Thursday Noodles - leap year 2/29/2004

Gratitude for Friends Committee on National Legislation edition

Last week I attended a special briefing, “Glimmers of Hope for the Middle East,” given by Bridget Moix and Hassan El-Tayyab of Friends (Quaker) Committee on National Legislation.

It was heartbreaking. The war in Israel and Palestine is shattering. I am grateful for any glimmers of hope.

My twenty-plus years of discernment in the Quaker testimonies (peace, simplicity, equality, integrity, community, stewardship) leads me to believe that if we were forced to declare a side, Quakers take the “side” of all human beings.

Like Dorothy Day (Dorothy was not a Quaker; she was a radical Catholic pacifist activist) during World War 1, or some anti-Vietnam protestors, pacifists can seem deviant. Folks often attempt to write us off as dreamers or shirkers. But most pacifist activists work way too hard to be written off. Dorothy, for instance. She wasn’t on the side of the Allies or the Central Powers. She and her comrades were on a “third” side: the side of nonviolence, the side of pacifism, the side of peace and non-harm. And they worked their butts off for those things.

I will also say how mindful I am that people whom I love and cherish, some of them my dearest and closest friends, have been and continue to be deeply personally affected by what is happening in both Israel and in Palestine. My dear friends: I see you, I hear you, I witness and affirm your pain. I love you.

My noodles for this week are the lessons FCNL’s Bridget and Hassan brought back from their peace-searching journey.

You can read more about their journey here.

Bridget and Hassan’s six major takeaways:

• It is time to for a ceasefire in Gaza now.

• Diplomacy is needed to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.

• The U.S. must do more to increase humanitarian access.

• Urgent steps are needed to end mass atrocities.

• The U.S. should become complicit in peace, not more war.

• There is hope for the way forward to a just and lasting peace.

FCNL says:

“Upon their return, Bridget and Hassan met with members of Congress and wrote for the media (such as this article in Inkstick.com) to report on the trip.

“As the Israel-Palestine war rages on, [you can] take further actions using the Calling for a Ceasefire Toolkit and donate to help us continue advocating for peace throughout the region.”

“As we left on the long plane ride home, the urgency of our mission to achieve an immediate ceasefire was clear. The Gaza war must end, the hostages must be released, and Palestinians must be free to choose their own destiny.”

- FCNL’s Bridget Moix and Hassan El-Tayyab

Sending all of you

love — so much love,

gratitude for who you are,

liberation to choose your own destinies,

and blessings of peace.

XOXO