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.
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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
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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.
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
RSVP at Palestine/Israel 101 Teach-In for October 2024
Join UUs for Justice in the Middle East for this month's webinar sharing the basics of Palestine/Israel. After signing up, look for an email with the Zoom link. We'll send a reminder the day of the event also.
See pictures showing the history of the land and people before 1948, hear about helpful frameworks for learning, and experience rich UU resources by Side with Love and others. We will also model a listening circle so that you can feel confident about taking that idea back to implement in your congregation and share examples of other actions that UUs are taking around the country.
Co-sponsored by Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries, UU Women's Federation, and UU Refugee and Immigrant Education and Services.
You are also invited to sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up-to-date on current events: https://www.uujme.org/join.
This webinar is made possible partly by the Fund for Unitarian Universalism and the Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility.
This teach-in will be repeated each month. Check the calendar page for future events to RSVP.
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.
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