Two young Palestinian theologians speaking during a Council for World Mission (CWM) webinar on 27 November posed an urgent question to the world: “What is your message to the people of Gaza today?”
Part of CWM’s Discernment and Radical Engagement (DARE) programme, the webinar explored a faith-based response to the political, economic, and social forces impacting Palestine and its people.
Theologian Samuel Munayer, from Jerusalem, had a clear label for what is currently happening to Palestinians: a genocide.
“There are more than 2 million people displaced and in shelters,” he said. “There is no place to even lament and mourn as the trauma continues.”
He sees the genocide not only as one of Palestine but of processes, structures, and movements dating from the start of the West trying to colonize the world.
He discussed life in Palestine through the lens of the patron saint of Palestine, St George. “In the beginning of the genocide, particularly when my own family received death threats, my immediate thoughts and reflections were toward my grandmother and grandmother, who lived through the Nakba in 1948, and they took refuge in the Church of St George,” Munayer said. “I imagined my grandpa under the icon of St George in the church.”
Munayer believes that the genocide in Palestine is a mirror toward the failure of the church and the consequences of colonialism.
“Sin is in systems,” he said. “Sin is in structures which are breaking relationships between people and between God and people.”
And, he pointed out, sin is to be revolted against. “I saw that in the story of St George as a martyr saint who went against the Roman empire,” he said. “Come not in charity but in solidarity.”
Munayer agreed that a lot of people are talking about liberation. “There are many voices preaching about liberation—but not many voices that are credible,” he said. “If we are to be ambassadors, if we are to have a mission, what is your message to the people of Gaza today?”
He also asked what needs to be deconstructed. “Are we willing to lose our lives for the sake of Christ—or are we too concerned in preserving our institutional lives?” he asked. “Martyrdom and the genocide should shake up the church.”
The violent theology of empire
Theologian Yasmine Rishmawi noted that it has been more than 76 years since the establishment of the state of Israel. “As Palestinians—and for over 76 years—we have witnessed and we are still witnessing our hope murdered,” she said. “We also have seen our culture and food and history appropriated, our voices silenced, and our people oppressed.”
Palestinians have also seen their Bibles taken away—and used as weapons. “Our Bible continues to be used to justify unjust political agendas,” she said.
For Palestinian Christians, she noted, the struggle for justice it not only political but also deeply theological.
“There is often an emphasis that we as Christians should only focus on praying and having a good relationship with God,” she said. “This theology—this imperial theology— demands that we accept our oppression as a divinely ordained destiny.”
This leaves Palestinians as collateral damage, Rishmawi said. “It denies us any right to peace, justice, and dignity in our land and insists that we do not belong there even if our ancestors have lived there for centuries,” she said.
The theology of empire also demands obedience from Palestinians, Rishmawi added.
“This theology demands from us our active participation in our own oppression,” she said. “It also stands in a morally high position while preaching neutrality to us.”
There is a problem with preaching about neutrality in the face of injustice, Rishmawi said. “It makes people refrain from taking action against injustice,” she said. “Does loving our enemies really entail that we accept injustice and settle for superficial gestures of peace?”
The theology of empire is inherently violent and colonial, said Rishmawi. “As true followers of Christ we have a responsibility to seek justice and challenge the empire,” she said. “We need a theology of justice, hope, action, and love—so when you pray for peace, ask for justice.”
She urged people to pray for action. “I will say, since I’ve been part of CWM initiatives in the past three years, I’ve felt more seen and heard as a Palestinian Christian,” she said.