Tri-Region PalNet

United Church of Canada

February, 2025

Context

Kairos Palestine issued the Cry for Hope document in July 2020 in response to the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people. Cry for Hope calls on Christians and churches around the world to:

1. Begin processes at all levels so we recognize the requirement for action
2. Theological study – from the point of view of colonizer and colonized
3. Affirm the right to resist and join in nonviolent resistance, using BDS* as a framework
4. Demand government action
5. Oppose anti-Semitism
6. Support interfaith and Israel Palestine partnerships
7. Encourage Come and See visits to Palestine

The United Church of Canada has committed to respond in several ways. The Palestine Network, Tri-Regions, commits to assisting all 3 of our Regions to respond.

Structure

Our Network will have members and leaders who are volunteers committed to the mission and goals mentioned below.  We will have staff support from Kathy Douglas, and will liaise with the Discipleship and Justice Commissions of all three Regions for opportunities of education, advocacy and occasional financial support.  We will not speak on behalf of any of the Regions or their Commissions unless explicitly authorized to do so.

Members of the Network do not have to belong to the United Church of Canada, though leaders will have a strong affiliation with the United Church.

We will have 3 Sub-groups made up of those from each of the 3 Regions, who will carry out liaison with the Commissions of each Region at least once a year and/or on an as-needed basis.

Mission

• Our primary focus and our sphere of influence are the communities of faith and individual members of the three named Regions of the United Church of Canada.
• We will partner with those who focus more generally on all Canadians – with UNJPPI, CFOS and other Canadian groups, with groups in other Regions across the United Church, and with international and ecumenical groups, as well as with Palestinian people both there and in Canada, all of whom share our objectives to promote Palestinian human rights.
• We seek to change attitudes and increase commitment to action by individuals and communities of faith to further the path towards a just peace in Palestine and Israel. We will do this through education and advocacy, focusing on naming anti-Palestinian racism, ending the occupation of pre-1948 Palestinian lands and securing the human rights of Palestinians throughout their traditional territories.
• We seek public leadership from all three Regions and the United Church of Canada on human rights for Palestinians through economic pressure on multi-national businesses operating from or enabling illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

 Goals

1. Education

Raise awareness among people and communities of faith as well as in the broader community in the three Regions about both the history of and the current issues affecting Palestinians under occupation and encourage them to take actions to restore and uphold the dignity and human rights of Palestinians and their right to self-determination.

2. Advocacy

Advocate for, and work to encourage the various Commissions and/or courts of The United Church of Canada to give public leadership on, restoring and upholding the human rights of Palestinians through various means.

We support and encourage the United Church of Canada’s use of its justice principles to address concerns about Palestinian rights and to communicate actions which are appropriate toward promoting justice for Palestinians.

*Boycott, divestment, and sanctions are strategies employed successfully in the 1970s and 80s to convince the former apartheid government of South Africa to adopt human rights for all citizens.

Divesting from Occupation

Since it’s formation in 2024 and linkage to the Discipleship and Justice Commissions of the 3 collaborating southern Ontario Regional Councils of the United Church of Canada, namely Antler River Waterways, Horseshoe Falls, and Western Ontario Waterways, the Tri-Region Palestine Network (Tri-Region PalNet) has been discerning how best to educate and animate local and regional action in support of our goals.  We now share one way for congregations to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has been in existence for a long time, and the United Church as a whole, as well as numerous local congregations, has taken steps to discern how to divest from investments in companies which act illegally or immorally on various fronts, including South African apartheid, illegal mining practices, climate destruction, etc.  The time is now to take up the call to divest our funds from companies that act to support the occupation of Palestinian lands, just as we have in the past.

There is a resource that the Palestine Network of Shining Waters Regional Council developed a few years ago which helps local Trustees and others to both discern the steps they need to take to divest from such companies, and then speak out about having done so.  A small group of us from Tri-Region PalNet are prepared to accompany Trustees and others as they work their way through the resource, found at the following link:  https://shiningwatersregionalcouncil.ca/justice/raising-our-voices/

If you are interested in pursuing the process outlined in the resource within your congregation and would like some help or support in doing so, please contact Tri-Region PalNet representative Brian McIntosh at bwmcintosh4@gmail.com or 416-817-2606, and he will try to arrange for the help you need.