In This Issue

Competing Messsages and Visions
MennoPIN Needs your Help Now!
Palestinian Feminist Scholar and Academic Arrested and Jailed
Prayers from Sabeel
Stay Informed on Palestine

Competing Messages and Visions

Image credit to Museum of the Bible

Contributed by Jacob Janzen

In 2018 I received an invitation to an event at the Museum of the Bible titled “Chosen People, Promised Lands: The Bible, Israel, and U.S. Foreign Policy.” By the time I registered, it had been changed to “Chosen Peoples.” Samuel Goldman was by far the most kind and intelligent speaker at the event, so afterwards I approached him about the discrepancy and asked, “Who are the Chosen Peoples?” He smiled and said, “We’re all Chosen.” What a beautiful sentiment! I believe that all people are God’s People.

There are some who might say that God’s Chosen are the people who choose the one true God. While there are merits to this, it is a slippery slope that cause some to justify treating non-believers in very un-Christian ways. However one defines what it means to be Chosen, it is important to remember we are called to Love and serve others, and share the Good News of Christ with all.

As an ardent Anti-Zionist, I’m mindful of how important it is to advocate for something rather than stand against something, so I’ve been searching for how to describe the principles I believe can bring about Peace and Justice in Palestine/Israel. Fundamentally, the ideology is “equal-human-rights-ism”. Beyond not being catchy, this phrase doesn’t capture the peculiar challenges obstructing Peace in Palestine/Israel. I haven’t found a better phrase than “All- Chosenism” but this is awkward too, because Zionism is a spectrum, and not all who embrace it do so out of a sense of spiritual superiority. If anyone comes up with a phrase that describes our advocacy, please let us know.

Speaking of the forms of Zionism, Christians United for Israel is holding a conference at the end of July. Their political influence often goes underestimated, and observing their messages will be a great way to highlight the destructive nature of their vision. For those who feel called to do so, challenging this event is a great way to get involved.

Considering the small number of Federal Representatives who opposed the recent vote to send billions of dollars of weapons to Israel, ideas have been circulating on how to broaden support for Palestinian people. There are many Zionists who are calling for a cease-fire, and in some cases an end to the occupation. Should we alter our messaging to avoid alienating them, even if their vision is still for Segregation in a different form? After all, a Gazan who is living under starvation and bombardment probably doesn’t care whether relief comes from people committed to principles for a Peace that lasts for generations. They just want to live right now! 

But there is danger in allowing the situation to return to a status quo, and more attempts to normalize Injustice. This will only perpetuate the cycle of violence that Zionism always has required, and always will. The trauma of the current situation is an opportunity to highlight the true intentions of people who have always demanded an unjust Peace.

It is also a chance to highlight the people who have worked for Peace for decades. Check out Zochrot, and Standing Together. Although their message hasn’t won out yet, true Peace must come from within Israeli society. For the Israelis and Palestinians who would prefer to live without each other, and have failed to even live next to each other, it is a tall ask to expect them to live with each other. Let’s Hope and Pray that God finds a way out of the impasse.

We Need Your Help

MennoPIN rarely asks for financial support, but in 2024 we have some very special needs. As you know, the situation in Gaza is very bad. Over 35,000 people have been killed with over 15,000 children among them, and their entire infrastructure has been destroyed. The Israeli government is refusing to allow a tiny portion of food, water and medicines that are desperately needed. Many of the deaths now result from starvation and untreated illness.

While the world is rightly focused on Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing lieutenants, Itmar Ben-Gvir and Bezalil Smotrich, are using that attention to double down on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, arresting prominent academicians, killing youth, jailing teenagers on  administrative detention, demolishing homes and attacking Muslims and Christians alike.

In these tragic days, MennoPIN seeks to accomplish three goals: 

  1. Expand our outreach more broadly within the Mennonite Church to increase awareness about the horrors in Gaza
  2. Apply more pressure on the Biden administration to forge a permanent ceasefire and to condition US military aid to Israel on ending the bombing and greatly increasing humanitarian aid, and 
  3. Support people who we met via Zoom through our Gaza Twinning Initiative, people who have managed to leave Gaza and who seek asylum in the United States.

