By Douglas Mitchell Associate Pastor for “Faith in Action,” Douglas Mitchell conceived the following article as a presentation for a church
Keep ReadingIntroduction The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been engaged in a decade-long struggle to divest from companies that are profiting from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. After an extensive corporate engagement process, the Committee
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In June, we moved to San Diego, and I stepped away from being a pastor. I’ve still built connections with clergy, and a recent meeting with one pastor stuck out. We talked about following up, and he said, “Reach back out in January.” It was December 1. Caught off guard
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For 31 consecutive weeks, Israelis have taken to the streets, mostly in Tel Aviv, to protest the decision by the current right-wing government of Israel to initiate an overhaul of its judicial system. Israel’s “Unreasonableness Law” is a measure that removes the courts’ power to overturn decisions made by Israel’s
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“I didn’t know church could be like this,” said Sam, a teenager who had come to an event in Fellowship Hall. That Sunday after worship, we had Anna Baltzer speaking about why, as a Jewish-American, she had come to be an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, part of her national
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Working for Peace in the Middle East at the 222nd General Assembly About a month ago, I was sitting in a large ballroom adjacent to other commissioners and delegates to the 222nd General Assembly, anxiously waiting for the work of the Committee on Middle East Issues (Committee 8) to begin.
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The General Assembly Acts for Justice and Liberation in Palestine and Israel “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” -Amos 5:24 The 222nd General Assembly PC(USA) took place from June 17-25, 2016, in Portland, Oregon. I was fortunate enough to attend and serve as a
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In Defense of “Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace” In February of 2016, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) released its report, Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace, in fulfillment of the mandate given it by the 221st
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For more than a hundred years now, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its antecedent organizations have called for the use of economic pressures to challenge injustice, oppression, and other situations which they viewed as morally wrong. Examples include a call to the people of the church to “keep themselves financially
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“They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying ‘Peace, Peace,’ when there is no peace.” -Jeremiah 6:14 A group of Presbyterians recently distributed a free, glossy, 80-page position paper entitled, Two States for Two Peoples. The paper advocates for a two-state solution as the best way to resolve
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Palestinian Children and Israeli Military Detention “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” –Matthew 2:18 Presbyterians affirm that the Holy Spirit gives us courage “to hear the voices of peoples long silenced.”
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Statement by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship This statement was originally published by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship on April 21, 2016 on their website at http://presbypeacefellowship.org/content/pathway-just-peace-israel-palestine#.V03d6WZWcg1. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship thanks the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) for its document, Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a
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