A phone call at dinner becomes a personal reminder of why we must end the detention of Palestinian children.     

In my tenure with AFSC, I have had the privilege of organizing hundreds of U.S. speaking tours featuring courageous individuals—mainly from the Middle East—working for peace and justice.

History was made in a federal court in West Virginia this week when Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, was sentenced to a year in prison for actions leading up to the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster, which killed 29 coal miners.

By coincidence, the verdict came on April 6, 2016, six years and a day after the tragedy.

The following is the text read by Dan Seeger, clerk of the Friends Relations Committee in March, 2016 at AFSC's annual meeting of the Corporation as part of the report of the committee.

Note: Aiden Katri, an Israeli transgender woman, refused her military service on March 29^th and was sentenced to her first prison term in a men’s prison. Sahar Vardi, coordinator of AFSC’s Israel program, offers a reflection on the intersectionality of movements and the importance of refusing all forms of oppression. - Lucy

Imagine a 19 year old girl jailed in a men’s military prison for refusing to breach international law. Sounds absurd, doesn’t it?

As more states retaliate against BDS, we must stand against attempts to suppress protected speech and action.

Over the past month, there have been two significant victories for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which holds corporations and institutions accountable for their support for or complicity in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

Willie Colón, writer and editor with AFSC, has worked for newspapers, magazines, and nonprofits in New York, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. He also teaches computer skills and conversational English to recent Latin American immigrants and volunteers with a Philadelphia nonprofit that uses media to bring together and amplify movements for social and economic justice.