UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) is changing our name to UUs for Justice in Palestine (UUJP).

On September 27, we hosted an online event to share our 2026-2029 Strategic Plan.  It was a beautiful evening filled with music, poetry, celebration, and love.

Here is a copy of the presentation we shared that evening, that reviews our accomplishments over the last three years, and the details of our plans for the next three years.  

One of the most significant things coming out of our strategic planning process is a decision to change our name. UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) is changing our name to UUs for Justice in Palestine (UUJP).

The decision was made through a unanimous vote by the board on August 11th, 2026.

As part of our 2026-2029 Strategic Planning process, the organization held five listening sessions (12/25-2/26), and UUA staff were consulted, to solicit feedback about our work, areas for improvement, and where we should be headed.  Each listening session targeted specific key contributors to our work:

• Chapter Leaders and Local Advocates
• Legislative Action Committee
• Advisory Board Members
• UU Social Justice Partner Organizations
• Faith Based Palestine Solidarity Partners

In each of the listening sessions we asked a range of questions, including one about changing our name.  The response that we got was overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic about this shift.

The term “Middle East” is a colonial construct, reflecting the perspective of the very brutal British empire and its allies in carving up that region unjustly. Our decision to eliminate it from our name is in response to our commitment to decolonize our language and to respect the advice and calls of our Southwest Asia/North Africa (SWANA) movement partners. 

Palestinian partners have been asking denominational solidarity groups to update their organizations’ names to center Palestine solidarity. An example: Israel-Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is now the Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA). 

The Palestinian Christian Kairos II document urges the global church to name things for what they are and to move away from actions and language that perpetuate the both-sides approach to the protracted injustice against Palestinians. 

To keep calling ourselves UUJME obfuscates our mission, and is vague and confusing.  As Palestinian-American UU Melissa Nuwaysir states “UUJME is a bunch of letters that don’t clearly say what we do and who we are.  We need to follow in step with what other organizations are doing.  Let’s call it out and say what we do.  The term “Middle East" is smoke and mirrors, and we need to move with the times and say what we are and what we are about.”

Our work has always been centered on Palestine and it is time that we clearly, and proudly reflect that in our name. 

As stated in our values (adopted in 2025): We lift up the core value of love for every person and the sanctity of international law. We support the transformation of UUs toward greater action for justice for Palestinians, who have endured the violent impacts of Zionism. We are committed to work that is accountable to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people including ending military occupation, settler colonialism, and apartheid, and supporting the right of return for Palestinian refugees, as affirmed by the United Nations.

In changing our name, we are aligning with our values, centering solidarity with the Palestinian people as the recipients of brutal repression, and honoring the struggle of Palestinians for liberation within their ancestral homeland.

As upholders of democracy, and guided by love, we support Palestinian self-determination denied for so long, and support the people in historic and occupied Palestine to create a future that reflects equity and justice, and that establishes peace and safety for all communities on this land, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return. 

We believe in transformation that is accountable to the oppressed and in opposition to hate, and we have faith in the power of collective liberation movements to birth a beautiful and just reality in Palestine. This imagining has led us to our name change and guides our work.

For more information about this decision, we encourage you to watch this video  from the launch event, of Dana and chapter leader Melissa Nuwaysir talking about this change.

We are excited for this new chapter in our history and to dig into the work of our 2026-2029 Strategic Plan with all of you!

With gratitude,
Mimi