QUAKER CONSULTATIONS ON THE MIDDLE EAST

                   Active nonviolence and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict:

                           Too late? Too soon?  The right time? 

What is the role of a Peace Testimony in the context of the current Middle East crisis?  What place do we see for Quaker thought and witness about nonviolence?

 The Peace Building Unit is proposing a series of three consultations on these issues.  We consider this work essential to focusing our peace education efforts in the United States.

 The Consultations:

 Format:  Regionally based meetings will begin on with dinner and an evening session, followed by an all day meeting which will end at 5pm.  Participants will arrange their own transportation.  Dinner will be provided on the first evening; breakfast and lunch will be provided on the second day.  Overnight accommodations will be provided as necessary.

 Locations:

            May 11-12, Friday evening, Saturday, Earlham College, IN

            May 17-18, Thursday evening, Friday, Philadelphia, PA

            June 8-9, Tacoma, WA (date tentative)

 Goals: 

To organize Quakers nationally on Peace Building concerns with regard to the crisis in Palestine/Israel.

To strengthen ties between AFSC, Peace Building, and Quaker meetings.

To develop a functioning network of peace education activists who will work on challenging and changing US foreign policy on the Middle East

To begin the process of forming a Quaker Working Party with the goal of producing a new and relevant Working Paper on the Israel/Palestine crisis in the post-Oslo era. 

Agenda:  We will begin before the consultation with a mailing of background material that looks at the current situation and the emerging Palestinian call for a non-violent resistance of the occupation.  Each consultation will include:

�        discussion of the “facts on the ground” presented by at least one person who has experienced the current reality. 

�        shared experience of the Peace Testimony as it is brought to our lives, our intellectual discussions, and our witness in political work.

�        small group participation and discussion.

�        a description of the Peace Building Unit’s Peace Response Team for the Middle East.

�        a plan of action for political work and outreach.

�        a plan of action for humanitarian relief that is responsive to the changing needs of the region.