This article was originally published by The Mennonite

How to support the people of Palestine and their Israeli peace allies

On Good Friday, March 30, tens of thousands of Christian and Muslim Palestinians gathered near the border between Gaza and Israel to nonviolently commemorate Land Day. Palestinians have peacefully observed Land Day since March 30, 1976, when they voiced their opposition to the expanding Israeli theft of ancestral Palestinian lands to build increasing numbers of Jewish-only settlements. Israeli forces responded by killing six Palestinians.

This year the casualties were tripled as Good Friday became bloody Friday. In the following weeks, increasing numbers of Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli snipers. The demonstrations will continue until, May 15, 70 years after Nakba Day, the Palestinian name for “the catastrophe,” when the state of Israel was created and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven into exile while thousands more were killed in massacres.

For 70 years, Palestinians have suffered under the Israeli occupation as virtual prisoners in their homelands. For 69 of those years, Mennonites have been walking with Palestinians, starting with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)’s relief efforts for Palestinian refugees. Since then, Mennonites have been involved in many ways. To name a few:

  • Palestinian women created some to the first products sold in what later became Ten Thousand Villages
  • Mennonite Mission Network and Eastern Mennonite Missions collaborated with Palestinian education and health-care partners
  • Christian Peacemaker Teams established a presence in Hebron in the West Bank, supporting nonviolent resistance and monitoring settler violence
  • Mennonite educational institutions exposed hundreds of students to the situation in Palestine through learning tours
  • The Mennonite Palestine Israel Network (MennoPIN) was formed to support advocacy and action and to develop and promote educational resources
  • The MCC U.S. board decided not to invest in companies that benefit from violence against Palestinians or Israelis

In July 2017, the members of Mennonite Church USA took another giant step with passage of the resolution “Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine.” The resolution, which opposes both antisemitism and the Israeli occupation, urges “Mennonites to avoid purchases and investments directly related to the military occupation of Palestinian territories.” Kansas Mennonite school teacher Esther Koontz took the resolution seriously and lost a job opportunity with the state. When asked on the job application if she promised not to boycott Israel, she said she could not make that promise, in part due to the MC USA resolution. In her subsequent court case a judge ruled in favor of Koontz and issued an injunction against the Kansas law requiring such a promise for state employees.

As a member of the MennoPIN Steering Committee, I want to encourage you to find ways in which you and your congregation can support the people of Palestine and their Israeli peace allies in their protracted struggle for peace with justice. Here are some ways you can do that:

  1. Become familiar with the “Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine” resolution
  2. Join MennoPIN and receive its monthly newsletter to keep current on the issues affecting Palestinians and identify ways you can support the people there
  3. Travel to Palestine on a learning tour to experience first-hand what is happening
  4. Support or work with MCC in Palestine
  5. Participate with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Palestine to explore how you can help in person in Palestine
  6. Get involved with the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement (BDS) to make sure you are not benefiting from companies and investments that oppress Palestinian people
  7. Make your church and yourself HP-free
  8. Subscribe to the Sabeel Wave of Prayer, published weekly by Sabeel, the center for Palestinian Liberation Theology
  9. Help form a regional MennoPIN team in your geographic area (contact me for further information at joeroos3@gmail.com)
  10. Educate yourself on the ways Islamophobia, anti-Arab prejudice and antisemitism contribute to violence in the region. Actively oppose these, and all forms of bigotry.

Together, let’s help bring peace with justice to Palestine-Israel.

Joe Roos is a member of the MennoPIN Steering Committee.

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