Israeli Apartheid dossier: Pressing call to Churches around the world

Separation Wall, Bethlehem - image ICN/JS

Source: Palestine Updates

Members of Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice have created a theological study for Christians and other civil society organizations who want to learn more about the crime of apartheid and why Palestinians and a growing number of churches and human rights organizations are using the word to describe Israel's oppression of Palestinians.

In this guide, you will find: a clear description of apartheid and how Israel's laws, policies and practices meet the international definition; a Biblical/theological reflection describing the sin of apartheid; a heartfelt call to the global church to hear the pleas of Palestinian Christians; and a list of recommended actions.

Also included are brief summaries of and links to many of the reports cited above, statements made by churches, faith groups, and international leaders (including prominent Israeli Jews), and a short book list.

Kairos Palestine members call upon the churches around the world to receive and study this Dossier and respond to the evidence and the call to do justice. It is the hope that this study will equip the global church to rise up and join Palestinian Christians as we work to end Israel's apartheid regime for the sake of all who live in the Holy Land.

APARTHEID: Defined

Three important documents define the crime of apartheid and describe its features: The Geneva Conventions; The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid; and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 85, 4c of The Geneva Convention considers the practice of apartheid a war crime and a crime against humanity. It specifically cites that "the implementation of the system of Apartheid is a grave breach of International Law." The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defines apartheid as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them." The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Article 7, 1, describes apartheid as "the inhumane acts of a character...committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime." The ICC's mandate lists apartheid as within its criminal jurisdiction.

APARTHEID: Reports and Statements documenting Israel's complicity

For decades, Palestinian civil society organizations have pointed to the harsh realities of Israel's apartheid regime. Over the years, a few internationally recognized leaders have concurred, including US President Jimmy Carter and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. But over the past three years a rapidly growing number of globally respected human rights organizations have issued thoroughly researched reports describing Israel's laws, policies and practices as apartheid. It is important to note that, while each of the following documents have been subjected to repeated accusations of "antisemitism" and "delegitimization of the State of Israel," there has not been a single response that disputes the charges in these reports.

APARTHEID: A Biblical/Theological Reflection

"We affirm that the continued oppression of the Palestinian people remains… a matter of theological urgency and represents a sin in violation of the message of the biblical prophets and the Gospel, and that all efforts to defend or legitimate the oppression of the Palestinian people, whether passive or active, through silence, word or deed by the Christian community, represent a fundamental denial of the Gospel." Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel, Adopted by the 33rd General Synod of the United Church of Christ, July 2021 In 2009, Palestinian Christian leaders representing a wide range of denominations issued the historic document, "A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering." The profoundly theological document-grounded in Biblical texts-is a bold, prophetic call naming Palestinian realities as they are and declaring the leaders' commitment to life in accord with God's purpose for all to live in love and free from oppression. In 2020, Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice, a worldwide coalition born in response to A Moment of Truth, released "Cry for Hope: A Call to Decisive Action." Cry for Hope is an urgent plea to Christians, churches and ecumenical bodies "for decisive action on a matter that we believe relates to the integrity of our Christian faith." Cry for Hope calls the global church to seven specific actions, insisting, "It is time for the international community… to recognize Israel as an apartheid state in terms of international law."

APARTHEID: What does the Lord require of the Global Church?

"Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking… The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene…" Isaiah 59:14-16 The realities of Israel's apartheid have been described from every perspective: legal, social, political, biblical and theological. The cries of Palestinians have exposed their long and brutal experience of apartheid. As the Prophet Isaiah might proclaim, "The Lord sees it, too"-the injustice, truth stumbling in the public square. Faced with the undeniable truth of Israel's apartheid, we know what the Lord requires of the Global Church: "To do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8)." The church has named and resisted the sin and injustice of apartheid in the past. The church is called to rise up once again.

The Palestinian Plea: "Are you able to help us get our freedom back?"

In 2009, Palestinian Christian leaders issued the historic document, "A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering." We named Palestinian realities as they are and described life as God is working to redeem it. We wrote, "Our question to our brothers and sisters in the Churches today is: Are you able to help us get our freedom back, for this is the only way you can help the two people attain justice, peace, security and love? (KP 6:1)" Now, thirteen years later, as conditions in Palestine rapidly worsen, our question is an urgent, earnest plea: "Are you able to help us get our freedom back?" The venerated Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, titled its January 2021 report, "A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid." Palestinians have been saying it for decades. Now, human rights organizations have said it. United Nations officials have said it. Politicians have said it. Theologians have said it. South African leaders, who lived apartheid and understand apartheid, have said it. Even Jewish Israeli politicians and legal experts have said it. Facts on the ground speak loudly and clearly. The evidence is here to see. "What will you do about it?" we Palestinians ask the Church, "How will you respond? Are you able to help us get our freedom back?

LINK

Download the full dossier: www.kairospalestine.ps/index.php/resources/publication/a-dossier-on-israeli-apartheid-a-pressing-call-to-churches-around-the-world