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January 2024 Newsletter
Issue #83
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The Gaza Strip was formed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Egypt administered the territory but Israel captured it in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo Accords signed between 1993 and 1999, Israel transferred security and civilian responsibility for Gaza to the newly-created Palestinian Authority.
Gaza has 139 square miles (about the same size as Las Vegas) but more than 3 times the population.
There are approximately 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza of which nearly 75% are under 25.
The median age in Gaza is 19.2 years.
Gaza City, the largest population center, is more tightly packed than New York City, with more than 650,000 people living within its 18 square miles.
Gaza's economy ranks 142nd of the countries of the world and unemployment is about 25%. For youth (ages 15-24) unemployment is around 40%.
Approximately 53% of the population is in poverty -- living less than $4.60 a day. This is the equivalent to 1.1 million people, including 400,000 children. 66% of the poor, or about 656,000 people, are considered to be living in “deep poverty,” living on less than $3.60 per day.
Gaza struggles with soil degradation; desertification; water pollution from chemicals and pesticides; salination of fresh water; improper sewage treatment; water-borne disease; depletion and contamination of underground water resources.
There are 2.7 physicians and 1.3 hospital beds in Gaza per 1,000 people. For comparison, the U.S. has 3.6 physicians and 2.9 hospital beds per
1,000 people.
Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade of the Gaza Strip in response to security concerns, such as the smuggling of weapons. Israel also has exclusive control over the airspace.
Gaza has 1 airport and ranks 231st of countries
in the world.
In the current crisis, over 19,000 people have been reported killed and over 52,000 injured. This includes 131 United Nations staff and 81 journalists.
Over 60% of housing units in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed -- 52,000 destroyed,
250,000 damaged. In addition,
at least 3 churches and 88 mosques have been damaged and over 50% of educational facilities have been hit.
The number of functioning hospitals has dropped from 36 to 18.
There are 2 water pipelines coming from Israel that supply the south and middle areas but there is no access to clean water in the north.
There is a 4-6 hour average waiting time to receive half of normal bread portion
In 2018 the Norwegian Refugee Council called Gaza "the world's largest open-air prison", highlighting the lack of access to clean water, reliable electrical supply, health care, food and employment opportunities. It lamented the fact that a majority of Palestinian children in Gaza suffer from psychological trauma, and a portion of which suffer from stunted growth.
American opinions about the conflict:
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41% say the US should support Israel and 2% say the US should support the Palestinians
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53% say the US should protect Israeli citizens and 41% say the US should protect Palestinian civilians.
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87% agree that civilians fleeing the fighting should be allowed to flee to a safe country and
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81% say Israel should avoid killing civilians in its retaliatory strikes against Hamas.
There has already been enough warfare! Too many youths in the flower of life have shed their blood already! Legions of the dead, all fallen in battle, dwell within this earth of ours. Their stern voices urge us all to return at once to harmony, unity and a just peace.
Pope John XXIII
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By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's
Legal Executioners
By Margaret A. Burnham. An investigation of Jim Crow–era violence, the legal apparatus that sustained it, and its enduring legacy. Asks the question, "If the law cannot protect a person from a lynching, then isn’t lynching the law?" Explores the relationship between formal law and background legal norms in a series of cases from 1920 to 1960. From rendition, the legal process by which states make claims to other states for the return of their citizens, to battles over state and federal jurisdiction and the outsize role of local sheriffs in enforcing racial hierarchy, the author maps the criminal legal system in the mid-twentieth-century South, and traces the unremitting line from slavery to the legal structures of this period and through to today. Drawing on an extensive database collected over more than a decade and exceeding 1,000 cases of racial violence, reveals the true legal system of Jim Crow and captures the memories of those whose stories have not yet been heard. Includes 25 black-and-white illustrations. Learn more.
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King: A Life
By Jonathan Eig. The first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.―and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. This portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, gives readers an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. Provides fresh light on the King family’s origins as well as his complex relationships with his wife, father, and fellow activists. Reveals a minister wrestling with his own human frailties and dark moods, a citizen hunted by his own government, and a man determined to fight for justice even if it proved to be a fight to the death. Follows King from the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, dramatically re-creating the journey of a man who recast American race relations. Shows King as a deep thinker, a brilliant strategist, and a committed radical who led one of history’s greatest movements, and whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime. Read more.
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Earth.org
A nonprofit organization that works to affect societal change so that life can be made sustainable on this planet. Seeks to grow a movement to energize 300 million activists to help drive change across the world through engagement, information, education and advocacy. Focuses on climate change, energy, pollution, policy & economics, oceans, biodiversity and conservation. Learn more.
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Citizens' Climate Lobby
A nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy climate change organization focused on national policies to address the national and global climate crisis. Their nonpartisan approach to climate education is designed to create a broad, sustainable foundation to drive climate action across all geographic regions and political inclinations. By building upon shared values rather than partisan divides, and empowering supporters to work in keeping with the concerns of their local communities, works towards the adoption of fair, effective, and sustainable climate change solutions. Learn more.
