Despite the pain and the anger
Palestinian Christians reflect on a year of genocide – Join us!
We at CFOS are counting the days till our annual James Graff Memorial Lecture on November 4 at 7:00 EST!
We are very excited to present Palestinian theologian-activists Shadia Qubti and Daniel Bannoura, in conversation with our own Dorcas Gordon, on the topic, “One Year Later: Our Response to Genocide and Occupation in Palestine.”
While Torontonians can attend this event in person at Trinity-St Paul's United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts, anyone can join online. Get your tickets here.
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to engage with younger Palestinian Christian leaders on a most critical topic.
United Church of Canada support for Palestine
The General Council of the United Church of Canada (UCC), at its recent annual meeting, adopted a number of new positions in its advocacy related to Palestine-Israel. The denomination has moved toward using a Principle-Based Approach in its advocacy work, rather than being limited to the specifics of formal motions. The United Church is striving to live into a “decolonizing approach” rooted in justice for the Palestinians and in all of the denomination’s justice work. The council agreed that applying the principles will now allow for:
adopting the strategies of Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement;
joining the Apartheid Free Communities Movement, and;
joining the consensus of the international human rights community in recognizing and rejecting Israel's apartheid system of laws and legal procedures towards the Palestinian people.
We at CFOS are grateful to have been invited to provide input into the UCC decision, and that our Chair, Rula Odeh, was interviewed in her capacity as CFOS Chair, as well as being a Canadian of Christian and Palestinian heritage. In her submission, Rula advocated for a principle-based approach which the task force took to heart and applied in their recommendations.
Rev. Steve Berube, a United Church minister and Vice-Chair of Canadian Friends of Sabeel, says about the UCC decision: “Hopefully, other churches will also take bold and decisive stands and then work together to help educate people about the historic injustices faced by the Palestinians, from whom we have inherited our faith in Jesus.”
More information is available here.
How to pray in the context of a genocide?
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent genocidal response on Gaza, many people of faith have struggled to know how to pray in a way that acknowledges the suffering of all victims of violence, but also understands the structural injustice that favours one people over another.
Dr. Sarojini Nadar holds the Desmond Tutu (SARChI) Research Chair in Religion and Social Justice at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. She recently wrote a piece critiquing “neutral prayers” which give equal weight to the oppressor and the oppressed. She writes,
“Neutral prayers silence the specificity of Palestinian suffering and uphold the power dynamics of apartheid. … To pray equally for both the machinery of occupation, and those struggling under its boot, is to erase the very real and genocidal violence being enacted on Palestinians.”
Further, she writes, “We must reject the ‘all lives’ matter rhetoric, in this context, not because we don’t believe that all lives matter, but because Palestinian lives, like Black South African lives have not mattered equally!”
Read Professor Nadar’s full reflection here. We welcome your responses.
Another urgent plea from Palestinian Christians
Over this past year, we at CFOS have heard the repeated cry of Palestinians Christians for understanding, empathy, advocacy and “costly solidarity.” This week, churches, church organizations and communions around the world received another urgent plea – this one from the Higher Presidential Committee on Church Affairs of the Palestinian Authority.
Detailing the catastrophic situation in northern Gaza right now, the Committee’s letter detailed the Israeli military’s campaign of killing, starvation, destruction and displacement. It drew attention to attacks on Christian churches, hospitals and schools. It urged unity across the global church and intensified efforts “to protect the Palestinian people and uphold the sanctity of their lives and dignity.”
The committee called upon church leaders and representatives to urgently press their respective governments to end this ongoing catastrophe. It urged immediate action to compel Israel to halt its genocidal practices and to end its decades-long repressive occupation. It called for accountability and action in line with recent resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice’s decisions, and the arrest warrants issued by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
A full report of the letter is available here.
Sabeel conference now a “Solidarity Pilgrimage”
As we reported in our last e-Bulletin, Sabeel’s long-planned International Conference on Religious Extremism has been reconfigured into a Solidarity Pilgrimage, due to ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East. The dates for the Pilgrimage (November 16-21) and Pre-Pilgrimage Tour (November 10-15) remain unchanged.
Sabeel indicates that “The Solidarity Pilgrimage will put the principles of Palestinian Liberation Theology into practice as we visit, accompany, and listen to Palestinian communities that are suffering ever-escalating injustices.”
The Pre-Pilgrimage Tour will be restructured to include some solidarity visits and some visits to religious sites. Sabeel’s main priority is the safety of all participants, and the schedule will remain flexible to adapt to the ever-changing situation.
More information is available here. Should you wish to join CFOS’s Canadian delegation and receive a CFOS subsidy, contact the CFOS executive director.
A reminder of regular ways to connect with Sabeel Jerusalem
These are ongoing ways to hear from and connect with the work of Sabeel: Palestinian Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem.
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Palestine) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.
Kumi Now! Rise Up Together for Justice. Kumi Now is an online gathering every Tuesday (6pm Palestine) with a guest activist on the ground exploring issues of critical relevance to the Palestinian people and how you can get involved. Register here.