David has left an indelible mark on Telos—shaping our mission, growing our story, and living out the work of peace and justice with clarity and conviction. In this farewell episode, he reflects on the journey: what he’s learned, what he’s holding onto, and what it means to stay rooted in hope amid uncertainty.

Though we’ll deeply miss his presence on this show and on our team, David leaves us with a call: to continue to work toward a future of mutual flourishing, interdependence, and peace.

His work is only just beginning. Show your support on social media as he enters this new season!

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Stay in touch with David on Instagram or via his Substack, Awakenings

In the years since, we’ve worked hard at Telos to create space for this work through our ReStory US Program. In this episode, we have a conversation in review of what the past 5 years have meant for that program and for our nation: Where have we seen it work, how has the world changed around it, and what might be its future as we continue to face mounting challenges to honest conversations about race, history, and justice in this country. 

We were delighted to have Director of US Programming, Dr. DeSean Dyson, Telos' co-founder and Executive Director, Todd Deatherage, and former Director of ReStory US and current Sprout NOLA Co-Executive Director, Administration and Operations, Yvonne Therese Holden, with us for this important conversation.

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Sprout NOLA

Yvonne’s Video Game Recommendation: South of Midnight

As Ambassador, Huckabee is expected to endorse policies that forcibly promote Israeli government priorities. He has been quoted saying, “there is no such thing as a Palestinian” and that the West Bank is “Judea and Samaria,” a term used by Israeli settlers (and increasingly American Christian leaders) who claim ownership of the land based on their Biblical interpretations.

Huckabee, and millions of American Christians like him, champion a theology of Christian Zionism, which prioritizes Jewish ownership of the land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea by any means necessary.

This week, we discuss what that means, especially for the future of the millions of Palestinian in the West Bank, who are facing the most extreme circumstances of violence and displacement seen for decades. And we hear a special, bittersweet update from our colleague Sarah Sturm at the end of the show.  

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Read Greg’s op-ed on the embassy move to Jerusalem circa 2016

Last month, a cadre of four Palestinian theologians—the next generation of scholars and activists and social scientists—joined us in an exploration of US history and how its legacies carry us to the present. These legacies exist as both currents of deep injustice, and as the wellsprings of joy that sprung out of the communities who resisted that injustice and emerged with their humanity intact.

In this episode, we hear from ReStory US Director Dr. DeSean Dyson and participant Daniel Bannoura, co-host of the Across The Divide podcast, about the experience. We chart some of the connections between the forces of oppression and dehumanization across both contexts. We discuss how understanding history in context actually makes us better prepared to promote human flourishing and be more "fully human." And we celebrate the solidarity, connection, and humanity that emerges out of this work. 

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Learn more about and register for the Church at the Crossroads conference

While we’re still in the early stages of this program,  we traveled with 5 different groups in 2024—and there’s already a lot we’ve learned. In this episode, we hear from Eli Philip, our staff member who runs these trips, on what you might expect from the trip as far as itinerary and locations.

Then we hear from two of our board members who have both recently traveled with us to Ireland & Northern Ireland, Bretta Warren-Kim and Ainka Jackson, about their experiences—what they saw and felt, how it changed their perspective of peacemaking, and why they believe it's important to engage this story as Americans. 

If you are interested, we have open spots on our upcoming Ireland & Northern Ireland trip, September 5th - 13th. Go to our website to get all the details. You can register there, or click on “Ask a Question” to contact us and find out more. 

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Join us in September in Ireland & Northern Ireland

On what legal grounds are his, Rumeysa, and others’ arrests—or rather their abductions, as Greg puts it—sitting on? What does it mean for the status of free speech in our country and the protection of our constitutional rights? And what is our job right now as peacemakers to uphold the constitutional and human rights of all in the interest of our democracy and freedoms? We discuss some tangible next steps, essential talking points, and joint strategies for what to do. These are urgent times—yet they are full of opportunities for peacemakers to show up for justice, peace, and human rights. 

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Read Mahmoud Khalil’s letter from his detention center in Louisiana and watch his arrest. 

Watch Rumeysa Ozturk’s arrest in Boston.

Since the ceasefire we’ve seen violence expand across the West Bank, a new US Administration take power, and laws negatively impacting humanitarian aid take effect. We’ve also seen Israeli hostages being reunited with their loved ones, and Palestinian families across Gaza returning to their destroyed homes. It’s been an emotional few weeks. 

Join the Telos team as we discuss state and settler violence across the West Bank, the current threat to UNRWA, and the actions and implications of the new Trump Administration and American rhetoric and power shaping the region. 

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Our conversation touches on the history of Christian implication in injustice as well as Christian resistance to it, the importance of seeking out diverse historical narratives, and why history is critical to understanding the context today. With it, we can own our agency to act in imaginative and creative ways in pursuit of true and lasting peace.

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From DeSean and Otis:

40 Acres and a Lie

Purpose That Prevails (Dr. Otis' podcast)

Liberia, South Carolina

Voices of Black South Carolina

Black Charlestonians

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In this conversation, Jemar unpacks that history and his newest book, "The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance." In it, we also talk about the "great man myth" and the centrality of Coretta Scott King, not only to Martin's activism, but also to the broader civil rights movement. And we end with an important conversation on the opportunities before all of us today to pursue justice in the moment we're entering.

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This week, we are joined by our friend, author, preacher, trainer, liturgist, activist Sandra Van Opstal. Sandra is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Chasing Justice, a movement led by people of color to mobilize a lifestyle of faith and justice. 

Sandra recently joined the And Still We Rise Conference put together by our friends at CMEP, a conference intentionally created by and for women. After two trips to the region this year, one with Telos in May, and this recent one in November, Sandra shares with us what it looks like to be an effective advocate for our friends in Israel/Palestine, especially in this horrific moment. 

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Across the world, Syrian communities erupted in celebration at seeing the brutal, dictatorial regime end, many quickly filling the roads back to Damascus and the city squares across large portions of the country to gather in freedom for the first time in decades.

Many of us watching are asking: what does this mean for the region? Who is this group taking power? And what if this means things are going to get worse? 

This week, we hosted a conversation between guest host Sarah Sturm and two Syrian-Americans to discuss the events—including their reactions to hearing the news, what it might mean for them and their communities, and how to support Syrians as they embark on a journey of writing a new future for their country.

Our first guest is Syrian-American musician, novelist, and political commentator Paul Nabil Matthis, and our second is actually your host - David Katibah!

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A faction cheat-sheet by Paul Nabil Matthis

Syria Live Map

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In this episode, we invite our listeners who come from the Christian tradition to encounter a new lens on Advent that recognizes the geographic, political, and economic landscapes out of which it emerged—landscapes whose terrain echoes across millennia to bring us to today, a Holy Land enveloped in war, occupation, and a desperate need for hope.

