May 15 commemorates what Palestinians call the Nakba. This year marks the 75th anniversary of when as many as 900,000 Palestinians were internally and externally displaced as refugees after the State of Israel was formalized. During the War of 1948, Israeli paramilitary groups depopulated or destroyed more than 500 Palestinian towns and villages. Today, half of the 13 million Palestinians live as refugees all around the world. 

Palestinians argue that the Nakba will continue until the rights of returning to their ancestral homes, reparations, self-determination, and full recognition under international law are fully recognized. The Israeli government continues to authorize the destruction of Palestinian homes and the confiscation of Palestinian land—illegal under international law—with 1,248 new housing units authorized in the Palestinian West Bank since the beginning of 2023. 

Rep. Betty McCollum (Minn.-4th) recently re-introduced a bill to prohibit the use of U.S. funds to support the detention of children by Israeli military forces. Contact your representative in the House to support this bill. 

MCC supports the efforts of both Palestinians and Israelis committed to nonviolence and to a future of peace, justice, and reconciliation for both peoples.

Learn more about the Nakba and the Right of Return.  

“Today, at least 70 border walls separate and divide countries and territories across the world. Those building walls suggest a purpose of human protection but, in my experience visiting border walls, they create more human suffering than they prevent.” Read more from Saulo Padilla and other NPJM staff on border walls—including those in Palestine and Israel, and on the U.S-Mexico border—in the Spring/Summer issue of the Peace & Justice Journal. 
 

Join MCC in taking climate action for peace! Visit ClimateActionForPeace.com for resources, stories, worship guides, advocacy tools and more! 

After three years and over 2.8 million expulsions, Title 42 immigration restrictions were lifted on May 11th. Unfortunately, the newly introduced “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways” rule, which assumes migrants are ineligible for asylum unless they qualify for one of a few burdensome exceptions, took its place. MCC continues to support staff and partners in the U.S.-Mexico border region offering assistance and hospitality. Read more about the policy changes.

Alina Bergstresser, an 11th grade student at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen, Indiana, won grand prize in the annual MCC U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries public policy essay contest for her essay on immigration policy. Olivia Renze, a senior at Bethany Christian, and Simeon Spurrier, a 10th grader at Lancaster Mennonite School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, received honorable mentions. Read more about the top essayists. 
 

Join us to learn how people around the world, with the help of MCC’s partners, are taking action to respond to the impacts of climate change and how you can get involved. The 90-minute webinar will be held on May 17 at 7:30 pm EDT and will feature speakers from Cambodia, Zimbabwe, and Bolivia. Register for the webinar. 

Save the date to join in solidarity with the Migrant Trail 2023 through prayer, walking and action. The precarious reality of our borderlands calls this spiritually diverse, multi-cultural group on a journey of peace to remember those who have died, others who have crossed, and people who continue to come. Stay up to date with the ways you can participate. 

MennoCon will be held July 3-6, in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by a youth and young adult climate summit on July 7. Join our team for interactive youth and adult workshops on immigration, Palestine and Israel, climate change and more! Register for MennoCon.  

NPJM is excited to host three Peace Camps this year! Peace Camps are learning opportunities for young adults ages 18-30 who are interested in applying their faith to practical peace and justice work. Registration cost is $200, and MCC covers all other expenses, including travel, lodging and meals. Find information on upcoming peace camps.

Gabriela Rodriguez joins NPJM from Mexico to support advocacy work related to Latin America and migration. She is part of the MCC International Voluntary Exchange Program and served nine months at Eastern Mennonite University as a Spanish conversation partner and teacher’s assistant. Gabriela is eager to serve others, share Mexican culture, learn from other cultures and expand her cosmovision of life! Welcome, Gabriela!
 

In mid-April, Jes Stoltzfus Buller visited Harrisonburg, Virginia, for a full-day training on healthy dialogue with leaders of Virginia Mennonite Conference. Together, pastors and lay leaders worked through Biblical reflection and peacebuilding theory to generate learning and practical application for transformative dialogue in their local congregations.

Almost 400 people attended Ecumenical Advocacy Days this year from April 25 - 27. Participants heard from dynamic speakers throughout the conference, including MCC partners from Guatemala and South Korea. In line with the swords into plowshares theme, participants then used their knowledge and experience to advocate for investments in food security programs rather than the Pentagon.

On April 23, Charles Kwuelum facilitated a workshop on the Farm Bill at the Christian Citizenship Seminar for high schoolers at the Washington City Church of the Brethren in Washington, D.C. Students were asked to imagine how robust U.S. international food assistance within the Farm Bill would impact global food security.  The farm bill will be reauthorized this year. 

Take action: Tell Congress to support international food programs

Please join in prayer with Anthony Khair for his homeland, family, and friends:

God of hope, bring justice to our world and let peace overflow. Today, we reflect on the blood and tears of Palestinians displaced by the Nakba, and those who are still unable to return home. We reflect on those still in Palestine who used to see their homeland as heaven on Earth—and for whom now it seems more like hell on Earth. When injustices are all around us, how do we still pray for peace, Lord? When our Palestinian brothers and sisters are dying slowly, yet many of our Christian brothers and sisters support an occupation that results in home demolitions and child detention, how do we still pray for peace, Lord? When all that is left is resilience and even that might be taken away, how do we still pray for peace, Lord? Amen. —Anthony Khair, NPJM international fellow from Palestine