Collaboratives are hives of activity in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting community. Friends work and meet together around shared interests or concerns. All Friends are welcome to join an existing collaborative or start a new one. If joining a collaborative isn’t the right fit at the moment, you can still engage with and support their work by attending events or sharing information. [Read more…] about Hives of Activity: Collaboratives in PYM
Middle East
Why DOES Palestine Matter? An Invitation to a 6 Session Course with Members of the Middle East Collaborative
Authorship of this invitation is attributed to Deb Wood and other resources.
As I thought about writing an invitation to the Why Palestine Matters course, I came across the following quotation, which fits the Palestine/Israel situation so well:
“The purpose of propaganda is to make one set of people forget that other sets of people are human.”
— Aldous Huxley
The Palestine/Israeli relationship and conflict can often appear so complex and intractable that we don’t know how we can ever understand enough to move forward. News coverage often lacks the entire context, leaving us unable to honor the humanity of all involved. When we stop seeing a person or group as human, we much more easily discount and discredit their experiences and humanity, making it far easier to deny their needs and right to exist.
PYM Middle East Collaborative Endorses Apartheid-Free Pledge
In Spring 2023 the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) launched an initiative to have faith and secular communities pledge to be Apartheid-Free. With a goal of connecting like minded communities around issues of freedom from racism, discrimination, domination, and oppression, AFSC reached out to both US and international congregations and organizations. Specifically, AFSC’s framing of apartheid is taking up the current example of Palestinian freedom, justice, and equality in the face of ongoing oppression, violation of human rights, and legal and social discrimination.
[Read more…] about PYM Middle East Collaborative Endorses Apartheid-Free Pledge
