This is a three-year joint project with Sabeel Jerusalem, together with our friends at Sabeel-Kairos UK and Friends of Sabeel North America. It will bring to East Jerusalem 250 influencers from Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. to acquaint them with the Palestinian identity of Jerusalem, its culture, and its people. The goal is that these influencers will inspire their own networks to promote East Jerusalem as a Palestinian destination and to become advocates for the Palestinian cause.

Thanks to all those who attended our annual James Graff Memorial Lecture on November 4, 2024 with Shadia Qubti and Daniel Bannoura on the topic: "One Year Later: Our Response to Genocide and Occupation in Palestine."

A recording of the lecture is now available.

CFOS has developed a tool to ensure that Canadian Christian groups visiting the Holy Land do so in a way that meaningfully engages the local Palestinian Christian community, acknowledges Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, and operates in a way that is consistent with international law. The Authentic Christian Pilgrimage tool provides a set of principles for Canadian church or para-church groups to help them plan and implement itineraries for groups visiting the Holy Land.

Palestinians speak about sumud as the spirit of steadfastness and perseverance that enables them to continue to exist and to resist the realities of occupation, oppression -- and now genocide. As we at Canadian Friends of Sabeel amplify the voice of Christian Palestinians, we seek to embody that same spirit of sumud in our ministry of solidarity.

In the context of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent military onslaught on Gaza, CFOS produced a resource for Canadian congregations and communities to grieve the violence and to pray for peace. This resource describes how to organize a public witness event or peace vigil.

Re-watch our memorial of Robert’s life, work, and commitment to Canadian Friends of Sabeel.