United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
UMKR needs your support
General Conference 2020 has been
scheduled for Aug-Sept 2022. Our justice legislation is still vital & needs
YOUR support! LEARN MORE:
🔶 Something new in here 🔴 New on our site
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP) launched an important campaign in 2019 to raise awareness of the United Nations agency UNRWA, the vital services they provide for Palestinian refugees, and the urgent need to supply funding for those services, especially in light of the Trump administration's decision in 2018 to cut funding for that humanitarian aid. The U.S. may restore some of that funding in 2021, but UNRWA will continue to need our support urgently.
An Appeal from UMKR
UMKR has important church legislation for our denomination's global General Conference, to be held in 2021. These resolutions address:
• protecting Palestinian children,
• defending the right to boycott,
•divesting from the bonds of occupation governments,
and other timely justice issues.
We also have BIG PLANS for educating A LOT of people throughout our church about Palestinian rights, with literature, displays, events, meals, and witness actions!
With very limited resources, UMKR has made
a BIG impact in the global United Methodist Church! Groundbreaking divestment and boycott actions by the UMC would never have happened withoutUMKR's advocacy AND all the extraordinary partners and allies who helped us.
General Conference is always our BEST OPPORTUNITY to make an impact for Palestinian rights throughout our denomination, on four continents.
But if we are to succeed advocating for justice
with over 5000 United Methodists who come to General Conference from around the world...
WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP!
EVERY DONATION – large, medium, or small –
makes a difference in our work!
Click the green button:
Please give as generously as you can, and know that whatever you are able to give
will be greatly appreciated.
Palestinian Child Prisoners
In this 2014 photo, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell speaks at the opening of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Community and Government Center in Mashpee, Massachusetts. On March 27, the U.S. Department of the Interior ordered the removal of 321 acres of the tribe’s land out of federal trust. Photo courtesy of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. [via United Methodist News Service]
Land is Sacred: Stand With the
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the very tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 1600s, is at risk of losing what is left of their homelands due to a determination made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Why is this important?
The Mashpee Wampanoag,
the People of the First Light,
have occupied the same
region for over 12,000 years
and have faced deminishment
of their homelands since
colonization.
After an arduous process
lasting more than three decades,
the Mashpee Wampanoag were re-acknowledged as a federally recognized tribe in 2007. In 2015, the federal government declared 320 acres in Massachusetts as the Tribe’s initial reservation, where they can exercise full tribal sovereignty.
Now the Trump Administration has decertified the protected land of the indigenous Mashpee people. This is colonialism and must be stopped.The Mashpee Tribe has legislation in Congress Senate that will protect their land: the "Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act (HR.312)."
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS
See this informative article from the United Methodist News Service:
“Native caucus sounds alarm over tribal land dispute”
See this piece in The Guardian: Trump administration revokes tribe’s reservation status in ‘power grab’
The Native American International Caucus (NAIC) is one of our church's ethnic caucuses and one of UMKR's fellow members in the Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC). Download the NAIC open letter to legislators
MoveOn.org has a petition to the U.S. Congress calling for support of the tribe’s legislation. It has over 280,000 signatures. Help them get to 300,000! Sign the petition to Congress
For those in the US: Send a message directly to your legislators. Color of Change has one prepared to make that easy. Take action here
Emergency Aid for Gaza
ACTION / CAMPAIGNS
Pillsbury is a General Mills company and a household name, known for its crescent rolls, cookie dough, and other baking products. What few consumers know is that Pillsbury manufactures frozen baked goods in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory—violating international law and contributing to gross human rights abuses. Join the Pillsbury Boycott campaign to hold General Mills accountable until the company stops manufacturing on stolen land.
After the Israeli assault on Gaza in May 2021, thousands are injured and tens of thousands are homeless, while Gaza still struggles to cope with a huge Covid-19 surge in 2021. Even before this latest bombardment, Gaza was a humanitarian disaster with over 80% of the population dependent on aid for survival. Medical supplies and care, food and electricity are desperately needed. See six organizations that UMKR would recommend for sending help now.
Emergency Aid for Gaza
Since February 2021, Facebook has been considering adopting a policy that would treat some criticism of Zionist ideology and Israeli policies as hate speech, therefore not permitted on Facebook. That would have the effect of muzzling activists for Palestinian freedom and equality on the world's biggest social media forum.
Across the US and around the world, thousands are working together to oppose this proposed censorship. Support this vital campaign for free speech, a universal human right:
Dismantling Racism is more than one campaign; it is a section of our website with many resources for learning about the work to be done and a wide range of actions and campaigns to support. Discover books, articles, learning activities, videos and podcasts among these Antiracism Resources
Find campaigns for Reparations, Defunding Police, and other important actions at: Antiracism Action
for our work to continue.
General Conference
Hundreds of Palestinians are on the verge of being kicked out of their homes by the Israeli government right now in neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. This year up to 1,500 people are at risk of losing their homes and communities. UMKR and many partners have organized actions that you can support to help avert this tragedy. We’re asking the U.S. State Department to uphold international law and take action against Israel’s continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, theft of Palestinian land, and separation of Palestinian families.
Several of these campaigns and actions can also be found in other areas of our website, such as Boycott, Political, Solidarity, etc.
PCAP's Open Letter to Church Leaders Calls for Action
PCAP asks church leaders to press the Israeli government to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Endorsed by UMKR and many faith partners.
WE ALL CAN DO THIS!
UMKR has the link and a prepared message that you can
send directly to the Israeli Prime Minister:
See PCAP's letter and TAKE ACTION
DEFUND THE
HEBRON FUND
A call to action from Christian Peacemaker Teams, the Good Shepherd Collective, Human Rights Defenders, the International Solidarity Committee, the Hebron Defense Committee, and the Protection and Sumud Committee.
A large coalition of Palestinian organizations are directly challenging the way the Israeli settler movement exploits US tax laws and funnels US charitable donations for the displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
We are calling on the New York Attorney General to investigate the Hebron Fund – a radical settler organization that maintains a 501 ( c ) 3 registration in the State of New York – and to revoke their license.
You can see and sign the petition here:https://bit.ly/FreeHebron.
Many observers have described the situation in Hebron, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, as the most extreme and vivid example of Israeli apartheid. Learn more here about the settlers, Hebron, and this campaign
The No Way to Treat a Child campaign seeks to expose and challenge Israel's widespread and systematic detention, abuse and imprisonment of Palestinian children under the Israeli military occupation. Like all children, Palestinian children have the right to a safe and just future. We believe all governments must use every available means to pressure relevant Israeli authorities to end the detention and abuse of Palestinian children.