By Joyce Penfield
11 June 2026
The Israeli occupation prison system is exclusively for Palestinians and governed totally by Israeli military law and rule. The courts—including the prosecutor and judge—are also military run. Consequently, the conviction rate for Palestinians who are charged with anything is about 99.7 per cent. One-third of the 9,500 children, women, and men in prison today are held under “administrative detention.” They have no charges against them and no way to be released. Reports by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, and Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, have documented the ways in which Israeli prisons use systematic methods of extreme violence and torture as a tool of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
When did we ever see you sick, or in prison, and visit you? (also see Blog #9, revjoycepenfield.substack.com )
The “Campaign to Release Palestinian Female Prisoners”, is an ongoing call to churches and people of conscience to answer the mandate of the judgment parable of Matthew 25:35-45 with a concrete plan. The campaign was launched in January 2026 by Friends of Palestinian Detainees-- a network of faith groups across the U.S. from diverse Christian denominations and one Islamic center. The purpose of both the E-mail and the Post card parts of the campaign was to draw global attention to the conditions in Israeli prisons and to break through the barrier of silence among many church leaders about the ongoing violation of international rights, including the Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The two reports, Welcome to Hell (2024) and Living Hell (2026) by B’Tselem document the systematic and grave violence used against Palestinians in these prisons, including beatings, sexual violence including rape, psychological torture, night raids involving dogs, tear gas and beatings, strip searches, food and medical care denial, torture, prolonged shackling, and sleep deprivation.
The E-mail campaign [ https://www.fosna.org/
The post card initiative focused on the release of Palestinian female prisoners and took place during the 2026 Lenten season.
Over 1,000 postcards were written by hundreds of people gathered by 14 different faith groups and one Islamic center across 15 states in the U.S. Photographs of all postcard messages were sent to the organizing team before cards were mailed to the 53 women (including 2 teenagers) at Damon prison, near Haifa.
As the postcards illustrate, most messages included a greeting, a prayer, a reference to the prison conditions, and a reminder of accountability in the words: The whole world is watching.
The power of the postcard initiative did not end after the postcards were mailed. The fact that prison officials would not allow the women to receive any of the postcards became a story in and of itself as soon as we began informing reporters and media outlets and social media contacts (FB, Instagram, etc.). Many articles were generated both at local levels (written by faith teams who have covenanted to be part of Friends of Palestinian Detainees) and global level, including Mondoweiss.
One of the faith teams-- St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.—was invited to do a video interview with Al Jazeera—a prominent media outlet focused on the Middle East. Lindsey Jones-Renault, a member of their team, did an excellent interview and description of the post card campaign provided by Lindsey: https://www.facebook.
The post card initiative was very successful in involving faith communities who were new to the Palestinian struggle a concrete, positive and personal action they could take. This, in turn, helped them learn more about the suffering side of Palestinian daily life and the way in which Israeli prisons are tools of apartheid and genocide. The post card campaign invited others at any level of knowledge about the Palestinian struggle to participate in answering a prayer of guidance that was offered by a Sabeel weekly prayer service:
God of justice and love, embolden us to live out your mandate to “care for the hungry and to visit those in prison” by shedding light on the systemic violence in Israeli occupation prisons. Strengthen us to raise our voices on behalf of those who suffer from this brutality—captives and family members alike. Show us ways that we can work for the release of all Palestinians in Israel’s occupation prisons. ( www.Sabeel.org )
Look for more on the postcard campaign in this month’s SOLIDARITY email which goes out on the 4th Thursday.
The advocacy Campaign described above was initiated and organized by a Coordinating Team of Friends of Palestinian Detainees, a faith-led, all volunteer program of FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America – fosna.org ) which began as a pilot project shortly after General Convention in 2024. The program draws its inspiration and guidance from FOSNA Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab and his effort to create pathways and space to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people in sustained and long-term ways based on respect and advocacy. This new program has implemented Jonathan’s vision by connecting a Palestinian prisoner and family member with a faith team in North America. The program currently has 14 faith teams of diverse denominations scattered across 15 states who are paired with a Palestinian prisoner. Most communication is with a close family member who is free and agreed to be paired so that their voice and struggle could help shed light on the conditions and violations of international law that the thousands of prisoners suffer.
One of the first pairings we completed in 2025 was between Oak Life Church in Oakland, California and Layan Nasser and her mother, Lulu. Many know Layan’s name because of General Convention’s resolution to advocate for her freedom. FOSNA and all of the 75 people currently part of the Friends of Palestinian Detainees paired program rejoiced with Lulu on May 15-- an otherwise sad day (Nakba Remembrance Day) for Palestinians, but a moment of joy also when Layan was released from Damon prison.
This program is still in the process of growing and expanding to go where God calls us to be faithful to the Sabeel prayer. We need faith teams to join us as well as faith groups and individuals who may only be available to help in our capacity building or advocacy campaigns. To learn more about the program and how to apply or offer your volunteer services see: www.fosna.org/GetInvolved/
