There Will Be No Christmas in Bethlehem This Year The Deaths in Gaza Get Personal MennoPIN Needs Your Help on this Update! Prayers from Sabeel Stay Informed on Palestine
There Will Be No Christmas in Bethlehem This Year
Creche in the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem
Every year Christmas in Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, is a large celebration with thousands of people attending the festivities and a tall brightly decorated tree in the center of Manger Square. But not this year. With all that has happened since October 7 in Gaza especially, but also in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Christian leaders in the region have called for a somber celebration of Christmas this year.
In the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, near the traditional site of Jesus’ birth, the creche at the front of their worship space has the baby Jesus wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh amidst concrete rubble like that all over Gaza. Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, Academic Dean of Bethlehem Bible College and Director of Christ at the Checkpoint Conference. In a sermon earlier this Advent, he preached on why they chose this creche scene this year. English subtitles translate the Arabic here.
The Deaths in Gaza Get Personal
Doaa Al-Massri
MennoPIN received the tragic news this week of the death of a member of the Youth Vision Society (YVS) staff, Doaa Al-Massri, who was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in their ongoing carpet bombing and unfolding genocide of the people of Gaza. The Manhattan Mennonite Church (KS) developed a years-long relationship with YVS and we are deeply saddened by her senseless and indefensible death, similar to those of nearly 20,000 Gazans and counting. One of her colleagues, with heavy heart, wrote this about Doaa:
“The YVS team is deeply saddened to let you know that Doaa Al-Massri has been killed along with her mother and siblings. Doaa was the YVS project manager and such an influential leader who led change and innovation so passionately. Doaa was a voice that should have never been suppressed. Doaa was so kind so she should not have been hurt. Doaa was so ambitious so she should not have been forced to spend her youth under the Gaza blockade. Doaa was so generous so she should not have been displaced. Doaa was a peace-maker so she should not have been bombed. Doaa was so brave that Israeli occupation forces were afraid of her. Rest in peace, Doaa. We trust God you are in a better place now.“
MennoPIN Needs Your Help on this Update!
MennoPIN wants to get this Update out more frequently, but we need help to do that. If you have experience in working with MailChimp and Word Press, you would be ideal in creating regular issues of MennoPIN Update and maintaining our website. Even if you don’t have direct experience with these two platforms, but would be willing to learn, we would love to hear from you. Each issue typically takes 3-5 hours of time gathering materials, writing copy, finding appropriate photos and publishing the Update through MailChimp. If you are interesting in exploring this possibility further, please write us at mennopin@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon!
Prayer from Sabeel
As the violence in Gaza continues to intensify, the colder weather and heavy rains have caused flooding, worsening the humanitarian crisis. UNRWA has stated that its shelters for internally displaced persons in the middle and southern areas of the Gaza strip are over nine times their capacity, hosting the 1.9 million internally displaced persons. Additionally, the spread of disease has increased, with health authorities documenting 360,000 cases of infectious diseases in shelters, including diarrhea, influenza, meningitis, hygiene related conditions such as lice, and 1,500 cases of intestinal disease are reported daily due to food shortages.
Almighty God, we call to you in anguish over the sickness and suffering your people in Gaza are experiencing. How long, O Lord? We remember that you were born in the likeness of humans, and you know what it is to experience pain and bodily suffering. Bring healing to all who are sick and bring protection to all who seek shelter. Ultimately, we pray for a ceasefire and for lasting healing that will come only through your complete justice.
Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayer.
On the 16th of December, two Christian women, Nahida Anton and her daughter Samar Anton, were shot and killed by Israeli military snipers as they walked within the grounds of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza. Seven others were shot and injured as they tried to protect those sheltering inside the church compound. Earlier the same morning, a rocket fired from an Israeli tank targeted the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Teresa, damaging the building and displacing the 54 disabled persons who live there.
Almighty God, we are distraught over the deaths of Nahida and Samar, and there are no words that can be said to express our grief and outrage. We trust that you are weeping now with the families of the martyrs, and we hold onto your words from Matthew, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Comfort the Christians in Gaza who continue to seek shelter in the Holy Family Parish and provide for all the disabled who were displaced by the attack on the Convent.
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:
MENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK MennoPIN Update – November 24, 2023
In This IssueHostage Release Begins Did Biden Really Say That? Mennonite Action on Palestine Donate to Support Children/Families in Gaza MennoPIN Needs Your Help on this Update! Prayers from Sabeel Stay Informed on Palestine
Hostage Release Begins
Released Palestinian prisoners wave flags atop a car as they leave the Israeli military prison, Ofer. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
On Friday, November 24, 2023, the exchange of hostages began. Hamas released 24 hostages to Israel, mostly women and children, and Israel released 39 Palestinians, mostly from the Israeli Ofer Military Prison. Friday began a four-day pause before which, for 49 days, Israel has unleashed more than 6,000 bombs on Gaza, an area about the size of Las Vegas, NV. Upwards of 15,000 Gaza citizens have been killed, the majority of which were women and 5,000 children. It is hoped that both sides, Hamas and Israel, will adhere to the Qatar-brokered halt to the bombings.
