EPF PJN endorses Kairos Palestine call to name genocide
On October 31, Reformation Day in Jerusalem, during the service at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, referred to “two years of genocide” for Palestinians. He asked what does Reformation look like “when children are separated from schools, worshippers from churches, families from each other by military checkpoints and barricades? When people are falsely imprisoned? When families are still searching for their loved ones under rubble?” On hearing these remarks, German church and political representatives at the service walked out and condemned the words used by the bishop. In response to the Germans’ reaction, Kairos Palestine issued a “Statement On Speaking the Truth: In Support of Bishop Azar and the Word “Genocide””. The Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Justice Network (EPF PJN) stands wholly in support of Bishop Azar and Kairos Palestine in characterizing events in Gaza as genocide.
The Kairos Palestine statement addresses several of the points that have been at the heart of the narrative, and controversy, that have dominated conversations since October 7, 2023. It examines the word “genocide” and references the many international legal, human rights, and academic organizations that have recognized its accuracy and applicability. It challenges the “moral credibility” of western Christian churches who have sidestepped naming the genocide, and it interrogates the “corruption” of Christian-Jewish dialogue that has weaponized silence. Finally, and most specific to Bishop Azar’s remarks, the statement lifts up the bishop’s “courage” and “call to truth”, reminding readers that the “church’s task is to speak truth to power, and to choose justice over comfort.”
EPF PJN notes the contrast between the statement and Bishop Azar’s words and a recent recommendation from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe to “limit public statements about Gaza”. On September 2, EPF PJN sent an Open Letter to the House of Bishops asking them to “name the genocide and unequivocally state that Israel’s crimes against humanity must end.” 1,019 people signed the letter in agreement. We received no response.
FOSNA Executive Director Jonathan Kuttab recently wrote of a “new reality” in Gaza that is sowing confusion: a “ceasefire” that comes and goes and seems not to apply to Israel; borders of Gaza restricted even further; a possibility of international troops deploying but under whose authority and to what purpose; and repeatedly promised humanitarian aid that has not materialized. The level of killing seems to have lessened but the lives, rights, dignity, and well-being of Palestinians continue to be buffeted by outside actors. In such an untenable situation, EPF PJN believes that the demand for truth-speaking and accountability is becoming even more urgent.
Kairos Palestine is a Christian Palestinian movement, born out of the Kairos Document that advocates for ending the Israeli occupation and achieving a just solution in the Holy Land. Nearly coincident with the Reformation Day service and its statement, Kairos Palestine is hosting its 16th Anniversary Conference in Bethlehem, “Moment of Truth: Faith in the Time of Genocide”, November 10 – 16.
The mission of EPF PJN includes faithful witness for Palestinian human rights and advocacy for justice and peace in the Holy Land. We commend to all members of The Church the Kairos Palestine statement about Bishop Azar and speaking the truth.