Quaker attention on peace in Israel and Palestine
Friends across our Section are deeply saddened by increasing violence in Israel and Palestine. We offer this page as an emerging resource and point of reference for various opportunities to get involved. It is updated regularly and if you note something that is out of date, please contact EMES staff
Last update: 16 April 2024
Online worship for Peace
As of November 14, the EMES weekly worship to pray for peace in Ukraine, held since that war began, will now recentre to focus on praying for peace across our Section, in Ukraine, Russia, Palestine and Israel. The worship will take place every Tuesday for 30 minutes at the following time:
13.30 Britain, Ireland & Portugal
14.30 CET
15.30 EET, Lebanon, Jerusalem & Ukraine
16.30 Moscow
17.30 Georgia
Details on that worship, and invitations in Arabic, Hebrew, Ukrainian and Russian are here
Sabeel, the ecumenical Palestinian liberation theology centre co-founded by Friends, holds a weekly prayer service to reflect on scripture and pray for peace, specifically oriented now to upholding the situation in Israel and Palestine every Thursday.
Register here to receive the Zoom link (which is the same every week).
FWCC EMES and Woodbrooke continue to hold 11 meetings for worship online each week on Zoom. They can be accessed via www.woodbrooke.org.uk/worship
Quakers in the region
The Ramallah Monthly Meeting and Brummana Monthly Meeting meet on Sundays, currently in person only. You can sign up to receive updates from Ramallah Friends here. Ramallah Friends Meeting Clerk Saleem Zaru shares “We appreciate your concern and your prayers. We hope the situation will get better and pray that just peace will prevail sometime in the near future.”
Sabah Baz of the Brummana Meeting shares “right now Lebanon needs all the support from the international community, especially from the United States and European countries to first stop the war between Hamas and Israel in order not to allow it to extend into Lebanon, and certainly to save innocent lives on both sides. Second to find a solution to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.”
What can I do?
The Ramallah Friends School, supported by the Quaker International Educational Trust (QuIET), has just concluded a successful campaign to support mental and social health support for the school community. Some there have already lost family in Gaza and the overall situation in Palestine is extremely difficult. Watch a video about the campaign and thank you from Rania Ma’ayeh, Head of RFS, here
Learn more about the history of RFS and follow them on Facebook or sign up to their newsletter.
Friends in Lebanon and Palestine are active supporters of the Ramallah Friends School (RFS) and Brumanna High School (BHS), serving as governors, heads of school and witnesses to Quaker values under tremendously difficult conditions.
You can contribute to the American Friends Service Committee, led by Palestinian Friend Joyce Ajlouny, with several active projects in Gaza. They are currently accepting donations for humanitarian aid Quäker-Hilfe Stiftung, a charitable trust, was founded by the German Quaker organization Quäker-Hilfe e.V. and the AFSC in 1996. Both organizations develop and implement projects together with local partners worldwide. Now through May 31st, Quäker-Hilfe Stiftung, the charitable trust of AFSC and the German Friends Service organisation, will accept donations in euro to support AFSC Gaza relief efforts
Quaker Service Norway (QSN) supports the Palestinian Early Childhood Education Program (PECEP) in Gaza and has maintained contact even as all 13 of the PECEP kindergartens have been destroyed or converted into emergency shelters since October 7. QSN has delivered emergency aid to PECEP staff and is collecting donations to support trauma training for kindergarten families. Learn more and find donation information here
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Israel and Palestine (EAPPI) UK & Ireland is managed by Quakers in Britain and offers this helpful guide for 5 solidarity actions to take EAPPI volunteers provide a protective presence, monitor human rights violations and support Palestinian and Israeli peace groups.
Other news
The Peace and Service Network of EMES convenes once a month online and will host a hybrid gathering in October 2024. Our October 2023 gathering included perspectives from Palestinian Friends and immediately after that gathering an ad hoc group focusing on Israel and Palestine formed to consider specific activities and actions Friends are taking across the Section on this matter. If you are interested in the Peace and Service Network, please contact Evan to learn more
Facebook updates
Updates on our Facebook page can be found at facebook.com/FWCCEMES
Ramallah Friends School Facebook page and Brummana High School page show the lives of students and offer updates on emerging impacts to the institutions
Useful links and resources
Several Quaker agencies have signed a joint statement in April 2024 calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. A different future is possible: Quaker organisations share vision for peace in Palestine and Israel
Quakers in Britain announcement from 2011 on its decision to boycott Israeli settlement products
Major Quaker agencies in the United States and Europe have now signed a joint statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza
The Council of European Churches, of which FWCC-EMES is a member, has issued the following statement
Statement issued by Quakers in Britain on 11 October
Statement by Ireland Yearly Meeting on 13 October
Statement issued by Swedish Quakers on October 24 in Swedish Translation:- A Statement from the Society of Friends, the Quakers – a worldwide peace church: With all our might we condemn the insane spiral of violence that has fallen upon the peoples of Palestine and Israel, these two peoples whose destinies are so irrevocably intertwined. We condemn the violence. Those resorting to violence must be held accountable. Yet we do not condemn them as fellow human beings. All of the people, both Israeli and Palestinian, are, in different ways, victims of the same apartheid regime under which they are forced to live. If we are to envision a peaceful future growing out of this catastrophy the world community must now demand an immediate cease-fire. Then this same world community must seriously engage in creatinge the conditions necessary for reconciliation and lasting peace. Basically this means that everyone inhabiting the same land, breathing the same air and looking up into the same heavens must be treated equally, justly and with respect. Let us pray for peace and reconciliation. Let us hold in the light all those working to stop the ongoing war, all those helping wartorn civilians, and all those working to pave the way to a sustainable peace
Statement issued by Dutch Quakers in January 2024 here
Jack Nassar, a Palestinian attender of Ramallah Friends Meeting, has written several articles from a Christian perspective about Gaza. He is also supporting several private sector initiatives to get aid to Gaza, and can be reached through EMES by those interested in supporting. Here is a selection of his articles:- Guest commentary from Palestine: Let churches play a role in reconciliation in both Gaza and Kyiv
- Silent Faith, Loud Action: Gaza Unveils Divisions in Christian Unity
- Silent Exodus: The Unseen Genocide Threatening Christianity in Gaza
EMES Executive Committee Statement from 2008, at the outbreak of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza
Timeline of Quaker Involvement in the Middle East, compiled by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Note about FWCC EMES
Friends World Committee for Consultation Europe and Middle East Section supports over 23,000 Quakers across Europe and the Middle East in meetings, worship groups and as individuals. FWCC EMES shares regular updates with news from around the Section. Sign up is here
