“The point is that when we speak of narratives, legitimacy may not come from fact but from belief. We do not believe in the narratives because they are true; they are true because we believe in them. Sometimes these narratives fit well together, and sometimes they clash. When we speak of the land called Israel or Palestine, we seem to only speak of clash.”
Omer M. Mozaffar – Palestinian Journalist - July 22, 2014
Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian situation -- with its attendant issues of violence and repression, justice and fairness, peace and security, separating biblical Israel from the modern state of Israel, competing historical narratives, long-held myths and beliefs – is complex, difficult, and emotional. Especially now, when not a week goes by without a news headline generating confusion, controversy, and conflict. The topic of the Israeli-Palestinian “conflict” is a difficult conversation for most Americans to have, even for those who are informed and dispassionate. Most Americans are insufficiently informed and are conflicted on what to believe. Mainstream media, it is apparent, does not do a good job of presenting fully and fairly all sides of the issue; there is more “repeating” of the loudest voice than “reporting.” Lost in all of this cacophony are the voices of the people living in the Holy Land.
Voices From the Holy Land Film Series seeks to offer a different perspective. It seeks to provide a voice to the people living in this Holy Land. It seeks to present informative and compelling documentary films by Israeli, Palestinian, American, and European film makers to start conversations. Through these films and associated discussions, we hope to inform the audience that:
-
Israel-Palestine history is often misunderstood
-
Life under occupation is difficult and unfair
-
Issues of justice and human-rights in Israel-Palestine are in the same continuum of the Civil-Rights struggles in our own country
-
Many Israelis know and understand that continued occupation is not the solution
-
Small groups of Israelis and Palestinians are coming together to promote peaceful solutions
-
US policies and US media have affected our understanding of the current “conflict”
-
There still reason to hope
Voices From the Holy Land Film Series is sponsored and supported by a coalition of forty-one interfaith (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Unitarian) and interdenominational organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region whose members feel called by their faith to work for justice, human rights, and peace in the land that is holy to all three Abrahamic faiths. The 2018 Film Series is sponsored by:
Supporter Organizations
Metro DC Region
St. John's Norwood Episcopal Church
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Jewish Voice for Peace - DC Metro
Jerusalem Companion Diocese Committee – Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Grace Presbyterian Church
Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center
Churches for Middle East Peace
St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi
Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace
Alliance of Baptists' Justice in Palestine & Israel
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace
Rock Spring Congregational UCC
Trinity Presbyterian Church
Israel Palestine Mission Network – PCUSA/NCP
Westmoreland Congregational UCC
Sabeel - DC Metro
St. Mark's Episcopal Church – Middle East Working Group
Pax Christi - DC & Baltimore
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, NVA
Rockville United Church
Friends of Tent Nations-NA
River Road Unitarian Universalist Church
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
Vienna Baptist Church
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
Christ Church Durham Parish
Grace Episcopal Church
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
St. Columba's Episcopal Church
Little River UCC
St. Alban's Episcopal Church
New Hope Baptist UCC
Universalist National Memorial Church
Steadfast Hope Group
Friends Committee on National Legislation/Quaker Welcome Center
William Penn House
Friends Meeting of Washington
Montgomery County, Maryland
Ascension Episcopal Church • Christ the Servant Lutheran Church • St. Rose of Lima Pax Christi Group• Islamic Center of Maryland• St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi Group• Churches for Middle East Peace• Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace•Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace •Good Shepherd Episcopal Church • Muslim American Society •Jewish Voice for Peace-DC Metro Chapter • Jerusalem Companion Diocese Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington • St. Luke's Lutheran Church• Millian Memorial United Methodist Church • River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation • Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore • Sabeel Metro DC • St. Anne's Episcopal Church • St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church • St. Rose of Lima • Sandy Spring Friends • Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville • Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East • Unity of Gaithersburg •St. Raphael's Catholic Church•Bethesda Presbyterian Church•St. Jude's Catholic Church•Dayspring Church•Central Atlantic Conference Palestine/Israel Network of UCC•Bethesda Friends Meeting
Baltimore, Maryland
St. Ignatius Catholic Community•Homewood Friends Meeting•Hinenu: Baltimore Justice Shteibl•First and St. Stephen’s UCC•Baltimore Palestine Solidarity•Jewish Voice for Peace - Baltimore Chapter•Breath of God Lutheran Church•Churches for Middle East Peace•Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace•Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace• Shrine of the Sacred Heart •Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ•Old Otterbein United Methodist Church•Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee •St. Mathew Catholic Church•Central Atlantic Conference Palestine-Israel Network of UCC•St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish• Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore•Grace United Methodist Church
Southwest Virginia
Plowshare Peace and Justice Center
Floyd Friends
Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library System