Kelley Nikondeha, author of the brilliant book, "The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope," joins us to invite us into this new lens. She helps us ask essential questions, like what was the story behind the story of the Advent narratives, how can they help us understand and engage with the modern realities of injustice and violence facing the Bethlehem community today, and how can we ask that most crucial question of the narratives: whose peace, and at what cost? 

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Theologian, author, and peacemaker Andrew DeCort details this journey in his new abundantly profound and copiously beautiful book, “Blessed Are the Others: Jesus' Way in a Violent World."

Through the nine-part movement known as the Beatitudes—the introduction to Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount—Andrew helps us see that the pathway to "human happiness" is actually the pathway to peacemaking, but it doesn't come without a cost. Through his own experiences of building a massive peacemaking movement to having to flee a country that had become his home as it plunged into civil war, he helps us learn how to walk this path with him—not in fear, but in new purpose and joy. 

It's a chillingly challenging but beautifully grounding episode you don't want to miss. 

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Listen to our interview with Andrew on other first book, "Flourishing on the Edge of Faith."

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Over the past weeks, we've focused on individuals and organizations who model how holding perspectives in tension allows us to engage the views and experiences of others, even and especially, when they do not reconcile with our own. Today, we pick up on when and how to add our voices to the conversation. 

Our guest this week is Ashlee Eiland. Ashlee is a thought leader, writer, and Bible teacher who exists to join in God's redemptive work on earth. Her new book, “Say Good: Speaking Across Hot Topics, Complex Relationships, and Tense Situations,” invites us to discover the power of stewarding our unique voice, through a four-part discernment process—through passion, accountability, influence, and relationship—to understand the spaces, ways, and times where our words are needed. 

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Over the next few weeks, we’re focusing our Learning Corps series on individuals and organizations who recognize that my story is not the only story, and model how holding perspectives in tension allows us to engage the views and experiences of others, even and especially when they do not reconcile with our own. 

Our guest this week is Ayanna Behin. Ayanna is the Director of Training and Conflict Consulting at the New York Peace Institute, an organization committed to promoting peace in communities and doing work around mediation, conflict coaching, group facilitation, and restorative justice. 

In our conversation, Ayanna shares about the New York Peace Institute's work equipping communities with the skills necessary to transform conflict from something destructive to a process where ultimately communities emerge strengthened. 

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Over the next few weeks, we’re focusing our Learning Corps series on individuals and organizations who recognize that my story is not the only story, and model how holding perspectives in tension allows us to engage the views and experiences of others, even and especially when they do not reconcile with our own. 

Our guest this week is Sami DiPasquale. Sami is the Founder and Director of Abara, a nonprofit based in El Paso, Texas serving both sides of the US-Mexico border. In our conversation, Sami shares about Abara's work inspiring connections beyond borders through mutual understanding, education, and meaningful action. 

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What has it meant for our friends in the region? And what can we do in this moment to support them? 

This week, we hear from our dear friend Robi Damelin, who is a peacemaker, internationally renowned speaker, and mother. Robi shares with us what she’s been up to in this past year with the Parents Circle, how we can support their work, and some of the places she’s finding inspiration and hope, without shying away from the difficulty and despair of the moment. 

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Check out the new Parent's Circle resource "Listening from the Heart"

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What has it meant for our friends in the region? And what can we do in this moment to support them? 

This week, we hear from former Telos Israel/Palestine Director and dear friend of ours, Jack Saba. He shares with us his reflections on the past year, and challenges us to remain the kinds of people who act in hope in the midst of crisis. 

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Learn more about Hilweh Market 

Pastor Aboul-Zelof has been living in Lebanon for eight years, and his church was the closest church to the Beirut port explosion. He offers witness to the immense suffering the Lebanese people have experienced over many years, especially over the past few weeks. And he shares with us the opportunity we have as Americans to participate in the work of justice and peace.

We know the situation on the ground is changing in real time. We will have further conversations with other experts on the issue to come. 

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Over the next few weeks, we’re focusing our next Learning Corps series on women who embody what it means to embrace nonviolence as a courageous and countercultural way of life. We’ll tell the stories of individuals committed to the work of nonviolence, which we describe as “creative and clear resistance to injustice” rooted in an ethic of love—both Israeli and Palestinian.

Our guest this week is Rula Salameh. Rula is a veteran journalist, community organizer, and the Education and Outreach Director in Palestine for Just Vision, an organization that fills a media gap on Israel-Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement. 

Rula discuses Just Vision's film "Naila and the Uprising" and the power of storytelling when it comes to centering the roles women have historically played in Palestinian nonviolence movements. By diving into the stories of the past, we gain new imagination about the roles women can play in the present and future as we cultivate imaginations of what nonviolence can look like, as we commit to transforming the immediate violence on the ground. 

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Todd Deatherage is joined by Telos alum Mike Goldsworthy to discuss how you can join us to use your platforms and pulpits, your prayers and liturgies, your voices and instruments, to honor the victims of war, lament the indignity of violence, and plant the seeds of peace.

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Over the next few weeks, we’re focusing our next Learning Corps series on women who embody what it means to embrace nonviolence as a courageous and countercultural way of life. We’ll tell the stories of individuals committed to the work of nonviolence, which we describe as “creative and clear resistance to injustice” rooted in an ethic of love—both Israeli and Palestinian.

Our guest this week is Noam Shuster-Eliassi. Noam is an Israeli comedian and activist, who models why relationships across lines of difference are foundational to peacemaking, as she uses humor to call out violence and injustice. Noam shares about the challenges of being a peacemaker in this moment and invites us into an embodied vision for mutual flourishing where we have to be ready to continue advocating "the day after" the immediate violence ends. 

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Over the next few weeks, we’re focusing our next Learning Corps series on women who embody what it means to embrace nonviolence as a courageous and countercultural way of life. We’ll tell the stories of individuals committed to the work of nonviolence, which we describe as “creative and clear resistance to injustice” rooted in an ethic of love—both Israeli and Palestinian.

Our guests this week are Rana Salman and Eszter Koranyi. They are the Palestinian and Israeli Executive Directors of Combatants for Peace, an organization of Palestinians and Israelis working in solidarity to end the occupation and all forms of oppression, guided by the values of nonviolent resistance, and showing themselves and the world there is another way possible. 

They share their personal stories of discovering the power of nonviolence to enact lasting change, about the costs of committing to nonviolence in a world that seeks easy answers, and about the possibility of mutual flourishing in the region—even right now. 

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Over the next few weeks, we’re focusing our next Learning Corps series on women who embody what it means to embrace nonviolence as a courageous and countercultural way of life. We’ll tell the stories of individuals committed to the work of nonviolence, which we describe as “creative and clear resistance to injustice” rooted in an ethic of love—both Israeli and Palestinian.

