Martinsburg-Berkeley County, WV NAACP, Branch 3242

The NAACP urged the Biden-Harris administration on June 6, 2024, to halt weapons shipments to Israel and support a ceasefire, believing that over 75 years of military-driven violence will not achieve peace in the Middle East.

     Read the statement issued by NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.

     To educate others about efforts and possibilities for peaceful resolutions, the Martinsburg-Berkeley and the Jefferson County NAACP chapters are planning events with other co-hosts who support peace, safety, and equality in the Middle East.  These organizations recognize that the United States, both diplomatically and economically, is a major influence in the future of the people there.

Miko Peled, Author & Human Rights Advocate

     Miko Peled is the founder and president of the Palestine House of Freedom in Washington, DC.

     Born and raised in Jerusalem, he is a writer and human rights activist.  Peled is considered one of the clearest voices calling for a pathway to peace by dismantling of the Zionist apartheid state and the creation of a single democracy with equal rights on all of historic Palestine.

     Driven by a personal family tragedy to explore Palestine, its people, and their narrative, Peled has written a book about his journey called The General’s Son, Journey of an Israeli in Palestine. 

     In the forward to the book, Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker writes, “There are few books on the Palestine/Israel issue that seem as hopeful to me as this one.”

     Ralph Nader wrote, “The story of Miko Peled, his mother and father, reveals how facts, compassion and a universal sense of justice took hold and inspires this energetic and informed voice for peace.”

Doug Dicks: Regional Liaison to Israel, Palestine and Jordan at Presbyterian World Mission

     In his role as facilitator for education for justice and peacemaking, Doug connects PC(USA) congregations and councils with indigenous Christians in Israel and Palestine. Doug’s extensive experience in the region as a PC(USA) regional liaison for Israel, Palestine and Jordan, mission co-worker, and peacemaking consultant and facilitator furthers his capacity to educate PC(USA) constituencies on the contextual realities of the churches’ witness in the region.

     Through photography and information-sharing, Doug shepherds congregations and councils through the process of preparing for pilgrimages and other study trips. Doug’s work enables the larger PC(USA) community to advocate for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine.

     For a glimpse of Doug’s experience this past year, read “Between Anguish and Resilence: Reflections from Bethlehem,” a conversation with Doug published on October 3, 2024 in the PDF linked below.