{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"From Carl Hankinson, UK Chief Commissioner; Callum Kaye, International Commissioner and Matt Hyde, Chief Executive","standfirst":"All of us as Scouts are deeply concerned about how the escalating situation in Israel and Palestine is affecting people there.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re part of a worldwide family of Scouts, connected through fellowship, and our thoughts are with Scouts and their families. All of us are united in a desire for peace, to live in safety. We know that these Scouts will be helping those around them, living their promise to help other people and serve others. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re acutely conscious that Scouts in the UK may also be directly or indirectly affected, including young people and volunteers with personal connections to communities in Israel and Palestine. So we look to support each other, our young people and their families, and our Scouts volunteers and colleagues. Now is the moment for us to live our promise to help other people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EA belief in a shared humanity and respect for life\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Scouts we stand together for peace and against violence. We stand against racial hatred in all its forms. This begins with the empathy and compassion we show each other.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is a time when our values of care, respect, integrity, belief and cooperation need to come to the fore. We need to think carefully about our words and actions and how they might impact on the feelings of others in our communities and within our UK Scouts Groups.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor years, Scouts have been leading the efforts for unity and reconciliation, for example with the \u2018Peace Light\u2019 that starts each November from the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem with Scouts from the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths - and is spread around the world by Scouts. This is a time for this spirit of understanding. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EShowing kindness and compassion\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts are optimists, we believe in the fundamental rights of people and the possibility of hope. And we are realists too, and can see there will be deeply troubled times ahead. At all times we seek to reflect our Scouts values.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s in our practical nature as Scouts to look for answers and solutions. Yet for now we must focus on kindness and compassion first; and to call out intolerance to protect the dignity of all. We aim to educate ourselves as much as possible and show that kindness and compassion we find at the heart of our promise.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGlobal peace starts small. We hope for a de-escalation and a peaceful resolution.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003ESupport for volunteers and young people in Scouts\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a Scouts volunteer, here are some resources to help you approach the subject with different age groups. We hope they will help our young people understand more about conflict and help support their wellbeing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/global-scouting/international-crises/\u0022 title=\u0022International crises\u0022\u003ETalking to young people about international crises\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 resources to help you address this topic with your groups, thanks to two of our programme partners, Save the Children and British Red Cross\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/make-kindness-jars/\u0022 title=\u0022Kindness jars\u0022\u003EKindness Jars\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 focused on the young people affected by the crisis\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/try-some-mindfulness-techniques/\u0022 title=\u0022Mindfulness time\u0022\u003EMindfulness time\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 with the help of some everyday objects\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/how-are-you-times-two/\u0022 title=\u0022\u2018How are you?\u2019 times two\u0022\u003EHow are you time? Times two\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 focused on helping family and friends to feel okay, especially at stressful times\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry \u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/bogus-bulletins/\u0022 title=\u0022Bogus bulletins\u0022\u003EBogus bulletins\u003C/a\u003E or \u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/keep-your-opinions-to-yourself/\u0022 title=\u0022Keep your opinions to yourself\u0022\u003EKeep your opinions to yourself\u003C/a\u003E to help young people to learn what news can be trusted\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB2yqtXkItk\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Advice if you\u0027re upset by the news YouTube video\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?v=AB2yqtXkItk\u0022\u003EAdvice if you\u0027re upset by the news\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 a BBC Newsround piece that you could watch in a meeting together with young people (Beaver/Cub/Scout appropriate)\u00A0\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://prod-cms.scouts.org.uk//media/5819/moving-connections-refugee-response-pack.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Exploring the topic of refugees with young people\u0022\u003EExploring the topic of refugees with young people\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 badge-related activities and help to run a session on refugees\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-5-ways-talk-children-about-conflict-0\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u00225 ways to talk to children about conflict\u0022\u003E5 ways to talk to children about conflict\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 from our #AMillionHands partner Save the Children\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese will also be useful for those volunteers supporting Scouts with links to the region. We\u0027ll continue to work with the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and our partners to offer the support we can to our fellow Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow Scouts can help\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022ui-provider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\u0022\u003EYou can donate to:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022ui-provider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territory-appeal\u0022 title=\u0022Red Cross appeal\u0022\u003ERed Cross Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory appeal\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/how-you-can-help/emergencies/gaza-emergency-appeal\u0022 title=\u0022Save the Children appeal\u0022\u003ESave the Children\u0027s Gaza Emergency appeal.\u003C/a\u003E\u00A0\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EIslamic Relief UK\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"13 October 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Talking to young people about international crises","url":"/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/global-scouting/international-crises/","newWindow":false}],"id":77379,"nodeName":"Responding to the crisis in Israel and Palestine","title":"Responding to the crisis in Israel and Palestine","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/12108/fdl-hp.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dab8e1b20252a0","caption":"Scouts purple logo","type":"jpg","size":93039,"width":1268,"height":664,"altText":"An image of a purple background showing the white Scouts logo"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Responding to the crisis in Israel and Palestine","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":"Responding to the crisis in Israel and Palestine","silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NzM3OSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/october/responding-to-the-crisis-in-israel-and-palestine/"}