As Spring arrives, the Holy Land Committee is turning our attention to a number of events that we’ll meet to discuss this Sunday, March 26 at 12:00 noon in the Lounge. Although we were formed by pilgrims returning from a 2014 trip to the Holy Land led by Sari, membership in the Holy Land Committee is open to all.
One of our Sunday agenda items is finalizing a draft statement that U.S. aid to Israel and Palestine should be used in compliance with U.S. laws mandating adherence to human rights and only in self-defense. Our goal is to build an interfaith coalition to promote the finalized statement as a public call for accountability for U.S. foreign assistance.
We’ll also discuss two events we’re hosting in the next few months. One is a friend-raiser on May 9 at 7:00 pm for Project Rozana, which builds communication and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians through healthcare, laying foundations for peace. On June 25, we’ll host a speaking event for New Story Leadership’s (NSL) new delegates. NSL (Nancy Adams is a Board member) brings young adult Palestinians and Israelis together in Washington DC to share their perspectives with each other and with Congressional members and staffers, among others.
In addition, Helen Habiby, Penny Winder, and Liz Everhart will sell Palestinian olive oil on March 26 and April 2 in the West Avenue lobby. Proceeds for olive oil sales go mainly to Tent of Nations, an organic farm and peace project near Bethlehem owned by the Palestinian Christian Nassar family, who have ownership documents dating to 1916, during Ottoman rule.
We hope you’ll join us for these and many more activities! For more information, contact Nancy Adams or Kirk Campbell.