US President Joe Biden, who has been involved in the hostage and pause negotiations, stated “the chances are real” that the pause could lead to a longer cease-fire. Former CIA operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos, with extensive experience in the Middle East, believes Biden is facing considerable pressure from Democrats, Arab leaders and others in the international community to press for a permanent cease-fire, according to the New York Times. Already, 140 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, fuel and medicines have entered Gaza and, according to Biden hundreds more will follow.”
Biden’s clear bias on the side of Israel came through when he said that the aid is “coming to support Palestinians who are suffering greatly because of the war Hamas started…Hamas doesn’t give a damn about [the people of Gaza].” He added that “I don’t trust Hamas to do the right thing. I only trust Hamas to respond to pressure.” Nothing about seventy-five years of Israeli lies, apartheid, and oppression of Palestinians or the seventeen years of siege and blockade of Gaza.
Did Biden Really Say That?
President Joe Biden speaks Friday to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, about hostages freed by Hamas in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire deal with Israel. (STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH/ASSOCIATED PRESS) Late Friday, November 24, 2023, President Joe Biden held a press conference about the hostages releases. One reporter asked him about the calls from some Democrats who would like to see aid conditioned on a reduction in Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Biden’s response was: “I think that’s a worthwhile thought, but I don’t think if I would have started off with that we would have gotten where we are today. We have to take this a piece at a time.”
Whether that was a Biden gaffe to be walked back soon, or if it reflects Biden’s acknowledgment that many members of his own party and the public think he should call for a cease-fire remains to be seen. But if he did mean what he said, that he might consider conditioning aid to Israel, he would be the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to even mention the possibility publicly.
Mennonite Action on Palestine
Mennonite Actionis holding a national organizing call on November 28, 2023 at 8:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time) on Zoom. Mennonite Action is a movement of Mennonites bonded by a common belief that we must be public about our peace vows. We believe that Mennonites have a responsibility to use our voices as powerfully as possible for the cause of peace and justice. On the call hundreds of Mennonites from the United States and Canada will join to grieve the ongoing violence in Palestine, to call for a cease-fire and the end of the occupation in Palestine, and to gather together as a community to prepare to take action.
MennoPIN encourages you to help support families in Gaza through the Middle East Children’s Alliance. All proceeds will go to Youth Vision Society. MennoPIN has been in relationship with YVS through our Gaza Twinning Initiative for four years. We affirm that both MECA and YVS are trustworthy organization who will make sure your donation will be 100% directed to families and children in dire need to food and medicines.
MennoPIN wants to get this Update out more frequently, but we need help to do that. If you have experience in working with MailChimp and Word Press, you would be ideal in creating regular issues of MennoPIN Update and maintaining our website. Even if you don’t have direct experience with these two platforms, but would be willing to learn, we would love to hear from you. Each issue typically takes 3-5 hours of time gathering materials, writing copy, finding appropriate photos and publishing the Update through MailChimp. If you are interesting in exploring this possibility further, please write us at mennopin@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon!
Prayer from Sabeel
With every minute that passes, the situation in Gaza worsens. According to several sources, Israel has dropped the equivalent of two nuclear bombs in explosives on one of the most densely populated areas in the globe. While intense bombings and fighting continues in the north of Gaza, the south is also bombed frequently. All of Gaza is facing a severe humanitarian crisis; nowhere is safe.– Sovereign Lord, the blood of the thousands of lives lost is crying out from the ground, haunting us day and night. The words of prophet Habakkuk remain true to this day, “The law is ignored and justice is never upheld…” We come to you, O Lord, asking for your liberating love, comfort, and strength. Do not let us become numb to the pain of the oppressed as time goes by. Lord, show us the way of genuine solidarity rather than pity or despair.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:
A Call to Repentance – An Action to Take Prayers from Sabeel Stay Informed on Palestine
MennoPIN encourages you to read this important letter from Palestinian Christians to Western church leaders and theologians, and to take the action they hope many of us will take. The letter begins:
“We, at the undersigned Palestinian Christian institutions and grassroots movements, grieve and lament the renewed cycle of violence in our land. As we were about to publish this open letter, some of us lost dear friends and family members in the atrocious Israeli bombardment of innocent civilians on October 19, 2023, Christians included, who were taking refuge in the historical Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza. Words fail to express our shock and horror with regard to the on-going war in our land. We deeply mourn the death and suffering of all people because it is our firm conviction that all humans are made in God’s image. We are also profoundly troubled when the name of God is invoked to promote violence and religious national ideologies…” Please continue reading the letter and taking action here.
Prayers from Sabeel
On the evening of Tuesday, October 17, a strike on Gaza’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital, often called the Baptist Hospital, killed at least 500 people, most of them children and women. Images and videos revealed body parts scattered across the hospital grounds, doctors performing emergency surgeries without anesthesia, and parents screaming and crying at the side of their deceased children. This is one of the most tragic bombings Palestinians have ever experienced. In response, the Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning over al-Ahli hospital.
• Lord, we come to you with heavy hearts, praying for an immediate ceasefire and an end to all violence. We ask for wisdom and compassion to touch the hearts of those in power and influence, guiding them towards peace and justice. May a thorough investigation hold all responsible for war crimes accountable, and may the deep-rooted injustices against the Palestinian people find a path to healing and resolution.
