While American Evangelicals continue blind to the demolition of Gaza and massive loss of civilian life there and deaf to the anguished cries of Palestinian Christians, others are taking up the pen.
An open letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians reads in part,
We come alongside fellow Christians in condemning all attacks on civilians, especially defenseless families and children. Yet, we are disturbed by the silence of many church leaders and theologians when it is Palestinian civilians who are killed. We are also horrified by the refusal of some western Christians to condemn the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine, and, in some instances, their justification of and support for the occupation.
[…]
Moreover, we categorically reject the myopic and distorted Christian responses that ignore the wider context and the root causes of this war: Israel’s systemic oppression of the Palestinians over the last 75 years since the Nakba, the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and the oppressive and racist military occupation that constitutes the crime of apartheid. This is precisely the horrific context of oppression that many western Christian theologians and leaders have persistently ignored, and even worse, have occasionally legitimized using a wide range of Zionist theologies and interpretations.
The Latin Orthodox patriarchs in Jerusalem have called for no “unnecessarily festive activities” in the face of “an atmosphere of sadness and pain.” They also say:
We likewise encourage our priests and the faithful to focus more on the spiritual meaning of Christmas in their pastoral activities and liturgical celebrations during this period, with all the focus directed at holding in our thoughts our brothers and sisters affected by this war and its consequences, and with fervent prayers for a just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land.
Moreover, during this season of giving, we also invite the faithful to advocate, pray, and contribute generously as they are able for the relief of the victims of this war and for those in dire need, as well as to encourage others to join them in this mission of mercy.
In these ways, we believe, we will be standing in support of those continuing to suffer just as Christ did with us in his Incarnation, in order that all of God’s children might receive the hope of a New Jerusalem in the presence of the Almighty, where “death shall be no more, neither mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Another far better statement than what American Evangelicals have so far offered can be read at Kairos Palestine: A moment of truth. More lengthy and detailed, it begins:
1.1 “They say: ‘Peace, peace’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). These days, everyone is speaking about peace in the Middle East and the peace process. So far, however, these are simply words; the reality is one of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, deprivation of our freedom and all that results from this situation:
1.1.1 The separation wall erected on Palestinian territory, a large part of which has been confiscated for this purpose, has turned our towns and villages into prisons, separating them from one another, making them dispersed and divided cantons. Gaza, especially after the cruel war Israel launched against it during December 2008 and January 2009, continues to live in inhuman conditions, under permanent blockade and cut off from the other Palestinian territories.
1.1.2 Israeli settlements ravage our land in the name of God and in the name of force, controlling our natural resources, including water and agricultural land, thus depriving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and constituting an obstacle to any political solution.
1.1.3 Reality is the daily humiliation to which we are subjected at the military checkpoints, as we make our way to jobs, schools or hospitals.
1.1.4 Reality is the separation between members of the same family, making family life impossible for thousands of Palestinians, especially where one of the spouses does not have an Israeli identity card.
1.1.5 Religious liberty is severely restricted; the freedom of access to the holy places is denied under the pretext of security. Jerusalem and its holy places are out of bounds for many Christians and Muslims from the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Even Jerusalemites face restrictions during the religious feasts. Some of our Arab clergy are regularly barred from entering Jerusalem.
There will be more on settlements in an upcoming article but suffice it to say now the American Evangelicals who immediately released a statement in support of Israel have never released such a statement acknowledging the ongoing suffering Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians, endure at the hands of Israel’s government and the extremist settlers they protect.
Thankfully, not all Evangelicals ignore biblical justice. Another statement, Evangelicals Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Holy Land, Urgent Action Towards a Just Peace, attested by eighteen global evangelical organizations—none in the US—is clear-minded in condemning both Hamas’ killing of civilians and Israel’s killing of civilians. Expressing their lament and repenting of their lack of peacemaking, they write
We recognize that our knowledge and understanding of the Holy Land and the Middle East is incomplete. We acknowledge the complexity of the geopolitical situation, historical grievances, and multiple perspectives of the people groups. We acknowledge that we do not know God’s full plan for Israel and Palestine. We commit to listening and learning from the churches and people of the region.
We humbly seek God’s guidance as we pray for the Middle East so that we do not become desensitized like Jonah and disconnected from God’s plans to reconcile all people to Himself.
Our faith and the decades of conflict in the Holy Land inform us that without ensuring justice, equality and flourishing to all in the Holy Land, no people group will achieve security in the Holy Land.
We do not see the current resurgence of violence as isolated from the decades-long conflict and war between the two peoples, namely Israelis and Palestinians. This conflict has denied many their human dignity. We lament this situation.
[…]
We call for de-escalation and the cessation of hostilities between Israel and different Palestinian formations and supporters, including Hamas.
We condemn the attacks on civilians by Hamas. Hamas’ acts of aggression and the largest killing of Jewish civilians on a single day since the Holocaust are deplorable and despicable.
