Tag: Palestine

Mark Braverman on the Bible and Zionism

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Mark is Executive Director, Kairos USA and Research Fellow in Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, Stellenbosch University.

These are the questions asked in our interview (paraphrased):

How do we reconcile the biblical texts promising the land to the descendants of Abraham with the call of the Palestinian Christians for sharing the land of Palestine?

The modern Jewish Zionist program calls the land “Israel.” And the settler movement, with the support of the Israeli government, is committed to Jewish hegemony over the entire land from the river to the sea (indeed, from the Nile to the Euphrates!). They justify this biblically. Is this claim consistent with biblical promises?

Is it theologically sound to use the Bible to argue land claims and human rights issues of equality? How do we read the Bible today confronting issues of racism and colonialism? What does Jesus have to say about this?

Christian Zionism provides the basis for many Christians’ commitment to and activity in support of the State of Israel. It is also being challenged, as biblically erroneous, theological unsound, and unacceptable on moral grounds. Is it Biblical? Indeed, what is its provenance with respect to the political and historical contexts in which it was conceived, took shape, and has been applied, right up to the present day?

Visit Kairos USA for more information about their work.

New Appointment as Bishop’s Chaplain

Dear Stephen,

Re. Bishop’s Chaplain

Salaam in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose resurrection from the death we celebrate these days ever proclaiming: “Jesus Christ is risen”.

In recognition of our long-standing relationship of over thirty years, I am writing to formally invite you to become my chaplain in the UK, to assist me when I am visiting, or to advise me in the fulfilment of my episcopal duties, albeit in retirement.

My dear Stephen, you are a person of integrity and forthright views with the courage to express them.

At the same time you have always shown the utmost respect for the adherents of different faiths, in particular to Jews and Moslems, while advocating for Christian presence in the Land of the Holy One, Israel and Palestine, and campaigning for Palestinian Human Rights.

I wish more servants of Christ, bishops and clergy, Anglicans and others, were as courageous as you in challenging the destructive effects of Israeli apartheid and Christian Zionism on both Jews and Palestinians.

I appreciate your prayers, your advocacy and solidarity with the Church in the Holy Land.

Know this comes with my prayers and my sincere thanks in advance.

In Christ,

+Bishop Riah Abo El Assal

I have been assisting Bishop Riah in the fulfilment of his episcopal duties in an informal capacity for decades. It is a delight and honour to have that role more formally recognised.

Bishop Richard Llewellin on EAPPI, South Africa and Apartheid

In this interview Bishop Richard Llewellin talks about his experiences of serving his curacy in South Africa under the apartheid regime and the parallels with Palestine today. (apologies for the quality of the audio).

In this interview Bishop Richard Llewellin shares his experiences with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Israel and Palestine (EAPPI). EAPPI is an international programme coordinated by the World Council of Churches. It brings people from around the world to the West Bank to serve for three months as human rights monitors. For more information see https://eappi.org

Bishop Richard was ordained in 1964 and was a curate at Radlett. After serving a second curacy at Johannesburg Cathedral, and being expelled from South Africa by the apartheid Nationalist government of the day in 1971, he was then successively the Vicar of Waltham Cross, the Rector of Harpenden and a canon of Truro Cathedral before being ordained to the episcopate as the suffragan Bishop of Street Germans (1985-1992). 

He later became the suffragan Bishop of Dover (1992-1999) and was subsequently appointed Bishop at Lambeth and Chief of Staff to the Archbishop by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held until 2004. In retirement he was appointed an honorary fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University.

Bishop Richard is a member of the Peacemaker Trust Board of Reference and  Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Jonathan Kuttab: Beyond the Two State Solution

Beyond 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 is a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and co-founder of Nonviolence International. A well-known international human rights attorney, he practices law in the US, Palestine and Israel.

Jonathan serves on the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and is Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America. He is President of the Board of Holy Land Trust. 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 Trust International Board of Reference.

The Church of England and Palestine: Revd Mark Battison

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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

Beyond the Two-State Solution: Jonathan Kuttab

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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’s website

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.

Dr Antony Lerman “Whatever Happened to Antisemitism?”


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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