Lord in your mercy… hear our prayer
On October 19th, an Israeli airstrike tragically resulted in the loss of at least 18 lives and numerous injuries at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church compound in Gaza. Before the attack, the church received multiple warnings from the Israeli military about an impending strike on the area. Sadly, due to the ongoing bombardment across the entire Gaza strip, the people at the church had no safe haven to seek refuge other than within the church itself. In the past week, 31 mosques and 3 churches have been damaged in Gaza.
• God of Sumud, as we think and pray for the Palestinians who were bombed in the Church, let us remember Saint Porphyrius words “The love of God transforms everything; it sanctifies, amends, and changes the nature of everything.” We humbly pray for the people of Gaza, especially those affected by the recent tragedy at the church. Comfort the grieving, heal the wounded, and bring peace to their hearts.
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:
In This Issue Jonathan Kuttab’s Take Take Action – Say to Joe Biden What You Think Kairos Palestine Statement on the War on Gaza A Prayer from Sabeel Stay Informed on Palestine
Palestinians hurriedly leaving Gaza City — mounting donkeys, riding vehicles and walking — fleeing to the south as the Israeli military tells them to leave their homes or face death. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Jonathan Kuttab’s Take
Jonathan Kuttab, MennoPIN Steering Committee member and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America, has been constantly assessing the horrifying events in Gaza. Here is his latest report.
“Atrocities committed against one’s enemies, up to and including genocide, always begin with dehumanization.
“I have always been aware of this, and I know there is a tendency among Palestinians to dehumanize Israelis, the settlers, and Zionists, just as there is a tendency among Israelis and their supporters to dehumanize Palestinians, the PLO, and Hamas, especially with the term “terrorist.” During the Rwanda genocide, the Hutus referred to Tutsis as “cockroaches” before they began slaughtering them.
“It is therefore with great alarm that I listened to the frenzy of horrifying statements coming from Israeli commanders as they escalated their attacks on Gaza. In addition to the term “terrorist,” often irresponsibly used here in the US as well, the term being used now is “human animals.” This designation is not limited to Hamas and its fighters, but covers all the people of Gaza, as the Israeli President Hertzog said on Friday: “It is not true civilians were not involved . . . They are collectively responsible for the attacks.”
“The Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoram Gallant, used this disgusting term, and the Israeli Army’s Commander in Chief, Herzl Halevy, preparing for the ground assault also declared, “They are human animals, and we will treat them accordingly.” In addition to the massive bombardment, he said that “there will be no water, no electricity, no food, and no medicines.” This openly illegal statement (under the laws of war) went largely unchallenged in the West, precisely because many have bought into Israel’s demonization and dehumanization of Palestinians. Support and sympathy for the civilian casualties of Hamas’ attack, however, was used as a “green light” and legitimization of Israel’s subsequent response.” Continue reading here.
Take Action – Say to Joe Biden What You Think
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has been supplying aid and relief in Palestine since the 1950s. In addition, MCC has encouraged advocacy and action in the United States Legislative and Executive branches. They have created a direct way for you to tell President Biden, Vice-President Harris and your congressional representative how you want them to respond. Consider this quick way of express your thoughts and actions you think they should take here.
A member of the MennoPIN Steering Committee wrote President Biden and her letter is posted on our MennoPIN website here.
Kairos Palestine Statement on the War on Gaza
Kairos Palestine is a nonviolent Palestinian Christian movement which advocates for the ending of the Israeli occupation and achieving a just solution to the conflict. They recently released their statement on what is happening now:
“The war on Gaza again, but this time it started from Gaza. I has caused great suffering and destruction in Israel. Many see it as an unjust war against Israel. But the question that every human being, and every seeker of peace and justice, must ask is: Why did this war start?
“We all say, No, to the War. We all say, Yes, to peace, and to working for a just and final solution to an existing conflict and to the injustice that has been imposed on the Palestinian people for more than 70 years. Israel does not see the Palestinian people as having any right to exist, and the international community is too weak to implement its decisions to find a just and final solution.
“We all mourn and console all the victims on both sides of the conflict. A human being is a human being, both Israeli and Palestinian, and every human being is clear in the eyes of God, and the eyes of his family, relatives, and loved ones.
“No to war, yes to a just and final peace.
“What is the reason for this sudden war that started from Gaza”?
On October 7th, a historic and devastating series of events unfolded in Palestinian-Israeli history. Hamas initiated an operation known as “Al-Aqsa Flood,” launching thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and breaking through the electronic boarder barrier, causing the loss of hundreds of Israeli lives, and the taking of several Israelis as captives including women and children, into Gaza. In response, Israel declared “Operation Swords of Iron,” involving a brutal and continuous aerial attack on Gaza that claimed hundreds of lives. and various acts of aggression in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of several Palestinians. The true extent of the recent events’ damage remains unknown, marking the beginning of a period of immense suffering.Heavenly Father, as this period of violence and bloodshed unfolds, we pray for Your justice and mercy. We pray for all who are suffering. We lift up all innocent people in particular the people of Gaza who are vulnerable and helpless to the Israeli airstrikes. May we remember that the recent events are connected to the long history of the Nakba and Israeli systematic oppression against the Palestinian people. Lord, only a just and lasting solution will end the cycle of violence. We call on the international community to work towards this end.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:
As people committed to nonviolence, MennoPIN strongly condemns the current violence carried out both by Hamas and by the Israeli military. MennoPIN urges an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and calls on the US and the wider international community to support a diplomatic solution to the situation at hand.
