Tag: Apartheid

Challenging Apartheid & Religious Extremism

Conference Purpose Statement: 

The Sabeel Liberation Theology Center invites you to our upcoming Challenging Apartheid and Religious Extremism conference to be held 17-21 November in Bethlehem and online.   

A new reality is rising and religious extremism is fanning the flames of intolerance and violence. Gaza lies in rubble with the majority of the ever increasing death toll being children and women. Even the January 6, 2021 riot in Washington, DC, is being reframed as a righteous protest. Numerous religious and theological leaders find themselves grappling with the challenge of responding faithfully and effectively.  

The Sabeel conference will challenge religious extremism and supremacism, as well as apartheid through a scriptural, liberationist approach to theology by ecumenical and interfaith collaboration. The plenaries, workshops and visits will promote faith based, non-violent, peace-making initiatives to assist in the achievement of liberation, justice and peace in Palestine-Israel. 

Webinars: Sabeel has organized five webinars, each at 8pm Jerusalem time, from January to May. These webinars, facilitated by distinguished academics and activists, serve as a prelude to the conference by introducing themes and topics that will be explored in depth in November. Register here

Wednesday 31st January: An Introduction to Religious Extremism

This webinar will introduce religious extremism and outline the November conference.

Wednesday 28th February: Zionism and Antisemitism

How the term antisemitism has been weaponised and an examination of the relationship between Zionism, apartheid, and religious extremism in Judaism. 

Wednesday 27th March: Islam and Islamophobia

Define Islamophobia, challenge stereotypes and prejudice toward Muslims, and examine how Islamophobia has been exploited to silence criticism of Israel.

Wednesday 24th April: Christophobia and the Persecution of Christians

A discussion on the persecution of Christians and how Christian Zionism exacerbates tensions for Palestinian Christians. 

Wednesday 29th May: A Summary on Religious Extremism

A summary of the series and information about the November conference including the schedule and how to maximize your participation.

Register for the Webinars here

Register for the Conference here

Challenging Apartheid and Religious Extremism

For preparatory reading, please download the Sabeel booklets “Challenging Religious Extremism” and “This Is Where We Stand: A Sabeel Reflection on Antisemitism”  

Conference Purpose Statement: 
After ignoring 75 years of Israeli settler-colonial violence, since the 7th of October last year, the world has been shocked into taking notice of the genocide occurring against Palestinians in Gaza. With the aim of speaking into these tragedies, the 2024 Sabeel International Conference will challenge apartheid and religious extremism through a liberationist approach to theology by ecumenical and interfaith collaboration. Thought leaders representing the Abrahamic faiths will guide participants in reflecting on the current situation and exploring ecumenical, interfaith, non-violent avenues for fostering peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. 

Webinars: Sabeel has organized five webinars, each at 8pm Jerusalem time, from January to May. These webinars, facilitated by distinguished academics and activists, serve as a prelude to the conference by introducing themes and topics that will be explored in depth in November.

Register for the webinars here

Wednesday 31st January: An Introduction to Religious Extremism
This webinar will introduce religious extremism and outline the November conference.

Wednesday 28th February: Zionism and Antisemitism
How the term antisemitism has been weaponised and an examination of the relationship between Zionism, apartheid, and religious extremism in Judaism. 

Wednesday 27th March: Islam and Islamophobia
Define Islamophobia, challenge stereotypes and prejudice toward Muslims, and examine how Islamophobia has been exploited to silence criticism of Israel.

Wednesday 24th April: Christophobia and the Persecution of Christians
A discussion on the persecution of Christians and how Christian Zionism exacerbates tensions for Palestinian Christians. 

Wednesday 29th May: A Summary on Religious Extremism
A summary of the series and information about the November conference including the schedule and how to maximize your participation.

Principles: The principles guiding this conference include facilitating constructive interfaith dialogue, promoting human rights and justice in Palestine and Israel, challenging misinterpretations of religious texts contributing to extremism, empowering grassroots activism and advocacy, and strengthening collaborative networks. The Sabeel conference aims to create a platform for dialogue across faiths to address the root causes of extremism and advance human rights in Palestine.

