As we come to the close of 2024, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace sends out this update with heavy hearts. Seventy-six years after the start of the Nakba and fourteen months after the current phase of the Israeli genocide against our people, Palestinians are facing one of the ugliest crimes since the Nazi death camps. While the genocidal crimes against European Jews took place largely in the isolation of the concentration camps, the genocide against Palestinians is taking place in broad daylight visible to all, with ideological cover from a largely complicit mainstream media. Members of PCAP have endured the slaughter of some of their own relatives in Gaza.
Like Palestinian Reverend Munther Isaac, we are angry as well as grieved, but PCAP continues to be a voice of advocacy for our people.
PCAP recently launched a campaign called “Take a Stand for the Holy Land” aimed at reaching churchgoers in the pews, urging them to learn more about the plight of the Palestinian people. It calls on people to take a stand to prevent the threat that Israeli crimes pose to the very existence of indigenous Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land. Please read more about our campaign below, and share it widely with your contacts.
We also continue to have faith in the triumph of righteousness over evil, empowered not only by the Palestinian people’s Sumud (resilience), but also by the solidarity of our allies in the U.S. Christians in the U.S. have been at the forefront of the protest movement against the Israeli perpetrators of the genocide and their enablers and accomplices—the leaders of some of the most powerful countries in the so-called civilized world.
For those of you who have been standing up against this genocide by protesting, calling your representatives, participating in boycotting campaigns, we thank you. For those of you who are coming to understand the injustice and are willing to take a stand, we thank you and we welcome you. May this holy month bring a lasting peace and an end to the suffering and injustice towards Palestinians.
Help us magnify the voices of Palestinian Christians!
On November 19th, the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Friends of Sabeel North America launched a campaign to protest Israel’s confiscation of Christian and Muslim property and the escalation of violence against Palestinians. The new campaign is endorsed by eighteen organizations including groups from ten major US denominations. Called “Take a Stand for the Holy Land,” the movement aims to increase awareness among American Christians of the land theft and persecution affecting members of their own faith community as well as Palestinian Muslims.
The campaign website features answers to commonly heard questions about Christians of the Holy Land, what happened to them in the past and what is happening now. Many Americans are surprised to learn that there are indigenous Christians still living in Palestine. While exploring their reality, the campaign emphasizes that the persecution Christians in this region endure is no different from that of their Muslim neighbors.
Churches throughout the country are being asked to organize study groups aimed at informing, then taking action, to stop the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. We hope that the extensive support for this campaign, the timing of its launch during the Advent season, as well as the worsening situation on the ground will give it greater momentum than past initiatives.
In addition to the main sponsors, the Take a Stand Campaign is endorsed by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network, Justice for Palestine and Israel Community of the Alliance of Baptists, Franciscan Action Network, Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Orthodox Christians for Palestine, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Disciples of Christ Palestine Israel Network, United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network, Pax Christi USA, American Friends Service Committee, Christians for Ceasefire, Joining Hands for Justice in Palestine and Israel, Red Letter Christians, Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, and Partners for Palestine. For more information, visit www.pcap-us.org/tas.
Recalling the Horrors of the Past Year in Gaza
Gaza Christians martyred in Israel’s Genocide against Palestine.
On October 19th, 2023 Israel bombed the compound of the Gaza Church of St. Porphyrius Orthodox Church, killing at least 18 Christians among the hundreds that were sheltering there.
Some of the victims were relatives of three of PCAP’s co-founders; Rev. Alex Awad, Ghassan Tarazi, and Philip Farah. A survivor of the bombing, 84-year old Elham Farah, who was a beloved music teacher, had moved in desperation to the Catholic Church of the Holy Family. About three weeks later, she stepped outside the building to see if her house was still standing. An Israeli sniper shot her in the leg and she fell to the ground. People in the church were unable to rescue her, as each time they went out they came under fire. She lay in the street all night. On Monday morning it was reported that an Israeli tank ran over her body. Israeli snipers also shot to death an elderly Christian woman and her daughter inside the Church of the Holy Family on December 18, 2023, prompting the Pope to condemn this crime and essentially accuse Israel of terrorism.
PCAP Board members know of other relatives who died prematurely while sheltering in the two Gaza churches because of Israel’s policy of starving the population, especially in the northern part of the Strip, and drastically limiting medical supplies and equipment. This is a tiny part of the larger story wherein leading medical experts have estimated that the number of people killed by Israel’s genocidal war far exceeds the 44,000 thousand—mostly women and children- that have been reported by Gaza health authorities. For example, in July, 2024, a study in the prestigious U.K.- medical journal, The Lancet, concluded the following:
“Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2,375 259, this would translate to 7.9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip.”
Let it be clear: Silence is complicity, and empty calls for peace without a ceasefire and end to occupation, and the shallow words of empathy without direct action — are all under the banner of complicity. So here is my message: Gaza today has become the moral compass of the world. Gaza was hell on earth before October 7th. If you are not appalled by what is happening; if you are not shaken to your core – there is something wrong with your humanity.”
Friends. Truth is evident for all to see. There is nothing to debate. Apartheid is clear. Genocide is clear. We don’t need to explain anymore. Truth is evident for all to see. World leaders know the truth. They are denying it. In fact, they have been denying it for 76 years.
The church wants to avoid controversy. Can you imagine if Jesus walked on earth avoiding controversy! Can you imagine if at his time he was asked a question, he would craft a balanced statement that aimed at appealing to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the disciples and the Romans!!
God is under the rubble in Gaza. He is with the frightened and the refugees. He is in the operating room. This is our consolation. He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. If we want to pray, my prayer is that those who are suffering will feel His healing and comforting presence.
God is in solidarity with the marginalized and the oppressed. He takes sides; he is not neutral…
Gaza is the moral compass of the world. We either side with the logic of power and ruthlessness, with the lords of war, and with those who justify and rationalize the killing of children. Or you side with the victims of oppression and injustice, and those who are besieged and dehumanized by the forces of Empire and colonization. It is really a simple choice: you either support a genocide, turn a blind eye or justify a genocide, or you cry out: No! Not in our name!
The way that the churches of the world deal with injustice in our land will reveal a great deal about these churches. We do not exaggerate to say that the credibility of the churches and our Christian witness is at stake. I recall here something the South African theologian and thinker Allan Boesak said, namely that Palestine today is the gauge for churches and the conscience of churches today.
The sumud (“steadfastness”) of Palestinians is anchored in our just cause and our historical rootedness in this land. …We are also encouraged and empowered by the costly solidarity and support of many churches and grassroots faith movements around the world, challenging the dominance of ideologies of power and supremacy. We refuse to give in, even when our siblings abandon us. We are steadfast in our hope, resilient in our witness, and continue to be committed to the Gospel of faith, hope, and love, in the face of tyranny and darkness. “In the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry of hope.”
PCAP’s Advocacy and Activism
PCAP continued our advocacy and activism throughout the period . Here are a few examples:
In late November, PCAP organized a vigil in Washington D.C. during the National Tree Lighting ceremony. Scores of people attended, lining the street by the White House behind the police barriers as about 10,000 guests streamed past us. We carried signs calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide; sang Christmas carols, some with words altered with similar messaging; and passed thousands of leaflets.
In January of 2024, more than 1,000 Black pastors representing hundreds of thousands of congregants nationwide issued a demand for a ceasefire in Gaza. In sit-down meetings with White House officials, and through open letters and advertisements, ministers called on President Biden to press Israel to stop its offensive operations in Gaza. PCAP played an important role in rallying the Black pastors to take this courageous course of action.
In October of this year, PCAP teamed up with Friends of Sabeel North America, hosting a webinar with Professor Ilan Pappe on Christian Zionism and the Israel Lobby. Over 1000 people attended the webinar. You can view it here, and read Dr. Awad Halabi’s reflection on the webinar at PCAP’s website.
Christians in Solidarity
Christian protesters have put their lives on the line, risking arrest in the heart of the U.S. capitol. Others have successfully lobbied their denominations to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s apartheid system (link here and here). At its biennial policy-setting conference in July, the Presbyterian Church USA, representing 1.14 million members, voted to divest its holdings of Israeli bonds and to condemn Christian Zionism. Even Pope Francis has called for an investigation into whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
In a bold and welcome move, the Palestine-Israel Network of the United Church of Christ announced that Israel’s actions against Palestinians constitute genocide. Entitled “It’s Past Time: Naming Israel’s Genocide in Gaza,” the statement includes a challenge to those in positions of authority, saying, “It is past time for all our political and religious leaders to recognize and name the atrocity in Gaza for the genocide that it is.” A statement naming Israel’s genocide was recently circulated within the denomination, gaining 800 signatures from clergy and lay leaders.
A vigil led by Christians for Ceasefire was held near the National Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington, DC on December 5th. It featured a replica of the Christ in the Rubble manger installation created last year at the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Christmas carols with revised wording to reflect the current reality were sung, and Palestinian Christians bore witness, ensuring that the agony of our people is not forgotten amid the noise and clamor of the Christmas season.
Palestinians and all people of good conscience around the world are raising our voices to warn of accelerated ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and the need to take action now. Many have pledged, “Never again!” and it is time to fulfill that promise now by mobilizing to raise awareness, build interfaith coalitions, demand an end to any aid to the Israeli military and an end to charitable tax-write offs for contributions to Israeli settlements, and by committing to the boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Each day and week, we hear about more atrocities committed by Israeli soldiers and settlers and about racist, inciteful slurs from Israeli politicians. Several days this week, Israeli soldiers stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque and viciously attacked innocent worshippers during morning prayer in the holy month of Ramadan. PCAP strongly condemns this latest act of Israeli state violence against the Palestinians. We ask everyone to please use this form circulated by Americans for Justice in Palestine Action to urge members of Congress to condemn and hold Israel accountable for this atrocity and to halt all military aid to Israel.
We are still in shock from the pogrom committed by fanatical Israeli settlers in Huwara in the occupied Palestinian Territories in February. Instead of stopping the settlers from committing murder, causing grave injuries, and wanton destruction of livestock, trees, and property, the Israeli army stood by and enabled the pogrom. The army blocked ambulances from reaching the scores of casualties while the fires set ablaze by the settlers raged. And it was just a few days after the Israelis carried out a massacre in Nablus, killing 10 Palestinians, including a 16-year-old child, with an 11th man subsequently dying from tear gas exposure. According to OCHA, the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in addition to the 10 Palestinians killed by gunfire, another “453 were injured including 103 with live ammunition… This is the highest number of people killed in a single operation in the West Bank since OCHA started recording data in 2005.”
Coverage by Mondoweiss described eyewitness accounts from the Nablus and Balata refugee camps: “More than 50 Israeli military vehicles launched a full-fledged land invasion of Nablus while imposing a closure on entry and exit points to the city.”
In January, Israeli forces committed another massacre in Jenin, killing 10 Palestinians including a 61-year-old grandmother. And 2022 marked the deadliest year for Palestinians in the oPt since 2005, with Israeli occupation forces killing 231 Palestinians. Settler violence has also increased with the protection of the army. With this year’s installation of the most far-right, openly racist Israeli government ever and with these increasing trends in attacks, the PCAP Board calls on all American churches, Christian organizations, and individual Christians to speak out against Israel’s genocidal policies and demand that the U.S. government start taking effective actions to sanction Israeli crimes.
Many resources are available that offer guidance about concrete actions that can be taken to stem this rising tide of intolerable, racist violence against the Palestinian population. Without the complicity of the United States government, these atrocities would not be taking place. We greatly value the support that various Christian denominations have extended to the cause of peace and justice in Palestine/Israel thus far, but it is time for our allies in the churches to organize for unified action to counter the far better-organized and politically powerful Christian Zionism in the U.S.
PCAP wishes all who celebrate a blessed Easter, recognizing that the Resurrection of our Savior signals a victory of life over death and brings new hope to our struggle for peace and justice. We also wish our Jewish sisters and brothers a happy Passover and our Muslim sisters and brothers a blessed Ramadan with our hopes that your days are filled with gentle introspection, forgiveness, and spiritual fullness.
PCAP Board Member Rev. Alex Awad Interviews Rev. Don Wagner
In February, the Church of Christ's Anti-Racism Task Force hosted a conversation with PCAP Board member, Rev. Dr. Alex Awad and Donald E. Wagner, a Presbyterian pastor and author of "Glory to God in the Lowest: Journeys to an Unholy Land." Rev. Don Wagner's book documents his journey from conservative, evangelical Presbyterian minister to anti-war, anti-racist justice-seeking advocate for the Palestinian people.
Palestinian Christians and a History of Palestine
PCAP Board member, Dr. Awad Halabi, spoke on the topic of Palestinian Christians and a history of Palestine to the members of Cheviot United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 19, near Cincinnati, OH. Members from this church will be taking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Easter. Awad’s talk encouraged them to arrange meetings with Palestinian Christians and take political tours led by human rights activists to see the reality of Israel’s occupation and its application of apartheid laws over the land and people.
PCAP ADVOCACY
Christian Zionism, Islamophobia, and Wars on Arabs
Read the third article in PCAP's series on Christian Zionism.
Christian Zionism has played an increasingly important role not only in aiding the establishment of Israel, but also in stoking the fires of Islamophobia and contributing to destabilizing the Arab World and the East Asian region. In the post-colonial period, western powers, now led by the U.S., supported Arab Islamists as an alternative to Arab left-leaning secularists. The U.S. came to consider the oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which professes an ultra-conservative version of Islam, as its formest ally in the Arab World. However, a series of complex events in the Arab World and East Asia have resulted in the current socio-political configuration-- one where the U.S. continues to favor Saudi Arabia and Islamist groups supported by the Saudis, while American groups with vast political influence push an Islamophobic agenda. Christian Zionists are foremost among the Islamophobes in the U.S. and elsewhere. Read the full article.
