Episcopal Church Set to Consider Resolutions on Palestine

Meeting in its General Conference in Baltimore in July, the Episcopal Church will be voting on resolutions on Palestine that represent another significant step forward in the Church's willingness to confront the political, theological and ecclesial issues raised by the Palestinian Kairos call. One way to bring resolutions before the Convention is for individual dioceses to propose and approve them in their diocesan conventions. Recently three resolutions were overwhelmingly adopted by the Diocese of Washington DC: “Oppose Israel’s Apartheid” (by 73%), “Confront Christian Zionism” (by 76%), and “Defend the Right to Boycott” (by 80%).

Similar resolutions have been adopted by the Dioceses of Chicago, Rochester, Vermont, and Olympia, all aimed at the General Convention in July. Also under consideration from the Diocese of Vermont is a resolution on "The Leahy Law Applied to Israel," which deals with U.S military aid to Israel.

Read Steve France's comprehensive summary and analysis of the resolutions on the website of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network. The report provides links to all three Washington DC Diocese resolutions.

"The board, staff and supporters of Kairos Palestine welcome Amnesty International’s momentous report, "Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity.'" Read Jeff Wright's piece in Mondoweiss. It includes background, analysis, and links to Kairos Palestine's statement and to the report itself.

Rabbi Brant Rosen provides an informative and thoughtful review and analysis on the reaction of the organized Jewish community to the Amnesty International report -- from conservative to progressive. Read Alex Kanes' article in Jewish Currents for useful background on how Amnesty International reached its conclusions.

In July of last year we reported on the "Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel" adopted by the United Church of Christ in the United States. The Declaration rejected "laws and legal procedures which are used by one race or religion or political entity to enshrine one people in a privileged legal position at the expense of another, including Israel’s apartheid system of laws and legal procedures." Not content to rest on words, the UCC went on to spell out a 7-step program of implementation, supported by an online presentation designed for congregational and denominational use and a comprehensive study guide. For the full text and an excellent set of questions and answers about the Declaration and churches' support for Palestine, click here.

The January 2022 UCC-PIN E-News features an excellent introduction to Step Five of the Implementation Program, "Examine Christian Zionism." You will also find information about the five-part speaker series with Reconstructionist Rabbis, "Reconstructionists Expanding Our Conversation on Israel-Palestine," a new 20' documentary by Defense of Children International "Caging Children: Palestinian Children in Israel's Military Detention System" and the always excellent "Breaking Stories" by Rev Loren McGrail of the UCC-PIN Steering Committee, including the latest in online, media and news resources. Download the newsletter now, and consider how you can bring these resources to your denomination, congregation, or community, and save it for future reference.

Note: UCC-PIN has just come out with its February newsletter. It continues the resolution implementation series with Step Six, "Defund Militarism," as well as an important article on the UCC resolution by Peter Makari, upcoming seminars on interfaith conversations, Rev Mitri Raheb's new book, and a Lenten series from the Central Pacific Conference.

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