Kairos Ireland – Spring newsletter 2024

Introduction

According to the Irish Calander Spring has arrived and the first early flowers are beginning to bloom. Sadly, in Gaza the genocidal assault of Israel continues to bring death, destruction and misery to people who have no safe place to shelter. UNOCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) issues daily bulletins listing casualty figures and humanitarian needs. Between 7th October 2023 and 30th January 2024, UNOCHA reports that at least 26,751 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 65,636 were injured. In the same period 218 Israeli soldiers were killed and 1,283 were injured. In the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis last week many Palestinian men were detained, blindfolded, stripped to their underpants, and taken away by Israeli soldiers. There are 1.7 million displaced persons some of whom have been killed whilst taking shelter in UN schools. There is no electricity and little food and water. Only 14 of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are partially functioning. Humanitarian access is limited. Since 7th October 2023 over 1200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel. 136 hostages remained captive in Gaza.

In the occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank 370 Palestinians, including 94 children, have been killed, most of them by soldiers but some by armed settlers. Between 7th October 2023 and 30th January 2024, six Israelis, including 4 soldiers, have been killed in the West Bank by Palestinians. Four Israelis were also killed in West Jerusalem. There has been an increase in Settler violence towards Palestinian communities with associated intimidation and displacement.

Incarnation

It is still worth watching the Christmas sermon from the Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem where the pastor, Munther Isaac, explores the meaning of incarnation. If Jesus were born today, he asserts he would be born in Gaza. Instead of the Roman empire of old he would be facing the modern empire of Israel. Isaac expresses anger at the relative silence and indifference of western churches towards the suffering of the Palestinian people. He asks, can Palestinian Christians remain in communion with Western Christians in view of this weak response. German theologian Professor Dr Ulrich Duchrow has written a short note in response to this question. He looks back to the situation facing the German churches in the 1930’s when the National Socialists tried to co-opt them into their political programme. Then, Dietrich Bonhoeffer distinguished between the true church, which fearlessly upheld Christian principles without compromise, the erring church, which for a quiet life failed to confront the evil of fascism by not taking a clear stance, and the false church, which was co opted into the German-Christian (Deutsche Christen) movement. Professor Duchrow writes that members of the true church in Western countries today, ‘…  should immediately give a sign of solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters in order to confess Christ in this situation and be in communion with them. The immediate challenge is to call for a ceasefire and to immediately prevent and stop genocide. To act as true church in this situation is to acknowledge 75 years of injustice against the Palestinian people, repent of our own Christian failings in supporting and allowing this injustice to continue and now to escalate in a manner never seen before. We want to declare our commitment to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people now, until they achieve justice, freedom and security together with the Israeli Jewish population. Only together both people will have a future.’

International Court of Justice – allegation of genocide against the State of Israel

The interim ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday 26/01/24 affirms that there is a plausible case of genocide to be answered by Israel in relation to its ongoing military assault on Gaza. The interim judgement has been welcomed by a group of Palestinian human rights organisations. Al Haq, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights argue that ‘By ordering Israel to take all measures within its power to halt with immediate effect the commission of genocidal acts, the ICJ recognised the need for immediate action to protect the Palestinian people in Gaza, and immediately stop the ongoing killing of Palestinians in Gaza as members of a group.’ They point out that, ‘the court found that Israel’s actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal.’

There are implications not only for Israel but also for those countries, notably the USA, the UK and Germany, which have been supplying weapons and munitions to Israel and which enable the continuing violence. They may now find themselves judged to be complicit in the crime of genocide. Ireland is considering joining the South African ICJ case against the State of Israel. This support should be given immediately.

One aspect of the judgement related to dehumanising language that might encourage acts of genocide. The Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, referred to Gazans as ‘human animals.’ The president of Israel said that all Gazans were guilty of the assault on southern Israel on the 7th October 2023 and that there are no innocents. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has described Palestinians as ‘Amalek’. In the First book of Samuel chapter 15, King Saul was ordered to kill without mercy the Amalekite men, women, and children and their livestock because they failed to support the Hebrew migration to the Promised Land. The historical veracity of this story is questionable but what is not in doubt is that this ‘text of terror’ is a description of genocide. Some Israeli Government ministers have called for Gazans to be expelled from Gaza and for Jewish Settlements to be re-established in Gaza.

International Day of Prayer (1st March 2024)

The International Day of Prayer, formally known as Women’s World Day of Prayer, takes place on Friday 1st March. This years’ service has been prepared by a group of ecumenical Christian women in Palestine. The theme, based on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Eph 4:1-7), is ‘I beg you…bear with one another in love.” The service was prepared four years ago when the authors reflected on the Biblical passage from the context of their sufferings as Palestinian Christian women. The service includes three personal stories that are highly relevant to the current situation in Gaza. Please look out for the services being organised in your own area. There will be an RTE broadcast of the service on RTE television on Sunday 3rd March.

Holocaust Remembrance – (Never Again for Anyone)

Holocaust Remembrance Day took place on the 27th January, commemorating the day during the Second World War when the advancing Soviet Army over-ran the remains of the vast Auschwitz death camp. Around one million European Jews were murdered there together with other groups such as Roma and homosexual people who were deemed sub-human in the twisted ideology of the Nazis. At the Remembrance ceremony in Dublin the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, reminded people that prejudice and violence against any group must be rejected and called for an end to the current assault on Gaza by Israel. In the USA Jewish groups made the point that ‘Never Again’ means never again for any group. American rabbis wrote to President Biden condemning the supply of weapons to Israel for the genocide against the people of Gaza. Also read this Jewish voice from America representing progressive student voices. In Belfast the Holocaust commemoration listed many of the genocides that have taken place in recent history from the German colonial genocide against the Herero and Namaqua people of Southwest Africa (1904) and the Armenian genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire. Kairos Ireland was one of the sponsoring groups for this event.

A majority of Irish people think that Israel is practicing apartheid

A recent opinion poll carried out on behalf of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine (IAACP) shows that 71% of people in Ireland agree that Palestinian people live under a system of apartheid implemented against them by Israel. This was in response to the UN definition of apartheid as involving systematic oppression, domination and discrimination by one racial group over another racial group. 62% of those polled also think that the EU should now impose sanctions on Israel like those imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.  

Responding to the poll, the Chair of the IAACP, Senator Frances Black said: “As we enter an election year, including the possibility of an Autumn general election, politicians should pay attention to the depth of feeling among the Irish public evident from this polling and from the hundreds of thousands of people who have marched throughout the country in the last three months.”

Actions for peace and justice

In the face of the relentless and barbaric attack on Gaza we can feel helpless. In the past international sanctions played a part in persuading apartheid South Africa to seek a future for all its citizens. Kairos Palestine calls on us to support the BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement as a non-violent way of applying pressure on Israel. We can personally refuse to purchase goods and services from Israel. Resources provided by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign are useful in guiding our actions.

We can encourage the Irish Government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill banning trade with illegally occupied territories. We can support the Irish Government in its efforts to demand that Israel abides by its human rights obligations and press the EU to review the Israel/EU Association Agreement. We can encourage our churches to be part of the true church by standing up clearly for a ceasefire and for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel.

There will be a National Demonstration for Freedom and Justice for Palestine on Saturday 17th February marching from the Garden of Remembrance (at 1pm) to the Department of Foreign Affairs. This is part of a Global Day of Action.

For people living in Northern Ireland Christian Aid offers a letter to be sent to MPs and the British Government demanding an end to the provision of weapons to Israel.