MennoPIN likewise recognizes that the Hamas attack was not unprovoked. For decades the people of Palestine have been oppressed by the violence and occupation of apartheid Israel against them with home demolitions, child detentions, separation walls, settler colonialism and violence, seizures of land and controls over water and food supplies. And Gaza has been an open air prison where Israel controls how much water, electricity and food Gazans can have. The extreme measures taken by the recent Netanyahu ultra-right government have made life increasingly hostile for Palestinians. The praxis of U.S. one-sided and national interest driven diplomacy and unwillingness to effectively address the apartheid reality have contributed deeply to these extreme measures. Additionally, the Biden administration’s attempts to normalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become the final straw for the militant Palestinian resistance. Ultimately, hopelessness breeds violence.
We pray for leadership that has the courage to address the problems, injustices and racism that perpetuates this violence. We especially pray for wisdom and restraint between Hamas and the Israeli government.
In This Issue War in the Holy Land – MennoPIN Statement Analysis – Jonathan Kuttab 5 Things You Need to Know A Prayer from Sabeel Stay Informed on Palestine
War in the Holy Land – A MennoPIN Statement
SMOKE AND FLAMES BILLOW AFTER ISRAELI FORCES STRUCK A HIGH-RISE TOWER IN GAZA CITY, OCTOBER 7, 2023. (PHOTO: APA IMAGES)
As people committed to nonviolence, MennoPIN strongly condemns the current violence carried out both by Hamas and by the Israeli military. MennoPIN urges an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and calls on the US and the wider international community to support a diplomatic solution to the situation at hand.
MennoPIN likewise recognizes that the Hamas attack was not unprovoked. For decades the people of Palestine have been oppressed by the violence and occupation of apartheid Israel against them with home demolitions, child detentions, separation walls, settler colonialism and violence, seizures of land and controls over water and food supplies. And Gaza has been an open air prison where Israel controls how much water, electricity and food Gazans can have. The extreme measures taken by the recent Netanyahu ultra-right government have made life increasingly hostile for Palestinians. The praxis of U.S. one-sided and national interest driven diplomacy and unwillingness to effectively address the apartheid reality have contributed deeply to these extreme measures. Additionally, the Biden administration’s attempts to normalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become the final straw for the militant Palestinian resistance. Ultimately, hopelessness breeds violence.
We pray for leadership that has the courage to address the problems, injustices and racism that perpetuates this violence. We especially pray for wisdom and restraint between Hamas and the Israeli government.
Analysis – Jonathan Kuttab
(Jonathan Kuttab is on the MennoPIN Steering Committee and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North American, for which he wrote this analysis) Firefighters try to put out burning cars at the scene where a rocket fired from Gaza landed in a residential area in Rishon LeZion, October 7, 2023. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
The fighting in Gaza that has shocked the world requires a clear and principled response. For FOSNA, as an organization that promotes the message of Palestinian Liberation Theology and the Christian perspective on which it is based, a number of statements need to be made:
The first thing we have to say, which is intrinsic to our theology, is that violence and war are never the answer. We need to realize, Palestinians and Israelis alike, that any solution must be based on justice and not the destruction of the other party. At the very least, there must exist a clear distinction between civilian and military targets, between fighters and noncombatants. This is a rule that applies to each side; whatever the justifications, those who choose war and violence in the pursuit of their goals must use every possible means to avoid killing noncombatants or targeting civilian infrastructure. We fear we will see thousands of civilian casualties in the coming few days, primarily among Palestinians who have no access to bomb shelters and no organized state structures to defend them. We are distressed that instead of calling for a quick end to the fighting, many are praising it while doubling down on their ability to inflict maximum damage upon their enemies. Continue reading here.
5 Things You Need to Know
(From the American Friends Service Committee)
A Palestinian man in Gaza surveys the ruins of a bookstore destroyed by the Israeli bombardment in Gaza in May 2021. Sameh Rahmi
On Oct. 7, Palestinians from Gaza carried out attacks in Israel that killed at least 600 Israelis, injured over 2,000, and took dozens of hostages. Israeli attacks on Gaza on Oct. 7 and 8 killed approximately 500 Palestinians and injured at least 2,300 more. In the days since, violence has only escalated and those numbers continue to grow…
1. Violence did not begin with the attacks from Gaza.Even before Oct. 7, this year (2023) was one of the most violent years in Palestine in more than a decade. At least 247 Palestinians—including 47 children—had been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers before the end of September. During the same period, Israeli settlers launched over 800 attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian-owned property. Additionally, over 1,100 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced from their homes. These actions occurred in a context where Israeli land confiscation, mass arrest campaigns, military attacks on Palestinian cities, and threats to Palestinian control over Al-Aqsa mosque—an important religious site in Jerusalem—have all increased. Since coming to power, the far-right Netanyahu government in Israel has escalated violence against Palestinian communities while rejecting any possibility of Palestinian independence or equality. Settler leaders now hold sway in Israel and have taken concrete steps toward annexing the West Bank while pushing forward efforts to eliminate Palestinians from the majority of the West Bank. For Palestinians, violence is an extreme, daily reality.
