Military Occupation Act

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UNYAC2022.3 - Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act

2 Book of Discipline (¶): N/A 3 4 Book of Resolutions (¶): N/A 5 6 Conference Committee/Agency that would be affected by/responsible for implementation if passed: 7 Conference Secretary 8 9 Financial Implications: None 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 RATIONALE: American Christians, complicit through our tax support of Israel’s violations of the human rights of Palestinian children, can now support legislation to help end these violations.

WHEREAS the visions of biblical Hebrew prophets, calling the faithful to acts of justice, invite us to take initiative with compassion and mercy;

17 18 AND WHEREAS Micah 4:3-5 calls us to receive actively God’s dream of peace:

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; 4 but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. 5 For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever;

27 28 29 AND WHEREAS the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted 1989, entering into force 2 September 1990, states (in part:)

30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 • Recognizing that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding,

• Considering that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity;”

AND WHEREAS Israel has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which also states—

(A) in article 37(a), that “no child shall be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”;

(B) in article 37(b), that the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child “shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”;

(C) in article 37(c), that “every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age”; and

(D) in article 37(d), that “[e]very child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action”;

AND WHEREAS, according to findings of the U.S. Congress: the Government of Israel and its military detains around 500 to 700 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 17 each year and prosecutes them before a military court system that lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due process in violation of international standards.[1]

the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem issued a report in 2018 describing the treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli military occupation: “Every year, hundreds of Palestinian minors undergo the same scenario. Israeli security forces pick them up on the street or at home in the middle of the night, then handcuff and blindfold them and transport them to interrogation, often subjecting them to violence enroute. Exhausted and scared—some having spent a long time in transit, some having been roused from sleep, some having had nothing to eat or drink for many hours—the minors are then interrogated. They are completely alone in there, cut off from the world, without any adult they know and trust by their side, and without having been given a chance to consult with a lawyer before the interrogation. The interrogation itself often involves threats, yelling, verbal abuse and sometimes physical violence. Its sole purpose is to get the minors to confess or provide information about others.”[2]

The United Nations Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in January 2021 that during 2020, Israeli authorities demolished or seized 851 structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 1001 Palestinians as a result, including over 524 children. This is the highest number of home demolitions since 2016.[3]

AND WHEREAS God calls us to love one another as ourselves;[4]

AND WHEREAS Christ instructs us to do for others as we would have them do for us if we were in their place;[5]

AND WHEREAS our Christian sisters and brothers in Palestine have cried out to us to help them find redress from the illegal and harsh occupation of their land by the government of Israel since 1967;[6]

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Upper New York Annual Conference goes on record as supporting

H.R. 2590 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and

Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act. This bill prohibits the use of any funds that are made available for assistance to Israel in support of (1) military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill treatment of Palestinian children; (2) seizure, appropriation, or destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the West Bank; or (3) unilateral annexation by Israel of West Bank territory. The Department of State must report on the nature and extent of such activities carried out by Israel.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all Annual Conference members are encouraged to contact their Congress members to request their support of HR 2590.

1 2 3 4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Conference Secretary write to the President of the United States to encourage him to support and sign this legislation: President Joseph R. Biden The White House

5 6 7 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500

8 Submitted by: The Upper New York Task Force on Peace With Justice in Palestine/Israel: 9 10 Linda Bergh, Co-Chair 11 116 Edna Rd., Syracuse, NY 13205

12 315-492-8507

13 14 15 lindagarybergh@gmail.com Bellevue Heights UMC Syracuse, NY

16 17 18 19 Karen Peterson, Co-Chair 116 Greenridge Dr., Horseheads, NY 14845 607-739-3141

20 21 22 dpeterson1@stny.Fr.com Horseheads UMC Horseheads, NY

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Endorsed by the Upper New York Social Holiness Team:

The Rev. Alan Kinney 5135 Comstock Rd., Brewerton, NY 130298730 518-390-0883 akinney3@twcny.rr.com Faith Journey UMC Clay, NY

The Rev. Gary E. Doupe 243 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Bainbridge, NY 13733 607-743-5062 gdoupe@stny.rr.com First UMC Bainbridge, NY

The Rev. Merle Showers 401 Highgate Ave., Buffalo, NY 14215 716-862-4235 revshowers@gmail.com University UMC, Buffalo, NY

Arlene M. Lundquest 74 Suburban Dr., Elmira, NY 14903 607-358-4023 lene12232@aol.com Big Flats UMC, Big Flats, NY 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 Dianne Roe 90 W Market St., Corning, NY 14830 607-654-3450 dianneroe42@gmail.com Corning First UMC, Corning, NY

Beth Woolever 240 Cobb Terrace, Rochester, NY 14620 585-730-5493 ewoolever03@gmail.com Asbury First UMC, Rochester, NY

The Rev. Gary Kubitz 136 Walnut Pk., Rochester, NY 14622 607-624-9314 greeceumcpastor@gmail.com Greece UMC

The Rev. Brian Lothridge 217 N. 14th St., Olean, NY 14760 315-447-1654 blot0910@gmail.com Christ UMC Olean

1 2 3 The Rev. Robert Long 833 Oregon Ave., Niskayuna, NY 12309 518-372-1083

4

bikealong2@nycap.rr.com 5 First UMC Schenectady 6 7 The Rev. Rebekah Sweet 8 208 E. Court St., Ithaca, NY 14850 9 570-647-8267 10 revbeckiesweet@gmail.com 11 12

St. Paul's UMC Ithaca

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 The Rev. Marti Sword-Horrell 66 Chestnut St., Oneonta, NY 13820 607-432-4102 mswordshorrell@gmail.com First UMC Oneonta

The Rev. Doug MacKey 816 Route 50, Burnt Hills, NY 12027 518-399-5144 X302 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 607-761-0327 bsmith@binghamton.edu Fairport UMC

Carmen Vianese 87 Mill St., Nunda, NY 14517 585-468-5935 carmenfsvianese2@Twc.com Nunda UMC

Jeffrey W Morey 308 Carton Rd., Syracuse, NY 13207 Bellevue Heights UMC

The Rev. Martha Fischer 111 Sherwood Acres Dr., Apt. H-29, Herkimer, NY 13350 315-219-5098 Thierolf1944@gmail.com Herkimer UMC

22 23 24 25 26 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 pastdm@gmail.com Burnt Hills UMC

Dr. Blenda Smith 133 Helen St., Binghamton, NY 13905 48 49 50 51 52 The Rev. Dr. Robin Blair 16 State St., Bloomfield, NY 14469 315-729-4485 revrobinblair@gmail.com East Bloomfield UMC & Ionia UM

[1) Findings of the U.S. Congress, preliminary to drafting legislation on human rights of Palestinian children (5) [2] Ibid. (9) [3] Ibid. (22) [4] Matthew 5:43-48 [5] Matthew 7:12 [6] “Kairos Palestine, A Moment of Truth”