To successfully achieve these goals, we hope to raise $10,000 by the end of May 2024. Every MennoPIN Steering Committee member is contributing financially, and we are asking for your help as well. Every penny you contribute will go to these efforts. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please send a check, made payable to MennoPIN, c/o Jim Norton, 1410 Pembroke Circle #4, Goshen, IN 46526. Thank you for for playing an important part in the work we do.

 

Palestinian Feminist Scholar and Academic Arrested and Jailed

Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian during her court proceeding in Jerusalem, April 19, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

For thirty years, Palestinian Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian has been professor of law at Hebrew University. She is an internationally known feminist scholar and has written books and papers on the mental impacts on children of the occupation and especially on those living in Gaza. Her home is in the Armenian Quarter of Old City of Jerusalem. For decades she has been an outspoken critic of Israeli apartheid, and since October 7, 2023, she has vigorously opposed the genocide in Gaza.

Late last year Shalhoub-Kevorkian received a letter from the Hebrew University president advising her to resign, which she refused to do on grounds of academic freedom. Then, in mid-March, she was suspended from her teaching duties, but was reinstated in early April.

Around 5 pm, Jerusalem time, she was arrested by Israeli police at her home. Her cell phone, computer and other personal items were confiscated. While in prison, her feet and hands were shackled, she was subjected to harsh and dehumanizing interrogation, was not allowed to sleep or to take needed medications, and her quarters were urine and cockroach infested. The stated serious charge against her was “incitement to violence.” As a Christian Palestinian committed to nonviolence, the charge was absurd.

She was released the next day. Although Hebrew University remained critical of her, they also objected to her arrest. The Israeli Haaretz newspaper opined that “Israel’s arrest of a renowned Palestinian academic is a direct threat to all Arab citizens [of Israel].”

More than 100 international academics released a statement saying “We hold the Hebrew University of Jerusalem responsible for the arrest and detention of Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian because of its persistent and public repression of her academic freedom, which led directly to [her] arrest.” The charges against Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian still stand and she may be re-arrested, tried and potentially face prison.

You can take action to support her by:

  1. Writing to Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (asher.cohen@mail.huji.ac.il); Tamir Sheafer, Rector (tamir.sheafer@mail.huji.ac.il); and Asher Ben-Arieh, Dean of the School of Social Work (benarieh@mail.huji.ac.il).
  2. Contacting your U.S. representatives and demanding that they protect the academic freedom of Palestinian scholars, students, and those speaking out against genocide.

Prayer from Sabeel

Israel’s military has ordered Palestinians to move out of eastern Rafah, warning it is about to use extreme force. The consequences of an invasion in Rafah would be catastrophic. 1.4 million Palestinians have been sheltering in Rafah and half of them are children, most of whom have already been displaced. All eyes on Rafah.

God of the oppressed, you know what it is like to seek refuge from the power of the empire. We ask you to protect the people sheltering in Rafah, many of whom have been displaced several times. Lord, ensure the people in Rafah that even if they are displaced, killed, and tortured that your love to them is unbreakable since, “he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Lord in your mercy… hear our prayer

On April 30th, the United General Conference of The United Methodist Church made a groundbreaking call for church investment managers to exclude the bonds of three countries – Israel, Turkey, and Morocco – that are holding subject populations under prolonged military occupation. Furthermore, certain public actions were declared to struggle for justice and peace in Palestine and to answer the cries of the Palestinian Christian community.

God of hope, we are thankful for the efforts of the United Methodist Church to struggle for justice, peace, and truth. We pray that these statements and actions will encourage more Churches around the world to be witnesses to the God of the poor and the weak.

Lord in your mercy… hear our prayer  

Stay Informed on Palestine

MennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

Web Publications

Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Dave Janzen (Fellowship of Hope, Elkhart, IN)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)
Zachary Murray (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)
Lydia Miller (Kalamazoo Mennonite Fellowship, Kalamazoo MI)

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Published by Mennonite Palestine Israel Network (MennoPIN)

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