US Christians for Ceasefire engaged in a prayerful nonviolent action in a military zone near the crossing into Gaza on 18 August.
The 12 US and three Palestinian Christian leaders appealing for a just peace were confronted by Israeli guards at the Kerem Shalom crossing, with the wall to Gaza in the background as trucks with tanks came in and out of the lot.
Before the action, the delegation joined an interfaith prayer service with Rabbis for Human Rights and a Muslim sheikh at the Ancient Maon Synagogue, one kilometre from Khan Younis. As the group prayed, bombs were heard in the background and a siren went off. The participants laid flat on the ground with hands over their heads before finishing their prayer.
Previously, on 16 August, the delegation offered a nonviolent protective presence to a community in the West Bank facing Israeli settler violence. The Christian leaders visited Uum Jamal, a Bedouin Community which decided to evacuate from the valley after facing sustained Israeli settler violence for a week. Even while trying to evacuate, the village still faced the settlers’ attacks. Children were frightened to the point of vomiting. The people were beaten physically and women sexually harassed.
The settlers were young men bearing clubs, sticks, and other weapons who acted with impunity, given recent policy shifts in Israel granting settlers more control in the occupied territory. The Christian delegation which stayed with the community experienced intimidation and harassment by Israeli soldiers, and then engaged in rapid advocacy with the US State Department and US Embassy to exert pressure on the Israeli government to stop the settler violence.
The group is now urging President Biden and Vice President Harris to not merely urge a permanent ceasefire, but also to withhold further arms shipments to Israel for the leverage to achieve such a ceasefire.
Robert Shine, former national chair of Pax Christi USA, said: “For nearly eighty years, Israel has subjugated the Palestinian people. The apartheid and genocide being carried out is inherent to the Zionist project, largely funded by U.S. taxpayers. This violence is misconstrued as a religious conflict. In reality, it is about the attempted expulsion by Israelis of the Palestinian people from their land. Liberation for Palestine is a precondition for any just peace, a cause to which US Christians and everyone must commit ourselves.”
Levi Pierpont, an Air Force veteran and friend of the late Aaron Bushnell, said: “I am following in the footsteps of other Quakers, bearing witness to the suffering and oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank. This trip further strengthens my resolve to continue my efforts back home, both in pressuring the United States government to declare a full arms embargo, and making it impossible for my communities to ignore the genocide in Gaza.”
The Rev Dr Lewis Tait Jr. of Village Church DC, said: “As an African American I can identify with the Palestinian people with their backs against the wall. Be[ing] pro-Palestinian is not antisemitic but walking in solidarity with a people are [sic] experienced occupation since 1947. As a tax paying American citizen I ask the Biden and Harris administration along with the congress to stop funding genocide.”
Mercy Aiken, Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East said: “As an American Christian, who has had the privilege of spending much time in the Holy Land, my heart is broken for the unspeakable suffering in Gaza, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. My country and my religious community has done much to prolong this “conflict” by not recognising and dealing with the roots of the problems. I repent for this. Enough is enough. It is time to be serious about creating a better future for all the people living between the river and the sea.”
Members of Christians for Ceasefire in the US, and Palestinian Christian partners such as Sabeel, were participating in the just peace delegation in Palestine from 13-20 August 2024, in response to the mass atrocities taking place in Gaza and the West Bank. Sabeel is an Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre focused on justice, inclusivity, and nonviolence. Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) assisted in the planning and in facilitating logistics. There was a direct invitation from Christian leaders in Palestine to the delegation.
Committed to the dignity of all people, the delegation seeks a just and lasting peace for everyone. This includes, at minimum, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all political prisoners and hostages, and an end to the Israeli occupation.
The delegation met with key religious leaders, families of Palestinian prisoners, and Palestinian communities under threat, as well as visiting the organisation supporting families of the hostages and meeting with Israeli organisers. They also packed food for truck shipments into Gaza. The delegation seeks to help expose human rights violations, while strengthening and encouraging U.S. Christian advocacy for a just peace.
This effort is one in a series of religious delegations to Palestine, including Rabbis for Ceasefire, Christians for Ceasefire, and multi-faith delegations.
Participants in the delegation were: Mercy Aiken, Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East; Prof Ken Butigan, DePaul University, Catholic; the Rev Larry Clark, Methodist; the Rev Paul Jeffrey, Methodist; Prof Kelly Johnson, Catholic; Prof Eli McCarthy, Georgetown University, Catholic; the Rev John Paarlberg, Reformed Church of America; Levi Pierpont, Air Force veteran (friend of Aaron Bushnell), Quaker; Robert Shine, Pax Christi USA, Catholic; Jessica Sun, Leadership Team, Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus, Catholic; the Rev Dr Lewis Tait Jr, Village Church DC; Scott Wright, MDiv, Pax Christi Ambassador of Peace, Catholic.
* More information on Sabeel here.
* Source: Friends of Sabeel North America