Middle East Peace
Since
the 1970s, the American Friends Service
Committee's Middle East Peace
Program has brought together Jews, Muslims,
Christians, and others in
Southern California to work in common cause for
peace and justice in
the Middle East.
Bottles
of Palestinian olive oil are now available at
the AFSC Los Angeles
office. How would you like to help bring peace
and justice to the
Middle East, support fair trade practices, eat
healthy and delicious
food, and socialize with friends and neighbors
all in one fell swoop?
AFSC is organizing olive oil gatherings to
introduce people to this
important Palestinian agricultural product, as
well as to the realities
of the occupation and its impact on the olive
harvest and Palestinian
farmers.
About the Program
We believe that there is an essence of God in every person and that lasting peace can only come nonviolently, through justice and reconciliation.
At AFSC Los Angeles, the Middle East Peace Program is a source for balanced information and resources on the region and its issues. We seek to change policies, practices, and perceptions by organizing speaking tours, public events, and other educational campaigns to work for peace and justice in the Middle East.
Our concerns include ensuring Israeli security and Palestinian self-determination, bringing about an end to the US occupation of Iraq, protecting the civil liberties of persons of Middle East origin in the United States, and averting a potential war against Iran.
Ongoing projects include a teacher workshop on the Middle East and other resources for educators, a prayer vigil for peace in the Middle East, gatherings to introduce Palestinian olive oil to the public, and a campaign to challenge the media on coverage of the war in Iraq.
Sign up for our announcement list to receive notices on featured events, as well as occasional program updates.
Resources on the Middle East
AFSC
has many resources on the Middle East available
at our Los Angeles office or for free download
from our website.
These include a series of fact sheets on occupation realities and nonviolent resistance in Palestine and Israel, as well as Iraq occupation timelines.
Please also see our
list of links
to Middle East-related websites for
additional resources.
Quakers, AFSC & the Middle East
| Milk distribution at Khan Yunis, Gaza. About 90,000 Palestinians received a daily milk ration at this center. Four lines—two for men and two for women—wound through the yard for a distance of about two city blocks. Photo by Campbell Hayes. Image from AFSC Archives. |
Quakers have had connections to the Middle East since missionary Mary Fisher traveled to Constantinople in 1657 to visit the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1889, a Friends School was established in Palestine as the "The Girls Training Home of Ramallah." It was opened to boys in 1901, and continues to operate to this day. In Europe, Quakers helped Jews escape from areas under Nazi rule during the Second World War.
AFSC became involved in the Middle East region in 1920 through relief work in Syria. From 1949-50, AFSC conducted extensive relief operations for Palestinian refugees in Gaza. Paul B. Johnson, executive secretary of the AFSC office in Southern California (now AFSC Los Angeles) was chosen to head the Gaza relief effort.
Today, AFSC continues to work in the Middle East region, with projects that include youth programs in the West Bank and Gaza. In the United States, other Middle East Peace Programs work out of AFSC offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco.