Recently New England Yearly Meeting has assigned resource groups to help our monthly and quarterly meetings to engage with important, action-oriented minutes. The Israel-Palestine Resource Group (IPRG) has such an assignment, to help our body live into the spirit of the 2017 minute addressing the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Some may wonder why get involved with Israel-Palestine, when there are so many other areas of conflict and examples of oppression, both around the world and in our own country, to claim our attention? Maybe it’s the massive amounts of U.S. military aid provided to the government of Israel. Maybe it’s the parallels with the settler-colonial history of the U.S. which non-native people are being called to examine. Maybe it’s the involvement of Quakers in Palestine over the years, with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) programs and the Quaker-sponsored Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank. It’s not about “getting involved”—we already are involved. How, then, shall our involvement reflect our testimonies of peace, equality and justice? The history is long. There are conflicting narratives, and challenging issues. How shall we engage?
We on the IPRG would like to help meetings in their efforts to take our Yearly Meeting action to heart and to be part of the movement toward peace with justice in Israel-Palestine (which could alternatively be called Palestine-Israel). The IPRG can help meetings get information and ideas for action.
We suggest looking at the Israel-Palestine Resource Page on the Yearly Meeting website, where there is a helpful “how to get started” article. Other organizations, such as AFSC, also have ideas about how to get started.
Look for an invitation, coming soon, to join a Yearly-Meeting-wide book group using The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. It is the true story of two families with ties to the same house, Israeli and Palestinian, and their interactions to come to some understanding. It gives a human face to the issues.
Watch for publicity about guest speakers, such as Jennifer Bing of AFSC, who will share background and perspectives in workshops and seminars.
IPRG could help locate a speaker for your meeting who has experience with Israel-Palestine and has a perspective and experience to share. Email us if you are interested.
We would also like to help facilitate travel (keeping COVID restrictions in mind) to Israel-Palestine for people who feel called to a first-hand experience. The group Quakers Advocating Justice for Palestine is instituting a memorial travel fund. We also know that Ramallah Friends School welcomes Quakers to participate in the life of the school.
Is there a “seed” of interest in your meeting that needs nourishing to grow? We think there may be. Don’t be discouraged if there is difference of opinion or fear of conflict—if we keep up communication and relationships, we can all learn together. If we believe that our Yearly Meeting deliberations are guided by the Divine, our minutes will be a guide to Spirit-led action.
Please contact our committee with any questions or comments or requests for help.
Our members include Leslie Manning, Mimi Marstaller, Chris Jorgenson, Molly Cornell, and Skip Schiel. Scott Rhodewalt was formerly member but has resigned from our resource group.