The New England Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions takes place August 5–10, 2017 at Castleton University, Vermont. Our team is currently planning programs.
WORKSHOPS
Israel, Palestine and New England Yearly Meeting — a two part workshop with Jennifer Bing of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Chicago office — Tuesday & Wednesday, 3:30-5pm
Israel/Palestine flares into the headlines periodically but intense work to resolve issues continues in the background with little notice. This workshop with share some of that work and help move NEYM to finding its voice on the problem. Day One will focus on two AFSC campaigns. “No Way To Treat a Child” has been tracking child detentions and raising these concerns with Congressional leaders and the State Department. “Gaza Unlocked” seeks to draw attention to the ongoing trauma in Gaza as well as the beautiful resilience of the people. Day Two will continue talking about that work as well as explore ways for Meetings and NEYM to have a voice in work for peace with justice. Jennifer Bing from the AFSC will be a resource for this workshop.
Jennifer Bing has worked at AFSC for 25 years, serving in various capacities in its Israel-Palestine programs. She directs the Chicago AFSC Middle East Program. Jennifer has organized hundreds of speaking tours, conferences, workshops, advocacy campaigns, and educational programs about the Middle East in her tenure with AFSC. Her first visit to Israel and Palestine was in 1982, as a college student on the Earlham College Great Lakes program in Jerusalem. She returned later to work at the Ramallah Friends Schools, where she lived for three years during the first Palestinian intifada (uprising). She has since led and participated in delegations to the Middle East, most recently in 2015.
EVENING MOVIES
- Detaining Dreams, the stories of four Palestinian children arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and prosecuted in the Israeli military detention system. Monday, 9pm.
- The Settlers, an intimate glimpse at life inside the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. By Shimon Dotan. Tuesday, 9pm.
- Occupation of the American Mind, a look at the forces that shape US media coverage, political discourse, and public opinion concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wednesday, 9pm.
SALEM QUARTER MINUTE comes to business meeting Tuesday evening! For full text of the minute click here. For background findings on visits made to local meetings in Salem Quarterly Meeting, click here.
FROM PALESTINE TO DETROIT & FLINT, a photographic exhibit by Skip Schiel exploring the connections between Gaza, the West Bank, Detroit, and Flint. (With the art exhibits in the lobby of the main auditorium.)
GAZA PINWHEEL PROJECT, memorializing all the children killed in Palestine and Israel during the violence of summer 2014 (outside location to be determined). A display produced by the AFSC. (Location to be announced.)
INFORMAL LUNCH MEETINGS
General discussions about Palestine-Israel. Monday-Wednesday 12-1. Watch for our table, either outside or in an inside room off the main dining area.
Watch for our “Burma Shave” signs about water justice and our name badges.
NEYM 2017 IP Opportunities flyer (Click on image to download PDF)
Contact Skip Schiel for latest info.