As the U.S. and Israel celebrated the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank continued to protest the systematic denial of their rights. As U.S. officials spoke in Jerusalem about how their actions will bring peace, Palestinians were being killed in Gaza.

The House just passed a prison reform bill— but it falls far short of meaningful change. 

By Denise Lee and Lewis Webb, Jr.

This week, the House of Representatives voted overwhelming to pass the FIRST STEP Act, a bipartisan bill that would make extremely limited changes to America’s federal prisons. Over the past decade, support has grown across the political spectrum to address the harm of mass incarceration, with many calling for an end to overly punitive sentences that have swelled prison populations.  

The month of Ramadan unites Muslims all around the world in learning patience and strength in times of adversity while centering ourselves in resilience and hope and surrendering ourselves to God through detachment from worldly desires. 

Muslims around the world are also united through our experiences with systems that continue to demonize all who fit its racialized construction of what it means to be Muslim and the consequences of the “war on terror.” 

An interview with AFSC Communities Against Islamophobia trainers Umaymah Mohammad and Ahmed Abbas

Umaymah Mohammad and Ahmed Abbas work on AFSC’s Communities Against Islamophobia (CAI) project in Indianapolis as recipients of the Jane Brown McLeod Internship. As coordinator of CAI, I’ve been impressed with their work to train allies to recognize and counter anti-Muslim racism. 

Think of Gaza when you eat a strawberry – Gaza Summer Crowdsourcing Project

Communities across the country are taking part in “Jericho walks” to call for an end to detention and deportation.    

On May 3, people across the country joined a National Day of Action against detention and deportation.

Joshua Saleem is the program director of the AFSC Peace Building program in St. Louis. All programming is centered around helping young people understand their own power to change systems. He provides sanctuary by partnering with schools to help students build peace and go deeper into social justice issues at their school, understanding internalized racism and how it affects schooling. 

The first installment of our new e-course: Changing Systems, Changing Ourselves: Anti-racist practice for Sanctuary, Accompaniment, and Resistance.
This program is a collaboration of the American Friends Service Committee's Sanctuary Everywhere initiative and the UUA and UUSC's Love Resists campaign with partners Church World Service and Freedom for Immigrants (formerly CIVIC).