Challenging the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
PCAP Board members, Paul Noursi and Reverend Fahed Abu-Akel, have been at the forefront of efforts in their respective states of Virginia and Georgia to push back against efforts to codify the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism, which falsely conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. This violates the First Amendment right to free speech and is very problematic for advocacy work for Palestinian human rights and freedom. PCAP officers recently sent letters to the Virginia, Indiana, and Georgia legislatures, stating their objections to the IHRA definition and urging their state representatives to vote against efforts to codify it. Reverend Dr. Abu Akel also presented testimony to the Georgia Legislature's Judiciary Committee stating why the IHRA definition would infringe on human rights advocacy and freedom of speech.
PCAP Virtual Book Event Will Commemorate the 75th
Anniversary of the Nakba
Saturday, May 6th
12:00 pm EST online
Register today for PCAP's May 6th lunchtime webinar commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Nakba with Thomas Suarez, author of the recently publishedPalestine Hijacked: How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State from River to Sea. Tom has published widely on the issue of the injustices committed against the Palestinian people by Israel and the Zionist movement. Illan Pappe called his book State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel (Olive Branch Press, 2016), “The first comprehensive and structured analysis of the violence and terror employed by the Zionist movement and later the state of Israel against the people of Palestine.” State of Terror has been translated into Arabic and French. His book Writings on the Wall: Palestinian Oral Histories (Interlink, 2019) collects and preserves oral testimonies of what Palestinians have experienced under seven decades of Israeli rule. His articles have appeared in Mondoweiss, Middle East Monitor, Washington Report on the Middle East, and countercurrents.org.
Receive as a gift Tom Suarez’s new book Palestine Hijacked:How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State from River to Sea when you donate $40 or more to PCAP.
Palestinian Rituals of Identityby PCAP Board member, Dr. Awad Halabi, takes an innovative approach to the study of Palestine's modern history by focusing on the Prophet Moses festival from the late Ottoman period through the era of British rule. Halabi explores how the festival served as an arena of competing discourses, with various social groups attempting to control its symbols. Tackling questions about modernity, colonialism, gender relations, and identity, Halabi recounts how peasants, Bedouins, rural women, and Sufis sought to influence the festival even as Ottoman authorities, British colonists, Muslim clerics, and Palestinian national leaders did the same. Drawing on extensive research in Arabic newspapers and Islamic and colonial archives, Halabi reveals how the festival has encapsulated Palestinians' responses to modernity, colonialism, and the nation's growing national identity.
The Politics of Archaeology - Christian Zionism and the Creation of Facts Underground
Nick Griffith, Executive Director of Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU), which publishes The Link, writes that in its latest edition, AMEU Board President Mimi Kirk "looks at enabling actors from America’s Christian evangelical communities, and how their interests coincide with archaeological pursuits in occupied Palestinian territories. She details the relationship between American Christian Zionists and powerbrokers from Israel and the U.S., exposing the cynical politics that lie behind the digging. The damage these craven partnerships have wrought was on particular display during the Trump era, when groups like John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel were enlisted by billionaire donors and political minions to serve extremist agendas. New theologies and so-called 'prosperity gospels' lead legions of American evangelicals to effectively disavow core values of both church and state, leaving one to wonder, What master do they serve? In a closing paragraph, Mimi Kirk underscores the urgent need to reverse these destructive tides and undo some of the harm she chronicles from the City of David, Tel Shiloh, and Qumran."
Justice on the Cross: Palestinian Liberation Theology, the Struggle against Israeli Oppression, and the Church
Kathleen Christison’s new book, Justice on the Cross, is an eye-opener for those seeking to know the truth about the Palestinian people in the twenty-first century. This marginalized indigenous Palestinian Christian population includes descendants of the earliest followers of Jesus, still exercising their faith. Overlooked by the world, Palestinians have been vilified by the settler-colonial forces appropriating their land, starving them of resources, and skewing the narrative of their struggle. Using the teachings of Jesus as her lens, Christison shows the effectiveness of liberation theology in resolving other intractable struggles for human and political rights. To answer the very real existential challenges of this threatened community, she invokes the dignity of non-violent resistance and the timeless imperatives of bringing comfort to the suffering ones and letting the oppressed go free. Christison notes that Palestinian liberation theology is a "non-violent political-theological resistance that follows Jesus's teachings that God is present with all God's children."
Lenten Reflections: Why We Must Stand in Solidarity With Gaza
Dr. Gregory Shay, a Catholic pediatric pulmonologist, reflects on his time spent in Gaza working with MedGlobal to provide training and support for local doctors in the region: "It is too easy to focus on our differences from the people of Gaza, and far more important to recognize that at our core, beyond geographical distance and faith traditions, we are alike. At the heart of our faith is the belief that all human life is sacred and worthy of dignity. This is why it is so heartbreaking to see the people of Gaza facing such tremendous challenges in accessing even basic healthcare."
Israel’s Secret Collusion with Trump to Win 2016 Race
In his new book, Spyfail: Foreign Spies, Moles, Saboteurs, and the Collapse of America’s Counterintelligence, investigative journalist James Bamford reveals that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched a secret Israeli agent to the United States in the spring of 2016 to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. The agent met with advisers to Trump and offered to share secret intelligence with the campaign against Hillary Clinton. Bamford’s investigation finds that while American media fixated on Russia’s role in swaying the 2016 election, Israeli interference was completely ignored. Watch the interview.
Al-Haq Calls for International Accountability Measures as Alarming Settler Attacks on Palestinians Leave Huwwara Properties Razed in Blistering Inferno
Starting at the end of February, Israeli colonial settlers, illegally present in the occupied West Bank,conducteda series of arson attacks on Palestinian homes and private properties, including trees and cars, in an egregious systematic act of reprisal and collective punishment on Huwwara and other near-by Palestinian villages. The Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) facilitated the settler attack, effectively laying siege to Huwwara by closingoff all the entrances of the town, in advance of the attack, permitting the entrance of hundreds of settlers by foot, and preventing the entry of medics and journalists. Read Al Haq's full statement.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Marketing the Israeli Occupation, Part One Sunday, April 16th 3:00 PM EST
When Al Jazeera produced a 4-part documentary series on this lobbying “industry,” intense pressure forced it to cancel the broadcast. Then The Electronic Intifada posted a leaked copy. THE LOBBY–USA, Episode 4 follows an undercover journalist posing as a pro-Israel volunteer who gets unprecedented access to the operations of Israel Lobby groups in Washington, D.C. We watch as Israel’s covert campaign strives to influence partisan politics, campus life, major network news reporting, and social media in America. This will be first in a series of VFHL salons on the theme Marketing the Israeli Occupation.
Watch the film for free at your convenience; then join the Q&A discussion with: Grant F. Smith: Author; Director, Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy Edward Ahmed Mitchell: National Deputy Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations Rebecca Vilkomerson (moderator): Author; former Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace PCAP is a co-sponsor of this event. Watch the trailer.
Save the Date Sunday, May 14th @ 1 PM The Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and supporters from across the Palestine movement will lead a rally in Washington, D.C. at the northeast quadrant of the Washington Monument to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba. PCAP is a co-sponsor of this event.