We note that Israel in pursuit of Hamas has caused more civilian deaths in Palestine. We condemn these further deaths of Palestinian civilians.
We lament the indignity of displaced populations.
We denounce the international community’s failure to uphold its obligation to protect civilians and to ensure respect of international humanitarian law, which follows the neglect of its duty for pursuing a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East.
This is as far as the east is from the west better than the US evangelical version. It should no longer confound us how out of step US evangelicals are with our global brothers and sisters, but we continue to be, as well as continuing to be oblivious to it or unconcerned about it.
And it isn’t only global Evangelicals and Palestinians Christians who see it. Mainline Canadian and American Christians offered an open letter more closely aligned with them.
We are Christians living on Turtle Island in the United States and Canada. We are citizens of nations funding the Nakba. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed at least 15,000 Palestinians at the time of publication. We hear the call of Palestinians who have lost newborns, children, friends, entire families, homes, mosques, churches—everything—to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza over the last forty days. Muslims, the vast majority of Gazans, have suffered beyond comprehension, and the Lutheran Palestinian pastor and scholar Mitri Raheb says Gaza’s small population of Christians faces extinction. The Israeli government and its military have made Gaza hell on earth before our eyes, and our governments have continued to pledge their unlimited support.
Palestinian Christians are horrified by western Christian silence towards Israel’s occupation. They call us to see the events of the past month in a longer history of ethnic cleansing in Palestine, Oceania, Turtle Island, and other occupied lands. The current massacre is not an isolated incident but the latest episode in a saga of displacement and containment of Palestinians of all faiths by the state of Israel. We repent of our complicity and our silence. We are grieved beyond words by the suffering inflicted on Palestinians: we offer our heartfelt prayers, words, and actions for the thousands of babies, children, elders, and all who have been killed, who are buried under buildings, who are disabled or injured, who are caring for others, who are displaced or imprisoned.
God “raises the poor from the dust / and lifts the needy from the ash heap / to make them sit with princes” (Psalm 113:7–8). We follow Jesus, a Palestinian Jew tortured and killed in Roman-occupied Palestine. We recognize the sacredness of all people and mourn all who have been killed in recent war crimes—Muslims and Jews and Christians—including Israelis killed by Hamas on October 7, while unflinchingly naming the ongoing slaughter, maiming, starvation, and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli state, Benjamin Netanyahu, the IDF, and their western backers.
These statements demand rather than merely raise the question: why are American Evangelicals so out of sync with global Evangelicals, Palestinians Christians, and other global Christians?
Leaving aside for a moment how the perspective of those who have never suffered or been oppressed differs from those who have, perhaps we find a partial clue in that the US Evangelical statement in support of Israel stands alone in identifying Israel as a democracy in need of defending: “Israel stands as a rare example of democracy in a region dominated by authoritarian regimes. The tragic events of October 7th further underscore the importance of democracy in our world and stand as a sober reminder that supporting Israel’s right to exist is both urgent and needed.”
The insertion of this section is untethered from any present or historical basis for the Hamas attack. Hamas and other Palestinian military, political, or terror groups don’t oppose Israel’s form of parliamentary government; they aren’t launching missiles due to unfair districting for Knesset members or in hopes to make Israel a monarchy.
Nor, frankly does Israel’s governmental structure matter to the United States other than for propaganda purposes. In the Middle East alone, the US government gets along with Saudi Arabia, a murderous monarchy; with the UAE, a federation of tribal autocracies; and, with Jordan, a hereditary monarchy in which the king appoints the prime minister and all senators. And Americans should never forget our long love affair with various and sundry strongmen who we have supported and/or put into power via coups. Democracy abroad is far less a concern than business interests at home.
Excursus: Not only is Israel’s form of government not a concern of its enemies, neighbors, nor the US, Israel is arguably not a true democracy. It is closer to an ethnocracy as Jewish critics of Zionism and modern Israel like Oren Yiftachel and Gershom Gorenberg have noted (“a regime promoting ‘the expansion of the dominant group in contested territory while maintaining a democratic façade,’” The Unmaking of Israel, pg 5). Yiftachel further calls the idea of Israel as a democratic state an “illusion.” German-Jewish historian and Israeli military veteran, Daniel Cil Brecher asks whether Israel really is an “ethnic democracy” since full rights are only granted to the Jewish citizens. He concludes that after a series of political decisions beginning before Israel’s founding through the 1970s, “the ethnic element enjoyed priority over religion in Israeli nationality. In other words, the State of Israel had to act primarily as the guardian of the ethnic group” (A Stranger in the Land: Jewish Identity Beyond Nationalism, pgs 101, 102).
The difference between American Evangelical leaders and other global Christians regarding Palestinian suffering could not be more stark. Perhaps the Americans need another “Lausanne moment” in which its Evangelical leaders realize the need to be marked more by, in the words of John Stott, “evangelical penitence than by evangelical triumphalism,” repenting the pride of place, remembering that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 1:5).
fides quaerens intellectum
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