A Prayer from Sabeel On October 7th, a historic and devastating series of events unfolded in Palestinian-Israeli history. Hamas initiated an operation known as “Al-Aqsa Flood,” launching thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and breaking through the electronic boarder barrier, causing the loss of hundreds of Israeli lives, and the taking of several Israelis as captives including women and children, into Gaza. In response, Israel declared “Operation Swords of Iron,” involving a brutal and continuous aerial attack on Gaza that claimed hundreds of lives. and various acts of aggression in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of several Palestinians. The true extent of the recent events’ damage remains unknown, marking the beginning of a period of immense suffering.Heavenly Father, as this period of violence and bloodshed unfolds, we pray for Your justice and mercy. We pray for all who are suffering. We lift up all innocent people in particular the people of Gaza who are vulnerable and helpless to the Israeli airstrikes. May we remember that the recent events are connected to the long history of the Nakba and Israeli systematic oppression against the Palestinian people. Lord, only a just and lasting solution will end the cycle of violence. We call on the international community to work towards this end.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:
In This Issue Is Israel Unraveling from Within? Forgotten Gaza A Learning Tour to Palestine – Peacemakers Pilgrimage to the Holy Land Washington Post Documents Extrajudicial Killings in Jenin Stay Informed on Palestine
Is Israel Unraveling from Within?
A demonstrator with a sign against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a march against the government’s judicial reform bill in Tel Aviv, 1 April 2023 (AFP)
Is Israel beginning to unravel from within? Jonathan Cook, award-winning British author and journalist living in Nazareth, thinks so. Writing in Middle East Eye, Cook boldly states: “As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, the state-building project it cemented into place in 1948 by expelling 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland is showing the first signs of unravelling.”
Cook argues that Israel’s deep troubles arise not from external forces, such as pressures from the international community or military attacks, but from within Israel’s internal contradictions. The current divisions in Israeli society, evidenced by the massive protests again Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to overhaul and weaken the judicial branch of government, have roots, Cook contends, deep within the very founding of Israel in 1948.
Netanyahu’s recent merciless bombing of civilians in Gaza is one example of how he is trying to bring about unity through war, killing dozens of Gazans. As always, Palestinians pay the price, but the Islamic Jihad within Gaza plays right into Netanyahu’s hands when they launch their own missiles into Israel, killing a few civilians. Violence always begets violence.
Read more on why Cook believes that “[Israel’s] leaders have created a monster they can no longer tame,” click here.
Forgotten Gaza
Crowding Around the Gaza Boarder (Public Domain)
The recent daily bombing of Gaza by Israeli forces weighs heavily on the heart of Jonathan Kuttab, MennoPIN Steering Committee member and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). In addition to the horrendous pain and suffering caused by Israel’s eighteen-year-old blockade and periodic bombing of Gaza, Kuttab also laments the forgotten status of Gaza, even among supporters of Palestine: “It is truly tragic that much of the world, including those interested in Israel/Palestine, is only concerned about Gaza when there is actual fighting and deaths involved, but that as soon as a particular round of fighting subsides, it fades into oblivion…It is unconscionable how routine and forgotten Gaza has become.”
He continues: “Yet, we only think of Gaza when, our of their utter desperation and, usually, as a response to some Israeli provocation, [Hamas of the Islamic Jihad] shoot some of the home-made futile rockets into Israel, which leads to a punishing response by a sophisticated Israeli army.”
The Holy Land is rich in sacred history, a place where one can walk in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace; but it’s also a land rife with conflict and injustice, a place where people are seeking to make Christ’s message of peace, justice, and reconciliation a reality. The “Peacemaker’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land” will provide you with the opportunity to experience both the ancient stones of biblical history, as well as the “living stones” as embodied in the ministries of those working to promote Christ’s vision of peace with justice.
Washington Post Documents Extrajudicial Killings in Jenin
(Washington Post)
Slowly, if cautiously, the mainstream media are giving more voice to Palestinians and evidence of their suffering. In a May 26, 2023 Washington Post exclusive investigation, a careful and harrowing analysis by reporters documents the “war crimes” and “extrajudicial killings” of three people last March in Jenin, including a 14-year-old child, Omar Awadin.
With graphic portrayal, the Post details every step of the attack by the elite Israel military unit known as Yamam, killing two unarmed “militants” amidst a crowded shopping area, filled with civilians, including the boy who was also killed. Yamam is under the control of Netanyahu-appointed right-wind extremist and Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
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:
The Never-Ending Nakba The World Cup and Palestine Stay Informed on Palestine
The Never-Ending Nakba
Today is May 16, 2023, one day after Palestine commemorates the Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe), the painful memory of when Israeli militants emptied nearly 500 Palestinian villages through massacres and forced removal, creating 750,000 refugees. The Nakba has continued for 75 years with the Israeli government, using a U.S.-funded military force, executing its policies of administrative detention, land confiscation, home demolition, the erection of dividing walls, settler colonialism, and assassination of civilians and press.
But even today, the Nakba goes on and on with a boy in Nablus shot down and killed by Israeli military might intent on maintaining absolute control of Palestinian lives. The Nakba is a never-ending spiral of suppression and the attempt to erase ever remnant of Palestinian life and culture.
