In Los Angeles this upcoming Saturday, May 4: A day of discussions and workshops on defending our rights to boycott and advocating for Palestinian rights both in your churches and among your elected representatives.
The conference will be held at Knox Presbyterian Church (225 S. Hill Ave, Pasadena). More details are included in the flyer below. RSVP today by emailing fosna.laoc@gmail.com!
Richard Falk, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, will join us for a discussion on Human Rights, American Politics, and Palestine.
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Submitted by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
I am sharing with you an article from an on-line campus Jewish magazine. The article used the original Freedom Seder of 50 years ago as the springboard for a discussion of how to treat debate over Israeli-Palestinian relations. Naturally, as the author of said original Freedom Seder, I was intrigued. And I responded. Here are the original article and my response to it.
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The Society of St. Yves – Catholic Center for Human Rights welcomed a delegation of French human rights activists in coordination with Diwan Voyage for Alternative Tourism. Mr. Raed Halabi, head of the advocacy department briefed the delegation on the current situation and suffering of Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank as a result of the daily Israeli policies and procedures practiced against them, the briefing included a special focus on house demolition procedures and the new amendments of the existing laws that put Palestinians at a higher risk of being forcibly transferred from their land.
by Mark Wiens
I was invited to speak at a Thailand embassy event in Tel Aviv, and then my wife and I stayed on for an extra week. We visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Bethlehem, and Hebron. I met incredibly generous people and ate some unbelievably delicious food. I hope you appreciate the food, but I encourage you to respectfully refrain from argument and conflict. This video is about food and the loving people who prepared it. Thank you so much for watching and for your kind respect!
Read MoreMay 15 marks the anniversary of the Nakba. In this petition, Global Kairos for Justice, a partner of Kairos Palestine, asks to the world to support its call to action, to sign a petition and to be partners in local and regional events on or around May 15, 2019. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” (Isaiah 1:17)
Read MoreIn response to my Easter message, a student said that Jesus was not born in Palestine but in Israel and that he was Jewish.
1) Palestine (geographic name used for nearly 4000 years*) was used at the time of Jesus’ birth under Roman rule. There was no “Israel” then. There was Judea and Philistia (geographic parts of Palestine) . But Jesus was not Judaic, He was Nazarene (GALILEE). Geography is why even the Israel Academy of Sciences publishes the book series Fauna Palestina and Flora Palestina (not Israeliana!).
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Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, April 24, 2019 – Please find below the Spring reflections of Mr. Sami El-Yousef, Chief Executive Officer of the Latin Patriarchate, in which he talks about the prevailing political and economic environment in the Holy Land and its effects on the work of the Diocese in the sectors of education, pastoral care and humanitarian support.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Huge crowds of pilgrims on Saturday marked the “Holy Fire” ceremony at Christianity’s holiest site in Jerusalem’s Old City on the eve of Orthodox Easter.
Some 10,000 believers holding candles squeezed into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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Rev. Don Wagner, FOSNA Theology Committee
Rev. Don Wagner writes:
As we enter Easter, Passover, and very soon Ramadan, this is a good time to step back from the onslaught of horrific news from Palestine and Israel and other troubled lands, including our own, to pause and reflect on this historical moment.
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Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh writes in his Palestinian Christian newsletter:
This is the tenth Easter I celebrate after returning to Palestine in 2008. It is still special. The touch, taste, sights, sounds, and smells dazzle all senses and are meaningful, despite the difficult Israeli occupation. This weekend [April 21st] is Easter according to Western calendar and next week [April 28th] is the Eastern. My family being mixed, I get to witness both traditions. Though everyone complains that I am spending every day of the holiday at the museum working (but there are deadlines of proposals and much more work to do). Even Easter Sunday (tomorrow) my students in biodiversity are coming to learn techniques of museology and curation of collections.
When we native Christian Palestinians have a few moments to meditate and reflect in this season, we reflect that some 2.5 billion human beings believe in a message that originated with a Palestinian baby born in a manger here and was crucified for being the first revolutionary Palestinian to push for caring for the sick and the poor.
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Web work by Guli
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