The Telos Channel

This time last year, Israel began signing diplomatic agreements (nicknamed the Abraham Accords) to officially normalize relations with a few Arab nations. While the agreements have been touted as “peace deals,” we discuss whether the region is actually closer to peace one year down the road. 

We also reflect on how to respond as peacemakers to moments that feel overwhelming. How can we acknowledge our anger at injustice, nourish joy in the process, and stay curious? It might be easier than you think. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

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If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos! 
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Learn more about our mini-series, Childhood Interrupted: The Need to End Child Detention - https://www.telosgroup.org/upcoming-events/

Learn more about the Telos Table - https://www.telosgroup.org/telos-table/

Six Palestinians jailed in a high-security prison in Israel’s north escaped this week, sparking both celebration and fear in communities across the region. We discuss the event, the larger systems of justice and accountability behind it, and how to hold communal reactions in tension. 

We also remember the 20th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend, reflecting on our collective grief, and the impact of that day on our shared society and world.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos! 

The U.S. officially completed its pullout of Afghanistan this week, raising questions about America’s historic and future role on the global stage. We discuss responsibility, opportunity, and what we mean when we use terms like “peacemaking.” 

We also take a moment to acknowledge the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida, especially in the low-country areas of Louisiana. Many of the lands directly hit by the storm are home to Indigenous communities already facing a plethora of other challenges. We discuss the historic and ongoing reasons behind these challenges and offer some suggestions for how to support these often marginalized communities. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos! 

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Another Gulf is Possible Just Ida Recovery: https://anothergulf.com/ida/

Listen to Monique Verdin's story on Undaunted: https://theteloschannel.buzzsprout.com/1384696/9118082-monique-verdin-the-right-to-remain-and-reclaim-repost 

DC Residents support Afghan refugees:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/107Eb9jBXF68Y0QZ6BuW6QTRjXpD2I4bvUDw1wpG7pzo/edit

Our resource list on Afghanistan - ways to learn, give, and advocate: https://mailchi.mp/telosgroup/afghanistan-leaning-in-join-us-today-at-330-edt

Hurricane Ida made landfall in southern Louisiana on Sunday, leaving a wake of devastation in its place and more than 1 million without power. Some of the hardest hit areas are home to Indigenous communities from the region, including the Houma people.

Today, we want to highlight their stories and offer a chance for you to give. Our friend Monique Verdin is a poet, activist, and artist, and part of the Houma people from southern Louisiana. Take a moment to hear her story, and consider giving to her organization, Another Gulf is Possible, which is providing emergency aid to folks on the ground who need it most.

Another Gulf is Possible Just Ida Recovery Fund - https://anothergulf.com/ida/

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking - https://www.telosgroup.org/what-we-do/#principles-practices

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources - http://eepurl.com/cG1LGHd

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos - https://www.telosgroup.org/donate

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What does it mean to call a place “home,” to stay and heal it when it's broken and hurting? In this episode, South Louisiana native and interdisciplinary storyteller Monique Verdin shares with us what her home on the disappearing coast of the Louisiana bayou means to her, and the radical ways she’s working to protect it—its land, its people, and its stories.  

Monique shed so much light on the interconnectedness of place, story and justice in our conversation. The way she's worked to protect her home as an indigenous woman, artist, and activist inspired us to “remain and reclaim” the places we call home too. 

Find more information about Monique’s work on her website - https://www.moniqueverdin.com/

A group of nearly 30 activists were arrested by the Palestinian Authority last weekend as they demanded accountability for the death of PA critic Nizar Banat. We discuss this worrisome trend of crackdowns against PA dissent, and ask what it means for the prospects of peace in the region. 

And with things seemingly continuing to spiral in Afghanistan, Haiti, Lebanon, and elsewhere, we talk through strategies for staying engaged while avoiding the very real threat of compassion fatigue.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos

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Our resource list on Afghanistan - ways to learn, give, and advocate

Ways to support Haitian recovery and emergency relief efforts

On Sunday, the Taliban entered the capital of Afghanistan and began reestablishing its rule. We’re horrified and deeply grieved by the reports coming out of Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan.