In this issue of the MennoPIN Update, we share with you two articles by Palestinians who argue that the Nakba began years before May 15, 1948, the day Israel celebrates its beginning as a nation state. Jonathan Kuttab is a member of the MennoPIN Steering Committee, Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) and a human rights attorney, practicing international law in Israel, Palestine and the United States. Ghada Karmi, writing in Mondoweiss, was born in Jerusalem and received a Doctor of Medicine at Bristol University. She established the first British-Palestinian medical charity.
Jonathan Kuttab As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba (“catastrophe”) of May 15, 1948, many commentators have been pointing out that the Catastrophe did not simply occur on that date or year but rather that it is an ongoing catastrophe, beginning prior to 1948 and continuing to the present day.
May 15, 1948 marks the creation of the State of Israel, and it represents the height of the campaign for the destruction of the Palestinian community which permitted that creation. Even prior to 1948, and well before the entrance of the Arab armies into the fight, the armed forces of the Zionists had substantially carried out a successful campaign to depopulate hundreds of Arab villages, drive out their occupants through terror and massacres, take over their lands and properties, and expand their control far beyond those areas allocated unfairly to them under the UN partition resolution of 1947. That resolution granted to the Zionists approximately 51% of the “territory” of Palestine, even though Jews constituted at that time only one third of the population. And, despite intensive efforts to buy land from wealthy absentee landowners, they only held ownership of about 7% of the land.
There are three basic elements to the Nakba. All three were essential for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. All three elements continue to operate today. First is the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of the land’s original inhabitants (and the barring of their return), which together with a massive influx of migration was intended to create a Jewish demographic majority. The ongoing refusal to allow Palestinian refugees to return, as well as continued attempts to push out additional numbers of Arabs in the years since, attests to the ongoing Nakba on the demographic front. As fragmentation and apartheid became the standard way of life for the remaining Palestinian population, the refugees were restricted entirely from accessing the “higher strata” of recognized rights, such as Israeli citizenship, East Jerusalem residency, West Bank residency, or Gaza residency (as opposed to outright exile).
Ghada Karmi It is that time of year when the annual commemoration of Israel’s creation in my homeland, and the disaster it led to, comes around, yet again with no end to the conflict in sight. Israel’s land grabs, ethnic cleansing, and human rights abuses against Palestinians continue unabated, unpunished, and unaccountable.
Seventy-five years ago, Israel was established on the ruins of Palestine. In that process, my family was forced to flee our home in Jerusalem. Israel’s creation, officially declared on May 15, 1948, marked the start of our long exile, even as our eviction was being celebrated for installing another people in our place. In the following decades, we watched helplessly as the new state grew in strength and dominance to become a regional superpower. Today, Israel is a nuclear power with an army ranked the fifth largest in the world. It enjoys the unstinting support of Western countries, most especially the United States. The U.S. provides Israel with advanced weaponry, intelligence sharing, and political and diplomatic support. The West regards it as an integral part of the Western world. The European Union has accorded Israel a privileged status in trade and access to EU research programs, exactly as if it were a European state. Marking Israel’s anniversary this April, the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, falling over herself with praise for Israel, even enthused that Israel had “made the desert bloom.”
Photo: A Palestinian flag in the crowd during the Tunisia vs. Australia soccer match in Qatar. (Credit: Showkat Shafi?Al Jazeer)
After watching the most eventful World Cup final people would think that Argentina won the Qatar World cup. However, Palestine took the World Cup’s respect and love from every fan worldwide who were chanting Free-Palestine at the first ever World Cup hosted in an Arab country. These fans raised the Palestinian voice and flag everywhere in Qatar supporting the Palestinian cause in disgust of the Abraham accords which neglected Palestinian’s rights by giving more power to Israel that was approved of Gulf countries such as The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. The Arabic Gulf has always been against Israel due to the horrific violations they have caused towards Palestinians. However, the Abraham accords were initiated to begin “peace treaties” between the gulf and Israel. Yet, these treaties were only made by high end officials for national interests resulting as bilateral trade and commerce opportunities for these countries. This neglected people’s opinions about the situation and left Palestinians with no hope as their own have ignored them. During the World Cup these countries’ true voices spoke their minds to the world and opposed these “treaties” and exposed them for dehumanizing Palestinians. The people of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, and thousand of soccer fanatics worldwide raised the Palestinian cause in solidarity to tell the world that Israel is an apartheid state who has been abusing their power towards Palestinian civilians. Fans even denied getting interviewed by Israeli channels in Qatar to show their disapproval towards these accords by public humiliation of the Israeli journalists. The World Cup has always been bringing people together from different nationalities over a soccer game. Yet, this one brought the whole world together to stand up against apartheid.
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:
Christmas Greetings and a Request Israel’s Election: Apartheid Unmasked Norway Gets it Right on BDS An Invitation to Engage with the Gaza YMCA The Firing of Katie Halper HR 2374 – Peace and Tolerance in Palestine Education Act Stay Informed on Palestine Prayer
Christmas Greetings and a Request
Well, maybe not everyone around the manger was filled with adoration, but all of us on the MennoPIN Steering Committee are grateful to walk with you as we together seek peace, justice and freedom throughout Palestine, that “peace on Earth and good will to all” the shepherds heard sung. We hope you had a blessed Christmas and that 2023 brings for you renewed energy and a sense of hope for all of the people of Palestine.
We rarely ask for financial support, but as 2022 comes to a close, please consider a gift to MennoPIN. In July of 2023 the Mennonite Church USA will hold a convention in Kansas City, MO. MennoPIN plans to have a strong presence at the convention in two ways: (1) through an exhibit booth in which we plan to raise up the realities and dangers of both Christian Zionism and Israeli apartheid and (2) through workshops that show what it is like on the ground in Palestine and how we can all contribute to and work for the end to the occupation and apartheid. We are especially hopeful to have present one of two people from Gaza, with whom we’ve developed relationships through the MennoPIN Gaza Twining Initiative, to help lead at least one of the workshops.
To have a successful presence will involve financial costs and that is why we are asking for your help. All members of the steering committee are volunteers, and we have no paid staff. So, every penny you contribute will go to our efforts at MennoCon23 and other projects during 2023. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please send a check, made payable to Peace Mennonite Fellowship with a notation in the memo line for MennoPIN, to Joe Roos, MennoPIN, 479 Crosby Street, Altadena, CA 91001. Thank you very much!
Israel’s Election: Apartheid Unmasked
Look who helped Netanyahu regain power – his new good friends Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Givr (credit Mondoweiss)
Last month Israel conducted its fifth national election in the past three years. Benjamin Netanyahu, under criminal investigation, won the election as Prime Minister, but only by bringing the extreme right-wing elements into his coalition. Itamar Ben-Givr, the leader of the Jewish Power party and Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Party, have teamed up with Netanyahu to form by far the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Finally, for Apartheid Israel, the masks have come off.
Both men and their respective followers are heirs and devoted followers of the late infamous Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was declared illegal in Israel since the mid-1990s. Now, Givr and Smotrich are bring Kahane’s racism and extremism to the center of Israeli politics under Netanyahu. Both have been granted significant governmental posts which promises to have dire consequences for Palestine. For example:
Givr wants to establish a “migration ministry” with the purpose of expelling Palestinians who he considers disloyal to Israel. Just after the election, Givr stated: “It’s time to show [Palestinians] who is master of the house here.” In October 2022, just before the elections, he pulled a gun and threatened to shoot nonviolent protestors in Sheikh Jarrah. In December 2021 he also pulled a gun on a Palestine security guard who asked him to move his illegally parked car. Over the years, Givr has been indicted by Israeli courts over fifty times and convicted a dozen times, including supporting a terrorist organization. And now he has great power over Palestinians.
Smotrich, with a racist history and as a self-described “proud homophobe,” has declared his commitment to formally annex the occupied West Bank and to expel indigenous Palestinians who do not accept permanent subjugation under Israeli rule. He told a right-wing religious gathering: “According to Jewish law, there must always be some inferiority.” He went on to explain that Palestinians who accepted this second-class citizenship would be considered “resident aliens.” And for those who resisted second-class citizenship: “The Israeli military will know what to do.”
The Biden Administration, which has publicly shown it wasn’t totally pleased with this situation, has not signaled any consequences for Israel. Netanyahu has tried to appease international opposition by claiming that there is no need to worry, that he will keep Givr and Smotrich under control. To think of Bibi as the adult in the room is laughable to the absurd.
The liberal American Jewish community, spokespersons and lobbyist are, however, taking the change in government seriously. Thomas Friedman, ever the Israeli defender, recently wrote in the New York Times that he thinks Israel is in serious danger of losing international support. And on the day following the election, Jeremy Ben-Ami, head of the J-Street lobby, stated bluntly: “Last night’s election results in Israel are deeply troubling for all who care about Israel and who care about liberal democracy globally…The likely formation of an ultra-right Netanyahu government should force a moment of serious reckoning for all American’s who care about the nature of the US-Israel relationship and about a just, equal and democratic future for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Even if the aftermath of the Israeli elections produces, in the long-term, cracks in the US-Israel relationship, in the much shorter term, Palestine will likely suffer greatly, and a violent response becomes an increasing possibility. Israeli apartheid is impossible to deny.
Norway Gets it Right on BDS
The Jewish newspaper Haaretz and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS) have just reported that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, with assets valued at $1.3 trillion, will reportedly end investments in firms tied to apartheid Israel’s illegal settlement enterprises in Palestine. If Norway follows through, this will be one of the biggest victories of the BDS, initiated by Palestinians as one way to nonviolently oppose the Israeli occupation and violence inflicted upon Palestinians on a daily basis.
She was Just Looking for Her Cat – Now She’s Dead
Jana Zakarneh (inset) and her body being carried to her grave by mourners [Credit: Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty]
16-year-old Jana Zakarneh lived with her family in Jenin, Palestine. Earlier this month she heard gunshots and climbed to the top of her home to look out for her cat. One moment she was standing on the roof, searching for the cat. The next moment she was lying dead in a pool of her own blood, shot by an Israeli sniper with four bullets, one in the head, one to her face and two in her chest.
At first Israel claimed she was an unfortunate victim of crossfire between Israeli military units and Palestinian terrorists. When it was later shown that the so-called “terrorists” were hundreds of meters away and out of the line of sight of Jana, the story changed to one of an unintended civilian killing. There will be no investigation, military forces said, and no one will be held accountable.
Jana was the 36th Palestinian minor killed by Israel this year, and the 224th Palestinian to lose their lives to Israeli gunfire.