Your contributions allow us to continue and strenghthen our important work of witnessing on behalf of the Palestinian American Christian community to churches and Christians in the US. Receive as a gift Tom Suarez’s new book Palestine Hijacked:How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State from River to Sea when you donate $40 or more to PCAP. Please indicate on our donation page if you would like to receive this book.
At this time of the year when we are thinking of the Holy Birth of the Prince of Peace, our hearts are heavy with the lack of peace in the country of our Lord and Savior. In Palestine, our Palestinian Christian church and community cannot celebrate this coming holy day in comfort, freedom, and happiness because of the restrictions, insecurity, and cruel treatment imposed by the apartheid government of Israel on both Christian and Muslim Palestinians alike.
Since the creation of Israel, the hopes and fears of those living under the oppression of the occupation have risen and fallen while conditions have continued to worsen over time. This year, Israeli occupation forces have killed more than 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, in the occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, making 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2006 (Al Jazeera, 12/8/22).
Representing US Palestinian Christian voices, we at PCAP condemn in the strongest possible terms the Israeli occupation forces' ongoing and increasing violence against the Palestinian population under its control. We are alarmed by the intensifying racist and militaristic actions of the Israeli government that have translated into an upsurge of extrajudicial assassinations of young Palestinian resistors and bystanders, by the large number of arrests of Palestinian children, the ongoing home demolitions and land confiscations, and other human rights abuses.
Those of us who were forced to leave our homeland have tried hard to expose the continuous mistreatment of our compatriots in the occupied territories. Yet our hopes have been continually dashed by the brutality experienced by Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem, Jenin, and throughout the occupied territories.
We continue to pray and work for peace, hoping that, along with the efforts of human rights advocates of all faiths, we will eventually succeed and enable Palestinians to finally live in a just and free society.
We urge you to generously contribute to PCAP's outreach efforts to American Christians and churches to educate and mobilize them to act for a true and just peace in the Holy Land.
The Board members of PCAP thank you for your continued support and wish you and your families a joyful Christmas season.
View the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace Christmas message presented by Board Member Rev. Dr. Alex Awad
PCAP ADVOCACY
Zionist Settler-Colonialism Has Its Ideological Roots in Euro-Centric Christian Colonialism Read the second article in PCAP's series on Christian Zionism.
The first article in this seriesaddressed the origins of modern Zionism as an offshoot of European settler-colonialism. In this second article in PCAP’s series on Christian Zionism, we look at how Herzl’s Zionism brought very little that was new: the concept of “return to Zion, the Promised Land;” the superior rights of the conqueror to that of the indigenous people; the forced expulsion of indigenous people from their land; the branding of resistance as terrorism—all of these cornerstones of the establishment of Israel and its continued existence as a Jewish State, have their roots in Christian European Zionism. Read the full article.
PCAP Campaign Raises Awareness about Ongoing Unlawful Arrests of Palestinian Children
PCAP helped initiate a social media campaign focused on the World Cup to call for the release of Shadi Khoury and all Palestinian child prisoners. Staff at our partner, Friends of Sabeel North America, designed social media graphics, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights also participated. Shadi, age 16, was released from Israeli prison after more than a month, on November 27th, and was placed on house arrest.
ADVOCACY RESOURCES
Two New Films, "Tantura” and "Farha," Expose the Lie at the Heart of Israel's Founding Myth
Historians now agree that plans for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine were charted and put into action before the state of Israel was founded in 1948. Israeli historians, such as Illan Pappé and Benny Morris, have exposed what Palestinians have long known, that the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians and the destruction of more than 500 of their villages was a designed and orchestrated effort to create an ethno-nationalist Jewish state. One example of the efforts Zionists took to frighten and expel Palestinians is the massacre they committed at the seaside village of Tantura. Details of this atrocity are revealed in a recently released documentary that interviews the Palestinian survivors and the pre-state Israeli soldiers who executed this cruel massacre. Although Israeli society has attempted to suppress information about this crime, even to the point of condemning fellow Israelis who attempt to reveal the truth of what happened, as the documentary explains, the survivors relate a powerful testimony of Palestine’s ethnic cleansing. Another recently released film available on Netflix also explores the experience of one young woman as she witnesses Jewish forces executing a massacre of her fellow villagers. Based on true events, Farhaoffers audiences a historical dramatization of the violence inflicted on Palestinians in 1948, a national trauma that they refer to as the "Nakba," or catastrophe.
Statement of the 2022 International Conference of Kairos Palestine: “The People, the Church & Resisting the Occupation” In Beit Sahour, November 18 and 19, the International Conference of Kairos Palestine issued the following statement.
Our steadfast hope and demand for justice rise up in the face of the following.
The situation on the ground in Palestine/Israel continues to worsen, as documented in the recent reports of Al Haq, Badil, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the UN.’s Special Rapporteur citing Israel’s apartheid laws, policies and practices. There is a growing global condemnation of the State of Israel’s apartheid regime, its war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Following consecutive Israeli governments, the newly forming Israeli government is poised to further widen existing injustices by welcoming openly racist cabinet members, deepening its settlement enterprise, and changing the face of its justice system, reflecting a global phenomenon.
The heresy of Christian Zionism -one of many theological justifications for and defenses of the policies of Israel - is on the rise in the Christian community. In addition, some churches and ecumenical bodies are enabling the oppression of Palestinians by choosing to remain silent - opting for neutrality, preferring their own convenience over costly solidarity, hiding behind old paradigms of shallow diplomacy and selective interfaith relations. In still other communions, there are official statements accompanied by little action.
Over the past two years, Heads of Churches and other clergy leaders have spoken with urgency charging that Christian presence in the land is under grave threat. Read the full statement.
This report aims to expand on the current apartheid discourse, and push for the recognition of the colonial practices of Israel, both past and present, and its consistent use of settler colonial policies against the Palestinian people, recognizing the connection between the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and the wider, global movement of indigenous liberation against both colonialism and other associated forms of structural and institutionalized racism. Read the full report.
Apartheid Israel: The New Reality
This webinar was produced by The Movement for Liberation from Nakba, a coalition of organizations and individuals from Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa. Speaker Gideon Levy, an internationally recognized Israeli journalist with Haaretz discusses the apartheid nature and ongoing war crimes of Israel committed against Palestinians. The moderator is Ilan Pappé, a renown Israeli historian. The coalition has produced a series of informative webinars that are available on YouTube.
IN THE NEWS
Jesus was Palestinian: Re-politicizing Christmas Amidst Israeli Repression
Jeanine Hourani recounts her trip to Palestine during Christmas, when she was confronted with Israel’s erasure of Christian Palestinian history. It was also a far cry from the depoliticised nativity stories she was exposed to growing up in Australia. Read her full article.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Film Salon: Is Israel an Apartheid State? Sunday, January 15, 2023 3pm EST
Does Israel’s treatment of Palestinians constitute a form of apartheid--the systematic segregation and discrimination of a population on the basis of race, first put into place in South Africa? Such is the claim of the UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and journalists from a range of media. The International Criminal Court has labeled apartheid “a crime against humanity.” Two short documentary films explore the separate and distinct laws, physical infrastructure, civil systems and military enforcement applied to Palestinians in Israel and in the occupied territories. If this is apartheid, what is the authority of the UN and the ICC to adjudicate Israel’s violation of international law? Israel’s newly elected right-wing government promises more extreme forms of discrimination, exclusion, and violence directed at Palestinian citizens of Israel and in the occupied territories.
