American Friends Service Committee's Content

Can US policies move Israel and Palestine to peace?

American Friends Service Committee — Fri, 15 May 2009 07:43:22 -0700

[Rachael Kamel is a senior researcher for the AFSC, based in Philadelphia]

There is, perhaps, no issue in American life that is as sorely contested as Israel and Palestine. This Friday, May 15, captures the gulf of understanding in its very naming. While the State of Israel and its supporters around the world celebrate Israel’s Independence Day each spring, for the still-stateless Palestinians, the same occasion is known as the nakba or catastrophe, the painful anniversary of the exiling of 750,000 Palestinians and the beginning of the longest-enduring refugee problem in the world.

AFSC’s latest offering on the topic is a 2-minute video, Israel-Palestine: A Land in Fragments. Designed as a viral video, this production is an organizing tool for people in the USA whose desire for peace has prompted them to take a critical look at the policies of their own government. As you look at the information we present, we hope you will judge for yourselves whether US policies help move things in the direction of peace:

Now take action:

- send a letter to Congress

- forward this video to your own friends and networks, and ask them to join you in taking action

AFSC’s roots with this issue are deep indeed. We were first asked to help Palestinian refugees by the United Nations in 1949, and have maintained our presence in the region almost continuously since then. Our work in the United States, meanwhile, as advocates for peace and nonviolence in Israel-Palestine dates back to the early 1970s. We have been by the side of both peoples through many tragic disappointments — and have seen their unquenchable longing for peace and a livable life endure despite these setbacks.

Today, when the prospects of peace seem more remote than ever, we believe that the voices of people in the United States have an unprecedented role to play. In the course of this year, the opinions of voters and taxpayers in this country have undergone a tectonic shift, toward the direction of human rights. It is time, finally, to call on our government to make human rights central to its policies, and to stop selling arms and fomenting conflict at the cost of so many lives. The critical mass of public opinion has come together. Now, with your help, we can make it a reality.

Hunger for education, but police on my feet

American Friends Service Committee — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:21:41 -0700

Facing police brutality in Baltimore. Learn more about Somali Bantu refugees and sign a letter to President Obama about refugee rights at

Israel/Palestine: A Land in Fragments

American Friends Service Committee — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:08:56 -0700

Can the current framework of negotiations lead to a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis? Visit http://afsc.org/mideast The U.S. says it supports a secure Israel and the creation of a viable Palestinian state. But the Obama administration has revealed that it will not challenge the facts on the ground the large blocks of land in the West Bank that have been claimed by Israel. Does this undermine the possibility of a viable Palestinian state?

Endless Discrimination

American Friends Service Committee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:43:37 -0700

Discrimination in a refugee camp. Learn more about Somali Bantu refugees and sign a letter to President Obama about refugee rights at: http://www.afsc.org/SomaliBantu

Somali Bantu Struggle for Freedom

American Friends Service Committee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:23:59 -0700

Somali Bantus' legacy of slavery and persecution in Somalia. Learn more about Somali Bantu refugees and sign a letter to President Obama about refugee rights at: http://www.afsc.org/SomaliBantu

My Challenge

American Friends Service Committee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:42:43 -0700

Challenges with the Department of Social Services in Baltimore. Learn more about Somali Bantu refugees and sign a letter to President Obama about refugee rights at: http://www.afsc.org/somalibantu

Solitary Confinement - Cruel and Inhuman

American Friends Service Committee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:10:57 -0700

On any given day, as many as 200,000 men and women are locked in solitary in U.S. prisons - alone for 23 hours a day. This video captures the visceral experience and long term impact of that isolation. For more information about AFSC's campaign to stop torture in prison, visit: www.stopmax.org

American Friends Service committee

American Friends Service Committee — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:33:55 -0700

The American Friends Service Committee carries out service, development, social justice, and peace programs throughout the world. Founded by Quakers in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian war victims, AFSC's work attracts the support and partnership of people of many races, religions, and cultures.

AFSC seeks to understand and address the root causes of poverty, injustice, and war. We work to relieve and prevent suffering through both immediate aid and long-term development and seek to serve the needs of people on all sides of violent strife.

We ground our work at the community level both at home and abroad in partnership with those who suffer the conditions we seek to change and informed by their strength and vision. We encourage collaboration in social transformation towards a society that recognizes the dignity of each person.

We regard no person as our enemy. While we often oppose specific actions and abuses of power, we seek to address the goodness and truth in each individual. We assert the transforming power of love and nonviolence as a challenge to injustice and violence and as a force for reconciliation.