep meaning of what each person brings into the community to create the whole - their grief, their joys, their experiences, and their passions. Often, we use this water to dedicate babies. It is a symbol of our covenant to be a community and solidarity with one and other.

This fall, UUs for Justice in the Middle East is inviting UUs to participate in a symbolic act of witness during their water ingathering service by bringing an empty cup to the service. UUJME chapter members, local advocates, and other congregants who would like to participate can decorate a paper or reusable cup with designs (e.g., keffiyeh pattern, prayers for Palestine and peace, kites, watermelon, or the faces of healthy Palestinian children), bring that cup to the front during the ceremony, spill some "missing water" into the vessel, and then leave the cup behind beside the water communion vessel.  

UUs could also bring two cups - one with water as usual and one that is empty.

The intention is to augment and expand the traditional water ceremony, not to replace the existing ritual. This is not to alienate us from our traditions but to start or continue a conversation about an additional ritual element.

UUs across the country are taking this prayerful action in sympathy with the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who are denied potable water by Israel, a war crime that is enabled by the United States. These people are dying of starvation, thirst, preventable disease, and weapons of war.

This silent yet powerful symbolic ritual will be only the beginning of continued conversations within each congregation as the violence in Gaza continues with no sign of a ceasefire. UUJME will provide materials to help you figure out what format of conversations or actions your congregation should take next based on the needs of your unique community. 

If you would like to learn more about how to get started with Empty Cups for Gaza, please check out the information session video at Empty Cup for Gaza Ingathering Ritual Q&A on Vimeo. Please discuss the idea with your local minister, other staff, and congregational leadership and bring your curiosity about how this ritual can be included. Invite them to view this ritual suggestion as bringing another seat to the table for an attitude of abundant space for ritual. 

Info Session Video Recording

Empty Cup for Gaza Ingathering Ritual Q&A on Vimeo

Background Information

Sample Newsletter or Social Media Announcement

Jolly Hollamon - Part-Time National Organizer

Joshua “Jolly” Hollamon (they/he) is a Los Angeles based activist, with organizing expertise around climate justice and local politics. They previously held the Climate Justice Organizer position at the UU Justice Ministry of California. He has been active in building a healthier and more sustainable community, from traveling to DC to lobby with congressmen to organizing and supporting community events. In 2020, they co-managed the incubation and operations of a new drop-in, homelessness access center. This led to extended outreach to unhoused neighbors, providing service to the previously unserved Sherman Oaks neighborhood. He has been a front-line activist and coalition builder in various movements including the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. They support their local congregation, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, as a member of the Animal Ministry and Building & Grounds Committees. They are also on the Board of Urban Partners Los Angeles, a nonprofit that provides weekly food distribution to the community, a diaper distribution, and tutoring to young children. Jolly is delighted to continue their work as a faith-based organizer through UUJME. 

UUJME is delighted to welcome Jolly to our organizing team, working alongside India Wood and our Organizing Committee!