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Email suggestions, comments, and inquiries to mewg@kahalbraira.org

In the spring of 2002, 40 members of Kahal B’Raira signed an open letter expressing interest in forming a Middle East Working Group within our congregation. The December 2002 edition of the KB Newsletter printed notes from the group’s initial meetings, including our first drafts of mission, goals and guidelines. The KBMEWG has worked for the past 4+ years to accomplish the following core goals:

• educate ourselves through shared reading, speakers and dialogue;
• gather information about peace and justice activities in Israel and Palestine, and share these with the Congregation in a variety of ways;
• work in solidarity with others who seek to promote Middle East peace with justice – in the Boston region, nationally and on the ground in Israel and Palestine.

Although we shared a broad commitment and a set of goals, we came from a diverse set of backgrounds and positions on the core issues that face the people of the Middle East, as well as those of us in the U.S. who want to support peace with justice in the region. Therefore, our first meetings focused on the development of guiding principles and on creating a climate of trust among us.

Since its founding, our group has met 8 times each year. Attendance has grown and dwindled over time, but a core group of 10 KB members and friends has continued to work on the three goals we listed above. During the past 4 years, we have:

• Educated ourselves through readings, discussion, film and guest speakers;
• Shared information with the broader Congregation through our website, KB newsletter articles, informal dialogue and four formal presentations at the Congregation’s Sunday morning sessions;
• Shared our work with other groups in the
• Raised more than $5,000 for groups in Israel and Palestine, including Open House in Israel, two Palestinian day care centers sponsored by Grassroots International, the Bridge Across the Wadi bilingual (Hebrew/Arabic) school in Haifa, and Israeli Jewish activists who are helping to replant destroyed Palestinian olive groves in the West Bank;
• Sent a small delegation with $3,000 and materials for three of the projects we have sponsored (April 2006) – including the delivery of $1,000 to help purchase olive trees for Palestinians;
• Supported a follow-up visit to the West Bank in November 2006;
• Created a brief documentary DVD that highlights the voices of four Jewish American peace activists, and that can be used as a focus for workshops;
• Worked closely with other allied groups including Jewish Voice for Peace, Brit Tzedek v’ Shalom, the Jewish American Medical Project, the Middle East Working Group from Workmen Circle, and other groups in the Boston region;
• Co-sponsored events that have sought to strengthen Jewish-Muslim relations, and shared information about the Middle East that has traditionally been inaccessible to Jewish audiences (for example, the stories of military Refusers);
• Helped to sell Palestinian olive oil in an effort to support local Palestinian farmers, educate others about the situation in Israel/Palestine, and bring joy to the palette;
• Written to Congressional representatives and the media to help strengthen voices for peace within the U.S.

During the next year, we will work on all three of our broad goals: education for ourselves and the Congregation, solidarity with other groups working on these issues, support for and direct contact with groups working “on the ground” for peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.

For many of us, this work has been a labor of love and a project of the heart as well as the head. We have tried to share information, raise awareness and strengthen the Congregation’s active commitment to Middle East peace and justice through our formal and informal dialogue projects. We have appreciated the generosity of Congregation members, especially when there have been disagreements about principle or strategies. We have tried to reach out beyond our comfort zones and challenge the Congregation, while at the same time respecting the diversity within KB and trying to avoid attitudes of righteousness. For many of us, this work has stimulated anger and hope, hurt and healing, isolation and new connection, sadness and celebration. It has also brought us closer together as a group, and more committed with each passing tragedy to do what we can to promote peace with justice.

For more information, to read the notes of our meetings, and/or to learn more about upcoming events, please consult the KBMEWG list server.