Letters - 03 November 2023
From New wrongs to In classic Quaker style
New wrongs
As a woman of over eighty, who grew up in a Jewish family within a Jewish-American community, who lived in Iran under the shah and witnessed the Iranian revolution first-hand, who travelled in Afghanistan prior to the US withdrawal, who lived in Qatar during the Iraq-Iran war, who emigrated with her family to Great Britain at that time and eventually obtained citizenship, who joined a Quaker Meeting about fourteen years ago and fully believes in its commitment to peace and justice, and who currently belongs to both ‘Friends with Jewish Connections’ and ‘Jews for Justice for Palestinians’, I can sincerely say I am deeply aware of all sides of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Although shocked and horrified by the recent Hamas attack on Israelis, and although in no way condoning it, I can understand it as a response to fifty years of the unjust, illegal and repressive occupation of Palestinian lands, including the annexation of Palestinian territory, the usurpation of water rights, the brutal demolitions of entire family homes, the severe restrictions of the movement of groups and of individuals – and more.
Yes, there has been erratic Palestinian terrorist violence during this time, but these attacks have lacked the vast resources and the clear backing of a recognised state.
Two wrongs do not make a right, and the wrongful encouragement by the US of a potentially-genocidal Israeli land invasion, on top of the already-inhumane Israeli cut-offs of water, power, and fuel, will devastate innocent Palestinian civilian lives and will enormously set back any viable (and greatly overdue) dialogue between reasonable representatives of both countries, along with international peacemakers of all persuasions. This horrendous war must be stopped.
Is it possible that our Quaker leaders and institutions could spearhead an urgent call for a ceasefire and for international negotiations leading to a long-term solution for peace?
Lois A Chaber
Old tropes
Barney Smith questions the term ‘Israelophobia’ (20 October) but the phenomenon is sadly apparent in Britain Yearly Meeting’s (BYM) 11 October statement on Israel-Palestine.
In insisting that the latest violence ‘must be understood in the context of Israel’s military occupation of Palestine’, the statement contradicts our Peace Testimony by supplying justification for Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli civilians.
The mainstream synagogues and Jewish bodies here in the UK are far too anguished right now to worry about Quakers, but from my work at the Anne Frank Trust UK I am in no doubt they would see BYM’s statement, like so much of our approach to Israel-Palestine, as rooted in tropes of Jews as rich, powerful and their own worst enemies. They have said this to us many times before.
If we persist in believing that we are unbiased, we are gaslighting them.
When people of colour raise similar concerns about our anti-black racism, we fall over ourselves to listen and try to put things right (and of course we still have much to do in this area, too). We are a vivid example of the ‘Jews don’t count’ syndrome that is spelt out so tellingly in the book by comedian David Baddiel.
I pray that at least one tiny positive outcome of the heartbreaking situation in the Middle East may be that in the Religious Society of Friends we wake up to our institutional antisemitism.
Tim Robertson
Quaker schools
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Friend. Some content I find very uplifting. Others I am not so comfortable with.
The 13 October issue with a letter entitled ‘Poem for a Quaker school’ really got my hackles rising – sorry Gerard Bane. A very obvious, one-sided view of what a Quaker education means.
I was privileged, yes privileged, to spend five years at Bootham in the late 1960s, and thankfully we can still choose how to spend our disposable income.
This summer I went back to the school to join in with the bicentenary celebrations. How the school has changed and for the better. Now there are hardly any Quaker staff or pupils, even less than in my day. However, the Quaker ethos is everywhere in that school.
I was so impressed with the obvious Quaker values that permeate throughout the school, both staff and pupils. This is not just in words but in actions as well, including work and learning about many Quaker concerns including peace, the climate crisis and racial equality.
We are not good at outreach but one of the exceptions is what happens in our Quaker schools. A group of young people having the opportunity to learn about Quaker worship, values and witness in their formative years. Many of these young adults, as they leave the schools, could be the future of the Society of Friends.
David G Bower
Heeding authenticity
The distinction between authentic and fake ‘Buddha quotes’ (20 October) has to be considered alongside three quite serious caveats. One: according to the surviving texts, the Buddha taught mainly in lengthy discourses and there is no reason to believe that these were recorded thoroughly or accurately at the time. Two: almost 400 years elapsed between the Buddha’s death and the first written versions of the teachings. Three: like all systems of belief that do not originate in English, Buddhism is affected by translation – often as much a barrier or impediment as it is a bridge or doorway.