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Correction: Parole, Prison, and the
Possibility of Change
By Ben Austen. An exploration of a behind-the-scenes look at the parole process. Told through the portraits of two men imprisoned for murder, and the parole board that holds their freedom in the balance. Challenges readers to reckon with some of the most profound questions underlying the country’s values around crime and punishment such as: What must someone who commits a terrible act do to get a second chance? What does incarceration seek to accomplish? Compels readers to consider why and who we punish–and how we might find a way out of an era of mass imprisonment. Read more.
For more on the Criminal Justice System,
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Council on Criminal Justice
An independent and nonpartisan organization, the Council serves as a center and developer of policy and leadership for the criminal justice field. With a unique structure combining a national invitational membership organization and criminal justice think tank, the Council has the ability and expertise to translate research and data into policy grounded in facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice. Members include some of the top in the criminal justice field that help meet the needs of the underrepresented and disadvantaged. Focuses on issues such as: crime trends, veterans, long sentences, policing, reentry, violent crime & federal priorities. Learn more.
For more on the Criminal Justice System,
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How to Say Babylon: A Memoir
By Safiya Sinclair. The story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet. Focusing on a culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica. It is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a glimpse into a world that many know little about. Read more.
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Period. End of Sentence.
A documentary about Indian women leading a quiet sexual revolution. It follows a group of local women as they learn how to operate a machine that makes low-cost, biodegradable sanitary pads, which they sell to other women at affordable prices. This not only helps to improve feminine hygiene by providing access to basic products, but also supports and empowers the women to shed the taboos in India surrounding menstruation – all while contributing to the economic future of their community. Learn more.
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The Pad Project
A nonprofit organization that works to create and cultivate local and global partnerships to end period stigma and to empower women and all menstruators worldwide. Takes a multi-pronged approach to achieving menstrual equity by combining pad machines or washable pad programs with community partnerships and sexual and reproductive health education. Also strives to end period poverty in the U.S. by providing school districts and grassroots organizations across the country with grants to purchase bulk menstrual supplies. To learn more, click here.
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My Mission to Change the Narrative
of Mental Health
A TED Talk, featuring actor and mental health advocate Glenn Close, who talks about her quest to change how we think about mental health, starting with her decision to speak out about her own family's struggles. She shares the inspiration behind the advocacy group she founded to combat the crisis, underscoring the transformative power of community and the critical need for comprehensive mental health care systems. Watch now.
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Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
A nonprofit organization based in El Paso, Texas dedicated to advocating for human rights and providing high-quality legal services for low income immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, victims of crime, and families seeking reunification. Their programs include Detained Deportation Defense, Cross Border Program, Community Migrant Advocacy, Remain in Mexico Defense and Crime Victims Program. Learn more.
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Dignity Apparel
A company dedicated to providing union made products for union members. Works exclusively with unions or organizations looking for union and USA-made apparel such as polos, raglans, tees, hooded zips and pullovers. Also has an in-house art and production teams can help with design work. Through their products and services, they help unions increase membership awareness, organize campaigns and build solidarity. Learn more.
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Cara Collective
A nonprofit organization that seeks to build an inclusive economy by developing employment pathways to advance transformative individual and community success. Provides free workforce training, job placement, and personal and professional coaching to pave the way for gainful employment. Works with other organizations across the country to build, deploy, and grow strong workforce solutions to help more people experiencing poverty get back to work. Engages employers, civic leaders, and policymakers to shift perspectives on the issues that shape poverty and the opportunities to help people out of it. Learn more.
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Institute for Economics and Peace
A nonprofit organization headquartered in Sydney, with other global offices in New York, Brussels, Mexico City, The Hague and Harare. Aims to create a paradigm shift in the way the world thinks about peace. Uses data-driven research to show that peace is an achievable measure of human wellbeing and development. Cited extensively by governments, academic institutions, think tanks, non‑governmental organizations and by intergovernmental institutions such as the OECD, The Commonwealth Secretariat, the World Bank and the United Nations. Learn more.
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How Acts of Kindness Sparked
a Global Movement
A TED Talk featuring Asha Curran, CEO of the global generosity movement GivingTuesday, who says that "we underestimate the power of our own generous actions" and shares stories of people making a difference through simple acts of kindness. She shows how generosity, even in its simplest forms, can be a transformative force — and explains why we all benefit from a world grounded in giving. Watch now.
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Important Dates This Month
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Individuals Honored This Month
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January 6th
At stake are two different visions of faith, the Church of Caesar, powerful and rich; and the Church of Christ - loving, poor and spiritually rich.
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January 7th
This is our cry, this is our prayer:
peace in the world.
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January 14th
The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.
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Janaury 14th
For politicians truth and falsehood are unimportant. So I never could become a politician - not even a church politician.
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January 15th
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
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January 24th
Jesus didn't say, 'Blessed are those who care for the poor.' He said, 'Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.' It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself.
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January 31st
Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.
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Since 2017, there have been more than 335,000 visitors to our Social Justice Resource Center website. We provide a wide variety of facts and figures on specific social issues as well as thousands of free resources including films, publications, links to other organizations, prayers, quotes, principles of social justice, key dates throughout the year, action ideas, Diocesan office contact information and biographies of famous people who have worked for social justice.
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