This week, we answer some of your most frequently asked questions on what's happening in Israel and Gaza, how we got here, and what it will take to get out, including questions like:

- Why did the US veto a UN Security Council resolution for a humanitarian pause?
- What will a ceasefire actually accomplish?
- If it's a 6000 year old conflict (hint, that's a myth), will it ever actually end?

Tune in for the update on the region, and a reminder of the agency each of us has in this moment to advocate for lasting, durable peace, and human rights for all.

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Sign petitions and call your MOC to call for a ceasefire
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This past weekend, Hamas launched a surprise attack in Southern Israel. Hundreds of Israelis have been killed, dozens taken hostage, and thousands wounded. Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands displaced. Our hearts are breaking.

We hosted a live conversation with our team reflecting on what happened and is happening, and how we can respond as peacemakers. Friends, now more than ever, as the narratives entrench us into our camps and convince us of the inhumanity of our perceived “enemy,” we must lean in as peacemakers.

We offer you this conversation with our team as a vision for how to do that. How to uphold the dignity of every person, pursue peace through justice—which contends with both physical and systemic violence—and center the possibility of mutual flourishing for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Join the Telos Learning Corps

Take the Alison course: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Origins

The Pedagogy of Conflict by Pádraig Ó Tuama.

After eight and a half years, beloved Telos team member Jack Saba, Israel/Palestine Program Director, is transitioning into a year-long sabbatical from Telos starting in September. He joined David Gungor on the show to reflect on his time with Telos and what's next.

Sometimes, peacemaking can be perceived as “neutrality” or “passivity.” Jack reminds us that actually, peacemaking is tough and gritty. It comes with a cost. With clarity and vulnerability, he describes what those costs have been for him and his family, reminding us that a future of mutual flourishing means a future free to simply be human, without having to be consumed by conflict (or even its transformation).

It is a radical act to commit to rest and your own humanity when you’re wired to jump into the midst of conflict for its transformation. But we’re thankful Jack is doing so. Somehow, even when stepping away for a time, Jack is still teaching us what it means to be a peacemaker. Listen to his last interview (for now!) on the show and wish him a farewell on social media 👇
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Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup
Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking
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What do we do when it feels like we take one step forward toward peace and justice, but two steps back? When the temptation to nihilism is strong, is there room for hope?

In the newest single in the Peace Songs album, Kate Gungor, John Guerra, and Diana Gameros explored the possibility of hope in the face of nihilism. They declare with us that hope is not a feeling, but an action. It is something we do—like the patient, attentive tending of a garden, in expectation of its bloom.

Hear from Kate and David Gungor in this episode exploring the story behind Garden Will Bloom, the newest single by Good Shepherd Music Collective in partnership with Telos. And listen to the album wherever you get your podcasts.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Garden Will Bloom was written by @iamjonguerra, @dianagameros and @kategungor at @laitylodge.

The song was recorded at @sonicranch and produced by @davidgungor.

Last week, the Israeli Knesset passed a law that has the international community, and large portions of Israeli society, asking: what’s happening to democracy in Israel? 

We discussed the law, the months-long protest movement against it, and what it all means for peace, justice, and human rights for all people in the region—both Israeli and Palestinian.

And to make things even more interesting, we did all of this with the newest member of the Telos team, Eli Philip! Eli walks us through what’s important to know about the political scene in Israel, and goes on to share a little bit about his story and what brought him to Telos. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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On June 29th, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in cases against the University of North Carolina and Harvard University that race-conscious admissions practices, otherwise known as affirmative action, are unconstitutional, as they violate the 14th Amendment requirement of equal protection under the law.

In this episode, we opened a conversation on our team about this ruling. We discussed the history and argument for the practice when it was first established, the benefits and drawbacks of it nearly 60 years later in today’s world, and the important differences between “diversity” and “equity” in the work of peacemaking. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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You may not know it, but you’ve probably seen Joan Trumpauer Mulholland’s mugshot. Or the back of her head in the world-famous photo of the Woolworth’s sit-in in Jackson, MS as civil rights activists were harassed and assaulted by a mob of white segregationists. 

