National Service of Mourning in Remembrance of Those Who Have Died in Palestine and Israel to Take Place in Washington, DC. on September 3

In response to the most recent violence in Israel-Palestine, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is joining with ecumenical partners for a National Service of Mourning for those who have died in Palestine and Israel. The service will take place at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC on Wednesday September 3, 2014. We invite all Presbyterians, and ecumenical friends, in the Washington, DC. area to join. The service will also be livestreamed for those unable to make the service in person. 

A National Service of Mourning

In remembrance of those who have died in

Palestine and Israel

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

6:00 PM

Calvary Baptist Church

755 8th St., N.W.

Washington, DC 20001

The loss and suffering resulting from the latest conflict between the Israeli military and Palestinian groups in Gaza is staggering.  More than 1,400 civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced. Weeks of overwhelming destruction have devastated land, homes, and infrastructure.   The siege of Gaza and the military occupation of Palestinian territory cripple normal life.  As the people of the region cry, “How long, O Lord”?, we join our prayers with theirs in a service of worship.  In the midst of sorrow and grief, please join us in a witness to faith, hope and love.

Sponsored by:

Alliance of Baptists

American Friends Service Committee

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

Church of the Brethren

Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach

Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Moravian Church in America

Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace

Pax Christi International

Pax Christi USA

The Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas’ Institute Justice Team

United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries

United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

This service is coordinated by the Faith Forum on Middle East Policy, a network of national Christian denominations and organizations working for a just peace in the Middle East with a primary focus on Israel and Palestine.

The service will take place in the sanctuary.   Metro:  Gallery Place Chinatown.   Parking available on street or in paid parking garage adjacent to Calvary Baptist Church on 8^th Street, NW.

For more information, contact:

Mike Merryman-Lotze, AFSC at MMerryman-Lotze@afsc.org

13 Faith-Based Organizations Send Letter to Administration Regarding Recent Violence in Israel-Palestine

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently joined with 12 other Faith-Based Organizations in a letter to President Obama pressing for an immediate end to violence in Israel-Palestine as well as for the Administration to address the underlying causes of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

Along with the President, the letter was copied to all Members of Congress. 

The letter begins: "As U.S. churches and Christian organizations, we join others worldwide who are calling for an immediate end to the violence--as well as its underlying causes--in Palestine and Israel. As the situation continues to deteriorate, and horrendous death and destruction mount in Gaza, we are called by conscience to say, “Enough.”

It continues, "The Obama administration and Congress have rightly condemned the indiscriminate rockets from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups into Israel. It is time for the U.S. to condemn the Israeli bombardment of civilian centers and the blockade just as strongly. This latest escalation cannot be divorced from the broader context of the Gaza siege and occupation."

The full text of the letter  is as follows: 

July 31, 2014

President Barack Obama 
The White House Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

As U.S. churches and Christian organizations, we join others worldwide who are calling for an immediate end to the violence--as well as its underlying causes--in Palestine and Israel. As the situation continues to deteriorate, and horrendous death and destruction mount in Gaza, we are called by conscience to say, “Enough.”

Sadly, the scenes that we are witnessing are all too familiar. Over the last decade, Israel has repeatedly carried out similar military operations in Gaza. In each instance, over a period of days or weeks, Israel bombed and invaded Gaza and Palestinian militant groups stepped up their practice of firing rockets into Israel. Each of these operations ended with a cease-fire that temporarily decreased military action but did not end the conflict nor lift the oppressive Israeli blockade institutionalized in Gaza since 2007.

It is our view that these cease-fires failed to last because they did not address deeper injustices. After each new cease-fire Palestinians in Gaza remained subject to the legal, structural, and physical violence inherent in Israel’s occupation and siege on Gaza, which constitutes collective punishment. This includes crushing restrictions and limitations placed on Palestinian movement, access to water and electricity, economic development, and other freedoms in both the West Bank and Gaza.

The Obama administration and Congress have rightly condemned the indiscriminate rockets from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups into Israel. It is time for the U.S. to condemn the Israeli bombardment of civilian centers and the blockade just as strongly. This latest escalation cannot be divorced from the broader context of the Gaza siege and occupation.

To achieve a lasting peace, the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, including the siege of Gaza, must end. The U.S. must, therefore, make ending the occupation and lifting the Gaza siege priorities for our foreign policy in the region.

Violence and military force will never bring peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Military aid to Israel amounting to more than $3 billion per year creates a heavy moral obligation for the U.S. to ensure that this aid is not used in violation of U.S. law and fundamental human rights. A key step in this direction would be for the United States to investigate the use of U.S.-supplied weapons and military equipment during this conflict and to ensure full accountability under existing U.S. law if human rights abuses have been committed using this equipment.

The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis will only be resolved when Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is ended, and the inherent equality, worth, and dignity of all Palestinians and Israelis is realized.

