Prior events publicized by NoVA-UUJME:
Three Student Films from Palestine
On January 17, 2021. Voices from the Holy Land (VFHL) provided a glimpse of the next generation of Palestinians’ perceptions of the Occupation as they screened three short films directed by students from Dar al-Kalima University’s College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem. Here’s the video of that discussion:
“Detaining Dreams” & “Obaida”: Five Palestinian Children: 2 Films
On December 13, 2020, Voices from the Holy Land’s final Online Film Salon held its final discussion of the year with a discussion of of two short films about Palestinian children detained and imprisoned by the Israeli military. This event was co-sponsored by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP).
You may watch the films at your convenience here: Detaining Dreams & Obeida
And here’s the video of the discussion:
“Objector” Discussion
On November 15, 2020, Voices from the Holy Land held a discussion of the film Objector. The discussion involved filmmaker Molly Stuart along with Atalya Ben-Abba, the film’s subject. Atalya at age 18 decides that she will not serve in the Israeli military primarily because of her opposition ot Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories.
“The Ruins of Lifta” Discussion
October 18th Voices from the Holy Land’s sixth Online Film Salon discussed the film “The Ruins of Lifta” about the only Arab village abonadnoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that has not been completely destroyed or repopulated. The ruins of the town served as a backdrop for a Jewish American son of Holocaust survivors to attempt to be an ally of former Palestinian resident of Lifta despite their conflicting narratives. Here’s the video of the discussion:
Roadmap to Apartheid, Sept. 13th
Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 Voices from the Holy Land held its fifth Online Film Salon with a discussion of the film “Roadmap to Apartheid” which is a graphic comparison of the current Israeli military occupation and control of Palestinians with the former system of apartheid in South Africa. Here’s the video of the discussion.
Rock the Boat – Film Discussion, Aug. 16th
Sunday, August 16, 2020, the film “Rock the Boat — An Anatomy of a Nonviolent Action” was featured in the discussion at the Online Film Salon sponsored by Voices from the Holy Land and co-sponsored by Richmonders for Peace in Israel-Palestine. Here’s the video of that discussion:
Naila & the Uprising – Film Discussion July 19th
Sunday, July 19, 2020, a discussion of “Naila and the Uprising” with the Voices from the Holy Land Online Film Salon. It was co-sponsored by the national UUJME. Here’s the video of that discussion:
UUCA Co-Sponsors NSL Event
July 12, 2020, thanks to NoVA-UUJME, UUCA was one of the co-sponsors of an event by New Story Leadership (NSL) that featured NPR’s Jerusalem correspondent Dan Estrin and this year’s NSL Israeli and Palestinian youth who participated in the the virtual NSL program. Besides UUCA, the other co-sponsors were: Temple Sinai, Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Islamic Community Center of Potomac (ICCP), St. John’s Episcopal Church, Trinity Presbyterian Arlington, Seekers Church, Middle East Working Group – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Temple Emanuel.
A Conversation with VCHR
On June 17, 2020, NoVA-UUJME hosted a presentation by the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR) of which we are one of VCHR’s 17 member organizations. VCHR told of its work to remove biased and misleading language about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in Virginia textbooks, to block Virginia tax money from supporting Israeli businesses in Virginia that are human rights violators and to oppose solar power installations in Virginia by an Israeli firm that violates Palestinian rights in the West Bank. View the one hour presentation HERE.
CMEP Lobbyist Speaks on Annexation Threat
On May 20, 2020, Kyle Cristofalo of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) spoke to us about CMEP and the threat of Israeli annexation of the West Bank. UUCA is a local church partner of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), and UUA is one of the founding denominational members on the CMEP Board. View the session: HERE.
UUCA Joins with Temple Rodef Shalom for Presentation by J Street Lobbyist
On April 22, 2020, J Street’s head lobbyist Dylan Williams spoke via Zoom in a talk sponsored jointly by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA) and Temple Rodef Shalom (TRS). Both of these congregations from Northern Virginia had held trips to Israel and Palestine in the recent past and had considered meeting to share notes on their experiences. Instead of meeting in person in this time of cornavirus, the opportunity to co-sponsor this talk arose and both congregations seized the moment. Additional invited guests were from the Kol Ami Northern Virginia Reconstructionist Jewish Congregation and the Jewish Islamic Dialogue Society of Washington, D.C. Dylan Williams, in his talk entitled “Israel and Palestine: Where Do We Go From Here?” emphasized the urgency of opposing Israel’s annexation of the West Bank which at that time seemed likely to occur on or after July 1st. Listen to the session: HERE.