UUs Speaking Out in Support of Palestinian Rights

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Homily: All of Us Need All of Us | Aisha Hauser | May 16th, 2021
From UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME)
Written by Curtis Bell of UUJME

UUs have often been reluctant to speak out in support of Palestinian rights out of fear that doing so would inflame antisemitism, even though criticism of a powerful state is a quite different matter from criticism of a religion or an ethnic group. But the recent violence and human trauma in Palestine/Israel have led many UUs to speak out and to declare that the violence will not end until the human rights of Palestinians are respected. Here are some examples: 

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee issued a statement on May 24, 2021, describing many of the human rights of Palestinians that are currently being violated by the state of Israel. The UUSC statement urges that “… the U.S. government withhold the tens of billions of dollars provided in military aid to the Israeli government until it complies with international law and stops violating the human rights of Palestinians.” 

UUA President Reverend Susan Frederick-Gray

Reverend Frederick-Gray joined other religious leaders from around the world in signing onto a May 20, 2021, letter calling for a ceasefire in Palestine/Israel and an end to the violation of basic human rights of Palestinians by the state of Israel. The assaults on human rights that are mentioned in the letter include occupation, land dispossession, evictions, demolitions, and restrictions on movement. The letter also criticizes the Israeli attacks on worshippers in the Al Aqsa mosque. The letter was initiated by Churches for Middle East Peace, and the UUA is a founding member of Churches for Middle East Peace. 

Aisha Hauser Homily 

Aisha Hauser is the president of the Liberal Religious Educators Association and a co-leader of the Church of the Larger Fellowship. She is a member of the UU Church of Bellevue Washington. She recently delivered a short homily in support of Palestinian human rights that is both emotionally moving and spiritual. 

Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East

UUJME has recently issued a statement about recent events in Palestine/Israel in which they join UUSC in calling for an end to US military aid to Israel until Israel ends its systematic violation of Palestinian human rights.