Our community members do not all agree about whether the Israeli government’s military campaign against Gaza constitutes a genocide, but we are all horrified by the suffering of the Palestinian people. We have also been mourning the victims of the heinous October 7th attack and are concerned about the safety and well-being of Israeli citizens who are caught in the crossfire of this conflict.

There are no sides in a crisis like this. This gathering is not about who is to blame, or which side is better or worse, it is about paying attention to the suffering that is taking place, truly feeling the horror of it. This spiritual practice is about finding our sense of purpose and agency to stop this downward spiral of hatred and violence and to move instead towards a loving, just, and peaceful solution, one that allows both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and safety, with equality and justice.

Why would we at the Spiritual Center community be concerned about events happening seemingly so far away from us? Because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Because our own government, the United States, is the primary funder and supplier of the weapons being used to kill Gazans. The U.S. military-industrial complex is profiting immensely off of this war and others. U.S. militarism in general is a highly relevant moral problem in our national politics: we have a right and duty to raise our voices in protest when the precious resources that our nation gathers via taxation are being spent primarily on wars that destroy life rather than on programs like education and healthcare that uplift and support human flourishing.

As an essential part of the civil discourse and moral evolution of this nation, religious and spiritual communities have always risen up to call for justice in the face of injustice, to call for peace in the face of war, to call for equality in the face of racism, sexism, and poverty, and in general to call for humanization in the face of dehumanization.

*****

On Oct 21st, we will gather as one human family, as equals, without distinctions, to experience and hold our truths together. We welcome all perspectives, all expressions, all the love and truth and feeling we can muster to meet this moment together in unity and integrity.

Following the spiral process of the Work That Reconnects, we will ground in gratitude, honor our pain for the world, see with fresh eyes, and go forth with purpose.

In the Heart Mandala, the central ritual of the evening, all are welcome to share their fear, their anger, their sadness, their emptiness, and whatever other feelings want to be expressed. Without cross talk or criticism, we will witness each other in a sacred circle of trust, confidentiality, and love.

The process will be facilitated by Rev. Dr. Ian Mevorach, director of Common Street Spiritual Center.

This sacred gathering is offered free and is open to the public. All are welcome, without distinction.

You are welcome to bring candles, flowers, incense or other sacred objects to place on the altar table at the beginning of the process.

*****

*According to the March 2024 report of Francesca Albanese, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, “[T]here are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met.”

In specific, the Special Rapporteur identifies three genocidal crimes against Palestinians, which together meet the threshold of genocide: (A) “Killing members of the group,” (B) “Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group,” and (C) “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

To read the full report, please use this link: https://commonstreet.org/…/2024/10/a-hrc-55-73-auv.pdf

**The University Network for Human Rights has also determined that a genocide is taking place in Gaza and published a report to this effect on May 15, 2024: “In partnership with students and experts at Boston University, Cornell, University of Pretoria, and Yale, the University Network published Genocide in Gaza: Analysis of International Law and its Application to Israel’s Military Actions since October 7, 2023. The report is the most thorough legal analysis to date of the “crime of crimes” expressed in the 1948 Genocide Convention and the related international jurisprudence, as applied to the facts on the ground in Gaza since October 7. It concludes that Israel’s actions meet the legal threshold of genocide, producing legal obligations for Israel and the international community to end the slaughter.”

***There are many within the Common Street Spiritual Center (CSSC) community and the wider Natick-Metrowest community who do not agree that genocidal acts are taking place in Gaza, or who believe that the language of “genocide” in the context of this political discourse is at least at times being used in antisemitic ways. We are aware that there has been discomfort about this event in particular, and its framing in the original event description; we have received and reviewed considerable feedback from our neighbors about this, and so we have amended the description to be more inclusive and sensitive to their concerns. Our community stands against antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism of any kind. Also, we love, respect, and accept people of various views and warmly welcome people of all perspectives, including various political orientations and religious backgrounds, to participate in this particular event and in general to be a part of the life of our community. CSSC is an inclusive, love-centered community.