The Broad View United Church is planning a 21 kilometre ‘pilgrimage’ to call for peace in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
This event is being organized by the United Church, which extends worldwide. The walk will be conducted in conjunction with 144 other cities in 18 countries globally.
Their show of solidarity will take place as a 21 kilometre walk over an eight hour period. Gaza is only 41 kilometre in length, just a bit bigger than the Saanich Peninsula.
The church wants those who take part in this walk to consider what it would be like fleeing on foot from their homes which have been destroyed.
“Although global organizers have asked participants to walk the ‘length of the Gaza strip’, organizers of the Victoria pilgrimage walk have created a circular route half that distance, which is the typical length most pilgrims walk in a day,” Broad View United wrote in a media release.
They say they want this walk to be as accessible as possible. Some participants will walk the entire distance, while others may only choose to walk one or more of the sections of the walk.
There will be five stopping points to register, rest and/or reflect set up along the route allowing participants to choose the distance that suits them.
Broad View United added that people of all walks of life, whether they are spiritual or not, are welcome to join.
The organizers say they have four calls for action:
- An enduring and sustained ceasefire
- An immediate flow of life saving food, water, aid, fuel and humanitarian assistance
- The release of all hostages—both the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the Palestinian hostages held in the Israeli prison system
- An end of occupation so a just peace can begin.
“I visited the West Bank a few years ago as a peace observer,” said Barbara Hansen, Diaconal Minister for the United Church of Canada.
“As a settler occupying and living on the unceded lands of the Lək̓wəŋən, I was curious about the impact of the Israeli government policies on people who had lived on the land for generations.”
She said she witnessed an ongoing story of settler colonialism that echoes our own history here in Canada.
“In my commitment to the hard work of Reconciliation with our own settler past, I support Palestinians by walking on this land with respect and recognition of the deep connection they feel for their land. May there be a permanent ceasefire,” Hansen added.
There is no registration fee for this event, however the organizers are encouraging people to make donations to organizations who are providing aid on the ground.
