A presentation on Christian Zionism given at the 2023 Oxford Colloquium ’Meeting the Challenge of the Rise in Racialized (White) Christian Nationalism’ at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, in partnership with the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
Download a copy as a pdf.
A Deconstruction of Christian Zionist theology Seven Biblical Answers
It was a delight to interview Revd Dr Paul McAllister while attending the Oxford Colloquium on Racialised Christian Nationalism held between 20-23 March at Harris Manchester College in Oxford and sponsored by the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute.
Continue readingBeyond the Two-State Solution, by Jonathan Kuttab, is a short introduction to the ongoing crisis in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism have been at loggerheads for over a century. Some thought the two-state solution would resolve the conflict between them. Kuttab explains that the two-state solution (that he supported) is no longer viable.
He suggests that any solution be predicated on the basic existential needs of the two parties, needs he lays out in exceptional detail. He formulates a way forward for a 1-state solution that challenges both Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism.
This book invites readers to begin a new conversation based on reality: two peoples will need to live together in some sort of unified state. It is balanced and accessible to neophytes and to experts alike.
In this short interview Jonathan explains why the One Democratic State is the only viable way forward.
You may download a free copy of Jonathan’s book from Nonviolence International
Jonathan Kuttab is a co-founder of Nonviolence International. A well-known international human rights attorney, Jonathan has established himself as a prominent speaker on nonviolence.
He is also a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq a member of the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA).
Jonathan is also a member of the Peacemaker Trust International Board of Reference.
Mark is President of Friends of Sabeel Australia and a former Anglican clergyman. In this conversation Mark shares his frustration with the Church of England for the lack of a prophetic voice on justice for the Palestinians.
For more information on the organisations Mark mentions see:
http://www.australia.sabeel.org
http://www.campain.org
http://www.pien.org.au
http://www.palestinianchristians.org.au
http://www.apan.org.au
“With the growing challenge to the theological justifications for the colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the counterattack by defenders of Zionism has intensified. Overwhelmingly, this has taken the form of charges of antisemitism. On Monday, January 30, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the Church of England imposed upon the Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer a 12-year ban on clergy activities, ruling that Sizer engaged in “conduct unbecoming the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders.” As covered in Jeff Wright’s Mondoweiss article, the charges of antisemitism were brought before the Church of England by Marie van der Zyl on behalf the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which describes itself as “the voice of the UK Jewish community.” Sizer is well known for his critique of Christian Zionism and his opposition to what many human rights organizations and others are now describing as Israeli apartheid.
Beyond The Two-State Solution, by Jonathan Kuttab, is a short introduction to the current crisis in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism have been at loggerheads for over a century. Some thought the two-state solution would resolve the conflict between them. Jonathan explains that the two-state solution (that he supported) is no longer viable. He suggests that any solution be predicated on the basic existential needs of the two parties, needs he lays out in exceptional detail. He formulates a way forward for a 1-state solution that challenges both Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism. This book invites readers to begin a new conversation based on reality: two peoples will need to live together in some sort of unified state. It is balanced and accessible to neophytes and to experts alike.
“….history is full of instances of mortal enemies who killed millions of each other, and yet who eventually became friends and allies. Germans and French fought pitched battles and destroyed whole cities for each other within living memory, yet today they are allies and friends. There is no reason to think that the same cannot be true for Palestinians and Israeli Jews once a just solution is reached that addresses their deepest needs.”
In the Israeli/Palestinian context, it is clear that no peaceful coexistence can be achieved until the demographic demon is put to rest. The fulfillment of each community must not be jeopardized by the obsession with achieving numerical majority or the dream that such majority status will allow them to negate or obliterate the rights of the other group. Once that truth sinks in, the Right of Return (for Jews and for Palestinian Arabs) will no longer be a frightening taboo, and a non-negotiable item.
Download the book for free here
Find out more about Nonviolence International at this link.
Jonathan Kuttab is co-founder of Nonviolence International and a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq. A well-known international human rights attorney, he has practiced in the US, Palestine and Israel. He serves on the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and is President of the Board of Holy Land Trust. He is co-founder and board member of the Just Peace Advocates. He was the head of the Legal Committee negotiating the Cairo Agreement of 1994 between Israel and the PLO. Jonathan is also a member of the Peacemaker International Board of Reference.
I think you will agree that that January is often a challenging month. After the highs of the Christmas season, the short-lived New Year resolutions, the credit card bills, long dark nights and typically cold weather, we can so easily be demotivated if not down right discouraged.
In my former parish, just after Christmas I would get the whole church family engaged in a collective exercise. I would ask them to reflect back on the previous year and identify what were their personal highlights to celebrate. I would collate all their feedback and distribute a summary of memorable events.
We began the first Church Council meeting in January praising God for all that he had accomplished among us and distributed a copy to every church member early in January. We encouraged them to keep the page in their Bibles and use it to fuel their praise and prayer, as a reminder of how the Lord was working among us, building his Church to reach our community for Christ.
We found this really helped strengthen their faith and raised their expectations of what the Lord might accomplish in and through us in the year ahead.
I have done the same in what follows, highlighting an event or Initiaitve for each month of 2022. I have also appended a taster of our emerging vision for 2023.
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The Revd Dr Jos Strengholt discusses life in Egypt today and the work of Nijl Vallei (Nile Valley) the Dutch charity he founded to support the poor in Egypt.
For more information on how you can support Nile Valley email kantoor@nijlvallei.nl or visit their website https://www.nijlvallei.nl
Dr Antony Lerman on “Whatever Happened to Antisemitism? Redefinition and the Myth of the ‘Collective Jew’“, a webinar organised by the Jewish Network for Palestine based on his new book published by Pluto Press.
Antisemitism is one of the most controversial topics of our time. The public, academics, journalists, activists and Jewish people themselves are divided over its meaning. Antony Lerman shows that this is a result of a 30-year process of redefinition of the phenomenon, casting Israel, problematically defined as the ‘persecuted collective Jew’ among the nations, as one of its main targets.
This political project has taken the notion of the ‘new antisemitism’ and codified it in the flawed International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s ‘working definition’ of antisemitism. This text is the glue holding together an international network comprising the Israeli government, pro-Israel advocacy groups, Zionist organisations, Jewish communal defence bodies and sympathetic governments fighting a war against those who would criticise Israeli Apartheid.
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Peacemaker Trust 