Shomer Shalom Institute for Jewish Nonviolence

Shabbat Zachor:

Remember what Amalek did to you
on your journey
as you came out of Mitzryim
how he surprised you/chilled your spirit
on the road
smote those lagging behind
all that were enfeebled,
when you were faint and weary;
not fearing his own act.
When Adonai Elohekha gives you safety
from all your enemies round about,
in the land which Adonai Elohekha gives you as a hereditary portion
you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek
from under the heavens.
Do not forget. Deuteronomy 25: 17-19

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday * February 21 * 1-5PM
180 East Main Street, Stony Point, NY 10980

Join the Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center as we celebrate the opening of the Shomer Shalom House and launch Jewish programing and holy days that lift up The Torah of Nonviolence.
The Community of Living Traditions is a multifaith residential community dedicated to nonviolence and peace advocacy in study and practice. Shomer Shalom is a network of Jewish individuals committed
to the Torah of Nonviolence.

1-3 PM Meet, greet and schmooze
3 PM Affixing the mezuzah with prayers from CLT multifaith partners
3:15-4:00 PM Teachings from The Torah of Nonviolence with Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, and Islam and nonviolence with Rabia Terri Harris
4-5 PM Enjoy CLT hospitality and a delicious meal.

Shomer Shalom embraces a compassion centered, eco-kosher, wildly creative, human rights honoring, inter-generational, multi-cultural, queer embracing, text studying, ceremonial making, peace activist vision of Judaism

“When God, the Radical, demands that we seek peace, He demands that we radically seek radical peace…not only when it fits into the political plans of our government, nor only when it is socially safe to talk about it, nor yet to the degree to which this seems practically prudent and promising of results, but under the irresistible command of God, always, everywhere, in every way, and totally, religion must insist on, explore, and practice the ways of peace toward the attainment of peace.” – Rabbi Steven Schwarzschild, Judaism, Fall 1966.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Schwarzschild

Interfaith residential community at Stony Point to focus on nonviolence
by Bethany Furkin
Presbyterian News Service

STONY POINT, N.Y. — Dozens of old friends and former directors of the Stony Point Center gathered here Oct. 17-18 for a 60th anniversary and homecoming celebration of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)-related conference facility.

But the weekend gathering wasn’t all about looking back.

Co-directors Rick and Kitty Ufford-Chase — who arrived at the financially troubled center in August 2008 — outlined plans for the “fifth generation” of Stony Point, designed to revitalize the storied center just north of New York City.

A centerpiece of the new Stony Point is the Community of Living Traditions — an interfaith intentional community dedicated to nonviolence and peacemaking. For at least five years, Christians, Muslims and Jews will live together at Stony Point, working, worshipping and learning together side by side.

Read the rest of this entry »

From Jewish Voice for Peace:  We have just learned that a number of Israeli peace activists have had their computers confiscated, have been called for interrogations, and have only been released upon signing agreements not to contact their political friends for 30 days.  We are asking you to contact the Israeli Attorney General to demand an immediate stop to this harassment.

Read the rest of this entry »

As Jews committed to nonviolence, we express our sorrow and outrage over Israel’s latest military operation in Gaza. Judaism teaches that all human beings are created in the image of God and that one who takes a single life destroys an entire world. We condemn the firing of missiles from Gaza that forced so many Israelis to live in fear and we mourn the loss of life that resulted from these attacks. However, we are devastated by Israel’s disproportionate use of force, killing more than 1,300 people, including over 450 children. In the wake of such overwhelming civilian carnage, we can only ask, in the words of the Talmud, “How do we know that our blood is redder than the blood of our fellow?”

Jewish tradition also teaches that “when an arrow leaves the hand of a warrior he cannot take it back.” From this we learn that violence unleashes a myriad of consequences that we cannot control or reverse. We cannot begin to fathom the depths of trauma this action has caused for those living in Gaza and the grief for scores of individuals, families and loved ones around the world. Moreover we can only imagine the growing fury it has inspired in Gazans, Palestinians and the greater Arab world and the serious damage it has inflicted upon prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

In the wake of the recent cease-fire the task before the new American administration is all the more daunting – and all the more critical. We urge our new President to turn back the policies of previous administrations – policies which have given Israel a blank check to take numerous measures that we believe are counter to the cause of peace, including the expropriation of Palestinian lands, destruction of Palestinians homes and businesses and the widespread building of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, to name but a few. We sincerely hope the Obama administration will find the courage to insist that the Israeli government end these actions in the strongest terms possible.

As Jews committed to nonviolence, we believe the pursuit of peace and justice to be our most sacrosanct value. We reject the vision of this conflict as an “Us vs. Them” zero sum game. We urge all who seek an end to this tragic conflict to commit themselves to peace, reconciliation and restorative justice. We call for a political solution that ends the occupation, addresses the needs of Palestinian refugees and constructs a positive future by and for Israelis and Palestinians in the holy land.

My apartment in Gaza faces the sea, a panoramic view that’s always done wonders for my mood, often challenged by all the misery that a life under siege can bring. That is, before this morning, when all hell broke loose at my window. This morning in Gaza we woke up to the sound of dropping bombs, and many of them have fallen a few hundred metres from my home. Some of my friends fell under them. So far the death toll is at 210, but it’s bound to rise dramatically. It’s an unprecedented bloodshed. They’ve razed the port facing my home to the ground, and pulverized the police stations. I’m told that the Western media have assimilated and are repeating the press releases issued by the Israeli military off by heart, according to which the attacks targeted Hamas’s terrorist dens only, with surgical precision.
Read the rest of this entry »

Dear friends,

In honor of Hanukah and prayers for an end to the violence against Gaza. Please forgive the length. If you feel moved, please pass this on to those who might benefit from these reflections.

Read the rest of this entry »

Voted by TV Guide magazine the “Worst TV Show Ever,” not many people know that The Jerry Springer Show is still on the air, soldiering on into its eighteenth season. Depending on your viewing habits, you may be familiar with the format. Two or more enraged guests – usually related – play out outrageous personal crises for an audience of rabid onlookers.
Read the rest of this entry »