Watch the film for free at your convenience, and join the Q&A discussion with an expert panel. PCAP is a co-sponsor of this event. Watch the trailer.
We are all watching events in Palestine with great concern for the people there. We urge you to join us in prayers for peace with justice and advocacy for the international community to act to ensure full human rights and God-given freedom for the Palestinian people.
Below we share some of our latest initiatives to achieve this, including a new series of articles analyzing the scope and impact of Christian Zionism and its complicity in the ongoing Nakba.
We also ask you to sign the appeal to our legislators to demand the release of Shadi Khoury, a 16-year old arrested by the Israeli occupation authorities, and all other Palestinian children held in Israeli jails.
This edition also offers advocacy and educational resources that we ask you to disseminate broadly to your networks, and we share some exciting upcoming events organized by our partners. In addition, we encourage all congregations to take up FOSNA's call to Preach Palestine on Sunday, November 27.
This month, we also warmly welcome two esteemed new PCAP Board members, Professor May Seikaly and Rula Kort.
As always, we encourage your generous donations which allow us to strengthen and expand our work for peace.
In peace,
Fahed, Muna, Nahida, and Paul
PCAP Officers on behalf of the Board
PCAP ADVOCACY
PCAP Launches Christian Zionism Article Series
Christian Zionism has historically exercised and continues to exert a huge influence on Western policy towards Palestine/Israel. It preceded the modern Zionist movement and greatly contributed to providing legitimacy to Israel’s establishment; today, it continues to contribute to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. PCAP is launching a series of articles exposing the links between Christian Zionism and the intensifying belligerence of the Israeli apartheid regime and in its ghettoization and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. This series of articles is not intended solely for providing information on Christian Zionism, but also for raising supportfor the Palestinians who are resisting Israeli Apartheid, as they call on the world to boycott, divest, and sanction Israeli Apartheid. Learn more about this call to action.
Palestinian Children are Being Unlawfully Kidnapped, Detained, and Arrested
PCAP has received an urgent message from Samia Khoury, a friend to many of us and a former longstanding president of the YWCA of Palestine, regarding the arrest of her 16-year old grandson, Shadi, by Israeli occupation forces.Please read her letter below. Shadi, like the other Palestinian child prisoners held in Israeli prisons, is being exposed to both physical and psychological torture. The NGO Save the Children has extensively documented the mistreatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli military. Further, Israel is the only country to try (only Palestinian) children in military courts. PCAP asks you to contact your national legislators and ask them to take action to release Shadi and all other Palestinian child prisoners.
For US and Canadian citizens, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA--Sabeel is the Palestinian [Christian] Center for Liberation Theology) set up this link to make it easy for you to contact your federal elected representatives about Shadi's case.
Read Samia Khoury's letter below.
Dear Friends
In the early hours of this morning the Israeli occupation forces, consisting of a troop of around 12 persons consisting of army and secret service, stormed my son’s house after breaking the gate at the entrance of the compound in which we all live, so as to arrest his younger son Shadi Khoury, a sixteen-year-old child, a student at the Quakers Friends School in Ramallah. They beat him until he was bleeding all over the room and along the path on the way out of the house dragging him barefoot and blindfolded not allowing the parents to see where the blood was coming from. Shadi was taken to the interrogation section in the police compound called “the Russian compound”
Shadi, a child, is being “interrogated” without the presence of his parents or a lawyer, a tactic used systematically to terrorize children into submission, and ultimately using their own words to incriminate them.
Shadi is a case among so many Palestinian children that are being harassed, tortured and imprisoned for no reason other than being a Palestinian seeking to live in dignity and freedom in their own country.
As an 89-year-old grandmother who has lived through the Nakba, the 1967 war, the first and second intifadas, I continue to ask you my friends: “Until when will this gra injustice go on?” Because you care for human rights, and the rights of children, I am asking you to take action now and contact your parliament or congress representative, to put an end to these grave injustices especially against our children as well as our whole population living under a brutal military occupation. Shadi should not be sleeping in a prison cell. He is a child and should be home with his family. Samia
PCAP Sends Message to World Council of Churches Assembly
In August, PCAP wrote a letter to delegates attending the World Council of Churches General Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany urging them to recognize and name the policies and practices of Israel toward the Palestinian people as apartheid, and to take actions accordingly. PCAP’s suggested actions included educating church members, undertaking advocacy to end the occupation, organizing a major international conference on Palestine, and sending more eyewitness delegations to the Holy Land so church members could see the conditions of Palestinian life firsthand. The letter further called on WCC delegates to, "Recognize that attempts to ensure the supremacy and domination of one religious, national, or ethnic group over another constitutes a crime against humanity and a sin against God." However, the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) blocked all efforts by church delegations from several countries, including South Africa and the United States, to move the WCC to adopt a position calling Israeli policy toward Palestinians apartheid. For a comprehensive analysis of the debate about Palestine-Israel at the WCC Assembly, please read this Mondoweiss article by Rev. Jeff Wright. PCAP's letter to the Assembly was covered by several Arab language news outlets, including Al Quds TV, which interviewed PCAP founder Rev. Alex Awar and PCAP co-chair Dr. Nahida Gordon.
In this interview, Don Wagner discusses his new memoir, which reflects on his journey from conservative evangelical to full-time advocate for Palestinian political and human rights. PCAP was a co-sponsor for this event.
Over the last year, the world's major international human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued reports stating that the policies and practices of the Israeli government toward the Palestinians meets the international law definition of apartheid. Earlier reports from the major Israeli human rights organization, B'tselem, and Al Haq, a major Palestinian human rights organization--now shut down by Israel--reached the same conclusion.
IN THE NEWS
Israeli restrictions on foreign travel into occupied West Bank take effect despite criticisms
A draconian set of rules and restrictions on the entry of foreigners into the occupied West Bank are set to go into effect today, despite months of condemnations by rights groups and legal efforts to stop the restrictions from being enforced.
Entitled the “Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area,” the 90-pages of restrictions engineered by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), seeks to severely restrict the ability of foreigners, including those of Palestinian origin living abroad, to enter the West Bank for the purpose of business, education, humanitarian work, and even visiting family. Read the full article at Mondoweiss.
NGO News from UNC on the Exercise of the Inalienable
Rights of the Palestinian People
On 18 October, Al-Haq sent an urgent letter to Third States, in light of the recent escalation in what it considers widespread and systematic attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. The letter urged States to urgently intervene to de-escalate Israel’s violence against Palestinians. Al Haq further stated that Israel had escalated its collective punishment of Palestinians, including by imposing unlawful closures on Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps, acts expressly in breach of international humanitarian law. On this issue, HaMoked wrote to the Israeli High Court of Justice department of the State Attorney’s Office to demand that regular travel be restored via Shu’fat checkpoint, located inside the boundaries of the Jerusalem municipality, and ‘Anata checkpoint in the West Bank, which were closed on 8 October, affecting 140,000 Palestinians. Adalah also published an article demanding Israel to lift its blockade of Palestinian residential areas in East Jerusalem. Read the full NGO Action News article.
UPCOMING EVENTS
"The Settlers" Film Salon November 13, 2022
3pm EST
Voices from the Holy Land, a group that is a close ally of PCAP’s, is offering a free screening of the film, The Settlers. Combining history and headlines, The Settlers is the first comprehensive look at the sensitive issue of Israel's continued construction of settlements in the West Bank, which is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Radicals, idealists, messianic fanatics, true believers and political opportunists, living on the fault lines of an age-old conflict, come face to face with history itself. Today, the settlers threaten to destroy what little peace remains in the Middle East.
Watch the film for free whenever you choose and later join the Q&A discussion. Watch the trailer.
The 15th Annual Convention for Palestine in the US
End Israeli Apartheid
November 24-26 2022 Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago
During Thanksgiving weekend of every year, American Muslims for Palestine holds its annual event in Chicago, IL. It is considered to be the largest gathering for Palestine in the US.
Preach Palestine this Advent Season November 27, 2022
PCAP is joining Friends of Sabeel North America is calling on Christian leaders across the U.S. to commit their congregations to Preach Palestine this Advent season. November 27th is the first Sunday in Advent, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and precedes the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian Peopleon Tuesday, November 29th.
Can you commit your congregation to Preach Palestine this Advent season?
PCAP is excited about some recent advancements in the ecumenical community in support of Palestinian rights and freedom. Read below about developments in the Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Methodist churches in the USA and PCAP's contributions to these outcomes. The churches were an important voice in the international South African anti-apartheid campaign and, given the recent designation of Israel as an apartheid state by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B'tselem, churches are increasingly standing up for Palestinian human rights and freedom, including naming the apartheid practices and policies that they see used in Israel against Palestinians. Yet the reality--including Israel's killing of 47 Palestinians including 17 children in its latest bombardment of Gaza, pro-Israel funding influencing US elections, campaigns against the civil right to boycott, President Biden's recent disappointing trip to the Middle East, and the pervasive pseudo-theology of Christian Zionism--shows us that despite victories, there are still major challenges.
We also welcome Jamilla, PCAP's new Communications and Outreach Coordinator, who will play an important role in raising awareness about our work and community. As we expand our work, we hope that you will consider supporting important PCAP initiatives and advocacy leadership to raise awareness about and support for Palestine amongst American Christians and churches. Your gift today will allow us to amplify the voices of the Palestinian American Christian community's work for peace and justice in the Holy Land. God bless you.
PCAP Co-Hosts Webinar on Defund Racism Campaign to Stop US "Charities" Funding Illegal Israeli Settlements
PCAP's Advocacy Committee Chair Philip Farah, in conjunction with Indiana Center for Middle East Peace and UCC Palestine Israel Network, organized a webinar on the national Defund Racism Campaign. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about and have 501c charitable non-profit organization status stripped from US-based entities that raise money for illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine, while benefitting from tax exempt status in the US. The settlements are illegal under international law, violating the 49th Geneva Convention that prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population to the territory it occupies. Watch the webinar here and read more about the campaign here.
PCAP Advocacy Contributes to Successful Adoption of Presbyterian Church USA of the Israel Apartheid Resolution
PCAP thanks the Presbyterian Church USA for their courageous support for justice and human rights in the Holy Land and hopes their leadership and vision will inspire other denominations.
PCAP board members played a key role especially Elder Nahida Gordon, Elder Lucy Janjigian and Rev. Fahed Abu Akel. A letter drafted by Reverend Dr. Rev. Fahed Abu Akel, who served as a past moderator of the 214th General Assembly, was endorsed by 10 other former moderators and circulated to delegates of the Presbyterian Church USA's 225th Biannual General Assembly. This letter helped sway delegates to vote in favor of the overture that declares that Israel’s laws, policies, and practices constitute apartheid against the Palestinian people. The Assembly also formally approved a proposal developed by PCAP co-chairperson, Nahida Halaby Gordon, to mark May 15th as Nakba Day, on the official Presbyterian calendar. Nakba Day commemorates the "catastrophe" or destruction of Palestinian society and homeland when the state of Israel was founded. Over 750,000 Palestinians, more than half the population at the time, were expelled or fled at that time and were never allowed to return. The Presbyterian Church Assembly also adopted two other important resolutions: one calls for concrete strategies and actions that demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian Christians and the other identifies Israel’s siege of Gaza as an illegal form of collective punishment against innocent Palestinian and Israeli citizens. See the website of the PCUSA Israel Palestine Mission Network for more information, www.theipmn.org.
PCAP Board Member Paul Noursi Recounts BDS Success at WRMEA Conference
PCAP Board Member Paul Noursi recently offered an overview of the successful campaign to quash attempts to pass anti-boycott legislation in Virginia at the annual 2022 conference of the Washington Report for Middle Eastern Affairs (WRMEA), themed, "Transcending the Israel lobby at Home & Abroad Conference." Watch the video of Paul's talk, "The Victorious Battle for First Amendment against Virginia's Anti-Boycott Bill (HB 1161)."
PCAP Board Members Testified in Episcopal Church Hearings
PCAP Board Members, Rev. Alex Awad, Jonathan Kuttab, and Philip Farah testified in hearings held by the Episcopal Church in preparationfor this year’s 80th General Convention which recently completed. Some critical and momentous resolutions were passed, including three resolutions recognizing Israel as an apartheid regime and condemning its explicit discrimination against Palestinians while privileging its Jewish citizens. In the past year, in addition to Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and the UN Special Rapporteur, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, and the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church have all affirmed Israeli apartheid and its human rights violations against Palestinians. The growing evidence of this is indicative of crucial stances and actions that must be taken in ecumenical communities to condemn and dismantle Israeli apartheid. Important action steps include:
Support the campaign of Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)
New England Conference of the United Methodist Church Passes Israeli Apartheid Resolution
In June, the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church overwhelmingly passed a resolution entitled “Identifying and Opposing Apartheid in the Holy Land," at their meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The resolution resolved “that the New England Annual Conference…recognizes that the Israeli government has established a system of apartheid, affirms that apartheid is antithetical to the Gospel message, and opposes this injustice and oppression in whatever form it presents itself.” Read more
PCAP Board Member Organizes Candlelight Vigil for Shireen Abu Akleh at National Press Club
PCAP Board member Maher Massis led a coalition of advocacy groups in organizing a candle light in memory of Aljazeera's Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in front of the U.S. National Press Club in Washington, DC on May 17th It was attended by over 250 people. Earlier, on May 12th, the National Press Club observed a moment of silence in memory of Shireen. PCAP also played a leading role in organizing a memorial ceremony for Shireen that was held on May 15th at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. This memorial ceremony was part of a larger commemoration of the Palestinian Nakbah. Shireen Abu Akleh, the highly respected Al Jazeera journalist, was killed by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) while covering an IOF incursion in the Palestinian town of Jenin.
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace Board members spoke with many visitors at their exhibition table at the Pax Christi 50th Anniversary Conference in Washington, DC that took place August 5-7. For those who were unable to attend and are interested in learning more about PCAP and our work, we encourage you to purchase the following books, written by PCAP board members:
PCAP Responds to Israel's Assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh
PCAP mourns and will not forget the death of Palestinian-American, Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Al Jazeera reporter who was beloved thorughout th Arab world, particularly by Palestinians and their supporters all over the world for her courageous reporting from Palestine. Investigations by various Western news sources and the United Nations confirmed that an Israeli soldier killed Shireen. In a statement, PCAP denounced her killing and the Israeli forces attacks on her funeral procession. PCAP further supports the demands of Shireen's family for an impartial investigation of her killing.
The memorial service for Shireen at her family’s Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem was attended by Palestinian Muslims as well as Christians, and was followed by one of the largest Palestinian protests in Jerusalem in decades.
How to Make a Revolution
Voices From the Holy Land Film Salon Sunday, August 14th, 3pm EST
Watch the films for free at your convenience | Join the Q&A Discussion
Born and raised in Hebron, Issa Amro has devoted his life to protesting and documenting human rights abuses in the West Bank-Occupied Territories. In 2016 he was detained and indicted by the Israeli state on eighteen charges spanning six years – including incitement, insulting a soldier, and protesting against military and settler violence. He was tried in the Ofer Military Court where the average trial takes 10 minutes, and where the conviction rate for Palestinians is 99.7%. Issa was acquitted of most of the charges and received a suspended sentence, only to find himself arrested and tried again – but this time, not by Israel, but by the Palestinian Authority. Based on verbatim transcripts, renowned Israeli playwright Einat Weizman and Issa Amro take a blistering look at the truth behind the headlines in this filmed version of an original staged production of How to Make a Revolution.
Einat Weizman – Tel Aviv - based actor, director and playwright
Issa Amro – Human Rights Defender and founder of Youth Against Settlements
Miko Peled (moderator) – Israeli-American author, human rights activist, and karate instructor
What I’ve Learned in 50 Yearsof Palestinian Solidarity
Wednesday, August 24th, 12:00pm EST
Dr. Michael Spath interviews friend and mentor to many, Rev. Dr. Don Wagner via Zoom on the release of his autobiography “Glory to God in the Lowest! Journeys to an Unholy Land.” His book is a personal, political, and religious journey from an evangelical Christian faith and conservative politics to solidarity with the poor and advocacy for anti-war, anti-racism, and Palestinian rights.
This event is hosted by the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace and is co-sponsored by PCAP.
Other co-sponsors include: FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America); UCC-PIN (United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network); IPMN (Israel Palestine Mission Network-Presbyterian Church USA); MennoPIN (Mennonite Palestine Israel Network); QPIN (Quaker Palestine Israel Network); ICAHD-USA (Israel Committee Against House Demolitions-USA); Kairos West Michigan; Joining Hands for Justice in Palestine/Israel; and Emmaus Road Mennonite Fellowship.
PCAP welcomes our new Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Jamilla. An American-Palestinian with a passion for social justice, she is in the process of pursuing her degree in International Social Work and volunteers her time to various Palestinian cooperatives. When she’s not busy with school and work, she can be found working on tatreez (Palestinian embroidery), tending to her garden, or on an outdoor adventure.
PCAP has some exciting new projects in the works that will allow for us to expand our work and connect with and offer more to our community. Having new staff will allow us to continue our growth. To continue our growth and increase our impact, we will need your support. Please donate on our website, or mail your check to:
Left: Layan Nasir, a Birzeit University student, was arrested by Israeli forces and held for weeks. PCAP has been advocating for her and other Palestinian university students’ release.
Right: Palestinian boy standing next to a poster celebrating six Palestinian escapees (AFP). The prisoners’ daring escape inspired Palestinians and brought the injustices and hardships Palestinian prisoners suffer to the surface.
Freedom for Layan Nasir and Incarcerated Palestinian Students
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace has been affected by two stories that have put a spotlight on Israel’s military occupation prison system. First, PCAP recently participated in several actions calling on the U.S. to condemn the Israeli military’s incarceration of Palestinian students and to defend their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. A case in point is the incarceration of Layan Nasir, one of nearly one hundred students from Birzeit University who have recently experienced harsh conditions in Israeli military incarceration facilities. Their alleged crimes: belonging to student organizations declared illegal by Israel’s apartheid military authorities. Layan was fortunate to be released on bail earlier this month, but is still facing the threat of a guilty verdict under Israel’s military court system. (Israeli military courts very rarely grant bail requests, and have a record of nearly 100% convictions of Palestinians.) Read this article by Rev. Fadi Diab, the pastor of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Birzeit, where Layan’s family worships. It was published while Layan was still in a military prison awaiting a court hearing.
Palestinian Great Escape Inspires a Nation
The escape of six jailed Palestinians from the Israeli Gilboa prison was an inspiration for Palestinians and freedom lovers all over the world. Every Palestinian family has experienced the anguish of their loved ones being incarcerated by Israeli forces and enduring the brutal and opaque occupation prison system. It is in this context that Palestinians viewed the escape with such elation. Although the escapees were later re-arrested and tortured, their heroism will remain an inspiration. Our blog has a fascinating conversation between Peter Beinart and Orly Noy, an Israeli activist and writer, in which she analyzes the mainstream Israeli perspective on Palestinian prisoners and tells the story of Zakaria Zubeideh, the most famous of the six escapees. To learn more about Palestinian prisoners, visit the website of Addameer, which literally means “the conscience”. Another organization that addresses the incarceration of minors by Israel is No Way to Treat a Child. One more resource with useful informational visuals is from Al-Jazeera online.
PCAP Web Event: Gaza Children’s Mental Health
The recent “war” in Gaza resulted in more horrible deaths and destruction against Palestinians. These brutal conditions create many troubling problems that are often overlooked. One of those is mental health conditions, particularly among the children. It is in this light that PCAP is pleased to announce an event focusing on children’s mental health in the Gaza Strip. We are honored and excited to have a distinguished panel of experts with deep experience and knowledge on this issue. Please click here to register.
PCAP continues to carry out its mission of being a voice of the Palestinian Christian community in America. Some of our recent activities include:
Dr. Nahida Gordon Halaby spoke at Hofstra University on the Palestinian struggle for liberation, an event sponsored by the department of religion and several other of the university’s departments and student groups
Lucy Janjigian is a woman of many talents, among which is being an accomplished artist. She has recently published her portfolio book, Paintings by Lucy Janjigian. This beautiful catalog is available for sale, and proceeds will go towards PCAP’s fundraising efforts. Please send us an e-mail to request your copy.
Book Corner:
We are also pleased to introduce a book corner on our website featuring works authored and edited by PCAP board members. Please contact us for information about receiving your own copy.
An engaging memoir about an extraordinary life, reflecting the strength and perseverance of the author, her family, and people during the 1948 disaster and after.
Donate to PCAP
Today as in the decades since 1948, Palestinians continue to suffer under host of injustices and misconceptions. We face the powerful, well-funded forces of the Zionist and Christian Zionist lobbies, who have diminished our very existence and promoted a skewed interpretation of our tragic story. Donating to PCAP means supporting a biblically-based, Christ-centered approach that promotes justice, human rights, and peace in the Holy Land. We hope that you will take some time to donate and support our work.
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Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)
Greek Orthodox Palestinians celebrating Easter in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Joe Catron)
A Newly Energized Palestinian-American Christian Community The past few months have been incredibly significant in the history of the Palestinian people’s struggle for their liberation. There has been much painful devastation and suffering, yet there is a glimmer of hope that our struggle for freedom and justice has become more united and is gaining traction. PCAP stands as a Palestinian-American Christian witness and presence and continues to educate and advocate for our vision of peace to become a reality in the Holy Land.
PCAP's Recent News in Brief:
Congratulating the United Church of Christ for passing the Declaration for a Just Peace between Palestine and Israel.
Calling on the Biden administration to adopt a new approach in its relations with the Palestinians, specifically, engaging with Hamas.
Campaigning against Israel's threatened home expulsions and demolitions and other provocations in Jerusalem, and protesting its lethal, destructive bombing of the Gaza Strip.
Educating and calling for justice, peace, and humanity through newspapers, social networks, webinars, and other media.
Welcoming new additions to our team.
United Church of Christ Approves Strong
New Declaration on Palestine
PCAP wishes to congratulate and express gratitude to The General Synod of the United Church of Christ for approving "A Declaration for A Just Peace between Palestine and Israel", with 86% of delegates voting to approve. The resolution was in part a response to the 2020 statement from Palestinian Christians, A Cry for Hope: A Call for Decisive Action and includes a theological declaration which affirms that "the continued oppression of the Palestinian people remains, after more than five decades...a matter of theological urgency and represents a sin in violation of the biblical prophets and the Gospel." It further identifies Israeli policy as "an apartheid system of laws and legal procedures."
PCAP calls for U.S. Engagement with Hamas
Following the horrifying events of May 2021, particularly towards the Gaza Strip and its people, as well as the ongoing oppressive and exploitative measures Israel carries out against all Palestinians in the land, several members of PCAP felt a strong desire to communicate with the Biden administration and encourage a bold change in policy. Here is the link to the article in Mondoweiss by Jeff Wrightthat succinctly summarizes our letter and position.
Defending Palestinian Human Rights
In early spring, PCAP played a leading role convening an unprecedented coalition of major Palestine solidarity groups to protest Israel's plans of forcible expulsion of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods of Jerusalem, which are part of the continuing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians that started even prior to 1948.
Gaza: Palestinian man observing destruction; Palestinian girl who fled her home during Israeli bombing.
Our coalition was comprised primarily of U.S. based organizations, including Friends of Sabeel - North America, American Muslims for Palestine; Jewish Voice for Peace; the Palestinian Youth Movement, and several others across the U.S. In addition, the coalition included several organizations based in Palestine, including the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy-Rabet, Kairos Palestine, and al-Haq. We created a petition calling on the US State Department to demand an end to Israel's illegal expulsion of Palestinian families from their homes in Jerusalem. In sum, over 200 groups from five continents endorsed the petition, which quickly gained over 300,000 signatures.
Jonathan Kuttab and Alex Awad meeting in Portland for a seminar at George Fox University (top); Shatzi Weisberger is an admired member of Jewish Voice for Peace; olive tree, symbol of hope and peace.
The coalition had already called a protest action for May 11th in front of the State Department in Washington, D.C., in order to deliver the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan petition to Secretary Blinken. However, in light of the horrendous Israeli bombing of Gaza and the violations on the Noble Sanctuary far more people showed up to the protest than expected, and so the protesters spontaneously decided to march to the White House. PCAP also participated in the National March for Palestine, which was a far larger demonstration that attracted a huge number of supporters. PCAP board member Maher Massis proudly represented Palestinian American Christians when he spoke at the march, saying those attending were "Jews, Muslims, and Christians united demanding the end of the occupation of Palestine now."
PCAP board member Maher Massis speaking at the March for Palestine at the Lincoln Memorial.
Making An Impact: PCAP Board Members' Public Engagement
PCAP's members have been actively engaged over the past few months advocating for peace with justice in Palestine. While these are some highlights, each member of PCAP has in their unique way been contributing to the cause of seeing a peaceful, pluralistic, and egalitarian reality in our homeland, in the Holy Land, in Palestine.
Philip Farah contributed a touching piece in Mondoweiss, "Jerusalem and the Continuing Nakba," about his family's history. He alsospoke in a Zoom panel organized by United Methodist Kairos Response and Methodists for Social Action focusing on the recent events in Gaza and Palestine with renowned author and activist Phyllis Bennis. Another of Philip's engagements was as a panelistfor The Alliance Community for Justice in Palestine & Israel.
Philip Farah in a webinar of The Alliance Community for Justice in Palestine and Israel. Several PCAP members have been involved in such activities during the time of Covid-19.
Lucy Janjigian was invited to speak to the Indian Christian Women's Movement on "Women Bonding for Palestine" which had a beautiful spirit of solidarity.
Mubarak Awadsharedabout his family and his continuous struggle for peace at the American Friends of Combatants for Peace Memorial Ceremony, which hosted over 280,000 viewers.
We're pleased to introduce two contributors to our PCAP team:
Basem Awad is PCAP's communications coordinator. He was born in Jerusalem, but lived most of the last decade in Thailand, where he taught English and other subjects at universities and worked with an NGO dealing with the conflict in the south of Thailand. He recently spoke about Palestine at the 2021 Mennonite Convention, and he's glad to be working for justice and liberation in Palestine.
Reilly Holder, our first summer intern, is a senior studying Political Science and American Studies with a minor in Peace and Justice at the University of New Mexico. She became passionate about Palestine after taking a course on settler-colonialism in the 21st century. Among her valuable contributions for PCAP is organizing a webinar on the mental health conditions of children in the Holy Land.
Support PCAP's Work for Peace with Justice
PCAP's work is impossible without the aid of our partners and friends. Support us so that we can continue advocating and educating for peace in the Holy Land.
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace PO Box 1333, Vienna, Virginia 22183
Our website: www.pcap-us.org Contact Us
Liberation Theology, the Struggle against Israeli Oppression, and the Church
with Trump to Win 2016 Race
Israeli Apartheid: Tool of Zionist Settler Colonialism
Christmas Amidst Israeli 
Watch the films for free at your convenience | Join the Q&A Discussion
Dr. Michael Spath interviews friend and mentor to many, Rev. Dr. Don Wagner via Zoom on the release of his autobiography “Glory to God in the Lowest! Journeys to an Unholy Land.” His book is a personal, political, and religious journey from an evangelical Christian faith and conservative politics to solidarity with the poor and advocacy for anti-war, anti-racism, and Palestinian rights.
