Chicago First Church of the Brethren joins Apartheid Free Communities network

By Joyce M. Cassel

Chicago (Ill.) First Church of the Brethren prayerfully took the pledge to join the Apartheid Free Communities network. Chicago First Church is the 400th organization to join under the sponsorship of American Friends Service Committee and the first Church of the Brethren congregation to join.

Palestinians are reaching out to the global community asking us to join in their struggle for liberation. In response, an ecumenical Apartheid Free Coalition formed to encourage faith and civic communities to pledge to be Apartheid Free.

Chicago First Church has been involved in the support for freedom and justice for Palestinians since the 1990s. Over the years, the congregation has provided support for the Community Peacemaker Teams. Members of the congregation have served on the CPT board and participated in 10-day delegation experiences in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Members of the congregation have also volunteered as 3-month reservists in Hebron and East Jerusalem with Community Peacemaker Teams and the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel. The congregation’s commitment is for freedom and justice for all.

We hope other congregations will consider joining us in taking a stand with the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza. For more information go to https://apartheid-free.org. Join us in taking this pledge:

“WE AFFIRM our commitment to freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people and all people; WE OPPOSE all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and WE DECLARE ourselves an Apartheid Free Congregation and to that end, WE PLEDGE to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.”

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