Register for the webinars here

The Broken Heart of Gaza: Canon Garth Hewitt

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An interview with Garth Hewitt on what is happening in Gaza, his numerous visits to Gaza and the context for his song ‘The Broken Heart of Gaza’ which has now been revised to include the word genocide.

Garth was inspired to write the song by Father Manuel Musallam, the Parish Priest of Gaza, who had written to the wider Church of God. His letter was made public in January 2009.

‘Father Musallam’s letter inspired me with its great beauty and reminds me so strongly of a New Testament Epistle’ Garth Hewitt

View Garth singing the song on Youtube here

For more information on Garth’s songs and books – visit the Garth Hewitt Foundation

The Politics of Jesus: Palestine Declassified

The Politics of Jesus: In conversation with Chris Williamson and David Miller on Palestine Declassified for Press TV. Watch the recording here:

What’s your view on Jesus’ politics?

In his first sermon Jesus announced his political agenda. 

 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18-21; Isaiah 61:1-2)

The prophet Isaiah is referring to the coming of the Messiah to announce the Year of Jubilee (which occurred every 50 years). When debts were cancelled, all slaves were freed and any property sold was returned to each family. It was intended to avoid extremes of wealth and poverty, and ensure justice, liberty, and equality. Jesus insists the Jubilee had come because the Sovereign King had now arrived.  Jesus political agenda therefore was to transform a deeply divided and unjust world and bring liberty, equality and fraternity, in a right relationship with the one true God and one another. Although this will ultimately only be fully realised in heaven, we get to demonstrate a foretaste by the way we treat one another.

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A Moral Vacuum on Israel/Palestine Among Anglican Bishops

A survey of Anglican Bishops was planned by a coalition of ten Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular groups[1] that were concerned about the position the Church of England had taken vis-à-vis Israel/Palestine under the leadership of Archbishop Justin Welby. It was executed by CAMPAIN (the Campaign against Misrepresentation in Public Affairs, Information and the News)

An Open Letter of April 25th raised a series of issues, but the matter of most immediate concern was Welby’s denial of the existence of Israeli apartheid, which placed him at odds with the views of late Archbishop Tutu, the Anglican Church of South Africa, renowned international and Israeli human rights organisations, Palestinian Christians and the United Nations. 

The purpose of the survey was to ascertain whether other CofE bishops widely shared Welby’s opinion, and if so, why?

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University of Malaya Lecture Tour

During the last week of November, I spoke at several events in Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of the University of Malaya, Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies, the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue and also the International Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies.

Inevitable Solutions to the Palestinian Plight

A lecture given at the invitation of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue and Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies. Read my text here.

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Anglican Church of Southern Africa Declares Israel an Apartheid State


The Anglican Church of South Africa has declared Israel to be an apartheid state. The following resolutions were approved by Provincial Standing Committee at its 2023 meeting on Wednesday 27th September.

ON ISRAEL AS AN APARTHEID STATE

1. Whereas:

a. Many global human rights bodies including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have now declared Israel an apartheid state;

b. The SACC National Executive Committee has now also declared Israel an apartheid state;

c. The Dutch Reformed Church Western Cape synod has now also expressed its opinion that Israel should be declared an apartheid state and has asked its church’s National synod to consider this at its October 2023 Synod;

d. Most Palestinian civil rights bodies consider this to be true;

2. This PSC Resolves to:

a. Endorse the position taken by the SACC national executive committee declaring Israel an apartheid state;

b. Respectfully request the Archbishop to inform the Primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East of this decision;

c. Pray for our Anglican brothers and sisters in Palestine and to express our solidarity with them;

d. Express support for the upcoming global anti-apartheid conference on Palestine to be held in Tshwane in November 2023.

Source

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Anglican Church of South Africa Declares Israel an Apartheid State 

The Anglican Church of South Africa: PSC Resolutions declaring Israel an apartheid state and on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The following resolutions were approved by Provincial Standing Committee at its 2023 meeting on Wednesday.

