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On June 11th, many of us from the Christian tradition gathered together for an evening of lament and repentance in Washington, DC. A night to grieve, but also to transform our grief into the work of imagining a new world and beginning to build it together. We heard prayers of lament, participated in a corporate confession, and opened our hearts to hear an important message from Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Palestinian Lutheran pastor and academic. Ultimately, we ended the service with a commissioning to live and act in hopeful ways, to begin the work of “praying with our feet,” as Frederick Douglas said. In this episode, you'll find the major portions of the service. 

Lament and repentance is not easy work. But it’s healing work. And it’s the beginning of honest and effective action. We hope you’ll join us in it.

Watch the full show on YouTube

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Nearly 8 months after October 7, what message do the Palestinians and Israelis living in the land have for those of us watching from the US?

A group of about a dozen faith leaders traveled with Telos last week to meet with our partners on the ground—to mourn with them, to stand in solidarity and compassion with them, and to return with fresh courage to embrace the work of peacemaking and bring their message back to us.

In today’s episode, we hear from two of the participants on that trip, Todd Deatherage and Amy Graham, Pastor of Spiritual Care at The District Church in Washington, D.C. They share what they saw and heard, how they’re carrying it with them, and what we need to know about how best to support an end to the atrocities ongoing today. 

We need the new imagination they’re offering us in this episode if we are to do the work of peace in our neighborhoods, and in our nation, in this critical moment. Lean in and imagine with them.
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With the nation embroiled in debates over the campus protest movement, we sat down with a few experts and eye witnesses to discuss: what are our misconceptions about the protests, how can we become better advocates for the flourishing of all (including our local neighbors), and how might we respond to our own communities’ divisions while keeping our focus on what’s happening in the region? 

This episode has two parts: In the first, we speak with internationally renowned expert Rabbi Jill Jacobs,  CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. Rabbi Jacobs provides an important perspective on understanding Zionism from the Jewish context, and how to identify and resist antisemitism in our communities. It is a helpful conversation to ground us as we discuss the protests. 

The second part is a conversation with Greg Khalil, Sarah Sturm, and Marina Klimchuk, a former Telos team member who’s spent time living in Israel and journalist who reported from the encampments at Columbia and UCLA. We discuss misconceptions of the protests, inclusive and exclusive language, discursive policing, and how we might keep our focus on the very urgent matter of the events in Gaza today.

It’s a long one, but we think you’ll enjoy the extra time to dive into the topics of today’s episode. 
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Learn more about T'ruah

Welcome to the Learning Corps podcast, the newest show on the Telos Channel! Together, we’ll excavate the core issues of conflict with experts from around the world, to uncover the path forward toward creative action in our communities. 

In this Learning Corps conversation, we were joined by Dr. Joy Banner, the  Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Descendants Project. The Descendants Project is a nonprofit foundation founded to preserve and protect the health, land, and lives of the Black descendant community located in Louisiana’s River Parishes. Many of the folks on our ReStory US experience visit these parishes and hear from Dr. Joy Banner, who is the former Director of Communications and descendant of people enslaved at Whitney Plantation, the only plantation museum in Louisiana that centers the lives of the enslaved.

We explore who these descendant communities are, as well as how they’ve been disproportionately impacted by environmental policies that have their legacies in slavery. But we also center the resilience and resources of this community,  the strategic actions they are taking to advocate for themselves, and how we can come alongside them in their healing and flourishing. 

Links:

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Join the Telos Learning Corps for more of these conversations and community collaboration calls with the Telos network

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Learn more about The Descendants Project

Read about the Wallace Grain Elevator

Financially Support The Descendants Project 

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Massive student protests at Columbia University in solidarity with Gaza were met with swift and intense repression by university administrators and NYPD over the weekend, leading to the arrests of more than 100 students.

Greg Khalil, President and Co-founder of Telos, was present for some of the events over the weekend as an adjunct professor at Columbia. He shares what he saw, what he has heard from students leading and participating in the protests, and what it means for our nation as we struggle to reckon with our part of what’s happening in Gaza.

