We lead by example
Standing Firm for Never Again
By Rula Odeh
Rula Odeh is the Chair of Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS), a national ecumenical response to the call of Palestinian Christians for solidarity. Through education and engagement, CFOS supports the struggle for equality in justice, freedom, and human rights of Palestinians living under apartheid and the illegal Israeli military occupation. With partners around the world, CFOS works non-violently for a just and durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
My worst nightmare as a Canadian of Palestinian Christian heritage has been playing out for nearly six months. My ninety-year-old father was fourteen in 1948 when his family was ethnically cleansed from their home in Jerusalem and never allowed to return. They became refugees, just like half the Palestinian population. Sadly, my father is witnessing another ethnic cleansing and according to the International Court of Justice, a plausible genocide.
Over 32,000 innocent civilians (including more than 14,000 children) have been killed by Israeli bombing, with nearly 75,000 injured or maimed. Only a trickle of humanitarian aid is being allow through by Israel. Now famine is spreading across the entire population, along with diseases that will kill the most vulnerable given the destroyed healthcare system. Children’s development will be stunted. What about the psychological trauma?
What glimmers of hope do I cling to? A Bible verse that I rely on is Ephesians 6:14-15. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Standing firm, Palestinian Christians have been a resilient Christian presence in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel despite the decades-old oppression of Palestinians by Israeli policies, considered by many international human rights organizations as apartheid and ethnic cleansing. It is so encouraging that many Canadian churches are also standing firm in their support of our Palestinian Christian siblings.
My hope is strengthened by our Jewish friends at Independent Jewish Voices, Jewish Voices for Peace and other groups who are standing firm that no group should be dehumanized and oppressed and that security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis is only achievable with freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians. I am grateful for Canadians – indeed, people around the world - who are standing firm that international law must apply to all, not just to some. As I write this, the United Nations Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire, yet our prayers and actions cannot cease until there is a permanent and durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis. Let us stand firm. Never again - for all.
An open letter to the General Council Executive of the United Church
A summary by Bill Butt
In a 7-page open letter to the General Council Executive of the United Church of Canada, its Moderator, its General Secretary, and other currently serving Church officers, fourteen nationally respected UCC leaders, including Rev. Steve Berube, have urged that the UCC take urgent prophetic action with regard to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Palestine.
Rev. Steve Berube, CFOS Board Member
The letter draws on several documents including
the current UCC Strategic Plan 2022-2025 which promises that the UCC will “embolden justice: collaborating to mend church and world”
the seven principles which guide UCC justice work, which include anti-oppression, respect for human dignity, de-colonializing, and prophetic solidarity
the open letter from Palestinian Christians proclaiming how they are ‘disturbed by the silence of many church leaders and theologians when it is Palestinian civilians who are killed
the International Court of Justice provisional judgment in January 2024 that the case arguing Israeli genocidal actions in Gaza is plausible.
The letter beseeches the Moderator to convene an extra-ordinary General Council Executive meeting “to consider ways and means for the denomination to respond to the urgent call for justice and peace in Palestine”.
It exhorts the Executive in turn to call for a meeting of the General Council itself to receive “an urgent action plan to involve the entire Church as this crisis represents a denomination-shaping issue”.
It calls on General Council and/or Regional staff to “provide educational resources on a priority basis, as part of the Church’s overall Anti-Racism…and de-colonializing imperatives”, including those already developed by Sabeel and Independent Jewish Voices.
Finally it urges that the UCC in partnership with other denominations undertake a sustained and urgent call on the Canadian government to support
“provision of humanitarian necessities for Palestinian life”
“an embargo on the transfer of military goods to Israel”
“the right of return for Palestinians”
“explicit support for the case brought by South Africa to the ICJ”.
This is necessarily a much-shortened summary of their cogent, powerful letter proclaiming the need for “a robust, fully public, broadly visible, and prophetic UCC response to the historic and current catastrophe in Palestine / Israel”—“now is the Kairos moment for our Church”.
For a full version of the letter please contact us: info@friendsofsabeel.ca
Canadian Friends of Sabeel is a national ecumenical response to the call of Palestinian Christians for solidarity. Through education and engagement, we support the struggle for equality in justice, freedom, and human rights of Palestinians living under apartheid and the illegal Israeli military occupation. With partners around the world, we work non-violently for a just and durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
We amplify the voices of our Palestinian partners and encourage you to join the weekly Sabeel wave of prayers and the weekly gatherings with KumiNow.
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