This week, we discuss our reactions, and we ask: what do we do when everything feels out of control and overwhelming?

*Join us Fri, Aug 20th for a webinar on Afghanistan

Read/share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more analysis and resources

Follow Telos on Instagram

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor!

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Resources

*A comprehensive document with resources to aid in advocacy, organizations to donate to, and relocation and legal aid info

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers resources for anyone grieving the loss of a member of the military

Hope for the Warriors offers services to benefit veterans and their families, including mental health services and funding to cover related treatment expenses

Ways to Learn

A collated Instagram list of helpful posts and accounts to follow

@omar.haidari - Afghan student and human rights activist currently in Germany)

@afghansempowered - Resources for community empowerment

@khyberkhaan - Kabul-based filmmaker offering daily updates

@yaldahakim - Afghan journalist reporting for the BBC

@everydayafg - Community of photographers telling stories of and by Afghans

Middle East Institute webinar on Afghanistan and the implications of the Taliban takeover - Monday, Aug 23.

Ways to Give

A long list of organizations providing aid, relief, and legal support to Afghans

Enabled Children Initiative supports children living with disabilities in Afghanistan and provides emergency relief for displaced Afghans, especially children

Afghan Aid is a UK based organization providing emergency aid to over 1 million vulnerable people across Afghanistan 

Mina’s List advances women’s leadership and participation globally with special attention to Afghanistan. 

Ways to Volunteer

World Relief is a global aid and refugee resettlement agency. See their website for opportunities to volunteer, guidance on advocacy, and a place to give

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services is a refugee resettlement agency in the US and is seeking volunteer help in Seattle/Tacoma, Houston, Fort Worth, and the DMV

A repost of one of the most popular episodes of our show Undaunted: Conversations with Radical Peacemakers. Listen to the rest of Season 1 at the top of this feed, and stay tuned for Season 2 airing this Fall. 
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In our season 1 finale, we hear from lawyer, activist, and founder of Justice Defenders, Alexander McLean. Alexander joined us earlier this year to discuss his work defending and empowering the defenseless in prisons and on death row across Uganda and Kenya. 

Alexander has an unparalleled ability to see the dignity in every human being, and the work of Justice Defenders is righting the wrongs of broken systems across East Africa and the world. In the face of injustice and suffering, he has chosen the deeper work of justice, presence and hope—the work of peacemaking. 

Learn more about Justice Defenders

For the past three months, the world has been watching and waiting for a final ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court on whether four Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah would be able to stay in their homes, or be forcibly removed. The court reached its decision on Monday.

In this episode, we discuss the court’s ruling and its implications with Suhad Babaa, Executive Director of Just Vision, an organization that fills a media gap on Israel/Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement. She reminds us that peace and justice are intertwined (Principle of Peacemaking #3), and encourages us to ask “for whose pragmatism” when confronted with solutions that prioritize pragmatic over principled approaches. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos! 

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Learn more about Just Vision

Watch My Neighbourhood, the short-film featuring Mohammed El Kurd and his family in Sheikh Jarrah

Watch David and Suhad’s discussion of My Neighborhood 

After Ben & Jerry’s announcement to no longer sell its ice-cream in the occupied Palestinian territories, a number of states have begun the process of enacting anti-boycott legislation against the Vermont-based company, calling the decision "antisemitic." 

In this episode, we ask who’s behind these laws, and whether they are actually helpful for combating antisemitism. We discuss what this development means for free speech, and how to center the leadership of the marginalized here in the U.S. 

We found this conversation so important, it was the only headline we get to in this episode. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos! 

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Ben & Jerry’s Op-ed in NYT: We’re Ben and Jerry. Men of Ice Cream, Men of Principle

Summer Olympics 2021: Our favorite post-win reaction

Palestine Legal: Check whether your state has enacted anti-BDS legislation

Ben & Jerry’s announced they would stop selling their ice cream in Israeli settlements. We discuss their statement, the Israeli response, and the US laws that make boycotting Israel illegal.

And we talk about the rise in violent crime across the U.S. during the pandemic and what our response as peacemakers should be to address it.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos!