Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel, Task Force on

Our Vision: As disciples of Jesus, peacemaker, justice seeker, and liberator, the Task Force on Peace with 1 Justice in Palestine/Israel affirms the dignity and sacredness of all people, stands against oppression and 2 injustice, and works for peace with justice in Palestine and Israel.

Our Mission: With Jesus' commandment to love in our hearts and the Palestinians' “Cry for Hope” calling 5 us to action, we covenant to educate, equip, and mobilize the Upper New York Conference of The United 6 Methodist Church in all its entities - local congregations, regional districts – for bold, prophetic witness

7 and risk-taking advocacy toward the goal of a just and genuine peace in Palestine and Israel. Conducting

8 our work in partnership with our own Board of Global Ministries, and Board of Church and Society, as well 9 as the advocacy, and solidarity groups, we commit to engaging the “logic of Love” in pursuit of human and 10 civil rights, security, and self-determination for all who share this land that each of the Abrahamic faiths - 11 Islam, Judaism, Christianity - call “holy.”

We brought a petition to the Annual Conference entitled “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian 14 Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation.” 15 16

In lieu of our formerly held Palestinian dinners during Annual Conference, a Palestinian dinner (Imagined, 17 because we met virtually) was held in June 2022 to support the Gary Bergh Scholarship for “justice- 18 awareness” travel, and in honor of former Task Force co-chair, Leah Mae Carlisle, totaling $1,670.00. 19 20

Dianne was in Palestine (the West Bank) helping facilitate financial and medical support for Palestinian, Sabri, 21 who has visited the Task Force in the past. His American wife, Heather, living in the West Bank with him and 22 their children, authored part of February’s article from the Task Force in the UNY Conference Weekly Digest.

She and Dianne will be doing more first-hand articles on the situation in the West Bank.

Past articles have included Gary Doupe’s on the World Council of Churches statement on Israel and apartheid,

Linda Bergh’s articles on Conference response to the Palestinian “Cry for Hope” and on the Gary Bergh

Scholarship, and Karen Peterson’s article on justice-awareness trips to Palestine.

The Task Force is initiating conversation and planning with the Committee on Native American Ministries

(CONAM) on ways to educate local congregations about unjust theology - (e.g., Doctrine of Discovery, Christian

Zionism), awareness of need to inspire and involve young people, ordinands, young pastors, recent retirees in the urgency of working for peace with justice in Palestine-and joining us in that effort-with openness to new ideas on how to carry that out.

We are keeping people in Upper New York informed as to what Israel is doing to Palestinians; taking their land, demolishing their schools and homes, destroying their olive crops, arresting their youth, and the unjust treatment of Palestinians.

We had a Zoom call with Bishop Burgos, which was very productive. An important resource for our work is

United Methodist Kairos Response, an independent movement for Palestinian rights, growing in the grassroots of The United Methodist Church

For more information, contact the leadership team: