Remembering Nakba webinar – Monday 15th May at 7.30 pm
75 years ago, 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes and became refugees. Over 500 Palestinian villages were bulldozed, and trees were planted over the ruins to conceal them. This was no accident of war but a carefully executed plan (Plan D) to make way for the establishment of Israel by the Zionist forces in British Mandate Palestine. This webinar will highlight what happened in 1948; give eyewitness examples of continuing dispossession; consider colonial structures in Palestine and elsewhere; and offer prayerful reflection. You are invited to register for the event on Eventbrite
Easter, Passover and Ramadan
This year the festivals of Easter, Passover, and Ramadan coincided. There were clashes between Israeli police and Muslim worshippers with a violent attack by police inside the Al Aqsa Mosque. Christian and Muslim worshippers from Gaza were prevented from going to Jerusalem. The numbers attending the Easter ceremonies were severely curtailed by the Israeli authorities. Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian Christian, and international human rights lawyer, who currently serves as CEO of the North America Friends of Sabeel (FOSNA) writes about this attack on the Status Quo Agreement, which was designed to protect the holy places of all three faiths.
World Council of Churches statements on violence
On January 28th the General Secretary of the WCC, Rev Professor Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern about increased violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. He made specific reference to a gun attack on a Jerusalem Synagogue and Israeli military raids on Palestinian towns in the Occupied West Bank in which several people were shot dead. On the March 21st the WCC condemned attacks by Jewish extremists on the Church of Gethsemane, also known as the Church of All Nations. The (Catholic) Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a Guardian report, has warned that the current far-right Israeli government of Israel has made life worse for Christians in the birthplace of Christianity. He points to physical attacks on clergy and vandalism of church properties.
Kairos Palestine Easter alert 2023
The annual Easter Alert from Kairos Palestine is well illustrated and includes prayers and comment on the present situation for Palestinians living under the colonial-apartheid policies of Israel. The loss of land and the restrictions of the permit regime and planning regulations are all highlighted. One poignant story concerns the Christian Palestinian village of Iqrit, which was captured by Zionist forces in 1948. In 1951 when the village was demolished, only the church was left standing. The villagers still go to the church and use the graveyard, but they are not allowed to rebuild their homes. The suppression of non-violent creative resistance with the banning of several human rights organisations leaves less room for peaceful activism.
Open letter to the United Nations on AntiSemitism
More than one hundred human rights and civil rights organisations have written an open letter to the Secretary General of the UN urging that the UN should not adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. This definition has been used by Israel, and governments such as Germany, the UK and the USA to close down legitimate criticism of repressive and Israeli policies towards Palestinians that are illegal under international law. The open letter to the UN points to other definitions, such as the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, that have not been misused in the way that the IHRA definition has been.
Sabeel Liberation Theology publications
The Palestinian Christian Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre has recently published two studies available in pdf format. The Rev Dr Naim Ateek, the founder of Sabeel has written a very accessible booklet, ‘Challenging Religious Extremism’. He describes ISIS/Da’ish, Religious Zionism and Christian Zionism and their malign consequences. He points out that two religious Zionist extremists, Smotrich and Ben Gvir, are now government ministers. Smotrich proposes three options for Palestinians: (1) leave; (2) resist and be killed; (3) submit and live without rights as a resident alien. The second book is, ‘This is where we stand: A Sabeel Reflection on Antisemitism.’ This is a serious 134-page study that seeks to be sensitive to Jewish and Palestinian experience and perspectives. It was long in the writing and deserves to be read with care.
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