June 22, 2017

To our companion Mennonite congregations in IMC:

The Delegate Assembly at Kansas City 2015 tabled a resolution on Israel/Palestine. They also asked that it be re-written and brought back to the Delegate Assembly at Orlando 2017. The new resolution that will be considered in Orlando (Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine) is the product of extensive consultation, dialogue, and study within the Mennonite Church and with both Palestinian and Jewish leaders. The new resolution recognizes that the sufferings of these two groups are interconnected and that we as Mennonites, as Christians, and as Americans, have some responsibilities for the injustices that both peoples have experienced both now and in the past. If passed, it will commit the Mennonite Church to working for justice of Palestinians, especially those living under oppressive military occupation for fifty years, and also oppose antisemitism and seek right relationships with Jewish communities.

In April and May, the Mennonite Church organized a national educational tour that featured local representatives of Jewish Voice for Peace, which opposes anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab bigotry and oppression, and seeks an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land; and Jonathan Kuttab, a prominent Mennonite Palestinian human rights lawyer who has worked with both MCC and CPT in Palestine. First Mennonite Church was fortunate to host one of these meetings. Their informative and impassioned presentations have led First Mennonite Church to give our endorsement to this resolution and we encourage your congregation to do the same. Our hope and prayer is that through this action the Mennonite Church can be in a stronger position to work for peace and justice in Israel-Palestine as well as be an advocate for policy changes in our own country that promote those goals.

You can access the resolution and supporting documents at:

http://mennoniteusa.org/resource/delegate-resources/.

In God’s peace,

First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana