Letters - 17 February 2017
From empowering funerals to Green Belt policy
Empowering funerals
I come from a large family, but my husband and I are the only Quakers. My parents attended for a couple of years and then stopped. As my mum was going downhill with cancer she was clear that she did not want a Quaker funeral: ‘Just have a party, darlings.’
But we needed more.
We had a marquee put up in the garden in November and my sister’s husband, Dave, who is an actor, enabled many of the 100 or so there to speak. It was unforgettable.
This week Dave’s own mother died and once again he facilitated a meaningful funeral for his own family. I am glowing with pride that they achieved this.
Laura Conyngham
Ministry on death
What a refreshing letter ‘Ministry on death’ (20 January) was. In it Joan King described her process of ‘letting go physically and spiritually’ on the way to ‘passing from this life into the Light’. I have gone one step further. I have bought my bamboo funeral shroud, from Respect EveryBody. I am enjoying making felt flowers with which to decorate it – a most empowering process and conversation opener. Some are shocked at first. Touchingly, others have asked if they can contribute to the flower making. I feel blessed.
Susan Holden
Humanity and animals
Barrie Sheldon’s letter on this subject makes fair points (27 January), but doesn’t state the half of it. The effect of humanity on animals and other life is far greater than he implies. Human beings currently account for about thirty per cent by mass of land vertebrates, and their stock and domestic animals about sixty-seven per cent. Wild animals, therefore, account for only about three per cent. The actual number of wild animals has declined by over half since the 1970s, a period in which the number of humans has doubled. That is no coincidence.
There have been five great periods of extinction in the history of our planet. The last was when the dinosaurs died. We are entering a period of the sixth great extinction. Scientists have already named this new era the Anthropocene. The biologist Edward O Wilson, in his book The Diversity of Life, states: ‘Even [with] cautious parameters, selected in a biased manner to draw a maximally optimistic conclusion, the number of species doomed each year [animals and plants] is 27,000. Each day it is seventy-four, and each hour three… Human activity has increased extinction between 1,000 and 10,000 times over [the background] level. Clearly, we are in the midst of one of the great extinction spasms of geological history… The raging monster upon the land is population growth. In its presence, sustainability is but a fragile theoretical construct.’
Roger Plenty
Israel/Palestine
In recent letters Stuart Yates asks what the Quaker Friends of Israel believe to be the legitimate boundaries of Israel, and Eric Walker speaks of ‘the slow encroachment on the lands of Palestinians’ (20 January).
The phrase ‘illegal under international law’ has become a formula to describe any Israeli building in the ‘West Bank’ Area C (A and B being already under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction). But these ‘international laws’ turn out to be non-binding resolutions and not treaties, according to Eugene Kontorovich, a leading authority on international law as it applies to the Middle East.
In 1948 Transjordan invaded Israel and annexed the provinces of Judea and Samaria, calling them the West Bank since Transjordan was on the East Bank. When Israel regained them in 1967 in a defensive war it did not annex them, although it was technically entitled to, and Transjordan (now just Jordan) didn’t want them back. This rump of the old Palestine Mandate lands was now a Disputed Territory and its border with Israel was to be decided by mutual agreement.
However, Arab leaders meeting in Khartoum in 1967 announced that they would never make peace with Israel. The Oslo Accords of 1993 seemed to indicate a softening of that attitude, but Yasser Arafat assured Arabs at the time that any treaties with Israel were only stepping stones towards destroying it.
If the Palestinians ever agree to a peaceful border with Israel and establish the state they say they want, then we will know where the border is.
Sarah Lawson
info@quakerfriendsofisrael.org.uk
The subject of Israel/Palestine comes up regularly in our weekly magazine. Rightly so, it is one of the important and burning issues of our time.
Unfortunately, often there are heated exchanges that lack clarity. My feelings on this matter are that many Friends, even though they have strong opinions and emotions, do not seem to be well informed. When I myself got interested in the subject matter I realised that I needed to know much more and to learn from as many different sources as possible.
What has helped me greatly was to travel to the area in a fact finding trip, go to Quaker Peace & Social Witness conferences and to read relevant books.
The following books have helped me form a deeper understanding: Against our Better Judgement by Alison Weir – how the Zionist movement was formed and how political expediency gave birth to the Balfour Declaration that led to the UN decision to create the state of Israel; The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John J Mearsheimer and Stephen M Walt; When the Rain Returns by the International Quaker Party on Israel and Palestine; and The Holocaust Industry by Norman G Finkelstein.
I feel there is a need for an informed debate so that Friends can come to a corporate decision on a more decisive stand. It is, for many, as important as the abolition of slavery or the abolition of apartheid in South Africa.
Gian Zucchelli
Ireland Yearly Meeting Peace Coommittee is concerned about the balance of presentation of the problems of Israel/Palestine in the BBC’s programming. It is concerned with the question of fair and balanced portrayal of this situation.
It is also concerned with the situation of citizens of the state of Israel who are Arab and, also, those who are concerned with the current Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians.
We ask if British Friends share this concern.
Alan Bell, alan151bell@gmail.com
Seán McCrum, smccrum.1949@gmail.com
Ireland Yearly Meeting Peace Committee
Website outreach initiative
We were interested to read about the national website outreach initiative in the Friend on 20 January.
We hope that revision will be made with widespread involvement and will reflect the diversity of Friends.
We have a concern that the statement on the national website describing our faith does not reflect the diversity of Quaker experience.
Sevenoaks Meeting Discussion Group
Quakers and Brexit
Regardless as to how Friends voted during the referendum, its outcome is now becoming quite clear. Inflation is steadily rising due to the steep fall in the value of sterling. Together with cuts in welfare benefits and public expenditure the impact on those with low incomes will be stark. The gap between rich and poor will continue to widen and all forms of inequality increase. If our government pursues a low tax policy in all its forms this will mean less income for public services, social care and the NHS. Quite clearly, the struggle for social justice will last many years into the future. What, then, should be our Quaker response?
We will be fully engaged, since equality is fundamental to our testimony, but we must also remember that until social justice is achieved people will continue to suffer and not only in a material sense. We must also offer solidarity and a message of hope to counterbalance the bitterness and sense of alienation which undoubtedly will arise. Suspicion and hostility towards ‘the stranger’, encouraged by extremists of all kinds, must be challenged on every occasion.
Alongside our social witness, Friends are now called to proclaim more strongly than ever the religious message that is the basis of our vision of a fairer society. We must speak out, engage in outreach, draw in new members. Words matter as much as deeds. The forces of evil have a loud voice; our voice must be heard too.
Peter D Leeming
Sustainability and Green Belt policy
I feel the need to respond to Jonathan Riddell’s comment that a review of the Green Belt is not in keeping with a commitment to sustainability (3 February). A review means considering the land currently designated as Green Belt to see how important it is to the town/city. It may result in some land being released for housing development. This should help to achieve a better relationship between homes and workplaces, shops and leisure facilities, allowing people living in the new developments to be less reliant on a car and more likely to cycle and walk.
While I share the concern about global population growth, more houses are needed in Britain today and these should be built in locations which allow people to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
Elizabeth Rolph
Comments
Gian Zucchelli has come up with a master plan for resolution of this situation which troubles so many. His balanced offering which enables those who wish to be better informed to access facts, is very welcome. An informed gathering of those genuinely seeking a peaceful resolution sounds very desirable. I do hope enough of us will feel led to pursue this.
By triplejay on 16th February 2017 - 20:42
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