Kathy Kelly and Cassandra Dixon Lead Roundtable on Middle East Conflict
ByCatholicWorker.org
Catholic Workers considered two uncomfortable questions posed by victims of U.S. weapons in the Middle East at a roundtable led by peace activists Kathy Kelly and Cassandra Dixon at the national gathering sponsored by St. Francis Catholic Worker in Chicago.
Cover photo: Kathy Kelly addresses a roundtable at the Catholic Worker national gathering. Photo via St. Francis Catholic Worker.
The Catholic Worker national gathering in Chicago (Oct. 4-6, 2024) featured a roundtable titled “War and Peace in the Middle East” led by peace activists Kathy Kelly and Cassandra Dixon. Kelly is the board president of World BEYOND War and a co-coordinator of the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal; Dixon hails from Mary House Catholic Worker in Wisconsin Dells, where she is a residential carpenter and human rights activist who has been traveling to Palestine territories for more than a decade.
Following is a brief report on the roundtable by Kathy Kelly, along with a link to resources for those who missed it.
Forty people joined a roundtable entitled “War and Peace in the Middle East” on Saturday, October 5, during the national Catholic Worker gathering in Chicago. Cassandra Dixon and Kathy Kelly welcomed the group. Kathy posed two questions entrusted to her by people who were victims of attacks using U.S. weapons in the past. From Qana, Lebanon, at the funeral of a six year old child, Zahara, the girl’s mother asked: “Who are the terrorists? Is she the terrorist?
From Kunduz, Afghanistan, a student pharmacist badly maimed when the U.S. bombed the hospital where he worked: “Why would your people want to do this to us? We were only trying to help people.”
Now, in Gaza, Israel has used U.S. weapons to attack every hospital and in the past year has destroyed mosques, universities, roadways, tent housing for refugees, schools, and homes, rendering the environment uninhabitable. Kathy and Cassandra believe Israel’s government is intent on establishing greater Israel and because there are no consequences the Israeli government will continue flouting international law, violating human rights, and killing massive numbers of people in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. As Catholic Workers, we ought to claim our right not to kill. Cassandra described her experiences accompanying families, including shepherds and children, in the Hebron hills as part of Operation Dove’s team work. Cassandra witnessed routine and vicious violence waged by settlers who were backed up by soldiers, attacking vulnerable people whom the settlers aim to displace.
Perhaps we cannot find adequate nonviolent actions commensurate to the crimes being committed. Cassandra and Kathy sent to all the participants resources regarding groups that are forming delegations to visit the West Bank. The newly formed Unarmed Civilian Protection for Palestine group is seeking participants. Representatives of this group were presenting at Maryhouse Catholic Worker on October 6th. The International Solidarity Movement is sending teams to the West Bank, and the next Community Peacemaker Team delegation will be November 7 – 17, 2025.
Below and attached are suggested resources. Following the meeting, a statement issued by the Mennonite Central Committee was made available to all participants.
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