Our first guest is Shadia Qubti, a Palestinian Christian who has worked in peace building and advocacy initiatives for 15 years. She is particularly focused on amplifying the voices and perspectives of women and other minorities in a variety of ways, one of which was in the Women Behind the Wall podcast. Shadia was born and raised in Nazareth, and has degrees from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Trinity College Dublin, and Vancouver School of Theology.

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Learn more about Shadia's research

Read Shadia's hymn, Keeper of Justice

This week, we brought in our Israel/Palestine team to discuss this important conversation. 

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We’re here to talk about it. Who is CUFI, what do we need to know about the ideology of Christian Zionism it is driven by, what difference does it make in the region, and what can those who come from Christian communities do to help build a posture on I/P rooted in love of God and neighbor.

In this episode, we were joined by special guest Michelle Graham. Michelle is an ordained pastor, author, and hospital chaplain from Raleigh, North Carolina, who has joined Telos on a number of trips to Israel/Palestine and done graduate work on the questions around the theology of Christian Zionism.

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Resources to learn more: See the Theology section of this list Christianity Today graphic

In the last podcast of this series, we are joined by our good friends from the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation. Ainka Sanders Jackson and Lydia Chatmon share with us what these three values mean within the context of gun violence. They explain the racial and economic layers that are at the root of gun violence in America, and offer us a restorative pathway forward. Chatmon and Jackson call us to interrogate where we are complicit in these realities, but they also remind us of our agency and responsibility to be a part of the solution. 

While this conversation was recorded over a year ago, we think it remains a helpful resource for folks looking for accessible entry points into the conversation of gun violence. 

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Our second guest is Michael Allen, co-founder and co-CEO of Together Chicago, a cross-sectional organization that exists to be a catalyst for lasting change by reducing gun violence and increasing thriving communities. Together Chicago works through a Christian faith lens and focuses on five areas: economic development, educational achievement, violence reduction, gospel justice and faith-community mobilization

While this conversation was recorded over a year ago, we think it remains a helpful resource for folks looking for accessible entry points into the conversation of gun violence. 

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He speaks honestly about the crisis continuing to unfold, its risk of escalation, and the horror that it has brought on everyone in the region, particularly on those in Gaza. He also inspires us to be a people of action, to be people who don’t wait for charismatic leaders to take the helm to get to work, but to steer the ship ourselves toward greater justice, freedom, and peace for all of us. 

We will miss Greg’s leadership on this show and on our team, but we know he is inviting each and every one of us to own our power in this moment to build a world where all of us can flourish. So let's get to work alongside him. 

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Our first guest is Mike Martin, the Founder and Executive Director of RAW Tools. RAW Tools turns guns into garden tools (and other lovely things), resourcing communities with nonviolent confrontation skills in an effort to turn stories of violence into stories of creation. As they say it, they disarm hearts to forge peace. Mike is also the co-author of Beating Guns with Shane Claiborne, which discusses how our nation, and especially communities of Christian peacemakers, can transform the violence of guns into healing, generation, and life. 

While this conversation was recorded over a year ago, we felt the time was finally right to share, and we didn’t want to sit on it any longer. This conversation is rich with policy analysis, theological framing, and personal stories, and we think you’ll be powerfully inspired by it. 

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Read “Beating Guns: Hope for a People Who Are Weary of Violence”

Lament and repentance is not easy work. But it’s healing work. And it’s the beginning of honest and effective action. We hope you’ll join us in it.

Watch the full show on YouTube

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A group of about a dozen faith leaders traveled with Telos last week to meet with our partners on the ground—to mourn with them, to stand in solidarity and compassion with them, and to return with fresh courage to embrace the work of peacemaking and bring their message back to us.

In today’s episode, we hear from two of the participants on that trip, Todd Deatherage and Amy Graham, Pastor of Spiritual Care at The District Church in Washington, D.C. They share what they saw and heard, how they’re carrying it with them, and what we need to know about how best to support an end to the atrocities ongoing today. 

We need the new imagination they’re offering us in this episode if we are to do the work of peace in our neighborhoods, and in our nation, in this critical moment. Lean in and imagine with them.
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This episode has two parts: In the first, we speak with internationally renowned expert Rabbi Jill Jacobs,  CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. Rabbi Jacobs provides an important perspective on understanding Zionism from the Jewish context, and how to identify and resist antisemitism in our communities. It is a helpful conversation to ground us as we discuss the protests. 

The second part is a conversation with Greg Khalil, Sarah Sturm, and Marina Klimchuk, a former Telos team member who’s spent time living in Israel and journalist who reported from the encampments at Columbia and UCLA. We discuss misconceptions of the protests, inclusive and exclusive language, discursive policing, and how we might keep our focus on the very urgent matter of the events in Gaza today.

It’s a long one, but we think you’ll enjoy the extra time to dive into the topics of today’s episode. 
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In this Learning Corps conversation, we were joined by Dr. Joy Banner, the  Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Descendants Project. The Descendants Project is a nonprofit foundation founded to preserve and protect the health, land, and lives of the Black descendant community located in Louisiana’s River Parishes. Many of the folks on our ReStory US experience visit these parishes and hear from Dr. Joy Banner, who is the former Director of Communications and descendant of people enslaved at Whitney Plantation, the only plantation museum in Louisiana that centers the lives of the enslaved.

We explore who these descendant communities are, as well as how they’ve been disproportionately impacted by environmental policies that have their legacies in slavery. But we also center the resilience and resources of this community,  the strategic actions they are taking to advocate for themselves, and how we can come alongside them in their healing and flourishing. 

Links:

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In this episode, we explore the complex relationship between Israel and Iran, how the recent strikes factor into Washington’s relationship to the actors and what’s happening in Gaza, and what it all means for us—those of us who care to see the human rights of all people honored in the region. 

In order to provide a range of perspectives on the issue, we brought on guest expert Joe Cirincione to discuss. Joe is the Former Director for Non Proliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where he closely tracked Iran’s nuclear program and then, as the President of Ploughshares Fund, played a key role in the campaign for the Iran Deal, which rolled back Iran’s nuclear weapons development program. Joe is an internationally recognized expert on the issue and offered invaluable insights for us on this episode.

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Read Joe’s substack

Read Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times, as mentioned by Joe: Gaza is Biden’s War Now

We explore:

• What (and who) is a proxy? 
• How does the US-Israel alliance shape Iran’s engagement in the region? 
• What does the strike mean for the ongoing negotiations to end the war? 

We hear the perspectives of two accomplished guest experts from DAWN: Democracy for the Arab World Now, a human rights organization founded by the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 to promote the rule of law and democracy across the Middle East, just before his murder in Turkey. 

