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It is so brutally clear that we cannot continue this way. The cycle of historical and present trauma, the legacy of settler colonialism, the culture of fear-mongering, disaster capitalism, and war will only lead us back here again. There is no future in violence…for any of us.
How did we get to a place where we have become numb to violence an death; where war isn’t just normalized but justified. When did we become the kind of people who debate whose lives are more worthy of saving and whose lives deserve to be destroyed, displaced, disposed of? Why do we continue to choose self-preservation over collective survival?
We can’t wait around for a more peaceful future to emerge. We must shape the change we wish to see. We must ask hard questions of ourselves and one another about what’s in the way of our own peace and healing. And we must take an active role in creating a world that has never been. adrienne maree brown reminds us:
“One of the first steps we can take towards generating internal accountability is to [ [link removed] ]develop an assessment of why the world is as it is [ [link removed] ]. This requires us to leap from the uninformed faith we have in the societal myths we were given as children, to the informed faith that we need in order to co-create the real world as adults”. [ [link removed] ]
Perhaps we must unlearn the world as we know it; detox and divest from our attachment to the comforts and privileges of identity and modernity and allow ourselves to be lost in the space between where we are coming from and where we are going. Maybe then we will discover a peace that has never been.
Kerri (she/her)
NTK (need to know)
"While some fringe parts of the activist left confusingly mapped on the “Black Lives Matter” vs “All Lives Matter” discourse onto Israelis and Palestinians, where it became inappropriate or uncool to mourn or even acknowledge “Israeli lives,” other leaders showed a different path forward: a politics of solidarity where every human being is precious and has value." Waleed Shahid on what we talk about when we talk about Gaza. [ [link removed] ]
How we Americans feel about Gazans living under Israeli bombs does matter, since we’re the ones financing it. Gaza and the empathy gap. [ [link removed] ]
“The task of the Palestinian is to be palatable or to be condemned. The task of the Palestinian, we’ve seen in the past two weeks, is to audition for empathy and compassion. To prove that we deserve it. To earn it.” Why Must Palestinians Audition for Your Empathy? [ [link removed] ]
On Oct 20th, President Biden invoked [ [link removed] ] “patriotic American workers” who are “building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom,” but it’s the defense company CEOs who rake in tens of millions a year, and Wall Street shareholders, who are the real beneficiaries of warmongering. These are the corporate enablers of the war on Gaza. [ [link removed] ]
“Our survival is at stake, and so, let’s think about all the best things that can help us better understand how we can ensure the collective survival of as many of us as possible”. Check out this helpful movement memos with Kelly Hayes and Andrea Ritchie. [ [link removed] ]
Solidarity
I always struggle with finding my right role and responsibility in complex world issues. Ryan Grim warned of [ [link removed] ] “the trap we fall into in the West, taking an event happening to people somewhere else in the world and transmuting it into the all-important question of how we feel about it, of whether our proper feelings have been properly shared on social media. It’s a sickness, but how we Americans feel does matter, since we’re the ones financing all this”. And 80% of American democratic voters (66% of ALL voters) agree that the US should call for a cease fire and deescalation of violence to prevent more civilian deaths. [ [link removed] ]But I know deep down in my core that violence only begets more violence and I must do everything I can with what I have to help reduce harm and suffering. So I will continue to follow the lead of Palestinian and Jewish led organizations to help distill the most impactful actions you can take right now:
CALL YOUR LOCAL AND STATE REPS. Call your representatives and demand that they support a cease fire and the immediate restoration of food, water and medical care to Palestinians. Be clear that humanitarian aid without a cease fire is not enough. CALL 202 224 3121. Script: “Hi my name is "{Kerri{ and I’m calling to urge President Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and push to increasing humanitarian aid to the region and restoring life saving access to food, water, electricity and medical care”.
RIGHT LANGUAGE. How we frame what is happening in the middle east really matters. Heres a dictionary for Israel & Palestine [ [link removed] ] and some hot tips on the power of language. [ [link removed] ]
SOCIAL MEDIA. It is important that we continue to speak out for harm reduction and humanity. Amplify calls for a cease fire and an end to the indiscriminate bombing of civilians. For those of you who are facing harassment in the workplace, check out this helpful resource from @wokescientist [ [link removed] ].
BUILD COMMUNITY. Find the people near and far who share your values and vision for a future that takes care of everyone. Reach out and make connections. Explore how we can organize together across space and time towards a future that we all deserve.
FOLLOW/SUPPORT: @jfpaction @ifnotnow @aroc_bayarea @palestinianyouthmovement @mecaforpeace @theimeu @pal_legal @palestinianfeministcollective @eye.on.palestine
Digging Deeper
It’s ok to be overwhelmed. What’s happening in the world IS overwhelming to many of us (in different and disproportionate ways). In the face of so much trauma, it makes sense that you might default to survival responses like shutting down or staying silent. Silence might seem especially justified if you feel like you don’t know enough or have the right words. But in the face of so much injustice we must ask ourselves “who does my silence serve?” (the answer is almost always “the oppressor”).
Here are some strategies for self-regulation so that we can build a capacity for staying in the conversation and practice of liberation for all:
REJECT PERFECTIONISM. Trying to get it right or perfect only serves to uphold systems of power by making us stuck and silent. Be willing to make mistakes that enable us to learn and grow.
LET YOURSELF FEEL YOUR RAGE AND GRIEF. One way to get un-stuck is to allow yourself to feel the rage and grief that accompany times like this. Avoiding or bypassing our feelings keeps us stuck and suffering in in action. Create the conditions where you can feel and heal.
MOVE YOUR BODY: Express held grief and rage through your body through shaking, dancing, breathing, tapping, walking/hiking, banging pots and pans, sounding/singing.
FIND RELATIONSHIPS OF CARE AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Reach out and find one other. Create spaces of shared grief, care, art and ritual. Explore how you can build mutual support and organize together to respond to what is needed and build a future that works for everyone.
TAKE SMALL ACTIONS. Small, local and relational actions are just as important as big actions. What is a contribution you can make that feels authentic and brings you closer in community and connection?
Art by @hala.n.alyan
✨Event Alert✨
How can we uphold the inherent Buddha nature of all beings, as we maintain absolute clarity in our work against Israeli apartheid?
How can wise discernment guide us to be clear in our commitment to Jewish life and dignity?
How can our practice serve us as we mobilize towards a free Palestine?
Join Buddhist Peace Fellowship [ [link removed] ] as we explore these questions and more with Palestinian-American Christian peacemaker Jonathan Brenneman, and Jewish-Israeli and Buddhist organizer and strategist Carinne Luck, in conversation with BPF co-director Kate Johnson. We’ll offer short practices for grounding and centering throughout our time together, which will also include time for personal reflection/journaling, and time for questions and reflections with our guest speakers.
Join Buddhist Peace Fellowship for reflections on true justice, true peace, and an engaged Buddhist response to the crisis in Gaza next [ [link removed] ]Monday 10/30 at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET. [ [link removed] ]
We-ness
This is a moment for compassion not convincing. Consider spending less energy on defending your position or trying to persuade others to come over to your “side”. Instead build where there is alignment and inspire people to speak up and take action towards harm reduction and liberation. As bell hooks reminds us “one of the most vital ways we can sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are note alone.” 💛
Thanks for subscribing to WELLREAD. For the last six years we’ve been providing folks with the need to know (NTK) news, calls to actions and resources for how to stay engaged and resourced along the way. But now, we’ve added an option to “upgrade to paid” to help sustain our work. While we will never put our content behind a pay wall, we depend on the support of our community to keep us going. 💛

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