Marking one year of Genocide
As we observe one whole year of escalating catastrophes for civilians of all faiths in the Holy Land and beyond, we dedicate this bulletin to reflections from ourselves and our partners along with ever more urgent calls for action to protect innocent civilians in extreme danger.
CFOS statement marking one year after October 7, 2023
In a brief statement marking one year since October 7, 2023 and the events following, Rula Odeh, chair of CFOS, expresses how the organization has “witnessed with horror the escalation of violence and immense suffering for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and the whole region.”
The statement describes how CFOS has, over the past year, been united in solidarity, prayer and advocacy with Palestinian Christian partners, and how it has acted with Canadian church partners to press the federal government to “take urgent and meaningful action to protect civilians as required by international humanitarian and human rights law and by rulings by the International Court of Justice.”
CFOS calls on Christians to demonstrate continued solidarity with Palestinians, and it urges all Canadians to advocate boldly for adherence to international law. “The humanity of all people depends on this.”
Read the full statement here.
Join the JGML on November 4: “One Year Later”
Please join CFOS at our annual James Graff Memorial Lecture, taking place in Toronto and online on Monday, November 4 at 7 p.m. EST.
Shadia Qubti, a Palestinian activist in Canada, and Daniel Bannoura, a Palestinian theologian in the US, will be our guest speakers. They will offer their experience, insight and challenge to a Canadian audience on the topic, “One Year Later: Our Response to Genocide and Occupation in Palestine.”
More information is available here. Tickets are available here.
If you are part of an organization and would like to endorse the 2024 JGML please contact Rana Atie at: executive-director@friendsofsabeel.ca. CFOS would be grateful.
Update on Sabeel Conference, Nov 17-21, in Palestine
The International Friends of Sabeel Planning committee met on October 1st to determine if the Sabeel pre-tour and conference on Religious Extremism planned for November 11-21 was possible at this time, given the heightened tension in the region.
In making its decision, the committee considered both an update from the Executive Director of Sabeel as to the challenges presently experienced by our Palestinian sisters and brothers and the number of people registered for the conference.
After an in-depth discussion, the planning team agreed NOT to cancel this event but to refocus it as a Solidarity Pilgrimage. The emphasis of the trip will be to meet with and listen to those who live daily with increased Israeli militarism.
The schedule will of necessity be fluid, but the dates will be the same, November 11-21, 2024. All who register should plan to travel on refundable tickets through Amman, Jordan. Sabeel will have a support team to assist with travel from Jordan to Palestine.
Please consult the Sabeel website for newly posted information about registration and arrival and departure dates. And read the following item for recent solidarity visits hosted by Sabeel.
Recent solidarity visits to Palestine
A recent article on the online magazine Mondoweiss profiles the August-September visit to sites in Israel and the West Bank by 30 members of the U.S. Interfaith Journey for Justice. This visit was facilitated by Sabeel. Since mid-August, Sabeel has led two faith delegations around the West Bank without incident. The article quotes Sabeel’s Omar Haramy:
“We want to encourage people to continue to bring groups here…No one is doing this but Sabeel. It is dangerous, but we can manage the safety for people. International presence is important. It empowers us on the ground and helps the Palestinian people escape the stereotypes [presented in the media]. We want to create a flow of groups to Palestine.”
See the entire article here.
Hope in the midst of catastrophe
An extremely eloquent, insightful and imaginative statement has been issued from a Jerusalem Reflection Group, led by the Palestinian Catholic Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah. After painfully cataloguing the ruinous, catastrophic suffering taking place in Israel/Palestine, the reflection explores a possible hopeful response from a Christian perspective.
“In our exhaustion and despair, let us remember the paralytic man (Mark 2: 1-12) who could not get up. It was only when his friends carried him, when they used their imagination to create a hole in the roof and lower him down on his mat, that he was able to reach Jesus, who said to him: ‘Get up and walk.’
“So it is with us. We must carry one another if we are to go forward. We must use our imaginations, rooted in Christ, to find openings where there appear to be none. When we have reached the limits of our hope, together we carry one another, as we turn to God and ask for help.”
Read the complete reflection on Patriarch Sabbah’s Facebook page.
And no one shall make them afraid
Mennonite Central Committee Canada and its U.S. counterpart have issued a comprehensive joint statement about the genocide and destruction in Gaza by the Israeli IDF. In addition to wide range of updated statistics as to damage, death, displacement and food insecurity, the statement nonetheless offers an eloquent vision of hope:
“In Micah 4:4 we are gifted with the image of a community in which ‘everyone shall sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.’ We dream of a time when Israelis and Palestinians flourish together in peace, when the world rejects militarism and war, and when we are all in right relation with God and neighbour.”
Read the complete forceful statement here.
Kairos Canada announces just peace resource hub
In the lead-up to October 7, Kairos Canada is sharing messages, calls to action and acts of love from allies and partners in the region in solidarity with the victims of the conflict that dramatically escalated a year ago.
Its first posting Kairos references its partner Wi’am, the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center. “[W]e amplify Wi’am’s call to Canadians and our government ‘to stand with us, not just in words, but also through decisive actions which forward peace, justice, and unequivocally denounces injustice, and promotes human rights, human dignity, and life’.”
On October 7 Kairos Canada will launch a new Just Peace in the Middle East Ecumenical Hub to assist ongoing action and advocacy for a just peace. Stay tuned here.
A prayer for Palestine
As violence spreads in the Middle East and regional war looms, Sabeel’s weekly Wave of Prayer has never been more important and inspiring. This week’s Wave concludes:
“God of Justice, despite our despair, we know our prayers are not in vain. We thank you for the steady agents of your love around the world, who continue to work towards human dignity for all. Holy Spirit, continue to strengthen your flock so they may make true your vision of mercy and justice.”
Please read and share the complete prayer, available here.