An Invitation to Engage with the Gaza YMCA
Parents and visitors mill around at an art display from students of the Gaza YMCA
You are invited to a 1-hour conversation with leaders of the Gaza YMCA on January 14, 2023. Two years ago, the Fellowship of Hope in Elkhart, IN began a relationship with the Gaza YMCA through MennoPIN’s Gaza Twining Initiative.
Through bi-weekly Zoom conversations between the Fellowship of Hope and the Gaza YMCA, the Indiana Mennonite community has “enjoyed and been challenged by the relationship, according to David Janzen. Gaza YMCA leaders Suheil Tarazi and Hani Farah will talk about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the compelling work that the YMCA has been doing to support families in the midst of dire conditions caused by the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza and the frequent bombings of Gaza by Israeli military aircraft and drones.
During the Zoom conversation, you will hear directly from Christian Palestinians and get a better picture of what life is like on the ground in Gaza, a 2,000,000 person outdoor prison in which Israel allows into Gaza barely just enough food to meet the bare minimum daily nutritional requirements to live.
In recent years the politics and civics around the concept of antisemitism have become more complicated. The organization International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) released a ‘working legal nonbinding’ definition of antisemitism in 2016. The working definition seeks to give a broad application of what antisemitism means. However, IHRA defines about half of their examples of antisemitic activity in connection with criticism of Israel. IHRA’s working definition has been adopted by the US State Department, The ADL and sum 20 U.S. states in varying degrees.
This language has been, as Rebecca Ruth Gold states, an intervention, “in public discourse by way of obfuscation. Defining and adopting this definition in a broad way allows for the muddling of that public discourse. This could be in part why Katie Halper, a Jewish political commentator for The Hill, was fired. In September of 2022 Katie Halper was let go due to her approval of Rashida Tlaib’s description of Israel as an apartheid state. This approval of criticism was labeled antisemitic. Unfortunately, Halper being fired from The Hill is not an isolated event. Recently the new UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, reportedly was deemed antisemitic by Israel and ‘one-sided’ by the US’s representative to the Human Rights Council at the UN.
What makes the public discourse around the firing of Katie Halper contentious is there has also been an increase in antisemitism within U.S. society. The most prolific example of this would be Ye (Kanye) West’s recent unearthing a slew of antisemitic talking points across many platforms. This language is harmful to Jews and ought to be condemned. Yet, antisemitism and critique of a nation-state’s actions are not one in the same; even though there can be overlap in some cases. However, Jewishness is not intrinsically tied the nation-state of Israel. For some tying Jewishness to the current state of Israel is seen as antisemitic itself because it renders a Jewish identity as monolithic, as are Jews who support Israel as Medinat Yisrael.
Within this contention however, we should recognize the firing of Katie Halper is a signal that antisemitism is being used to divert culpability from Israel. Efforts to call attention to a rise of antisemitic actions can coexist at the same time of denouncing the actions of Israel against Palestinians. We ought to be able to condemn both types of actions within public discourse if we want to bring about a more peaceful world. In many ways the Mennonite commitment to peace building requires us to span multiple arrays of injustice and have a prophetic voice towards it. Bridging a place of division for reconciliation is a place that Mennonites have historically held. But, as Desmond Tutu argues, true reconciliation of people is through the proclaiming of sin or injustices, and the healing that comes from rehabilitating each party to themselves which will bring about a new way forward from the ashes of conflict.
HR 2374 – Peace and Tolerance in Palestine Education Act
On April 5, 2021, Democratic Representative Brad Sherman introduce to the House bill H.R. 2374. The bill is entitled Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act and seeks to surveil Palestinian education in Palestine Authority governed areas and Gaza. Through this surveillance the U.S. government would be required to not fund or support any education that they deemed harmful to the state of Israel.
What the bills defines as harmful education is wide, but these are some of the topics: (1) maps that are misleading or include Jerusalem as the capitol of Palestine; (2) using math of the deaths of Palestinians during the First or Second Intifada, (3) portraying violence or aggression against Israel or Israelis, and (4) that no language or definition Israel as an apartheid state should be included. If this is not upheld in the event of the Bill being passed, the U.S. would withhold funds from the UNRWA budget or any other organization that supports education in Palestine receiving U.S. government funds.
The fight for peace and not further harm is the goal in any conflict, however, this bill raises some concerns. The first is the push for the US to control Palestinian education in respect to the State of Israel. At the moment Palestinian civil society has been constricted heavily by the sanctions coming from Israel. This would further limit that space by disallowing Palestinians from determining their own story and politics through their shared history; especially after the Department of State’s adoption of IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. The second is while Palestinian education is brought under suspicion, Israeli education gets a pass. Often times, Israeli Hebrew texts books participate in similar dehumanizing rhetoric that could be found in Palestinian educational materials. A third way forward would be to not only call to reform of one side of educational materials but all.
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:
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos, III spoke out at a Christmas tree lighting at Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate on Saturday, the 17th of December. Addressing the crowd from the balcony of the Imperial Hotel in the Old City, he warned that Christians in the Holy Land have become target of repeated attacks by radical Israeli groups in a deliberate attempt to expel them. Lord, we echo the words of the Patriarch in our prayer: “We long for peace and so let us not rend this fabric of our historic common life that has provided room enough down the ages for all who call the Holy Land their home.” Sabeel Wave of Prayer
MENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK
