Month: May 2024

Why There Will Be No More Blog Posts Until Mid-June

Tomorrow I will be flying to Tel Aviv. For the next three weeks or so I will visiting my friends in the West Bank of the Occupied Territories, conducting more interviews and attending the Christ at the Checkpoint conference at Bethlehem Bible College.

I have wanted to participate in CATC for many years, but this is my first opportunity to be there. The theme this year is “Do Justice, Love Mercy: Christian Witness in Contexts of Oppression.”

The conference organizers describe themselves as:

a community of evangelical Christians who believe that following Jesus with integrity means that our lives are formed by our love for God, the teaching of the Bible and a fearless life of discipleship in the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that one of the first hallmarks of discipleship is love for both our own community and for our enemies. We wish to find Jesus at the center of everything we do and to make his life our life. Which means finding courageous love for Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews alike.

If you think about it, I would appreciate your prayers while I am in Israel-Palestine: prayers for safety in the midst of the ongoing warfare,* and prayers that I will learn all that the Lord wants to teach me.

(*During Israel’s attacks on Gaza, violence has increased dramatically in the West Bank. Nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by IDF soldiers and Jewish settlers, while almost 5,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned over the past six months– typically held without charges in ‘administrative detention.)

The Christ at the Checkpoint Manifesto

  1. The Kingdom of God has come. Evangelicals must reclaim the prophetic role in bringing peace, justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel.
  2. Reconciliation recognizes God’s image in one another.
  3. Racial ethnicity alone does not guarantee the benefits of the Abraham Covenant.
  4. The church in the land of the Holy One has borne witness to Christ since the days of Pentecost. It must be empowered to continue to be light and salt in the region, if there is to be hope in the midst of conflict.
  5. Any exclusive claim to land of the Bible in the name of God is not in line with the teaching of scripture.
  6. All forms of violence must be refuted unequivocally.
  7. Palestinian Christians must not lose the capacity for self-criticism if they wish to remain prophetic.
  8. There are real injustices taking place in the Palestinian territories, and the suffering of the Palestinian people can no longer be ignored. Any solution must respect the equity and rights of Israeli and Palestinian communities.
  9. For Palestinian Christians, the occupation is the core issue of the conflict.
  10. Any challenge to the injustices taking place in the Holy Land must be done in Christian love. Criticism of Israel and the occupation cannot be confused with anti-Semitism and the delegitimization of the State of Israel.
  11. Respectful dialogue between Palestinian and Messianic believers must continue. Though we may disagree on secondary matters of theology, the gospel of Jesus and his ethical teaching take precedence.
  12. Christians must understand the global context for the rise of extremist Islam. We challenge stereotyping of all faith forms that betray God’s commandment to love our neighbors and enemies.

No, Israel Does Not Concern Itself with Civilian Deaths

As the assault on Rafah continues I notice how regularly the news headlines follow a similar pattern: residential home bombed + at night + X number of women & children killed.

I strong suspect that these repeated headlines offer more evidence that Israel is continuing to use the AI programs Lavender and Where’s Daddy? Programs that I have discussed here previously.

The IDF uses these programs to intentionally bomb (1) the homes of suspected Hamas fighters (2) after dark (3) when the families are sleeping together. Hardly the practice of a military that was sincere in its insistence that it worked hard to avoid civilian casualties.

Well, here is yet another story demonstrating Israel’s disregard for murdered civilians.

When you bomb a crowd of people waiting for their turn to access a public internet connection, what else can you expect but — NUMEROUS CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. It’s not rocket science.

No one but no one can claim that these deaths were accidental, collateral damage due to the fog of war. It’s long past time for the LIES to stop.

Another Instalment About My Visit to Masafer Yatta in the West Bank: Justice Ain’t on the Side of Zionist Land Theft

Last June I posted the story about my visit to the West Bank region known as Masafer Yatter.

Terry and I had helped to plant new trees and grape vines for a Palestinian farmer by the name of Hafez Hureini. Mr. Hureini’s hands had been broken by Jewish settlers who were in the process of stealing his land.

The young people from Aida Refugee camp (where we lived) were helping him to catch up on his backlogged farm maintenance. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, we were attacked by both Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers as we worked.

That’s right. In Israel it’s apparently illegal to help a Palestinian farmer  work his own farmland.

A few days ago I happened across an Al Jazeera documenatary focusing on Mr. Hureini’s continuing struggle against Israeli land theft! Here you can meet this man and hear his story for yourselves.

Yes, the settlers are still stealing. The soldiers are still oppressing the innocent and defending the thieves. And Mr. Hureini continues to stand his ground peacefully.

All the while, our God sees it all and promises to one day restore justice to his world. And I’ll give you a hint: justice ain’t on the side of Zionist land theft.

 

Palestinian Girls Plead for Help Beneath the Rubble

These videos speak for themselves.

These are only two little girls who are, fortunately, rescued. The United Nations estimates that some 10,000 Palestinian bodies have never been rescued. They remain in the rubble.

