by Diane Bowden | Apr 7, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Peace and Social Concerns, Social justice
Don’t miss the rescheduled May 3 discernment workshop on joining the Apartheid-Free Communities Coalition, to be held at Richmond Friends Meeting, in person and online.
An ice storm bumped our guest speaker from the February schedule, but now, fresh back from Israel/Palestine, Steve Chase will speak to Friends about nurturing a sustainable peace by ending our complicity with the US-backed system of apartheid in Palestine … how Quakers can work nonviolently and effectively for peace, justice, and equality for all Palestinians and Jewish Israelis.
On First Day, May 3rd, Steve will speak at 1:00, with ample time for questions and discussion. This will follow the usual 11:00 am worship, then snacks and finger food, at the Richmond Meetinghouse, 4500 Kensington Ave., Richmond 23221. Or all are invited to attend virtually at this zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84881595048?pwd=Wty8zKfYpVh8iBVeuD5oCrotOp20H2.1
Steve Chase is a long-time Quaker activist, educator, and writer. He is a member Friends Meeting of Washington and is FMW’s Liaison to the American Friends Service Committee. In 2017, he began his public ministry on seeking a just peace in Israel/Palestine with the publication of his Pendle Hill pamphlet #445, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions? A Quaker Zionist Rethinks Palestinian Rights.
by Diane Bowden | Dec 21, 2025 | Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Peace and Social Concerns
Watch for a new date for an event with Steve Chase from Friends Meeting of Washington (FMW), who will share his personal and several Meetings' discernment journeys toward joining the Apartheid-Free Communities coalition and working for a truly just peace in Israel/Palestine. The original program has been postponed due to weather and driving conditions.
A brief excerpt from Steve Chase’s overview on the topic follows, with the idea that whatever the outcome of the cease-fire...
“We ... know that there will not be a sustainable or just peace without ending Israeli apartheid. We are therefore prepared to take up the long-term ministry of working to build a strong international, nonviolent, anti-apartheid movement in solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli activists. This will require us to engage in peace and justice advocacy, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding efforts, and strategic nonviolent resistance—the four cornerstones of Quaker faith-based activism. ...
“... I often hear from people in the wider Quaker world who believe their congregations are just too divided, too ill-informed, or too apathetic to come to unity on Israel/Palestine. My response is that the experience of Friends Meeting of Washington proves that Quaker meetings can engage in deep discernment and move from fractured disunity and inaction to unity and powerful faith-based activism for peace, justice, and equality for all in Israel/Palestine.”