The reality is that we cannot be certain that any of the various surviving texts – the Pali Canon, the Tipitaka, or any of the collections of Sutras – represent the actual words of the Buddha. They almost certainly reflect the spirit in which he taught, but the way that they were passed down through several centuries of oral tradition (having been memorised by his followers) means that nothing we have can safely be termed a ‘Buddha quote’.
Thich Nhat Hanh referred to the various strands in which the Buddha’s teachings are found as precious jewels threaded on a necklace, as threads woven into a single garment.
They should not be seen as the literal words of the Buddha.
Peter Hart
Hardship within Meetings
I was sad to read the letter on hardship within Meetings (13 October) and think the writer is not alone.
I hope it will raise my awareness of this problem and that of Meetings generally.
While I was on the pastoral care committee of my Meeting I was aware of the hardship grants advertised by the Marjorie McBain Trust in the Friend but never had reason to refer to them.
Unfortunately I think those Friends who might apply cannot buy the Friend so, perhaps, do not see this advertisement.
I hope you may be able to pass the information on to the writer of the letter in the Friend.
I don’t personally know this trust, but I do know of others and understand that sometimes the money is waiting to be spent and finding people to give the money to, in terms of trust, can be the hard part of managing these organisations.
Kathy Bailey
In classic Quaker style
‘Many a true word spoken in jest’, they say. While Alec Davison’s limerick (20 October) does seem at first reading quite outlandish, I will defend it with very fond memories of the popular social events at Leicester Meeting House when I was a member there in the 1970s and 80s.
Responsible for organising the New Year’s Eve parties several times, I was always careful to have games that were not only fun to take part in but also hilarious to watch.
That way, the ‘all sorts’ as described in the limerick felt equally able to enjoy themselves. To pull it off, I had to be a bit bossy and I remember a rebuke softly clothed in classic Quaker style: ‘It’s so nice to be told what to do’.
Christine McNeill
Comments
Hardship within Meetings
I’m not sure that the Marjorie McBain Trust is still functioning, as the Charity Commissioners’ register of charities has labelled it a ‘removed charity’.
Pollard and Dickson Trust
The Pollard and Dickson Trust helps Friends & Attenders in need who are unable to meet daily living expenses. Grants of up to £1,500 are available.
Contact Augene Nanning, Pollard & Dickson Trust Administrator.
Or ask a member of your Meeting elders and pastoral care group to apply on your behalf. (They need to send a separate application for each person asking for help.)
If you are applying for yourself, briefly explain:
1) why you need a grant at this time,
2) how much you are applying for and
3) how the money would be used.
You will also need:
4) a letter of support from your elders/pastoral care to confirm your link with the Quaker community and that your application represents a genuine need.
Augene Nanning, Pollard & Dickson Trust Administrator
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or Pollard and Dickson Trust c/o Friends House, 173 Euston Rd., NW1 2BJ
They have helped Friends in our meeting for many years, and have always been both kind and sensible.
By Anne & Rob Wade on 3rd November 2023 - 14:39
The Marjorie McBain Trust is still very active - the charity was incorporated within Hampshire and Islands Area Quaker Meeting - and it has not closed. The contact email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (or if electronic communication is a problem a letter could be sent to The McBain Trust c/o Friends Meeting House, 1a Ordnance Road, Southampton SO15 2AZ).
By stuartdonnan on 6th November 2023 - 19:41
Thanks for the update Stuart. The Charity Commission shows The McBain Family Foundation with ‘reporting up to date and on time’.
I have put in a suggestion to the Charity Commission that they should program in a link from a previous name of a charity to its new name, so that people are not put off from asking for a grant.
By Anne & Rob Wade on 6th November 2023 - 21:51
Dear Anne and Rob and others. The McBain Family Foundation is an entirely different charity with no specific Quaker connections. The funds still available to support Friends and regular attenders (asking understandably for evidence of a connection with a Quaker meeting, because of the wording of the bequest) are at the Marjorie McBain Trust with the contacts as I wrote above.
By stuartdonnan on 7th November 2023 - 10:12
Please login to add a comment