Joining us were Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director, and Omid Memarian, DAWN’s Director of Communications and an Iranian journalist. Both have impressive resumes in human rights work in the region and offer a helpful perspective on the current moment. 

There’s more to explore on Iran, so stay tuned for further conversations with more perspectives, and send us your questions from this episode to address in a follow-up conversation coming soon.

UPDATE: See our follow-up episode, posted April 22, for more perspective and conversation. 

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Read more about DAWN’s work

We discuss: What does this reflect about the US’ ongoing relationship to the region? What difference will the resolution make on the ground, and for the protection of international norms of human rights? And what can we do to use our voice to build a world that supports the freedom, security, and dignity of all people—in Israel/Palestine and elsewhere?

The Check-in:

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Read South Africa's complaint against Israel.

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Resources we’d recommend: 

• JDA Definition of antisemitism
• Our training on how to combat antisemitism

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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

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. 

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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

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! 

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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.

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Learn more about Akevot

Learn more about the Parents Circle Families Forum

While it appears that a larger escalation has been avoided for now, the underlying violence of the moment rages on. We unpack how to see it, and what’s problematic about the narrative that “tensions will flare” when the holy days of Ramadan, Easter, and Passover converge in the Holy Land. And we offer tangible next steps we as international observers can do to support lasting, just peace in this moment. 

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Resources Recommended from Sam:

Sam Bahour’s website www.epalestine.ps

Boycott (Just Vision) and the Telos Instagram explainer post

Want Israeli-Palestinian Peace? Try Confederation (New York Times and Medium)

Visiting the Palestinian narrative requires more than a visit (Medium)

When home is no longer home [Book Review] (Le Monde diplomatique (English edition) September 2022 Issue and Medium)

What do Palestinians want? (Medium.com)

An American Evangelical Christian Man’s Awakening to Palestine [Book Review] (Medium)

Israel’s Linguistic Acrobatics [Book Review] (Medium)

Palestinians are done conceding (Medium) 

This week on the show, we invited Andrew to discuss his new book on this prayer, “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith: Seven Practices for a New We.” He describes the seven practices that emerge from it, and the ways it challenges us to be transformed inwardly even as we practice justice externally. He also shared powerful stories from his personal life as a peacemaker, ultimately pushing him to the conviction that violence cannot save us. And he offers each of us an invitation to experience the flourishing available to us, to take up the call of peacemaking and begin to see the “new we” that is possible in our world. 

Whether you identify with a faith tradition or none at all (or find yourself somewhere in between), Andrew’s example of the moral courage it takes to live a life of nonviolence and peacemaking will inspire you to practice a deeper life of flourishing for yourself, and for the world. 
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Buy Andrew’s book, Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

Listen to our prior episode with Andrew, April 2022: The Check-in: How to Love Your Enemy, with Andrew DeCort

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This week, we discuss the escalating violence in Israel/Palestine that has caught international attention, unpack what CIA Director William Burns means when he says it bears an “unhappy resemblance” to the Second Intifada, and what it looks like to speak honestly about the violence— and call our political leadership to do so too. In this fraught and dangerous moment, telling the truth is our urgent calling as peacemakers.   

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Carlos Rodriguez (@carloshappynpo): “Peace is the goal, justice is the way, and truth-telling is the starting place.”

This week, we unpacked the story behind these protests and the growing concerns among the Israeli public about this new government. But importantly, we ask what it will mean for the Palestinians living under occupation, and the possibility of peace in the land.

Joined by Editor in Chief of +972 Magazine, Edo Konrad, and recorded in-person with our Jaffa office.
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Telos’ A Quick Guide to Political Advocacy

This week, we brought on a special guest to help put the events in Brasilia on Sunday in context, especially considering the larger trends of democratic backsliding happening across the globe. And we ask what we as peacemakers should take note of now that the new government in Israel has officially been inaugurated.

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One way we did this was to discuss the liturgical holiday of Advent, which Christians practice during the weeks leading up to Christmas as a season of waiting and expectation. Todd shares how he approaches Advent as a peacemaker, with an eye to the particular practices he focuses on during this season.

We also hear from both Todd and our newest team member, Frances, about recent trips Telos has taken to the US South. And as a special offering, we’re sharing with you the reflections of some of our recent alumni from one of these trips, who Practiced Peace by sharing their experiences with the folks in their community. 

Don’t forget - we’re in our end of year campaign and need your support! Donate to Telos before the end of the year. 

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We’ve got a very honest, and very fun conversation for you on how to navigate the challenges of peacemaking within our own families—chosen or otherwise. Between naming our boundaries and the limits of our responsibility, and walking through a technique from our friends at Resetting the Table for opening receptivity, this episode will equip you to practice peacemaking this Thanksgiving with the people with whom it can sometimes be the hardest to find peace.

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The Check-in: Thanksgiving Special (2021)

Resetting the Table

How will this new government approach the Occupation and Palestinian communities, both within Israel and the Palestinian territories? Who is the controversial Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has called for the “expulsion” of Palestinians in Israel? And what will it mean for the future of the US-Israel relationship? 

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Listen to the “Occupied Thoughts” podcast with Lara Friedman on the election results

To help with hurricane recovery efforts, you can donate through an organization we know and trust, ConPRmetidos: https://www.classy.org/campaign/hurricane-fiona-relief/c429954

At least until the government revised the proposed restriction just two weeks ago, after human rights organizations and international media challenged the government to offer a justification for the invasive rule. 

This week, we invited Jessica Montell, Executive Director of HaMoked, an organization enforcing the standards and values of international humanitarian and human rights law in the Occupied Territories, to discuss these restrictions and the recent revisions. We discussed what you need to know about the entry requirements, whether these restrictions communicate a reality already in place in Israel/Palestine, and how tightening “security” today will actually hinder the possibility of security in the long-term. 

We call this principle “Mutual Flourishing,” and it recognizes that the only path to a sustainable future involves working to help your neighbor flourish too. Learn more in this episode how you can support Mutual Flourishing in Israel/Palestine in response to these restrictions.
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Learn more about HaMoked’s work and their reporting on the requirements

This water crisis isn’t Jackson’s first however—it’s part of a much larger history of neglect, disinvestment, and race. What’s ahead for Mississippi’s capital city, and what can we do to support it? We invited Bishop Ronnie Crudup, Telos board member and core member of the Jackson, MS community, to help us understand the broader context of the crisis and the hope he has for his hometown.

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Learn more about New Horizon Church International, Bishop Crudup’s Church 

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This week, Todd, Greg, Jack, and Sarah discuss the visit, and why this kind of status quo diplomacy actually doesn't serve anyone in the region.

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We discuss the statement, how it expands or contracts space for peace, and the US government’s broader strategy in the region as President Biden visits with Middle Eastern leaders in Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia this week. 

