Several Northwest Philadelphia residents, members of the Philadelphia chapter of American Friends of Combatants for Peace (A.F.C.F.P.), departed Feb. 10 on a "solidarity pilgrimage" to meet with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. The Combatants for Peace, a joint organization of Israeli Jews and Palestinians, formed in 2006 when former IDF fighters and their Palestinian counterparts, many recently released from Israeli prisons, joined together to disavow violence, oppose the occupation and pursue a just peace.

The organization works to stop home demolitions, deliver water to underserved communities in the Jordan valley, protect Bedouin shepherds from violent attacks and collaborate with local groups to build playgrounds and harvest olives in areas of need. The Philadelphia delegation will meet with members of Standing Together, a peace activist group of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli citizens, and former Israeli Defense Force soldiers who now advocate for peace.

Rabbi Sheila Weinberg, a Chestnut Hill resident and A.F.C.F.P. spokesperson who formerly served as rabbi at Amherst College, said critics often question how local activists could impact a conflict that has resisted resolution for decades.

"This is where faith comes in," she said. "It is not in our power to know how to resolve this conflict, but it is within our power to support those people in Israel and Palestine who shine a light and inspire others. We have learned from Northern Ireland and South Africa that even after many years of conflict and oppression it can be done. In our previous trips, both Israelis and Palestinians have encouraged us to keep doing what we are doing. They all say that American public opinion is very important."

In 2022, a Philadelphia A.F.C.F.P. delegation visited Israel to hear the stories of the Combatants for Peace and witness their activism throughout the West Bank.

"Their work has become harder, but even more vital since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, and our chapter has done its best to support them from a distance," Weinberg said. "We organized a Germantown Avenue peace walk attended by 350 in January 2024, sponsored a talk by a visiting Combatant for Peace along with a film at Haverford College, and interacted with Israeli and Palestinian members through webinars."

Weinberg, her husband, Maynard Seider, a former sociology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and other Americans will meet with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. The group will visit the Nova Festival site at the Gaza border, where civilians were killed by Hamas terrorists, as well as Jericho, Hebron, and several Bedouin villages on the West Bank, where the Combatants for Peace maintain an active presence.

"As we support their work on the ground, their connection gives us strength and hope for the future, which we intend to bring back to Philadelphia through civic, multi-faith and educational groups," said Seider.

The local A.F.C.F.P. chapter currently has a mailing list of more than 100, with about 25 regular meeting attendees. Other chapters operate in New York City, Santa Fe and Salt Lake City. The members represent Jewish, Quaker and other Christian denominations.

"When we were in there in 2016, we saw a film called 'Disturbing the Peace' about former fighters on both sides who now work for peace," said Seider. "We were so taken by the film that when we returned, we started the Philadelphia chapter. We did educational work through Weavers Way Co-op, and we had a combatant visit here in 2018."

The group does not take a position on the two-state solution, Seider said, but believes that both sides deserve respect.

"We want freedom and justice for both peoples," he said.

Local A.F.C.F.P. members speak at area churches, synagogues and Quaker meetings and have hosted both Israeli and Palestinian activists. Seider taught a course on the subject in December at the Germantown Jewish Center. The group has live-streamed the Joint Memorial, an annual event held on Israeli Memorial Day, April 30, where Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones gather in an Israeli park.

"The Joint Memorial is run by Combatants for Peace and Bereaved Parents Circle," said Rabbi Weinberg. "We have a Palestinian member and his wife who have lost 62 relatives in Gaza. An Israeli former military man, Elie Avidor, 73, who is also an engineer, was so inspired by the joint memorial that he regularly visits a Bedouin village to talk to their shepherds. He spoke here in November, alongside a Palestinian woman who joined via Zoom."

For more information: afcfp.org 

Contact: lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com