Come visit Jerusalem
In this Bulletin, we highlight Sabeel’s upcoming international conference on religious extremism and the three unique opportunities for CFOS supporters to attend.
The Sabeel Conference, November 17-21
A new reality has emerged, where religious extremism fuels intolerance, violence and genocide. Gaza lies in rubble with an escalating death toll of innocent children and women.
This reality poses a significant challenge not only to religious, community, and political leaders but also to each of us in responding effectively to the atrocities in Palestine as well as problems in our own communities.
In light of this urgent reality, Canadian Friends of Sabeel and the Sabeel Liberation Theology Center invite you to our upcoming conference, Challenging Religious Extremism, to be held in-person November 17-21 in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
The conference will provide participants with the opportunity to meet and engage with leading Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from around the world. Through seminars, workshops and site visits, we aim to foster faith-based, non-violent, peace-making initiatives that contribute to achieving peace with justice in Palestine-Israel and in your own local context.
Click here for details about Conference agenda, speakers, itinerary, costs, and registration. The same link provides information about the pre-conference tour, November 11-16, to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Galilee and Nazareth.
Opportunity 1: Join a CFOS Delegation
Canadian Friends of Sabeel is gathering a group of Canadian Christians as a delegation to attend the Sabeel Conference. Subsidies are available for those who can make a commitment to follow-up with personal engagement supporting a just peace in the Holy Land. If you would like to apply for a subsidy, please send your CV and a brief statement about yourself, your current Palestinian advocacy work and your plans for follow-up after the conference to CFOS executive director Rana Atie here.
Even if you are not applying for a CFOS subsidy, please inform CFOS of your intention to attend the Sabeel conference. We wish to track the Canadians who are in attendance, so that we can assist in preparing them for the conference and following up afterwards.
Opportunity 2: Join an Anglican Delegation
If you are Anglican clergy member and from the Toronto or Niagara dioceses, you have the incredible opportunity to participate in the Naim Ateek Anglican Delegation Program, a partnership between CFOS and Sabeel. The precise dates have yet to be determined, but the itinerary will include participation in the Sabeel conference, November 17-21. Thanks to a generous donation, a significant portion of the costs will be covered.
The Anglican Delegation Program follows the principle of “Go and See, Come and Tell.”
Participants will:
receive pre-visit orientation about how to make the most of their time in Palestine,
experience the daily realities of Palestinians living under Israeli Occupation
worship with Palestinian Christians,
meet, reflect, and learn with Palestinian Christians and Muslims, and Jewish Israelis involved in non-violent resistance against the violations of international and humanitarian law.
On their return, participants will prepare and share a presentation about their experience and learnings for their respective faith-based communities in Canada.
As indicated, generous financial subsidies are offered for eligible participants who apply and qualify.
More details about itinerary, costs, and application process here.
As well, contact executive-director@friendsofsabeel.ca
Opportunity 3: Join a Group of Influencers
Are you an Influencer? Or do you know an Influencer? Sabeel-Jerusalem and its sister organizations have undertaken a project called Influencing Civil Society Influencers. We are not just seeking social media influencers but also community leaders from young adults to the young at heart.
The project will bring established influencers from North America and the UK to East Jerusalem to spend a week exploring the city and its surroundings.
Participants will experience the realities of everyday struggles that Palestinians face, the beauty of Palestinian culture, and the resilience of the Palestinian people.
After, when they return to their homes, they will work in their fields of expertise with CFOS and Sabeel to promote East Jerusalem as a Palestinian destination and become staunch and articulate advocates for the Palestinian cause.
The influencers’ areas of expertise may be many and varied, such as human rights, social justice, international law, the arts, culture, and the environment.
They may be from all walks of life—academics, clergy, activists, journalists, artists, bloggers, or social-media specialists.
Their itinerary and agenda in East Jerusalem and surroundings will reflect their area of interest and influence.
CFOS is eager to have influencers join in the Sabeel Conference – hence we promote this option now – but there will also be other opportunities for influencers to visit Jerusalem in the coming year.
If you are interested or would like to nominate an Influencer, contact CFOS Executive Director Rana Atie, here.
In Other News
In May of this year, over 400 individuals from 32 countries gathered in Johannesburg for a Global Anti-Apartheid Conference to build a global movement to dismantle Israeli apartheid. After the conference, a comprehensive program of action was released. The program commits to expanding and escalating global actions to support the Palestinian people’s struggle to end genocide, ethnic cleansing, occupation, settler colonialism and apartheid. It calls for action to
Stop arming Israel,
Stop trading with Israel (intensifying BDS campaigns),
Stop sports and cultural exchanges with Israel,
Stop scholasticide (the deliberate targeting of educational institutions, teachers, and students),
Stop reproductive genocide (the deliberate targeting of women, children and babies)
Address ecocide (the destruction and contamination of land, water and other natural resources),
Confront Zionist propaganda,
Mobilize the faith community.
Stay tuned for more information and ways to join this global movement!