From April 24-May 4, the United Methodist Church’s top legislative body, the General Conference, will meet in Tampa, Florida and address the proposed resolution “Aligning United Methodist Church Investments with Resolutions on Israel/Palestine.”  The resolution supports prompt divestment from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola (cited as companies that perpetuate the Israeli occupation  - which Methodists are on record opposing). The resolution further proposes engagement with similarly implicated companies, followed by divestment should they refuse to change their policies.  Nine hundred and eighty-eight Methodists (lay and clergy delegates) will attend the conference to set policy and direction for the church.   Every four years, the General Conference, with delegates from around the world, revises The Book of Resolutions, “a volume declaring the church’s stance on a variety of social justice issues.” The book contains more than 300 such resolutions.

This event is only ten days away.

Time to act is now!

Help in these ways:

1) As an individual, read and endorse the resolution here.
2) Act to have your organization read and endorse the resolution here.
3) If you participate in services provided by the UMC General Board of Pension & Health Benefits, read and sign the petition here.
4) If you are Palestinian and support church divestment, click here to sign this letter written by Palestinian Christians but open for signature by all Palestinians.
5) Lend help reaching out to voting delegates and commissioners by emailing to us at info@rachelcorriefoundation.org.

Friends,

We in Washington State have opportunity this Sunday, April 15th, 1-2 PM, to bring positions on Israel/Palestine forward at the 2012 Washington State Democratic precinct caucuses – meetings of those who live in the same voting area or precinct.  At these local gatherings, held statewide, participants at the grassroots level participate in nominating the party’s presidential candidate and collect and forward resolutions to be used in drafting the party platform.

Tomorrow, we in Washington State can go to our local caucus and present resolutions on Israel/Palestine for discussion and to be moved forward to future party meetings.  This is an opportunity to bring the issue of Israel/Palestine to our neighbors – and to more than the “choir.”  Caucuses provide the additional possibility of being elected as delegates to the Legislative District Caucuses (April 28th) and County Conventions (April 29th) where resolutions forwarded from the Precinct Caucuses will first be acted upon.

Anyone can attend their local precinct caucuses and participate in platform and resolution discussions. To vote for candidates and delegates, one must be a registered voter in the precinct and sign a form declaring to be a Democrat.   You may register to vote at the caucus and vote in meetings on the same day.  Persons eighteen years-of-age on or before November 6, 2012, are eligible to vote in the caucuses.  Visit this website for an FAQ about the Washington State precinct caucuses and for the resolution template. Find your local precinct caucus location.

MEDIA ADVISORY – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – APRIL 9, 2012

(Olympia, WA USA – April 9, 2012) – The announcement of a verdict in the civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for the killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie, which was scheduled for late April, has been postponed due to delays in the filing of closing arguments. A new verdict date has not yet been scheduled by the court, but is likely to be months away.

The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice acknowledges the tremendous importance of calls from Palestinian civil society for tangible action to end the occupation of their land and Israel’s discriminatory policies. We encourage you to support the response of United Methodists and Presbyterians as they seek to pass resolutions this spring (UMC) and summer (PC-USA) to withdraw their church funds from Caterpillar, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard due to their complicity in the Israeli occupation. They want their churches to stop profiting from the violations of human rights which these companies enable.

The Methodist vote is less than one month away and support is urgently needed. You do not have to be Methodist or Presbyterian to work on these campaigns (although it helps).

How to Support the Votes

#1 Volunteer to help pass these resolutions!

United Methodists and Presbyterians would be especially helpful, but really anyone can help in lots of different ways. Please:

• Fill out this survey to find out where you’d best fit in.
• Attend a briefing and training on April 4th at 5-6:15pm PST / 8-9:15pm EST by US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation National Organizer Anna Baltzer.

#2 Endorse the United Methodist resolution

Endorse the resolution as an individual or on behalf of an organization. All signatures are welcome. There is also a petition you can sign if you participate in services by the UMC General Board of Pension & Health Benefits.

#3 Sign a Letter of Support

Rachel Corrie Memorial in Rafah, Gaza. Photo by Jeff Bright.

On Sunday 19th March, We travelled to Rafah area of Gaza to remember Rachel , whose 9th Anniversary fell on March 16th. Rachel was a 23-year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on 16 March 2003, while undertaking nonviolent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition. We first attended an olive planting ceremony attended by Palestinian schoolchildren and organised by the Ministry of Sport and Youth. A speech was read by Nathan, on behalf of the International Solidarity Movement which included excerpts from Rachel’s letters home in which she portrayed her admiration and love of the Palestinian people. The school children sang song’s and held up posters of Rachel and messages of solidarity.

» Click here to see photos by Jeff Bright from the event…

In the afternoon, we went to the Rachel Corrie Children’s Centre, also in Rafah.

After Rachel’s untimely death in March 2003, the Union of Health Work Committees named their clinic and children’s center after her. The Children’s Center is dedicated to building relationships between the isolated children and youth in Rafah and their peers in other countries.