The pictures of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza being forced by the Israeli military to evacuate the northern part of the Gaza Strip heading south evoked old memories of the 1948 Nakba. In 1948, Jewish Israeli terror groups destroyed and erased over 500 Palestinian villages and displaced nearly 800,000 Palestinians,¹ including more than 50,000 Palestinian Christians who had to flee, thus becoming refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Public Witness has again issued an Action Alert, asking Presbyterians to advocate for a ceasefire and an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza.
When a crowd was gathered on the hill to hear Jesus preach and the crowd was hungry, the disciples wanted to send them away. Instead, Jesus instructs them in Mark’s gospel, “you give them something to eat.”
The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s World Mission ministry, in collaboration with the Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, is launching a webinar series dedicated to the current crisis unfolding in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. The first webinar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Dec. 12, is titled “Jewish and Christian Voices for Peace.”
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a new online landing page that will allow users to engage with the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict more easily using digital resources.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, in collaboration with World Mission and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, has awarded nearly $100,000 in grant funding to support relief efforts in Israel-Palestine. The now month-long conflict continues to escalate and exact a heavy toll on civilian casualties along with crippling home and property loss in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
World Council of Churches leaders spoke of unity and hope during the hour-long wrap-up press conference for the 11th Assembly Thursday, which can be viewed here.
Toward the end of Tuesday’s online presentation about the United States’ role in the Israel-Palestine conflict, Foundation for Middle East Peace President Lara Friedman broadened the terms of the discussion.
The Racial Equity Advocacy Committee submits this letter as a loving and justice-oriented response to our colleagues in ministry who call upon REAC to respond to A Message from the Stated Clerk dated January 22 by the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), following the Stated Clerk’s letter on the occasion of the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
