Minutes of Peace & Social Concerns Committee, 10/31/2019

Present: Diane (clerk), Ka (recording), Dan

We began with a time of silence.

1. Review of how things went at 10/6 event on Quaker/Jewish relationships and plan for next event on this subject. Will there be a 3rd session on this issue?

The event was well attended, about 50, including some Jewish neighbors, one of whom said the meetinghouse felt like a ‘safe, welcoming place.’ A new dimension that came into focus was a type of ‘cluelessness’ about antisemitism similar to unconscious white privilege, in which thoughtless ‘micro-aggressions' can occur. As Friends have invested effort in understanding white privilege in race, a similar effort regarding antisemitism could be needed.

We agreed that the original focus of the series, providing a forum for Quakerly discussion of Israel-Palestine issues, was subsumed by high interest in understanding antisemitism of the present day. We will lay down the original focus.

For possible next steps, three ideas emerged from the 10/6 event:

● A reading group, in which books alternating between Jewish and Palestinian perspectives would be discussed

● An 11:40 in which we highlight the many groups doing effective peacebuilding work (such as Paula Green’s work)

● A community seder, held at Mount Toby, at Passover next spring

2. 11:40 hour is reserved for P&SC on March 1. This will be on the subject of the peace testimony and what it means to us, also to recruit new members. Dan will organize & lead this; all will help.

3. The Promised Land exhibit. Scott Rhodewalt sent info separately. In discussion we agreed that we needed to know more about the actual content of the exhibit before bringing it to Mt Toby. Since this has been a sensitive issue, we want to be both careful and well-informed. The committee members will investigate all the material on the website. Ka will find out where it will be next exhibited, and make an effort to visit that exhibit. After that we’ll figure out when & whether we should bring it to MT, also if it could be paired with another event. We will stay in touch with Scott on this.

4. Suppression of the vote and protecting the rights of the incarcerated.

From Justin Helepololei. the Hampshire county coordinator for Massachusetts Prisoners and Organizers Working for Enfranchisement and Restoration (Mass POWER): “We are in the midst of statewide petition campaign to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would restore the right to vote for prisoners in the state of Massachusetts”.

He is interested in presenting this info at MT. Diane will f/u to find out when he is able to speak. Would an 11:40 be feasible? We agree there would be interest.

5. Letter writing in November

We discussed the merits of letter-writing. It’s a proud Quaker tradition, but in recent months has been a challenge. This is partly because of the preference for email or forms submitted thru websites. Because of the shift in info distribution & communication, our most effective methods might need to evolve:

● Including a monthly topic announcement, with links, in the newsletter

● Posting the month’s topic + links on MT website

● Getting the same info into “What’s Happening” on the Sat preceding letter-writing

● Making available laptops & devices on letter-writing Sunday.

While effective, this involves a fair bit of preparation & careful timing, at a time when our membership is severely low. Also, some are discouraged about making an impact in the current political environment.

We agree to lay down letter-writing until we can build up our membership. If a pressing issue arises, we will respond as led.

We closed with a time of silence.

Next meeting: Thursday, Dec 5, 7 pm at Mount Toby - a combined Nov-Dec meeting.

Follow-up tasks:

1. Ka will continue to solicit feedback on the 10/6 event.

2. Diane will contact Justin Helepololei & get a sense of when (day & time) he would like to speak at MT.

3. Dan will keep thinking about 11:40 hour content

4. Ka will communicate with Scott about traveling to see Promised Land exhibit

5. All will learn more about this exhibit on the website, http://promisedlandmuseum.org