Gathering of the Faithful in Solidarity with Palestine
On the 29th of November 1947 the United Nations adopted RESOLUTION 181, which stated that the British mandate of Palestine was to be partitioned. In what had been largely Arab territory, there were now to be two states, with 55% of the land given to the quickly expanding Jewish minority. International Solidarity Day was declared by the United Nations in 1977 to encourage Israel to honor UN RESOLUTION 181 and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
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This gathering was held at Wellington United Church of Christ and was organized by individuals from the following groups: American Friends Service Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, Chicago Faith Coalition on Middle East Policy, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Chicago Jewish Voice for Peace, Middle East Task Force of the Chicago Presbytery and Wellington Ave United Church of Christ.
We were especially privileged to be joined by Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia, the Archbishop of Sebastia from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He is the second Palestinian to hold the position of Archbishop in the history of the diocese.
Nearly 100 gathered to participate in this interfaith service on November 29, 2011