Christians and Jews Gather to Support Churches’ Call to Investigate Unconditional Military Support of Israel
Religious organizations and their secular partners will gather at the United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC, in Conference Room 3 on Thursday, November 29 at 10:00am to affirm the call of 15 Christian leaders to investigate the legality of U.S. unconditional military support of Israel. Thousands of signatures have been gathered in support of this letter, addressed to Congress, seeking to make U.S. military aid to Israel contingent upon its compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies.
Confirmed speakers are:
Mark Harrison, United Methodist General Board of Church and Society
Rev. Phillip G. Anderson, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Rabbi Liz Bolton, Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council
Josh Ruebner, U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Tom Getman, Kairos USA
Philip Farah, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace
Groups represented at the press conference, including Jewish Voice for Peace, Kairos USA, US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, United Methodist Kairos Response, Friends of Sabeel North America, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, The Palestine Israel Network of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, and others, will present over 30,000 signatures gathered in support of the 15 Christian leaders, clearly showing widespread support among US Christians for measures that would provide a degree of justice for Palestinians under occupation.
As the United Nations considers the Palestine Liberation Organization’s request for “non-member state” status on Thursday, the organizations holding this press conference will urge U.S. Christian groups to support the 15 leaders who have issued this courageous call for a U.S. policy that will truly advance a solution that will bring self- determination for Palestinians and a secure peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. This affirmation, especially timely because of Israel’s recent bombardment of Gaza, comes as the 15 Christian leaders have been aggressively criticized by some Jewish advocacy organizations, some of which have shut down long-standing interfaith dialogues as a response.
The event will be live streamed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/us-campaign-events
For more information about this press event, please contact Steven D. Martin at smartin at kairosusa dot org or 865-300-6848.