Joan was an activist in the Civil Rights movement who by the age of 23, had spent two months on death row at Parchman prison for participating in the Freedom Rides of 1961, had been nearly killed by the Klan in Mississippi, and had stood her ground for justice at countless sit-ins, protests, and rallies. Despite coming from a wealthy, white family in the South, she knew the world would only become a more just place if she accepted her call to become a peacemaker and advocate on behalf of her disenfranchised neighbors. And she has inspired generations of others behind her to believe in their agency too. As her son has pointed out, she was and is an “ordinary hero.”

In this special ‘live” episode, we get to hear from Ms. Mulholland herself on the events of her life and how she found the courage to be a peacemaker time and again. We were also joined by her son Loki, who is now an accomplished educator, filmmaker, and advocate for justice himself, on the work they are doing together today to “educate to end hate.” 

We loved getting to hear from these two, and were so inspired by their courage and humility. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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Resources Mentioned:

• Learn more about the murders of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, the three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi
• Get Back to the Counter: Seven Lessons from Civil Rights Icon Joan Trumpauer Mulholland by Loki Mulholland
• The Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation
• Watch An Ordinary Hero, on Joan’s life, produced and directed by Loki Mulholland

A reflection and short history on one of the most important Civil Rights families you might not have heard of. 

Medgar Evers was an icon in the Civil Rights Movement (also known as the Southern Freedom Movement) in Mississippi until his untimely assassination in his family’s home on June 12, 1963. Yet, many of us have never heard about his impact on the movement or the way his assassination reverberates still today in some communities.

We unpack those dynamics and honor the legacy of both Medgar and his wife Myrlie in this special episode, coming on the heels of the 60th anniversary of that day. And we offer some thoughts in reflection on how we can be better students of our own history, and where you can go to learn more and take up the mantle of Medgar, Myrlie, and now their daughter, Reena Evers-Everette, too. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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Resources Mentioned:

Learn more about the Evers family; visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum; visit the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument.

Join an upcoming Telos ReStory US trip this September! 

Join the Learning Corps and stay on the journey

Meet Peace Songs, the album by the Good Shepherd Music Collective in partnership with Telos, coming this September!

In this short, musician, pastor, and Telos team member David Gungor invites us into stories and inspiration behind this exciting new project, which is based on Telos’ Principles and Practices of Peacemaking. 

David had his first experience with Telos in 2013 with a group of Christian leaders. After it, he embarked on a new journey of creating music that inspires empathy. This album, almost 10 years after his first trip, invests deeper into that mission by exploring each of the  Principles and Practices of Peacemaking. 

More than a dozen musicians and artists contributed to this album, which hopes to bring peacemaking to congregations, communities, and beyond. Listen to the end to get a sneak preview to the first single, Side by Side, sung by Charles Jones and Dee Wilson, dropping tomorrow June 2! 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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Featuring special guest Yigal Elhanan - member of the Parents Circle and community liaison at Akevot, the Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research 

75 years of Israeli independence comes at a pivotal moment in Israeli history: the peace process has all but died, the most right-wing government in its history has ascended into power, and hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been protesting weekly for months in defense of the future of their country. This milestone offers a chance to critically look back, and an opportunity to thoughtfully cast a new vision looking forward. 

This week, we brought on peacemaker, activist, and historian Yigal Elhanan (yes, son of Rami Elhanan of the Parents Circle and Apeirogon) to discuss his work at Akevot and the Parents Circle Families Forum, and what 75 years of Israeli independence means for him in this moment. He discusses common misconceptions about Israeli history, and his thoughts on what it will take to build a shared future with honest acknowledgement of that past.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking 

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Learn more about Akevot

Learn more about the Parents Circle Families Forum