You can make peace in Palestine
Since Friday, Israeli forces have been carrying out raids and airstrikes in Gaza. Today, the World Health Organization warned that lack of water, caused by a blockade of humanitarian aid, will cause a public health crisis and endanger the lives of 3,500 hospital patients. The work of peacemaking is more important now than ever.
BPFNA~Bautistas por la Paz condemns the violence and war that has broken out in the State of Israel/Palestine. As peacemakers, we unequivocally condemn the actions of violence that have led to loss of life. As a movement that seeks peace with justice, BPFNA calls for an end to all violence and military action and urges leaders to build a just, lasting peace through long-term solutions that end the apartheid system.
We oppose all forms of antisemitism as part of our commitment to multi-faith dialogue and antiracism. We suggest these resources to resist antisemitism in your community.
Because we recognize peacemaking involves both statements and prayers as well as embodied actions, BPFNA in collaboration with our partners at Apartheid-Free Communities has curated several opportunities for support and engagement.
Donate to organizations meeting essential needs and providing aid in key places.
We recommend the Middle East Children’s Alliance, the American Friends Service Committee, and Jewish Voice for Peace.
Tell your officials to encourage the U.S. to stop contributing to the violence.
The United States provides approximately $3.8 billion in weaponry for the State of Israel to continue policies of apartheid and military occupation. The American Friends Service Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights offer tools to facilitate this process for U.S. Americans.
Learn about the Apartheid-Free movement.
Join us Thursday, Oct. 19 for Just Peace & the Holy Land, a conversation with the Rev. Allison Tanner. A national organizer for the Apartheid-Free Communities initiative, Rev. Tanner will contextualize the Israeli apartheid system and share how each of us can join and support this movement working together for Palestinian liberation. We will also hear from Palestinian voices sharing truth as they have experienced it to help us understand what is unfolding.
Please join us in constant prayer for a peace rooted in justice to take hold in Palestine and Israel. We unite our voices with Gerardo Oberman's in the poetic prayer below.
The Voices of Those Who Weep
by Gerardo Oberman
translated by Roberto Jordan
"Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more."
— Jeremiah 31:15
The cold bodies lie
kneaded in the same earth,
filled with the same Spirit;
the same colour of their blood
which bathes the arid ground;
the same colour of the heavens
that envelop their dead dreams.
Weeping mothers, Jewish and Palestinian,
weep for their daughters and their sons, murdered
be it by a bullet or disdain,
be it by hatred or a missile.
The weeping and the screaming,
heart wrenching, pour out from the gut
on both sides of the fence
because there is no border
for the pain of the soul.
Praying to the same God, the people
shout out for a justice
that will never descend from heaven
because it is only possible
when sitting round the same table
the kippah and the keffiyeh,
love and truth,
mercy and respect;
when all rights are upheld
and all pacts fulfilled.
They cry bitter tears in Ramah
and in Gaza and in Jerusalem
and in so many cities
where life wants to stop dying
and where peace awaits its chance.