To watch the above video use the URL address inbetween the brackets: [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6pfJ3gCrcxs]

Watch Our Upcoming Interview with Historian Ilan Pappe

I am happy to announce the next episode of the Christian Forum on Israel-Palestine. It will be broadcast on June 8th, 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific.

We will be speaking with Ilan Pappe, one of the world’s premier historians of modern Israel, but especially of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

When the time comes you can watch this conversation by clicking on the following link or paste it in your computer’s URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2Azgev9Rc8

Professor Pappe has written many important books. Perhaps his best known publication is The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. His most recent work, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (available in September), deals with the power and influence of Israeli/pro-Zionist  lobbying efforts around the world.

Please join us for what I know will be a fascinating conversation with one of Israel’s foremost historians.

 

I am deeply disappointed to say that I will not be participating in this particular conversation.  I will be flying home from Israel on June 8. But trust me, I will NOT miss any more of our upcoming conversations.

Mark you calendars now, not only for Ilan Pappe, but for what I know will be another fascinating conversation with Ali Abunimah, the founder and chief editor of The Electronic Intifada, on June 18.

I will provide more information once I return from my trip to Israel-Palestine.

Salam Al-Marayati: Being a Muslim in America

Mr. Salam Al-Marayati is the president of the Muslim Public Affairs Counsel (MPAC) in the USA. He was recently interviewed by my friend Dr. Rob Dalrymple for his show DetermineTruth.

Mr. Al-Marayati offers us a unique perspective about what it means to be a Muslim in the United States, especially since the attacks  on 9/11.

I suspect that we all can do a better job of loving our neighbors, no matter who they may be. Learning to understand Islam and its importance to our Muslim neighbors is an important ingredient in learning to love them, too.

No, we don’t agree on who Jesus is or the identity of the Trinity. But those matters are not prerequisites for charity, kindness and friendship.

Israel Continues the Ethnic Cleansing of the West Bank

The objectives of the Israeli nation-state have always been clear: acquire as much Palestinian land as possible with as few Palestinians remaining as possible.

The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians may have begun in 1947 but it has never stopped. It continues viciously in the present day through home demolitions and blatant land theft, all salaciously “legalized” by Israeli politicians and bureaucrats.

Yet Another Mass Grave is Uncovered on the Al Shifa Hospital Grounds

This is the 7th mass grave discovered on the grounds of two different hospitals in Gaza. The bodies include those of men, women and children. Many of them were apparently patients.

“Here’s Every Ceasefire Deal and Prisoner Exchange Hamas Has Offered Israel Since October 7th”

A central plank of Israeli/Zionist mythology is the claim that Israel is always desperate for peace but can never find a Palestinian peace partner willing to sign a ceasefire agreement.

That has never been the case, but that doesn’t stop the Israeli propaganda mill — faithfully reported on the Christian Broadcast Network as gospel truth — from repeating these claims.

The following video report rehearses all of the ceasefire proposals that have been agreed to by Hamas but have been rejected by Israel.

Of course, Israel has the right to negotiate as it pleases and reject the proposals it does not like.  But it does not have the right to lie about the nature of the negotiations, insisting on Hamas’ intransigence when in fact Israel has always wanted to continue the current attack on Gaza regardless of the peace plan being offered.

“Jewish students reject claims that campus protests for Palestine have been antisemitic”

The Jewish magazine Forward has published two different letters written by Jewish university students insisting that the anti-genocide demonstrations on their campuses have NOT been antisemitic, but that all impulses towards

Photo-by-Lisa-Maree-Williams-Getty-Images.jpg

violence and antisemitism have been imported by outside instigators.

Here is a brief excerpt of the Foward article titled “Jewish students reject claims that campus protests for Palestine have been antisemitic“. All emphasis is mine:

Editor’s note: Today we published two open letters from college students regarding the protests that have been roiling campuses nationwide for weeks. Below, 750+ Jewish students from 140+ campuses say they “reject the claim that these encampments are antisemitic and that they are an inherent threat to Jewish student safety.” In the other letter, 280+ Jewish students at Columbia University argue that their “concerns have been brushed off and invalidated” when calling out antisemitism on campus. The original letters can be found here and here.

We the undersigned are Jewish students on college campuses in solidarity with student encampments for Gaza. We reject the ways that these encampments have been smeared as antisemitic and we call on our institutions to take action to stop Israel’s assault on Gaza. 

In the last week, we have watched the movement of student encampments for Gaza spread across the country. We have also watched as these protesters have been met with repression, arrests, violence, and false claims of antisemitism. As Jewish students, we wholeheartedly reject the claim that these encampments are antisemitic and that they are an inherent threat to Jewish student safety. We believe that safety for Jewish students can only come when all students are safe, including Palestinian students, BIPOC students, and queer and trans students.  

While journalists, students, and even police have consistently reported encampments to be peaceful, school administrations and city officials have intentionally and consistently escalated through state violence. Their tactics have included arresting and brutalizing students, and denying students access to housing, medical care, and religious spaces. The majority of these acts have targeted Arab, Muslim, Black, and brown students. This violence we’ve seen this week does not make any of us safer. We wholeheartedly condemn the brutal repression of the encampments. 

You can read the entire article here.