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UNJPPI (United Network for a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel) is a network of mainly United Church folks across Canada working for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. UNJPPI West is a subgroup of them. We meet monthly online and most months there is representation from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

One of the ways that UNJPPI encourages us to take action  is to learn why human rights organizations charge Israel with apartheid and how local churches and community organizations can join the growing movement to end Israeli apartheid. The Apartheid-Free pledge, its vision, goals, and strategy and the growing network of churches and communities that have signed the pledge are all part of an accessible initiative to actively practice Solidarity with Palestine through economic means and social change. 

Questions? Reach out to Debbie Hubbard at seekingequalrights@gmail.com or Marianna Harris at holymom1@shaw.ca. 
 

Canadian Friends of Sabeel is an organization that seeks to be a Canadian Christian voice for Palestinian liberation. 

Through education and engagement, CFOS supports the struggle for equality in justice, freedom, and human rights of Palestinians living under apartheid and the illegal Israeli military occupation. With partners around the world, CFOS works non-violently for a just and durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

CFOS's video series Encounter The Holy Land features conversations and reflections from ecumenical partners like Munther Isaac, Daoud Nassar, Sonia Khoury, and Dr. Naim Ateek. This series may be useful to continue to learn about solidarity and advocacy actions, and to share the opportunity with others. 
 

Friends of Sabeel North America is an interdenominational Christian organization seeking justice and peace in the Holy Land through education, advocacy, and nonviolent action.

FOSNA promotes the vision of Sabeel Jerusalem, an ecumenical liberation theology movement founded by Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, joining Friends of Sabeel chapters around the world. As a nonprofit organization in the United States, we amplify the voice of Palestinians by advocating in churches, communities, and governments for justice, peace, and liberation in Palestine.

FOSNA has both a video library and an audio library, as well as the FOSNA Blog: Voices for Palestine which offer updates, insights and information for continued learning, planning and organizing. 
 

Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center's mission is to strive towards theological liberation through instilling the Christian faith in the daily lives of those who suffer under occupation, violence, injustice, and discrimination. Sabeel's vision is that local Christians inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ would stand for the oppressed, work for justice, and engage in peace-building. 

Sabeel Wave of Prayer  Every Thursday at 6 PM Jerusalem time (8 AM Pacific Time), Sabeel gathers our friends from around the world for our weekly online service. Led by Rev. Naim Ateek, the service includes the Wave of Prayer, readings of the upcoming week, and a time of group reflections. The text for reflection can be accessed at the Wave of Prayer link, and you can register for the zoom worship series here.

Update January 2025:

The United Church of Canada joins in the prayers and hopes of partners in Palestine and Israel and around the world at news of the emerging ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

We reiterate our call for the immediate and safe release of all captives so that they can return to their families and communities. This ceasefire must be sustained and permanent.

Communities who are displaced and have endured more than 400 days of bombardment, constant fear, famine, and the denial of shelter, healthcare, and water must have freedom to return to their homes. Humanitarian aid must be safely delivered to all parts of Gaza.

We pray for the efforts of all those who have worked tirelessly to bring about an end to the violence so that the people of Gaza might reclaim their rights to life with dignity. 

Read the latest news story, and please continue to advocate, pray, and donate.

 

UPDATE: The Right Rev Dr. Carmen Landsdowne, UCC Moderator, has issued a pastoral letter regarding Advocacy work about Palestine and Israel.

Extract:

We, as people of faith who are followers of Jesus, and called to transforming discipleship are called to uphold the voices of partners who are part of the communities most impacted in the region – Palestinian and Jewish – by expecting our government to do all in its power to ensure a just peace in the region. Isaiah speaks of the results of living a holy obedient life, and one that is focused on helping those who are in need:
The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry.

CLICK HERE to read the full letter.

 

Every human being is made in God’s image. When we value the lives of others, humanity itself is lifted.

Broken, grieving, sometimes confused, often afraid, and complicit, we struggle to know how to respond. Today marks one year since the horrific escalation of violence in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem; over the last several days, we have witnessed escalation of violence in the region with attacks on Lebanon and from Iran to Israel. As a church, we know the power of gathering in community in prayer and in action, and so we continue to pray and act for just peace in the region.

Scripture tells us God requires us to “do justice.” The United Church’s commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli partners demands that we find the courage to do justice: seek right relations; stand with the oppressed; speak truth to power, especially when it is costly; and uphold the dignity of all people—who are all created in God’s image.

Palestinian and Israeli partners remain steadfast in their commitment to justice, and persistent in calling the church to act. As a church, we hear these calls as reflections of the gospel imperatives for costly solidarity and speaking truth to power.

We have often failed to be truly faithful to this call in our responses to the decades-long oppression of Israel’s illegal occupation; the war crimes of Hamas on October 7, 2023; the current genocidal violence of the Israel Defense Forces against the people of Gaza; and the bombing and forced expulsions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. We are also deeply concerned about the most recent escalation of violence in Lebanon.

The regionalization of the war to Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria, and from Iran against Israel, is a result of the moral failure of the international community; many countries continue to put profit and political expediency above respect for all life. The alarms warning those in the Middle East to seek shelter from bombs and missiles are also a warning to the international community, including the church: silence and inaction is complicity.

We call the church to prayer and action. We pray for all those who are grieving the deaths of loved ones, for those who wait for the release of captives, for those who are injured in body and in heart. Guided by the church’s justice principles, we reiterate our calls for:

  • an immediate and sustained ceasefire in:
    • the war on Gaza;
    • the escalation of bombardments of Lebanon;
    • missiles into Israel, and
    • other armed attacks within Occupied Palestinian Territory;
  • the immediate and unconditional release of all captives held by Hamas and by Israel;
  • all countries to hold the region accountable under International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law and a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Canada’s trade with Israel;
  • immediate, unhindered humanitarian access to all Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza, and to Lebanon;
  • suspension of Canada’s diplomatic relationship with Israel until Israel abides by all relevant rulings of the International Court of Justice, including an immediate end to Israel’s illegal occupation, so a just peace can begin.

The laws put in place at the end of World War II were meant to ensure the rights and protection of civilians and to govern the obligations of state powers and their militaries in times of armed conflict. Our commitment to seeking justice calls us to costly solidarity with our partners, to challenge impunity and to hold the powerful to account.

And so, with KAIROS Canada and our partner Wi’am, our partner in the West Bank, we proclaim that:

“Our hearts beat together…we ‘yearn for a shared future where children, youth, women, and the community at large can grow up free from fear, violence, and oppression.’ And we 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’”

(KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives). CLICK HERE.

We live and act in hope and wait for a time that “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).