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Resources mentioned: 

• On The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, US State Department Press Statement
• UN OHCHR Statement 

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Resources mentioned: 

• Learn more about The Whitney Plantation
• Learn more about Telos' trip to the US South
• On Juneteenth, Annette Gordon-Reed

In this episode, we hear some of Ishmael's remarkable story, reminding us that people are almost never who we think they might be at first glance. He challenges us to listen for the story behind the story we perceive on the surface. As Ishmael says, listening to understand is the start of peacemaking.

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Resources from this episode:

• A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah

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David Bailey grew up in relationship with those on the margins of society. But it wasn’t until he moved into an under-resourced community that he began to more fully understand the ways that race, geographic segregation, and poverty intersect to create realities that are difficult to escape. It was through this proximity that he began to build authentic relationships with his neighbors, transforming how he advocates for healing and justice in his city and across the country.

Today, David is a public theologian, the founder and Chief Visionary Office of Arrabon, and a culture-maker focused on building reconciling communities. He shares with us why his faith compels him to always love his ‘enemy,’ and offers practical help for how to humanize those we naturally want to see as irredeemable. David’s work embodies one of the foundational principles of peacemaking: relationships across lines of difference fuel transformation. 

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Resources from this episode:

• Learn more about Arrabon

Follow Arrabon on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

A few weeks ago, we gathered the Hosts from our Telos Table program, which builds the peacemaking movement locally in cities across North America, for a weekend of training and connection. We discussed the ways communication can divide, but also the ways it can be used to counteract violence and build pathways to peace.

We then had a very special evening hearing from international peacemaker and founding director of the Neighbor-Love Movement, Andrew DeCort (PhD). Andrew blew us away with his vision for what it looks like to “love the other.” He discussed the ways in which “when we love the enemy, we become the enemy,” and how grief and lament are essential to the work of peacemaking.

Despite the technical challenges, we think this conversation is one you do not want to miss.

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Resources:

• Learn more about the Neighbor-Love Movement
• Christopher Bollas, “Being A Character”
• Elisabeth Külber Ross, “On Grief and Grieving”
• Learn more about the Telos Table Host program

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Resources shared:

• My Neighbourhood, by Just Vision

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Resources shared:

• Infamous photo from the Negev Peace Summit
• Negev Coexistence Forum
• Boy cartwheeling outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem

Todd shares how this neighbor love is at the core of Telos’ guiding principle of mutual flourishing, which imagines a future for Palestinians and Israelis where all people can enjoy dignity, freedom, and security in equal measure. He shares his story, journeying from Congressional politics to co-founding an American peacemaking movement, and why imagining a third way of mutual flourishing is necessary for building a better future—in Israel/Palestine, in the US, and beyond.

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Marina, who was born in Ukraine but now lives in Germany, shares stories from family members and friends fleeing the violence, and helps us navigate a difficult conversation on the efficacy of nonviolence in the midst of violent war. Is it applicable in all stances? Is nonviolence pacifism? What can we as Americans do to support Ukrainians nonviolently? We discuss these questions in an honest conversation that you won’t want to miss. 

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Resources

• Telos' shortlist of resources on Ukraine: 
• Marina’s Ukrainian Literature Recommendations: Orphanage: A Novel, by Serhiy Zhadan; In Isolation, by Stanislav Aseyev
• Pacifism, Violence, and Nonviolent Resistance in Ukraine, by Bryan Carey

Sulaiman Khatib spent 10 years in prison for being part of armed resistance against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank. But during his time in prison, he experienced an unexpected transformation: he became an activist for nonviolence. 

He came to believe that more than vanquishing his enemy, his freedom was better secured by liberating them—that his liberation and the liberation of the very people imprisoning him are actually intertwined. Nonviolent resistance, he realized, was the only way to make a future of mutual liberation and mutual flourishing possible. After his release from prison, Sulaiman co-founded the joint Palestinian-Israeli organization Combatants for Peace, a group of former soldiers, ex-prisoners, and other activists in Israel/Palestine that reject the use of violence and fight for peace through nonviolent means. 

Nonviolence isn’t passive. It actually costs something. And Sulaiman teaches us how we can remain steadfast in nonviolent practice in the face of ongoing injustice. 

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Resources:

Learn more about Combatants for Peace 

We invited Chris Seiple, PhD, President Emeritus of the Institute for Global Engagement to help explain unfolding events in Ukraine. We discuss what’s happened so far, the unrecognized religious dimensions of the conflict, and the ways we as peacemakers can respond to this crisis. This is an important conversation. Lean in, and stand up. 

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Resources mentioned: 

• Telos' shortlist of resources on Ukraine
• Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine, Anne Applebaum
• Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Independence

Fadi Quran grew up under Israeli occupation dreaming of ways to resist the tanks and soldiers he saw around him. But on a pilgrimage to India, tracing the steps of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr’s own journey there, he encountered the radical vision of nonviolence that has since changed his life.

Today, he is a nonviolent Palestinian activist who weds a deep commitment to truth with a deep care for humanity. His activism not only disrupts the status quo, but is rooted in a love that actually transforms his “enemies.” In a world that says violence is the only effective means to achieve our ends, Fadi demonstrates that there’s another way possible, a way that upholds the dignity of all.

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Resources:

Follow Fadi Quran on Twitter

We also discuss International Holocaust Remembrance Day, remembered last week, and why such remembrance is especially important in light of rising antisemitism across the world. 

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Resources mentioned: 

The Check-in: MLK Jr’s Legacy, Emma Watson, and Antisemitism

Undaunted Season 2 | Ainka Jackson: Until All Are Free

Ainka Jackson was raised in Selma, Alabama around the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights movement. With the memory of Bloody Sunday behind them, these leaders taught Ainka the power of love and nonviolence to transform systems of oppression.

But today, Selma holds a complex legacy of both love and hate. The community continues to face serious obstacles to peace. Despite these immense challenges, Ainka sees an opportunity to build a new reality in her home, where reconciliation raises relationships to a level where justice prevails and persons obtain their full human potential. MLK Jr. calls this reality the Beloved Community, and Ainka is making it possible through her work at the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation. 

In this episode, Ainka shares her stories of growing up in Selma, and why she believes true justice is not possible until all are free—until together, we’ve built the Beloved Community.

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Learn more about the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation 

We also discuss the common accusation that Palestinian solidarity is synonymous with antisemitism, after a former Israeli official called Emma Watson, famous for her role in the Harry Potter movies, an antisemite for a recent Instagram post. 

