A Discipleship Invitation | Israel & Palestine

Camel of Hardship (جمل المحامل), Sliman Mansour, 1978

We have been burdened along with many of you as we see daily reports of continued violence in Gaza. Three weeks have passed since the orchestrated massacre where Hamas took over 1500 Israeli lives, harmed even more, and continues to hold Israeli citizens captive. Following this violence we saw Israel mount a campaign that has already claimed over 7000 Palestinian lives, with the number growing daily. We deeply grieve all of these lives lost; we lament how this violence inhibits efforts at long-term peace throughout the region; and we condemn the growing incidents of hate crimes this violence has encouraged (both anti-semitic and anti-Arab/Palestinian), claiming lives around the world and in our own state of Illinois.

As a church we feel called to give voice to the anger, confusion, horror, and despair felt by so many. We take a moment to pause and remind each other that witnessing, lamenting, praying, and advocating are part of discipleship; as we cry out, we can be certain that our voices are heard by a God who is all-seeing, all-hearing, and all-loving.

As Christians, we begin by affirming that all humans bear the imago dei, the image of God, and deserve the protection of life and the ability to thrive. We are also called to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, the suffering, and those without resources or the ability to have their own voices be heard. We lament alongside all those families and communities, both Palestinian and Israeli, who have lost loved ones; parents going to bed without their children, spouses who do not know if their wives or husbands are dead or captive, grandparents grieving the loss of their descendents. We pray for their healing, safety, comfort, and peace.

We also acknowledge that this region holds deep significance for Christians and many people of faith, and contains complex spiritual, historic, and political dynamics. We speak from a place of privilege as Western, American Christians whose own country has an occupying and colonizing history, and as ones not personally subject to this violence. We are far from experts on this conflict and its history and so resist acting as if we know more than we do on one hand, or turning away in despair or avoidance on the other. We commit to learning alongside local experts and trusted leaders and organizations from the region, credited historians, faith and community organizers, and those most impacted by the violence and suffering.

We join with many in condemning Hamas’s actions and all acts of terror and violence that have taken Israeli lives throughout the years. And we also condemn the ongoing attacks against the Palestinian people that continue, largely with global agreement. We are troubled by the unequivocal support many Western churches seem to offer Israel without consideration of the violence carried out by that state on the Palestinian people, with 75-year old roots. The current humanitarian and health crisis in Gaza is growing more catastrophic by the hour; thousands of innocent civilians have been killed through air strikes and chemical warfare (according to reporting from the Human Rights Watch), an estimated 1.4 million people are currently displaced in a space about half the size of the city of Chicago, and 42% of all housing has been destroyed in the last three weeks. As of today, Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout leaving Palestinians without energy or water, and hospitals without the means to provide care. The population in Gaza is estimated to be 52% children; it has been likened to an apartheid state, open-air prison, and refugee encampment.

Retributive violence only begets more retributive violence. We join with human rights groups around the world who are calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages, stopping the loss of human life, and for humanitarian aid to be provided swiftly and generously. We cry out and lament, we witness and we grieve, and we respond as ones who still have hope – that God will move, heal, restore, liberate, and bring peace to this region. We pray that God’s will would be done and God’s kin-dom purposes be fulfilled, on earth as it is in heaven, throughout this conflict and that we help each other battle the misinformation, high emotions, fear, and mistaken or misplaced theologies that can hamper moving forward toward peace. Remind us oh God, that You are a God who sees, who provides, who mourns with those who mourn, and who fights for the oppressed and the suffering. With the prophets may we be ones who proclaim, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, and may we embody our call to be a people who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We remain steadfast as we follow the call of our faith to reimagine how to be peacemakers, hope bringers, truth tellers, justice seekers, restoration of the city makers, and followers of the Jesus way - even amidst conflict, disagreement, fear, and violence. We invite the wider church to recommit to our part of this work - to witness, lament, learn more, and then continue to pray and advocate - as we turn toward God and one another and embody Christian faith together. Amen.

Some resources and orgs that we’ve found to be helpful that we want to share:

• Christ at the Checkpoint – Learn from those at the center of the conflict by reading the open letter from Palestinian Christians.

• Churches for Middle East Peace – Act by writing your representatives to demand a cease fire.

• The Telos Group – Sign a collective petition.

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency – Giving financially in order to send aid.

• Human Rights Watch