We urge you to take action to both stop the current violence and use U.S. influence and diplomatic weight to push for a just peace that will benefit all of the people of the region.

We are grateful for the attention you have given to the search for lasting peace in the Middle East, and we offer you our prayers.

Sincerely,

American Friends Service Committee
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Church of the Brethren
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Office of Social Justice of the Christian Reformed Church
Pax Christi International
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas’ Extended Justice Team
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

cc: Members of the U.S. House 
Members of the U.S. Senate 

Urgent Gaza Appeal: For Lasting Peace in Israel-Palestine, We Must Address the Root Causes of Violence

As the ground assault in Gaza continues, The Presbyerian Church (U.S.A.) joins ecumenical and interfaith partners calling for an immediate ceasefire to all violence. In his recent statement regarding the violence in Gaza and Israel, PC (USA) Stated Clerk, Grayde Parsons, writes, "We call upon all parties involved to stop the violence and agree to an immediate cease-fire, under which the borders of Gaza can be opened to humanitarian aid and desperately needed medical assistance for the sick and wounded." 

The PC(USA) stands beside both Israelis and Palestinians working for a non-violent solution to end the conflict. We oppose violence in all of its forms. It must be made clear that in Gaza, where 1.8 million people live under complete blockade in a 140-square-mile area, with borders controlled by Israel and Egypt, civilians are often in harm's way from Israeli fire, regardless of the intended target. At the same time, we condemn rockets from Gaza launched indiscriminately into southern Israel. These hostile actions do not contribute to the possibility of peace

Click Here to Contact Your Member of Congress.

While an immediate end to all violence remains a top priority, we are aware that such an action will not bring peace. All aspects of Israeli's illegal military occupation--including the  blockade on Gaza and land confiscation in the West Bank--will need to end, in order for a just and secure future to result. We must recognize that U.S. diplomatic and financial support enable the occupation.  The U.S. provides over $3 billion per year in military aid to Israel. The 219th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) "[expressed] its support for the U.S. government policy of carefully vettting the funds distributed to foreign countries in ways that ensure peaceful development and are consistent with international law, human rights, and U.S. foreign policy, namely:

 a. the US Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 which prohibits giving assistance to the government of any country which engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations;

 b. the U.S. Arms Export Control Act of 1976 which prohibits using U.S. weapons against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and

c. the U.S. foreign policy insofar as it pertains to recommendations for steps toward peace, in this instance, between Israelis and Palestinians."

Click Here to Contact Your Member of Congress.

The peoples of Gaza and Israel urgenty need our support. We offer this prayer for peace in Gaza and Israel, and invite you to use it in worship:

A Prayer for Peace in Gaza:

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”  (Romans 8.26)

God of all people and all places:

We come before you with sighs too deep for words. Each day brings news of more death and destruction for the people of Gaza and Israel.  We grieve along with the families of the 697 Gazans killed, 170 of them children, and with the families of the 37 Israelis killed. Terror grips your children. Even hospitals and schools have been turned into war zones. We cry out for an end to all violence and for the systems and structures contributing to oppression.

God who makes all things whole:

Hold tight all those who mourn. Be with the mothers and fathers who will never see their child’s face light up with laughter. Be with your children, who are lulled to bed not by the soothing voice of their parents, but by sounds of sirens signaling impending destruction.

God who makes everything new:

Equip us to be instruments of your peace.  We are heartbroken by all of the death and destruction, but with the Psalmists we proclaim, “weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” In the midst of such despair and tragedy you remain with those who suffer. Stir within us your vision for reconciliation and peace. Turn us away from complacency and cynicism and toward righteousness and justice. You call your people to seek justice and to love our enemies. In our words and deeds let us be witnesses to your unending love for all of God's people. 

In the name of the One who reconciles all nations and people to himself, we pray.

Show Your Support: Sign on to the Pledge to Boycott Israeli Settlement Products!

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), acting upon policy enacted at the 220th General Assembly (2012), recently launched a boycott of all products manufactured in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The boycott is intended to serve as a nonviolent tool to help bring about a peaceful solution to the conflict in Israel-Palestine. Show your support, either as an individual, congregation, or Presbytery, by clicking here to sign the pledge. 

In introducing the boycott to Presbyterians, Stated Clerk Grayde Parsons writes, "The General Assembly has chosen the witness of this boycott as a non-violent strategy for bringing the daily realities faced by Palestinans and Israelis alike." As we prepare for the 221 General Assembly (2014) sign your name here to show you support for the denominational call to boycott products made in the Israeli settlements. 

The boycott includes all products manufactured in Israeli settlements and is not targeted against the state of Israel. For a list of some of the products included in the boycott, visit the PC-USA Boycott webpage, here.

Please join the growing number of Presbyterians who have already pledged their support for the PC (U.S.A.) boycott of products manufactured in Israeli settlements by endorsing the pledge below. You may join either as an individual, church, or Presbytery. Click here to sign the pledge now!