*Note: This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, April 23—the situation on college campuses across the country is evolving quickly. Protests and student encampments have grown on dozens of campuses. Police on campuses at the University of Texas, Cal-Poly University, Emerson College, and others have cracked down on these protests with violent measures, arresting hundreds of students. Our conversation hopefully offers a way forward to know how to engage these protests with a vision of mutual flourishing.

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After Israel’s strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran launched a barrage of 300 missiles at Israel from sites around the Middle East. While around 99% of the projectiles were intercepted before landing, the retaliatory response represented an escalation in a moment already fraught with risk of greater war. Then, overnight last Friday, Israel responded with a strike near an Iranian nuclear site, raising concerns that the region could be on the brink of massive violence.

In this episode, we explore the complex relationship between Israel and Iran, how the recent strikes factor into Washington’s relationship to the actors and what’s happening in Gaza, and what it all means for us—those of us who care to see the human rights of all people honored in the region. 

In order to provide a range of perspectives on the issue, we brought on guest expert Joe Cirincione to discuss. Joe is the Former Director for Non Proliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where he closely tracked Iran’s nuclear program and then, as the President of Ploughshares Fund, played a key role in the campaign for the Iran Deal, which rolled back Iran’s nuclear weapons development program. Joe is an internationally recognized expert on the issue and offered invaluable insights for us on this episode.

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Read Joe’s substack

Read Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times, as mentioned by Joe: Gaza is Biden’s War Now

After an Israeli strike killed IRGC leaders in Syria, the region has waited with baited breath for a response from the Iranian regime. Could regional war be on the horizon?

We explore:

• What (and who) is a proxy? 
• How does the US-Israel alliance shape Iran’s engagement in the region? 
• What does the strike mean for the ongoing negotiations to end the war? 

We hear the perspectives of two accomplished guest experts from DAWN: Democracy for the Arab World Now, a human rights organization founded by the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 to promote the rule of law and democracy across the Middle East, just before his murder in Turkey. 

Joining us were Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director, and Omid Memarian, DAWN’s Director of Communications and an Iranian journalist. Both have impressive resumes in human rights work in the region and offer a helpful perspective on the current moment. 

There’s more to explore on Iran, so stay tuned for further conversations with more perspectives, and send us your questions from this episode to address in a follow-up conversation coming soon.

UPDATE: See our follow-up episode, posted April 22, for more perspective and conversation. 

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Read more about DAWN’s work

Yesterday, after three attempts vetoed by the US, the U.N. Security Council successfully passed a resolution calling for an immediate and “lasting” ceasefire in Gaza, with the US abstaining.

We discuss: What does this reflect about the US’ ongoing relationship to the region? What difference will the resolution make on the ground, and for the protection of international norms of human rights? And what can we do to use our voice to build a world that supports the freedom, security, and dignity of all people—in Israel/Palestine and elsewhere?

The Check-in:

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UPDATE!! This morning, the International Court of Justice issued its ruling on the provisional measures of South Africa's case against Israel at The Hague, after it accused it of failing its commitments to the Genocide Convention in its campaign in Gaza.

This ruling is potentially a world-pivoting event. Listen to find out why...

BUT FIRST, be sure to listen to our previous episode discussing the case:
"The Check-in: South Africa takes Israel to Court."

*David was recording on the road today so audio-quality wasn't as sharp as normal. He promises to remember his mic next time :)

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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All you need to know about South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

South Africa's complaint accuses Israel of breaching its commitments to the Genocide Convention in relation to its 100+ day war against the people of Gaza, in which more than 24,000 people have been killed. The significance of this case could not be higher.

What difference will it make for the people of Gaza and Israel, how might the US be held accountable in a future hearing, and what can we—those of us who care to see the dignity of all upheld in the region—do to support a future of mutual flourishing?

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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Read South Africa's complaint against Israel.