Woke up early this gray morning, so I held a vigil on the public sidewalk in front of our local hospital in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for a couple of hours, watching dawn become daybreak become morning. I held up a sign “CEASEFIRE NOW” and stood near the driveway of the main entrance. (See photo of sign.) I walked in little circles to get exercise and to stay warm. I returned home at 9:00AM, feeling invigorated, not drained.

Why hold a vigil near a hospital?

* TIME. I can easily do this vigil solo, or with a group. Schedule my own vigil at any time. Several regional hospitals are just a short drive away from my home. No planning needed. Just do it.

* PLACE. Most every public hospital has a large public sidewalk close to its main entry and parking lot. That’s a legal spot for holding up a sign. I’m exercising free speech in a public space.

* AUDIENCE. Hundreds of adults from all walks of life, class, and ethnicity drove past in two short hours, many giving me a thumbs up. (There were just a few frowns and one middle finger.)

* AMA. The American Medical Association (AMA) and several other medical profession groups in the United States are lethargic, AWOL when it comes to calling out the genocide in Gaza. The profession needs a wakeup call.

If any pedestrian (there were a few) asks for details, I have on hand an OCHA Infographic (here’s from Feb 19, 2024) or perhaps a printout of the “Urgent Health Update” from the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council.

Today, I’m sick of seeing video after video of doctors, nurses, other hospital staff, and patients of all ages and their family members fleeing down the hallways, under fire from Israeli soldiers using U.S. munitions. War crimes day after day, month after month, in Gaza. 148 days of this. It is unbelievable.

When hospitals are no longer sacrosanct, then humanity itself is being killed. Neither I, nor the hospital staff and patients, nor my particular city are being bombed at the moment. So, among other advocacy, I'll vigil now and again–at the hospital. 

Steven Sellers Lapham

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Steve at a Congressional candidate forum in January with a former Delaware state representative and community members.

UUJME Year-End Report and Donation Appeal - Part 1

We at UUJME are very grateful for all your activism and advocacy in support of Palestinian human rights. It is only through collective activism and advocacy that we can make a difference. This annual communication was to have been a report about achievements of UUJME, but the situation in Palestine/Israel has changed dramatically and requires additional content. This is the first of several emails that will be sent in December detailing our important activities.

On October 7, Palestinian militants broke out of the open-air prison of Gaza and carried out violent assaults in the area around the Gaza Strip against soldiers and civilians, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people, including children and the elderly, primarily Jews, and also Palestinian and foreign workers. There is no excuse for harming civilians, and we grieve the loss of each precious life. At least 240 captives were taken back to Gaza, many of whom are Israeli Jews who worked for Palestinian rights. 

And the resulting Israeli military assault is devastating Gaza’s Palestinians, killing approximately 20,000 people (nearly 1% of the population of the Gaza Strip), mostly children and women, displacing more than 1 million Palestinians, destroying more than 50% of housing units, and at first completely shutting down the entry of water, food, and medical aid to the trapped Palestinians. People have begun to die from hunger, dehydration, and infectious diseases. The ground and air assaults are devastating the infrastructure and health care system. The Israeli government has implemented draconian measures against Israelis opposing the war and has distributed guns to settlers in the occupied territories. More than 250 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds displaced in the West Bank since October 7. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from many areas in the north and south because of missile and drone attacks from militias in Lebanon and Yemen. Further regional escalation is a real possibility, with dire consequences for everyone there.

People around the world have risen up demanding a ceasefire. Our U.S. government defies the will of the people as almost 70% of the public strongly demands a ceasefire. The 7-day pause was not enough. The U.S. continues to fund the massacre, and congresspersons have instructed their staff to stop answering phones which are constantly ringing with citizens’ appeals to end the siege on Gaza. We have joined UU and other groups calling for an immediate ceasefire, for opposing Islamophobia and antisemitism, and for dismantling the oppressive systems that are the root of the violence.

UUJME ACTIONS FROM OCTOBER 7th

• Held immediate processing spaces on Zoom on October 7th and 8th. Our October 7 processing space for chapter leaders and local advocates was attended by about 40 people. An October 8 processing space invitation was sent to our entire email list and additional contacts to ensure notification of UUs most impacted by events and was attended by 80 people.

• Issued a statement, available at https://bit.ly/UUJME-Palestine-Israel-Statement-101823. 
  
  
• Created an Actions and Information Google document and held an online Action Hour. A Google doc (available at https://bit.ly/UUJME-Action-Info-Doc and also at https://www.uujme.org) includes links to reliable news sources, online and in-person actions opposing the war on Gaza and the escalated attacks on Palestinians elsewhere, and a compilation of statements from different organizations such as the UUA President, UUA, UUSC, and other groups. During our Action Hour time, attendees signed petitions and made phone calls for a ceasefire.

• Continued our Zoom-based Fall 2023 “Why Palestine Matters” class. More than 200 people registered for this class, and 70-80 people attended each session. Many thanks to the UU minister who opened each session with care, the group of stalwart UUJME supporters who volunteered as chat, tech, and security hosts, the UUJME clerk and treasurer who embraced the effort to ship books to registrants, the excellent presenters, and others who provided advice.
  
  
• Supported a gathering of UUs who are Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and Jewish to share concerns.
  
  
• Contributed resources for the UUA’s Side with Love webinar in response to the crisis in Palestine/Israel, “Why We Cannot Turn Away.”
  We contributed three powerful short videos featuring two Palestinian Christian leaders and an Israeli Jew who is part of the nonviolent solidarity movement in Israel. The webinar was held on November 6, led by three Muslim UU and three Jewish UU ministers, providing historic background and definitions. There were many attendees. A link has been sent to registrants, a guide is available for attendees, and a congregational conversation template will be distributed to ministers.
•  Engaged with an emerging group of UU leaders for Palestinian rights. An emerging group of UU religious professionals and lay leaders published “An Open Letter to UU Colleagues” on November 9, calling in UU organizations and colleagues who have not called for ceasefire and asserting the imperative to engage in conversations about Zionism.

The financial support of those who believe in our work is essential if we are to continue to make a difference for Palestinian human rights and UU involvement. UUJME is a 501c3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. 

We are a volunteer organization. The UUJME board, chapter leaders, and local advocates put in many hours of effort without compensation. But our work does require significant funds. The money required for a strong presence at General Assembly, a website and email platform, the wages of our future Organizer, support for Palestinians and solidarity groups, and other expenses are all significant. If you have already donated to UUJME for 2023, we thank you most sincerely. If you wish to donate to UUJME, the information below shows how to do that.

WAYS TO DONATE and CONTACT INFORMATION FORM

WAYS TO DONATE

1. Send a check: Make the check out to “UUJME” and mail to: UUJME, P.O. Box 380355, Cambridge, MA 02238-0355.
2. Donate online: Please go to our website https://www.uujme.org/ and click the Donate tab. You can use your credit card to make a one-time donation or a monthly recurring donation. Monthly donations ensure income throughout the year and allow us to predict how much money we will have at some future time. If you currently have a recurring donation that uses PayPal, your donations will still process, but we encourage you to switch to the new platform.

With thanks and intention to support a future of freedom and safety for all,

Dana Fisher Ashrawi, President of UUJME ([email protected])

Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) is anguished by the current violence in Palestine and Israel. We are horrified by the attacks on civilians by Palestinian fighters from Gaza and the taking of captives. We hold in our hearts everyone impacted. We are witnessing acts of the Israeli military against Palestinians in Gaza that a group of 800 scholars and other experts warn is a potential genocide. We lift up the Unitarian Universalist community witnessing the situation, recognizing that our community includes people from across the world and from diverse faith traditions. Many Unitarian Universalists have roots in the Holy Land and the region around it, including those of Palestinian Christian, Palestinian Muslim, Jewish, and blended heritage. We grieve with all who are feeling pain from this situation as an embodied experience of generational trauma.

As part of the Unitarian Universalist community, UUJME covenants to uphold Unitarian Universalist principles and values. Our respect for the inherent worth and dignity of all people is paramount to our call for an end to hostilities and the support of solutions that will bring about true safety for both Palestinians and Israelis. The values of justice and equity uphold the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people, many of whom have resisted their oppression non-violently for decades, with thousands dispossessed, imprisoned, and killed as a result.

We recognize that multiple truths co-exist. Prominent human rights figures and groups have concluded that an apartheid system exists in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories alongside settler colonialism. At the same time, we must name that antisemitism is a serious global phenomenon which we absolutely oppose. And we believe it is not antisemitic to criticize the oppressive acts of the Israeli government, military, and settlers. We oppose definitions of antisemitism that are used to stifle activism for Palestinian rights. And we amplify calls to oppose antisemitism and Islamophobia.

We amplify the call of UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt to engage with this issue as a faith community that has long been committed to social justice. We are ready to support Unitarian Universalist programs of learning, reflection, and action on Palestine and Israel that center justice and accountability. Access our compilation of information sources, actions, statements, and relief funders.

The Unitarian Universalist community has pledged to dismantle the legacies of the Doctrine of Discovery, which paved the way for global colonialism, including in the lands of Israel and Palestine. Our faith has also embraced a call to accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions within ourselves and our institutions. These commitments must expand to widen the circle of beloved community and be more welcoming to Palestinians and those who work for Palestinian rights.

Because Unitarian Universalists have been on a journey of understanding and dismantling supremacy culture and colonialism, we must name that Israel’s actions of apartheid and settler colonial displacement are escalating a fanatical racist attitude in Israel further enabled by the most ultra-right government in its history. We lift up the Apartheid-Free Communities initiative, supported by Quaker, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other organizations, dedicated to ending support for apartheid, settler colonialism, and military occupation.

Further violence will not bring about safety for anyone. We urge Unitarian Universalists to contact their senators and representatives, the President, and Secretary of State and demand they push for an immediate ceasefire on all sides, delivery of humanitarian aid, an end to Israel’s bombardment and blockade of Gaza, and the rewriting of our country’s foreign policy to enable ending the occupation and dismantling the mechanisms of apartheid. The vision of collective liberation, siding with love and safety for all, demands no less from us.

UUJME is pleased to announce that we are offering an online class this fall based on the study guide from the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA). If you are interested in the class, please sign up at the following link. There is a limited number of study guides, and we will do our best to provide a summary of the readings for those who cannot obtain a book or prefer not to have a book. There will be plenty of other resources available between classes. Guest speakers will supplement what the facilitators provide.

The class is open to people of all faiths as well as people who are not participating in any faith community or tradition.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/UUJME-WPM-Fall2023.

Registrants will receive an email by the first week of September with information about how to obtain the study guide, and Zoom connection details.

Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East

Statement on the Proposed Business Resolution Regarding Fossil Fuel Divestment & Reparations

June 19, 2023

UUJME national leadership supports the proposed resolution “Complete Divestment from the Fossil Fuel Industry and Subsequent Reparations.”

Our values lead us to support the resolution. We respect the democratic process in which delegates are the voice of UUA business resolutions. Delegates in past General Assemblies have taken a side with the concepts of divestment and reparations and we believe their votes must be honored. We also embrace the UU values of justice, equity, and respect for people as well as an awareness of how we are all connected. Fossil fuel companies are complicit in climate change which disproportionately affects BIPOC and poor communities. Major banks have financed this impact and profited from it. In effect, bank funds have been used for violent, militarized actions against pipeline protestors. UUJME supports the proposed 8^th UU principle and sees the divestment and subsequent reparations as living out the call to dismantle racism and other oppressions.

We also favor the resolution recognizing that we live in a time of increasingly obvious climate crisis which calls for increasingly determined actions. Youth and young adults are facing this climate emergency as their immediate future.

We recognize that the resolution if passed will have an economic impact on the UUA budget and would require budget adjustments that could lead to job or program cuts. We would wish to preserve employment for staff and the excellent programs provided by the UUA, especially around justice organizing. We recall with hope the fact that UUs raised almost $6 million to fund Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism in just a few years and believe that a fundraising effort could be launched to make up the funds removed by the potential divestment.

UUJME has been advocating for stronger engagement with the UUA investing activities and committees since 2015, and we have appreciated guidance from UUA investing teams in shaping our proposals. In 2016, we proposed a business resolution calling for divesting from five companies complicit in supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. It is noteworthy that this resolution received a 53% favorable vote while failing to achieve the needed two-thirds majority. In 2020, we proposed a joint business resolution with other UU social justice groups calling for planned communication with UU social justice groups around human rights in the UUA’s investment decisions. The resolution passed overwhelmingly. We supported the 2021 Responsive Resolution on investing and involvement of young adults in investment discussions that also called for divestment from banks as funders of fossil fuel extraction. This was endorsed by the votes of more than 80% of the GA delegates.

The UUA leadership has released statements listing concerns about the impact on income if the proposed divestment and reparations resolution passes. The resolution proposers and other supporters of the resolution have released statements responding to these concerns.

The schedule for the presentation and discussion of the resolution can be found in the UUA GA Program Book at GA 2023 Final Business Agenda. Two amendments by the proposers were accepted and have been incorporated. The amended text can be read at the UUA General Assembly Discussion site along with pro and concern comments. More background from the resolution authors is available in their Slideshow from the Presentation and their Annotated Statement in Response to the UUA Board Memorandum.

UUJME has confidence in the ongoing process of discernment and discussion and looks forward to seeing what creative and forward-thinking solutions are developed.