[foodjustice-steering] Resolution to vote on solidarity with Palestinians

[Julie Mitchell]

I can only speak for myself, but I do not feel comfortable discussing this
issue and feel that it is out of scope of the local efforts of the Food
Justice group. Perhaps we could get a summary email from the UUJME to
describe what they expect (a statement or more action) before we proceed.
We could then discuss it as a group and hopefully come to some consensus
internally.

Julie

On Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 10:36 PM Cathy Muha <cathymuha at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Vinny,
> Just because someone will explain what it would entail doesn't commit us
> to do anything. I feel that the whole committee should be able to weigh in
> on this with complete information.
>
> Cathy
>
> On Monday, April 14, 2025 at 06:21:59 PM EDT, Vinny <
> vincentjonna at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Connie,
>
>
> Thank you for laying out your thoughts so thoroughly. I appreciate the
> intention to foster dialogue and understand the context better before any
> decisions are made. That said, I remain hesitant about inviting UUJME to
> our Food Justice Team meeting.
>
>
> While I agree that education and open discussion are generally worthwhile,
> I’m concerned that this particular invitation introduces an issue that is
> only tangentially connected to our core mission. We’re already navigating a
> range of food access and security priorities, and I feel that aligning
> ourselves—formally or informally—with a political resolution risks
> diffusing our focus and creating divisions that may not serve our local
> objectives.
>
>
> I’m also not clear on what co-sponsorship would entail in practice, and I
> worry about the optics and unintended commitments that might follow from
> it. I’d prefer we keep our energy directed toward the local work that
> brought this team together in the first place.
>
>
> Happy to discuss this further at the meeting, but I wanted to be
> transparent about my reservations.
>
>
> Best,
>
> Vinny
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM Constance Mcguire <cmcguire at umich.edu>
> wrote:
>
> I'm in favor of inviting a member of the UUJME group to our Food Justice
> Team meeting for the following reasons:
>
>    - The FJT has not discussed the pros and cons of co-sponsoring the
>    Resolution, which will ultimately be brought before the voting members of
>    the congregation. I think the FJT would benefit from talking with a member
>    of the UUJME before deciding whether we want to co-sponsor the Resolution.
>    I see this as an educational opportunity that would also be a forum for
>    discussion and for asking questions.
>    - If the FJT should decide to co-sponsor the Resolution, I don't think
>    that would necessarily take away from our efforts to address food access
>    and food security issues in our local community. The expectations for our
>    group's involvement is something that could be discussed with the UUJME
>    representative.
>
> I think the FJT will also need to discuss among ourselves how we will
> decide if we want to be co-sponsors. We could ask the UUJME representative
> about the process followed by other UUAA groups that have been invited to
> co-sponsor the Resolution. As a frame of reference, this is the Bylaw
> <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocGt541P6YKeSriEOJAlL8FxLGZ28lWZ/view>for
> congregational approval of a Resolution (which I don't think we would
> necessarily have to follow for our group).
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *ARTICLE IX. CONGREGATIONAL RESOLUTIONS1. Approving a Congregational
> ResolutionThe Congregation may approve resolutions on moral, social,
> political or other issues. TheBoard of Trustees shall establish and guide a
> process for thoughtful consideration of a proposedcongregational resolution
> prior to a congregational vote to approve the resolution. The vote
> toapprove a resolution shall occur at a called congregational meeting. The
> wording for theresolution shall be contained in the notice of the
> congregational meeting. A required quorum forpassing a congregational
> resolution shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of the voting Members ofthe
> Congregation. Congregational resolutions shall be approved by an eighty
> percent (80%)majority of voting members present at the meeting.*
>
> -Connie
>
> On Sun, Apr 13, 2025 at 7:38 PM Cathy Muha <cathymuha at sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> Food Justice folks,
> Please read this below. Would you consider co-sponsoring? If so, I will
> invite them to come to our April meeting.
>
> Thanks,
> Cathy
>
>
> Dear UUAA Group Leader,
>
> I am writing from the now-combined Social Justice Council and Vision
> Support Committee - joined beginning in April in the pursuit of both Vision
> 2050 and our collective social justice efforts.
>
> One of those efforts - our UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) - is
> working on a Resolution to bring to the full congregation for a vote in
> June.  This resolution would align UUAA with the UUA's "Solidarity With
> Palestinians: Action for Immediate Witness."   The proposed Resolution is
> attached below.
>
> *The UUJME group has two invitations for all groups across UUAA*.  The
> first invitation is to join them in co-sponsoring this Resolution, because
> of it's many links to the work of this congregation, as Mark Jagner
> explains below. If you might consider co-sponsoring, UUJME representatives
> would welcome the opportunity to meet with your group at your April or May
> meeting to discuss the Resolution in more detail.
>
> The second invitation is for groups that may not be considering
> co-sponsoring.  For you, the UUJME team appreciates if you can share the
> Resolution with your members and invite feedback for the UUJME team, who would
> be glad to attend a meeting to discuss in more detail.
>
> You can get in touch with UUJME at uujme at uuaa.org, or reach out to Mark
> directly (mjagner at yahoo.com).  And they invite everyone to attend this
> Sunday's event (April 13, 1:00pm), the film "Roadmap to Apartheid." The
> Weekly News has more information.
>
>
> ***  Examples of UUAA Group connections to the Palestine situation from
> Mark:
>
> Palestine is a *Food Justice* issue: Israel is using mass starvation as a
> weapon of war. Since breaking the ceasefire a month ago, Israel has not
> allowed any food, medicine or humanitarian aid to enter Gaza! In the West
> Bank, agricultural land where the native population has practiced
> sustainable farming for centuries is being destroyed.
>
> *Habitat for Humanity*: Every individual and every family deserve a home
> that is safe and secure with access to water, electricity and sewage. Since
> October, 2023, Israel has destroyed the homes of 2 million people in Gaza
> and 40,000 people in the West Bank.
>
> *Restorative Justice*: Peace will come to Palestine/Israel when there is
> a process of reconciliation in which both peoples see and affirm the the
> humanity in the other.
>
> *Community of Writers*: There is a group of young people in Gaza called
> We Are Not Numbers who write in English about theirs lives under a 2
> decades-long military siege and never ending war. They have just published
> a book!
>
> Palestine is a *Climate Justice/Environmental Justice* issue: The dumping
> of chemicals near poor communities and unequal water distribution is common
> practice in the West Bank. War and conflict have a devastating impact on
> ecosystems, poison the soil and release huge amounts of carbon and toxic
> gases into the atmosphere.
>
> Palestine is a *Racial Justice* issue: Anytime people are excluded,
> discriminated against, denied basic human rights and oppressed because of
> their ethnic identity or religion, that is racism and it is morally wrong.
>
> Thanks to the UUJME team for educating and engaging all of us in this
> important matter.
>
> Regards from your Vision Support Committee/Social Justice Council
>
>
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-- 
Julie Mitchell, PhD
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