8th Session of the Upper New York Annual Conference June 1-3, 2017: Journal Vol. I
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Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel, UNY Task Force On Following are some of the 2016 efforts by the 25-member Task Force: •
Contacts and information-sharing with General Conference 2016 members on the Palestinian situation and on the UNY Annual Conference-approved divestment resolutions being forwarded to General Conference. • Holy Land Study tour with the former United Methodist liaison in Bethlehem, arranged for General Conference members Carmen Vianese and John Martin with supporting Peace w/Justice scholarships, sponsorship by the Task Force, and report-backs by the General Conference members. • Three-person Task Force presentation and conversation with the General Conference members at their Casowasco info-meeting, explaining the need to end the Israeli Occupation and emphasizing the role of divestment as a non-violent tool in that accomplishment. • CCYM's Up!Word In April - Task Force presentations at two workshops on "Detaining Dreams", a video depicting interviews with Palestinian youth picked up and imprisoned for supposed stonethrowing, their mistreatment and trauma, their thoughts of the future. Discussion followed. • Skaneateles UMC program by Elaine Doupe and Dianne Roe, requested by pastor, Rev. Joellyn Tuttle, to complete a study group's six-week study with videos on Palestine. • Palestinian Dinner at Annual Conference, with 150 attendees, including Annual Conference and community members and Palestinian guests. Rev. Bill Gottschalk-Fielding brought greetings from the bishop, and Rev. Gary Kubitz spoke of his Olive Harvest trip experience with InterFaith Peace Builders, along with comments from his wife, Sarah and Elaine Doupe, who were also on the trip. An extra mission offering purchased "Luci-lights" for electricity-deprived students in Gaza. An information table at Conference, hosted by Beth Woolever, provided conversation and literature. • Miko Peled, an Israeli peace activist for Palestinians and author of "The General's Son", spoke at University UMC, Syracuse and at Cazenovia UMC last fall. These public gatherings were sponsored by the Task Force and the Syracuse Peace Council's "Justice for Palestine" group. • United Methodists for Kairos Response held a re-visioning and planning meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, attended by the three Task Force co-chairs. New ideas/actions for annual conferences contributed to formats for the resolutions the Task Force is offering. Resolutions drafted at the end of the year and now being offered by the Task Force: 1) Avoid Purchase of Hewlett Packard Products 2) Protecting the Right to Peacefully Address Injustice through Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions 3) Consider Investing in Wespath's "Equity Social Values Plus Fund" (ESVPF) •
It is recommended that all United Methodists visiting the Holy Land spend time with the "living stones", the Palestinians, by joining them in conversation and worship.
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