On Israel as an Apartheid State

1. Whereas:

a. Many global human rights bodies including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have now declared Israel an apartheid state;

b. The SACC National Executive Committee has now also declared Israel an apartheid state;

c. The Dutch Reformed Church Western Cape synod has now also expressed its opinion that Israel should be declared an apartheid state and has asked its church’s National synod to consider this at its October 2023 Synod;

d. Most Palestinian civil rights bodies consider this to be true;

2. This PSC Resolves to:

a. Endorse the position taken by the SACC national executive committee declaring Israel an apartheid state;

b. Respectfully request the Archbishop to inform the Primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East of this decision;

c. Pray for our Anglican brothers and sisters in Palestine and to express our solidarity with them;

d. Express support for the upcoming global anti-apartheid conference on Palestine to be held in Tshwane in November 2023.

Source

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba issued the following statement on the decision by Provincial Standing Committee to declare Israel an apartheid state.

“As people of faith who are distressed by the pain of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza – and who long for security and a just peace for both Palestine and Israel – we can no longer ignore the realities on the ground. We are opposed not to the Jewish people, but to the policies of Israelis’ governments, which are becoming ever more extreme.

For Christians, the Holy Land is the place where Jesus was born, nurtured, crucified and raised. Our hearts ache for our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine, whose numbers include Anglicans but are rapidly declining. People of all faiths in South Africa have both a deep understanding of what it is to live under oppression, as well as experience of how to confront and overcome unjust rule by peaceful means. When black South Africans who have lived under apartheid visit Israel, the parallels to apartheid are impossible to ignore. If we stand by and keep quiet, we will be complicit in the continuing oppression of the Palestinians.

If we are to celebrate peace for Palestinians and security for the Israelis in in our time, we need to pray and work for the land we call holy, for an end to the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and for full recognition of the Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination.

We yearn for peace and the wholeness of God to be made manifest in Palestine, in Israel and among their neighbouring countries. I pray the prayer we adopted at the last meeting of the Provincial Synod, the ruling body of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa:

Lord God,
Bless the people of the Middle East;
Protect their vulnerable children;
Transform their divided leaders;
Heal their wounded communities,
Restore their human dignity,
and give them everlasting peace. Amen.”

Source

Brian Brown: Apartheid South Africa! Apartheid Israel?

An interview with the Revd Brian J. Brown. Brian is a South African-born Methodist minister – banned for 13 years by the Apartheid regime – who shares his hope and quest for justice and peace for Israelis and Palestinians that both may share the indivisibility of freedom and equality in one democratic state.

In exile Brian held appointments in the British Council of Churches and the Methodist Missionary Society where he continued to pursue the apartheid-related justice issues he describes in his autobiography, ‘Born to be Free: the Indivisibility of Freedom’. This interest led to study of the Israel-Palestine conflict at a time of growing emergence of Israel’s government as an undemocratic, settler-colonial, and apartheid regime.

In ‘Apartheid South Africa! Apartheid Israel?’ Brian analyses Israel as replicating what he calls Grand Apartheid; the violent dispossession of land, nationality and human rights by one ethnic group of another. Save that this time it is Palestistian rather then Black people who suffer apartheid’s illegal occupation, domination and disempowerment. The book’s comparative analysis of two apartheid states is backed by accounts of Israeli and International Human Rights organisations whose legal analysis presents Israel as practising a crime against humanity, the Crime of Apartheid.

Jewish and Palestinian narratives engage with each other, whilst the book’s Christian option for the oppressed and marginalised is presented unapologetically. Related themes of Zionism (Jewish and Christian), Interfaith dialogue, apartheid as heresy, anti-Palestianism and antisemitism are treated. Most importantly, the voices of those who live between the river (Jordan) and the sea (Mediterranean) are heard. For Jews and Palestinians alike, their freedoms remain indivisible.

To find out more about Brian’s book and buy a copy, visit: https://apartheid-southafrica-israel.com