Palestine and Israel
World Day of Prayer 2024
The service will begin at 1:30p.m. on Friday, March 1, 2024 at St. Andrew’s Hespeler Presbyterian Church 73 Queen Street E Cambridge, ON N3C 2A9
Service written by the World Day of Prayer Committee of Palestine, prepared and adapted for use in Canada by the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada
Understanding the conflict
On Thursday, December 21st we hosted a conversation with Rev. Paulette Brown, Gladys Abboud, Hannah Marie, Niomi Cherney, Rev. Linda Ashfield, and Rev. Marty Molengraaf to talk about the complexity and conflict in Palestine. Our conversation is a deeply emotional and includes topics of justice, solidarity, and personal experiences related to Palestinian-Christian relations and activism. Niomi and Hannah share personal anecdotes, powerful emotions, and valuable resources, highlighting the complexity and sensitivity of the subject. This conversation is a must-watch for anyone interested in understanding the nuanced perspectives of individuals deeply engaged in issues of social justice, religious identity, and the Palestinian cause.
Passcode: e1kkd?A.
How Did October 7 Happen, Where Do We Go from Here, and Why Building Trust between Palestinians and Israelis Is More Important Now Than Ever
On Wednesday, January 24th Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to Isreal gave a lecture at Cameron Hall in Toronto about the conflict. Watch it below.
The brutal massacre of October 7 in southern Israel by Hamas terrorists cannot be justified under any circumstances. But the attack and Israel’s response took place within a complex and longstanding context of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the early 20th Century. The November 2022 election in Israel, when the most right wing government in Israel’s history was elected, resulted in policies, actions and personalities that helped set the scene for the tragedy that we are witnessing today. The only silver lining to emerge from the conflict is a revival by key players of the idea of a two-state solution as the best means for bringing long term safety and security to both parties.
Some of us feel distraught and helpless witnessing the horrors of the current situation. We are searching for ways to alleviate some of the pain and suffering in the region. Jon Allen chairs Rozana Canada, a non profit that builds trust and respect between Israelis and Palestinians through the health care sector. Rozana designs, implements and funds joint Palestinian-Israeli projects in the training, treatment and transport of Palestinians with the collaboration of Israeli health professionals. This work is more important now than ever.
About Jon Allen:
Jon Allen was born in Winnipeg and studied at Western University and the London School of Economics before joining the Department of External Affairs in 1981. In addition to postings in Mexico
City, New Delhi and Washington, Jon spent his early career working in the areas of human rights, humanitarian, and environmental law. From 2006 to 2010, he served as Canada’s Ambassador to Israel; from 2012 to 2016 as Ambassador to Spain and Andorra; and from December 2012 to July 2014, as interim Chargé d’affaires to the Holy See. Jon Allen is currently a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a Distinguished Fellow of the Canada International Council. He is the Chair of Project Rozana Canada, a not for profit whose objective is to build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis via the health sector.
Reflections on the Lecture from the St. Andrew’s Community:
What I like the most is that he tries so hard to help us to see both Israelis and Palestinians as people caught in a history and present governance that is marked by extremism. - Rev. Marty Molengraaf
Jon Allen currently chairs Rozana Canada a non profit that funds cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli health care sectors, training doctors, and transporting and treating Palestinians in Isreali hospitals. - Karen C.