Latest News and ActivitiesFollow this page for updates on Palestinian news and actions.
Letter to GCE re Gaza War
A letter signed by numerous UCC members has been sent to the UCC GCE. The letter notes that "the official church voice is not sufficiently addressing the abuses of power in the Israel-Hamas conflict or reflecting the full extent of the injustices being committed." The letter states that "it is critically important that the Canadian government hear from as many Canadian voices as possible." Therefore, the letter is urging that the church leadership "facilitate writing a letter from The United Church of Canada to the Prime Minister of Canada" calling for a list of actions and "explain why it is urgent for all members to call for a ceasefire in Gaza." 
A worship resource for extinguishing candles during Lent with stories and prayers.
Ceasefire now, end the siege, for a just and lasting peaceUNJPPI is proud to join with a broad and representative group of pan-Canadian organizations that are raising our voices together for an immediate ceasefire to the escalating violence in Israel-Palestine and for the urgent restoration of humanitarian aid to Gaza and access to the basic necessities of life. Read more 
Our hearts are shattered by the latest horrific news coming from Israel and occupied Palestine, starting on October 7th and still on-going. The earliest reports were of non-combatant Israelis being killed by Hamas operatives that crossed from Gaza into Israel and of other Israelis being kidnapped and taken into Gaza. This has been followed by the most intense ever Israeli bombardment of Gaza with the destruction of innumerable buildings, including the homes of non-combatant Palestinians and civilian infrastructure. UNJPPI condemns the atrocities being perpetrated by both sides on innocent civilians.
... To help stop this disaster from spiraling even further out of control, UNJPPI calls on the Canadian government to use all the influence it can bring to bear on Israel and Hamas, either directly or through other world leaders, to achieve the following:
Read more 
Canada's responsibility
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Conversation with Church Leaders about Role of Canadian ChurchesNew Developments in Israel-Palestine and the Role of the Churches (ustpaul.ca)
What is the role of Canadian churches in advocacy regarding Palestine? Join denominational church leaders for a conversation about how churches in Canada are involved in advocating for and with partners in Palestine, and what next steps may be needed in a context of new developments in a deteriorating situation. 
Palestine
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The Nakba
In late November 1947, the United Nations voted to partition historic Palestine, creating one state for Zionist Jewish settlers and another for the Palestinian Arabs, the indigenous people of the region. Not long afterwards, the Zionists began a military campaign aimed at dispossessing as many Palestinians as possible and seizing their homes, businesses, possessions and land. The ethnic cleansing intensified after May 15, 1948, when the colonial British Mandate in Palestine ended and the Zionists proclaimed the birth of the State of Israel. By the time hostilities ended, Israel had depopulated more than 500 Palestinian villages and communities and forcibly displaced over 800,000 Palestinians. Palestinians around the world refer to this period of ethnic cleansing as Al Nakba or “The Catastrophe” and commemorate it annually on May 15. However, Al Nakba is ongoing. For the past seventy-five years, Israel has continued to seize Palestinian land, dispossess Palestinians, and deny them fundamental human rights. In this special issue of Network News, we reflect on the effect that seventy-five years of genocide has had on a land and a people. We also amplify the resilience and resistance of Palestinians in Palestine and the diaspora and highlight resources that can help educate and move us to action. Above summary of the Nakba extracted, with thanks, from the UNJPPI May Newsletter.
Video: The Nakba, 75 Years On
with Rashid Khalididd 
Send Balata FC’s letter to the PUMA CEOClick here to sign and send a letter to the new Puma CEO to call for international pressure on PUMA until it ends its complicity in Israeli apartheid.
KP Christmas Alert 2022
In this Christmas Alert, we encourage you to join us in this difficult work of humility, faith and solidarity. As we celebrate God’s incarnation in the child born here in Bethlehem, join us in the holy work of seeing the “human being” in yourself and in the enemy, and calling the “other” through creative resistance to see his or her own humanity, the humanity of the Palestinian, and the image of God in every human being. 
KP Christmas Alert 2022
In this Christmas Alert, we encourage you to join us in this difficult work of humility, faith and solidarity. As we celebrate God’s incarnation in the child born here in Bethlehem, join us in the holy work of seeing the “human being” in yourself and in the enemy, and calling the “other” through creative resistance to see his or her own humanity, the humanity of the Palestinian, and the image of God in every human being. 
Urgent ActionEaster Statement by Orthodox Patriarchate on Restrictions by Israeli Police
"The orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has decided, by the power of the Lord, that it will not compromise its right to provide spiritual services in all churches and squares... "The police must stop imposing restrictions and violence that, unfortunately, have become part of our sacred ceremonies." 
Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and Apartheid in the Holy Land
A background paper on Palestine and Israel worth reading for the history and context related to the current issues. By a member of UNJPPI. 
APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA!
APARTHEID ISRAEL! In a new book, “Apartheid South Africa! Apartheid Israel!” Brian J. Brown, a South African Methodist minister, calls on Christian churches, not just to recognize that Israel is an apartheid state, but to declare that total opposition to that apartheid is mandatory for any person or church that claims to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Brown’s lifelong war against apartheid has been driven by the conviction that it is utterly incompatible with any Christian theology faithful to the social teachings of Jesus Christ. Read more... 
Report on Repression of
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