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Resources mentioned:

I Have a Dream Speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Sarah Sturm

The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation

Learn more about the upcoming Peacemaking Pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine

Abigail Disney lost some of her community when she built a relationship with the hero of the “opposite side,” pastor Rob Schenck. But along the way, despite their differences, she found a friend and partner for peace in a place she never expected. She documented Rob's story in the feature-length documentary, The Armor of Light, which went on to win an Emmy Award. 

Abigail has spent her life self-interrogating the stories she finds herself in and advocating for change. She’s asked difficult questions about her family’s history of enslaving human beings. She’s worked to amplify the story of the successful women-led peace movement in Liberia. And now, she’s advocating for a shared future in our own home by reminding us what’s possible when we put aside our expectations and fears, and truly seek relationships with those we least expect to love.

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Resources from this episode:

All Ears with Abigail Disney

Pray the Devil Back to Hell - Documentary film on role of women in the Liberian peace process

The Armor of Light (Emmy Award Winner) - Documentary film on crossing lines of difference over a vision of shared humanity and the future of gun rights in America

Humaira’s family fled Afghanistan as refugees when she was a child. But it wasn’t until she was working in Palestine with refugee youth that she began to truly understand her own story as a refugee, and how to center the most overlooked and unheard on the margins of society. 

Then, in August the US pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban retook control, and suddenly her people were abandoned. Humaira has been tirelessly advocating for the Afghan people ever since, demanding that the world not abandon the Afghan people to a future robbed of their most basic rights. Humaira reminds us that forgetting those on the margins is a choice—and we have the power to choose instead to center their leadership and advocate for a future full of hope.

Humaira's work represents what it looks like to Center the Leadership of the Marginalized, our fourth Practice of Peacemaking. 

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Resources:

Support Rescue Angels, an organization evacuating Afghan school girls to safety - Donate here

This week, we hear from the former Mayor of Bethlehem (and first woman to ever hold the position), Vera Baboun. She shares more about the challenges of leading one of the most well-known but unvisited cities in the world. But she also shares the hope she has for Bethlehem, and how Americans, especially American Christians, can support the residents of the “little town” this Christmas season. 

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Resources mentioned: 

Learn more about Mayor Vera Baboun

Bright Stars of Bethlehem

Bethlehem Bible College

Peace on Earth album, by Kellie Haddock (follow Kellie on Instagram!)

Angie Thomas grew up in Jackson, Mississippi—one of the most segregated cities in the US. As a kid, she escaped into stories for survival. But in them, she found something more than survival. She found the possibility of a better world.

Inspired by her faith, she writes that better world into existence today in her bestselling young adult novels, like the New York Times best-seller and major motion picture, The Hate U Give, about 16-year old Starr Carter wrestling with the weight of her best friend’s fatal shooting at the hands of a police officer. Angie sees her writing as an opportunity to not just speak honestly about the issues her community faces, but also to inspire hope. That the next generation can grow to build a better world, a world where equity is somehow possible. Angie's work and life are an example of our second principle of peacemaking: Equity. 

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Read The Hate U Give

Sarah embodies our second Practice of Peacemaking: Hold Competing Truths in Tension.

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We also discuss the string of court cases recently resolved involving the murder of Ahmaud Arbury and the case of Kyle Rittenhause. We walk through the questions these cases raise about criminal justice, peacemaking, and policy in the U.S. What really is criminal justice, and what can we do about it?

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Resources from the episode:
Undaunted Season 2 Episode 1 | Will Snowden: Transforming the Criminal Legal System

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Equal Justice Initiative

Michael Laverty lost his parents as a child. He lost his community when he became a conscientious objector to the apartheid regime in South Africa. And he nearly lost his family in an act of violence that left him scarred for years. 

Yet despite all of this, he committed his life to peace: to undoing systems of injustice, to standing beside the poorest and most broken of the world, and to giving himself away. Through the years, he has worked to help elect Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa and empower young Christians to make active commitments of peace in Australia. But he’s learned along the way that making peace with the world also requires making peace with ourselves.

His healing and peacemaking work is centered by his evangelical Christian faith, which he believes compels him to act on behalf of the most marginalized, as Jesus would. Michael’s life represents our Practice of peacemaking, “Own Our Agency and Responsibility.”

*CW: This episode has references to violence, including sexual assault and traumatic events* 

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We discussed the purpose of and truth behind the “original Thanksgiving,” and talked through strategies for building relationships across lines of difference—even at the Thanksgiving table.

Happy thanksgiving listeners—we’re thankful for you!

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Her political life came alive when a group of mostly Black South African theologians released the Kairos Document—a spiritual and political challenge to the Apartheid regime. In that document, she found a spirituality that was big enough for the challenges her nation faced. It told the truth, it repaired what was harmed, and it moved toward the other in love.

Today, she embodies that spirituality in a place still struggling with the legacy of apartheid. She challenges her people to live out that spirituality every day, and she challenges us to believe that no matter how deep the pain, change is always possible. René embodies our first principle of peacemaking: Growth.

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One of Will’s first interactions with the police happened during cross country practice in high school. The experience forever reshaped how he understood race, policing, and justice. Today, he is on the forefront of transforming the criminal legal system to bring justice to the most incarcerated state of the most incarcerated country in the world: Louisiana. 

Will serves as the Director of the New Orleans office of the Vera Institute of Justice, an organization committed to securing equal justice, ending mass incarceration, and strengthening families and communities. Will represents our third principle of peacemaking: Justice.

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--

Resources from this episode:

The Vera Institute of Justice

Louisiana Incarcerated, The Times Picayune

Kill ‘Em and Leave, by James McBride

• Occupied Thoughts episode on the NGO designation with Foundation for Middle East President Lara Friedman and Israeli lawyer and human rights activist Michael Sfard
• Orly Noy's article on surveillance in +972

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Leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts. It helps others find us!

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts

--

Watch One Day After Peace

We finish by asking you to take action! So much of peacemaking is about expanding our perspective. This can feel like a wishy-washy step, but it’s a critical one. If we see the world differently, we see ourselves differently. And the way we see ourselves and understand our identity is a main driver of our behavior. 

What steps can you take this week to expand perspectives? Share with us on social media! Some ideas from our team:

1. Watch Just Vision’s film My Neighborhood or share it with someone who hasn’t seen it yet (https://justvision.org/myneighbourhood)
2. If you’re a member of a church or religious institution, ask your pastor or faith leader how they’re doing and how you can support them
3. Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

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We also discuss the seemingly-outlandish, but increasingly-engaged possibility that our divisions may lead to political violence, even civil war. How do we as peacemakers consider this possibility, and what can we do today to wage peace and prevent violence?

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--

David French, A Whiff of Civil War in the Air: https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/a-whiff-of-civil-war-in-the-air

We also discuss a  Washington Post article about the historic and growing divides within the US. Can a sense of common purpose and opportunities for collaboration be revived in our increasingly polarized society? And how can we as peacemakers usher them in?

