And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
John: 1:14
| Orange and Brew |
| Wednesday, Dec. 4 |
| 8 p.m |
Zorah Simmons, a long time member of AMSC and of the UF Religion Department faculty, spoke movingly of the crisis between Israel and Palestine. For 19 days this past June she and the other members of the International Quaker Working Party, Quakers, Jews and Muslims, traveled together to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. They concluded that ending the Israeli Occupation of Palestine is the most important first step in bringing rest to both the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Occupation has lasted for thirty- five years and the Palestinians have never been in a worse condition, politically, socially, and economically, nor the Israelis ever as fearful for their personal security and economic well being.
The Working Party was met with warm hospitality and candor whatever the religion or political affiliation of their hosts. They experienced time and again a deep generosity of spirit in spite of the fear and severe dislocations of life under which these unfortunate people labor. Individuals on both sides show themselves to be well intentioned, but both the Israelis and the Palestinians believe that they have both a historical and a righteous moral claim on their Holy land.
The Quaker Working party found that within Israel the option of "transfer"—that is, the ethnic cleansing of large numbers of Palestinians from the occupied territories, or even of Palestinian citizens from inside Israel itself—is now discussed openly by Israeli politicians, intellectuals, religious leaders and many other segments of society. The Quaker working party condemn this idea and any other proposal that fails to respect the equal worth of all of God's children. They call for all necessary steps to bring about a speedy end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and an urgent international response to secure a final status agreement between Israelis and Palestinians based on all relevant UN resolutions and international law.
Quaker Hill Bookstore, http://www.quakerhillbooks.org—I hope you all know about this valuable resource for Quaker books—offers it for $8.75, with this description: A Jesuit priest examines voteless decision making in the Religious Society of Friends in fascinating depth. Although it focuses on the experience of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, all Friends and others will benefit from the insights. It can also be purchased for $8.75 from the FGC bookstore www.quakerbooks.org or borrowed from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Library http://64.0.184.91/wx/s.dll. The description here: A Jesuit priest examines Quaker decision making in fascinating depth. Used in Episcopal discernment-training program. A Quakerism 101 resource.
Finally, on the website Internet Nonprofit Center: Information for and About Nonprofits, on a page titled Help with Parliamentary Procedure, at http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/16/02.html, in response to the question, Can someone suggest a method other than Robert's Rules of Order to conduct meetings? J. E. McNeil replies: Well, yes, since you asked. Very few of my clients use Robert's because they use consensus (or in the case of my Quaker clients: will of the meeting which loosely translates into God's will) to conduct the meeting. If you want further information I can recommend the book: Beyond Majority Rule written by two Jesuit Priests [sic]. (My favorite chapter is where they explain why Papal Infallibility is better than the Quaker notions). But personally, I find my non-Quaker clients have trouble with the practice. But it is legit if the by-laws are properly written. Even the IRS finds it unobjectionable.
All of this, obviously, is by way of my encouraging you to read this valuable, helpful book. Gene tells me there's a copy in our meeting library.
Don Smith
I spoke to Rory Kramer, Senator Graham's Legislative assistant for foreign policy. I asked her to thank the senator for his vote against the war. She hastened to explain that he voted against the war because, as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he feels that the greatest threat to the Middle East and to the world is not Iraq but the Hezbollah—The Party of God—operating in southern Lebanon. He calls them the A-Team of terrorists and says that their activities must be curbed. I also spoke of my concern for the suffering caused by the Israeli-Palestine conflict and particularly for that of the Palestinians. Rory mentioned that the senator is a staunch supporter of Israel.
I am not sure what that indicates about his position on
Palestine, but at that point felt unable to pursue the subject further
and simply reiterated my concern for the suffering of the Palestinians
and my belief that Israel should end their occupation. Rory mentioned
that the Senator is convinced that much of the violence attributed to
the Palestinians is perpetrated by the Hezbollah and that the most
important action for restoring peace in that area is to deactivate the
Hezbollah.
Joan Andrews