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--

Read the Washington Post article we discuss: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-pearl-harbor-and-911-americans-came-together-have-we-lost-that-capacity/2021/09/26/1246b22e-1492-11ec-9589-31ac3173c2e5_story.html

We discuss these questions with special guest, Sami DiPasquale, Executive Director of Abara, an organization focused on inspiring connections and responding to needs at the US-Mexico border. 

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--

Learn more about and support Abara: https://www.abarafrontiers.org/

Other resources:

-National Immigration Forum: https://immigrationforum.org/

-Faith in Action: https://faithinaction.org/

We also reflect on how to respond as peacemakers to moments that feel overwhelming. How can we acknowledge our anger at injustice, nourish joy in the process, and stay curious? It might be easier than you think. 

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--

Learn more about our mini-series, Childhood Interrupted: The Need to End Child Detention - https://www.telosgroup.org/upcoming-events/

Learn more about the Telos Table - https://www.telosgroup.org/telos-table/

We also remember the 20th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend, reflecting on our collective grief, and the impact of that day on our shared society and world.

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We also take a moment to acknowledge the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida, especially in the low-country areas of Louisiana. Many of the lands directly hit by the storm are home to Indigenous communities already facing a plethora of other challenges. We discuss the historic and ongoing reasons behind these challenges and offer some suggestions for how to support these often marginalized communities. 

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--

Another Gulf is Possible Just Ida Recovery: https://anothergulf.com/ida/

Listen to Monique Verdin's story on Undaunted: https://theteloschannel.buzzsprout.com/1384696/9118082-monique-verdin-the-right-to-remain-and-reclaim-repost 

DC Residents support Afghan refugees:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/107Eb9jBXF68Y0QZ6BuW6QTRjXpD2I4bvUDw1wpG7pzo/edit

Our resource list on Afghanistan - ways to learn, give, and advocate: https://mailchi.mp/telosgroup/afghanistan-leaning-in-join-us-today-at-330-edt

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking - https://www.telosgroup.org/what-we-do/#principles-practices

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources - http://eepurl.com/cG1LGHd

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--
What does it mean to call a place “home,” to stay and heal it when it's broken and hurting? In this episode, South Louisiana native and interdisciplinary storyteller Monique Verdin shares with us what her home on the disappearing coast of the Louisiana bayou means to her, and the radical ways she’s working to protect it—its land, its people, and its stories.  

Monique shed so much light on the interconnectedness of place, story and justice in our conversation. The way she's worked to protect her home as an indigenous woman, artist, and activist inspired us to “remain and reclaim” the places we call home too. 

Find more information about Monique’s work on her website - https://www.moniqueverdin.com/

And with things seemingly continuing to spiral in Afghanistan, Haiti, Lebanon, and elsewhere, we talk through strategies for staying engaged while avoiding the very real threat of compassion fatigue.

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--

Our resource list on Afghanistan - ways to learn, give, and advocate

Ways to support Haitian recovery and emergency relief efforts

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--

Resources

*A comprehensive document with resources to aid in advocacy, organizations to donate to, and relocation and legal aid info

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers resources for anyone grieving the loss of a member of the military

Hope for the Warriors offers services to benefit veterans and their families, including mental health services and funding to cover related treatment expenses

Ways to Learn

A collated Instagram list of helpful posts and accounts to follow

@omar.haidari - Afghan student and human rights activist currently in Germany)

@afghansempowered - Resources for community empowerment

@khyberkhaan - Kabul-based filmmaker offering daily updates

@yaldahakim - Afghan journalist reporting for the BBC

@everydayafg - Community of photographers telling stories of and by Afghans

Middle East Institute webinar on Afghanistan and the implications of the Taliban takeover - Monday, Aug 23.

Ways to Give

A long list of organizations providing aid, relief, and legal support to Afghans

Enabled Children Initiative supports children living with disabilities in Afghanistan and provides emergency relief for displaced Afghans, especially children

Afghan Aid is a UK based organization providing emergency aid to over 1 million vulnerable people across Afghanistan 

Mina’s List advances women’s leadership and participation globally with special attention to Afghanistan. 

Ways to Volunteer

World Relief is a global aid and refugee resettlement agency. See their website for opportunities to volunteer, guidance on advocacy, and a place to give

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services is a refugee resettlement agency in the US and is seeking volunteer help in Seattle/Tacoma, Houston, Fort Worth, and the DMV

Learn more about Justice Defenders

In this episode, we discuss the court’s ruling and its implications with Suhad Babaa, Executive Director of Just Vision, an organization that fills a media gap on Israel/Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement. She reminds us that peace and justice are intertwined (Principle of Peacemaking #3), and encourages us to ask “for whose pragmatism” when confronted with solutions that prioritize pragmatic over principled approaches. 

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--

Learn more about Just Vision

Watch My Neighbourhood, the short-film featuring Mohammed El Kurd and his family in Sheikh Jarrah

Watch David and Suhad’s discussion of My Neighborhood 

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--

Ben & Jerry’s Op-ed in NYT: We’re Ben and Jerry. Men of Ice Cream, Men of Principle

Summer Olympics 2021: Our favorite post-win reaction

Palestine Legal: Check whether your state has enacted anti-BDS legislation

And we talk about the rise in violent crime across the U.S. during the pandemic and what our response as peacemakers should be to address it.

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We also discuss the Church of England’s recent announcement of a formal apology for centuries of antisemitism in England. We wrestle with this history and explore the Christian practice of repentance, particularly its connections to self-interrogation.

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--

Register for our webinar, Combating Antisemitism: Where to Start

We also shed some light on the recent controversy over the Citizenship Law in Israel, an amendment to which bars Palestinians and citizens of some Arab states from gaining citizenship in Israel even if they marry an Israeli. The law expired Wednesday night after the Knesset failed to pass a renewal measure, despite the law having a large majority of support from lawmakers. 

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--

Learn more about the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools

Read Frederick Douglas’ speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July”

Discover the Indigenous communities native to the land where you now reside

This week, Greg is joined by Khaled Elgindy, Senior Fellow and Director of the Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute for a special episode to discuss these developments. 

Sadly, we lost Khaled to a bad internet connection towards the end of the call, but Greg finishes the story right where Khaled left off. 

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--

Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, by Khaled Elgindy

We also discuss an important Washington Post op-ed by Michael Gerson on why he believes in systemic racism as a conservative, and how peacemaking is an invitation into “joyous implication.”

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--

Middle East Institute - Up for Debate: The Biden administration’s approach to Israel/Palestine

Michael Gerson Washington Post Op-ed - I’m a conservative who believes systemic racism is real

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

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--

Join our Israel/Palestine 101 Webinar - Thursday, June 24, 7 PM EDT

Haaretz: Who is Naftali Bennett?

Buy Palestinian!

Hilweh Market 

Taybeh Brewing Company - Find Taybeh Beer in D.C. at Georgetown Wine & Spirits or The Green Zone 

Middle East Books in D.C.

Malak Art Store

Qanoon in NYC

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–

Congressional Hearing on Centennial of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Duke Kwon twitter thread: The response of local white clergymen to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

We also discuss the worrying trend of rising antisemitic attacks in the US, and what Americans can do to create communities that welcome, dignify, and protect all people, both here at home and abroad. 

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--

Human Rights Watch: Europe’s Worrying Surge of Antisemitism

Times of Israel: Support for Israel among young US evangelicals drops sharply

Give to the Telos Peacemakers Fund which supports peacemakers on the ground

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We also heard from a surprise special guest and dear friend whom Telos trip alumni may know. 

Give to the Telos Peacemakers Fund which supports peacemakers on the ground

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*We incorrectly named the organization of our guest as Aswat Acherim - The correct name is Kol Acher

What can you do?

Share: This episode, Telos content on social media, and your own experiences hearing the stories of peacemakers on the ground and why you believe in a pro/pro/pro future.

Give to the Telos Peacemakers Fund which supports peacemakers on the ground

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter 

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

Resources mentioned:

Just Vision’s “My Neighbourhood”

We discuss Orthodox Easter, the Mt. Meron tragedy, the new Human Rights Watch report on crimes against humanity in Israel/Palestine, Rick Santorum and the stories of our nation’s history, and how to hold competing truths in tension. 

Read the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Resources mentioned:

Layli Long Soldier on OnBeing, and her book of poetry, Whereas: Poems 

Consider supporting the work of peace and our ability to host conversations like these through a tax-deductible donation. Telos exists because of the generosity of those in our community. Help us form peacemakers and transform conflict by donating today!  

Read the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Resources mentioned:

Politico piece by Charlie Mahtesian

Telos webinar with Christian leaders on evangelical peacemaking movements

Read the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter to receive even more peacemaking analysis on current events

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

Resources mentioned:

Daniel Grothe Instagram post

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison’s remarks

Read the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

Join the team at Telos every week as they unpack headlines to hit the U.S., Israel/Palestine, and beyond. Though it might seem daunting, peacemaking is for all of us—journey with the Telos team as they explore how peacemaking is the driving force our world needs, and how we can each join in it today. 

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter to receive even more peacemaking analysis on current events
Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup
Read the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Notes:
NPR's Planet Money Episode 766: Georgetown, Louisiana Part 1

Learn more about Justice Defenders

Learn more about Telos

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Support our show and receive bonus content, episode transcripts, and more by becoming a Patron

Monique shed so much light on the interconnectedness of place, story and justice in our conversation. The way she's worked to protect her home as an indigenous woman, artist, and activist inspired us to “remain and reclaim” the places we call home too. 

Find more information about Monique’s work on her website.  

Support our show and receive bonus content, episode transcripts, and more by becoming an Undaunted Journeymaker. Visit our Patreon to learn more. 

Learn more about Telos. 

Follow Telos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter for Undaunted updates and more peacemaking resources.

We left this conversation with so much hope, and with newfound courage to move in its direction. We expect you will too.

Learn more about Lana’s work with Global Communities

Learn more about the Israeli Government’s proposed annexation of large parts of the West Bank mentioned by Lana in the episode (*note: this conversation was recorded in May, 2020. As of today, the Israeli government has not yet formally annexed the areas proposed by the "Peace to Prosperity Plan"  )

Support our show and receive bonus content, episode transcripts, and more by becoming an Undaunted Journeymaker. Check out our page on Patreon to learn more. 

Learn more about the Telos Group

Follow Telos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

In this episode, we learn more about Apeirogon, explore ideas of courage, optimism, and storytelling as essential acts of peacemaking, and ask, “How do we speak truth in a way that people can hear?”

Learn more about Apeirogon

Learn more about Narrative 4, the global empathy building non-profit co-founded by Colum

Learn more about Telos

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Rami and Bassam are members of the Parents Circle - Families Forum, an organization of over 600 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families working to build a reconciliation process as a prerequisite to sustainable peace in Israel/Palestine. 

For more information about the Parents Circle - Families Forum: https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/ & https://parentscirclefriends.org/

Visit the Telos website: https://www.telosgroup.org/

Support our podcast by joining our Patreon and becoming an Undaunted Journeymaker! Receive bonus content, episode transcripts, and chances to connect with our host, David Gungor: https://www.patreon.com/undauntedpod 

When we talk about peacemaking, we mean so much more than kumbaya credits. Today, Greg shares why. He dives into the challenges peacemakers face, how peacemaking can be hard, gritty, even dangerous, and how story can be both the cage and the key to our freedom. 

In this episode, three stories: the man in the white shirt, the man in the red shirt, and the girl with the pink backpack. 

To learn more about Telos visit our website: https://www.telosgroup.org/

Support our podcast by joining our Patreon and becoming an Undaunted Journeymaker! Receive bonus content, episode transcripts, and chances to connect with our host, David Gungor: https://www.patreon.com/undauntedpod 

For more information about the Parents Circle: https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/ & https://parentscirclefriends.org/

To learn more about Apeirogon, by Colum McCann: http://colummccann.com/apeirogon/

Visit the Telos website: https://www.telosgroup.org/

Support our podcast by joining our Patreon and becoming an Undaunted Journeymaker! Receive bonus content, episode transcripts, and chances to connect with our host, David Gungor: https://www.patreon.com/undauntedpod 

Since, Robi has dedicated her life to the work of nonviolence and reconciliation: she has spoken all over the world, starred in a feature-length documentary, and worked closely with the joint Israeli-Palestinian organization, the Parents Circle - Families Forum, a group of over 600 bereaved families in Israel/Palestine who advocate for reconciliation and an end to the conflict. 

Tune in next week to hear the rest of Robi’s story. 

For more information about the PCFF: https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/ & https://parentscirclefriends.org/

To rent “One Day After Peace,” the documentary featuring Robi: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/simaonedayafterpeace?autoplay=1

To learn more about Telos, visit our website: https://www.telosgroup.org/

To become an Undaunted Journeymaker and receive bonus content, an episode transcript, and other perks, visit our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/undauntedpod

Final song: Holding the Contradiction,  The Brilliance

*Note: This episode was recorded in New York before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which is why we were able to interview Robi in person.

From denouncing the right to revenge after the killing of a loved one in Israel/Palestine, to upending unjust legal systems across East Africa, the stories of Undaunted peacemakers will convict you to live your values more deeply, and inspire you to take up the dangerous, joyous, counter-cultural life of peacemaking yourself.