A Call for Repentance: An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians

[rjs330]

all of this, Biden gives full support to Israel, but now is calling for a cease fire in Gaza, which Netanyahu
rejected. Biden is drawing the US into a war in the Middle East with his idiotic policies

Under the circumstances Biden is being foolish in regards to a cease fire. All that will do is give Hamas Breathing room to regroup. It helps no one but Hamas. Netanyahu knows this. Hamas said they won't stop ever. Why on earth would you support a cease fire with these evil people.

 

[rjs330]

Poll finds dramatic rise in Palestinian support for Hamas

JERUSALEM (AP) — A new poll released Tuesday finds a dramatic surge in Palestinian support for Hamas following last month's Gaza war, with around three quarters viewing the Islamic militants as victors in a battle against Israel to defend Jerusalem and its holy sites.

apnews.com

https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-palestinians-backing-2-states-become-minority/

Not “Just Hamas”

Evidence suggests that the terror group, or at least its policy toward Jews, is popular among Palestinians.

www.city-journal.org

 

[Matt5]

I strongly believe that at some point in the future, when people look back on the decades of suffering the Palestinian people had to endure, they will not be kind to Christians of the West because of their lack of compassion towards the Palestinian people, their failure to act to end their oppression, and for being a part of a system that allowed it to happen.

An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians

“Learn to do right; seek justice; defend the oppressed” (Isa 1:17).

We, at the undersigned Palestinian Christian institutions and grassroots movements, grieve and lament the renewed cycle of violence in our land. As we were about to publish this open letter, some of us lost dear friends and family members in the atrocious Israeli bombardment of innocent civilians on October 19, 2023, Christians included, who were taking refuge in the historical Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza. Words fail to express our shock and horror with regard to the on-going war in our land. We deeply mourn the death and suffering of all people because it is our firm conviction that all humans are made in God’s image. We are also profoundly troubled when the name of God is invoked to promote violence and religious national ideologies.

Further, we watch with horror the way many western Christians are offering unwavering support to Israel’s war against the people of Palestine. While we recognize the numerous voices that have spoken and continue to speak for the cause of truth and justice in our land, we write to challenge western theologians and church leaders who have voiced uncritical support for Israel and to call them to repent and change. Sadly, the actions and double standards of some Christian leaders have gravely hurt their Christian witness and have severely distorted their moral judgment with regards to the situation in our land.

We come alongside fellow Christians in condemning all attacks on civilians, especially defenseless families and children. Yet, we are disturbed by the silence of many church leaders and theologians when it is Palestinian civilians who are killed. We are also horrified by the refusal of some western Christians to condemn the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine, and, in some instances, their justification of and support for the occupation. Further, we are appalled by how some Christians have legitimized Israel’s ongoing indiscriminate attacks on Gaza, which have, so far, claimed the lives of more than 3,700 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children. These attacks have resulted in the wholesale destruction of entire neighborhoods and the forced displacement of over one million Palestinians.

The letter continues at the link below.

Sign the Petition

An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians

www.change.org

Signed Organizations and Institutions

Kairos Palestine

Christ at the Checkpoint

Bethlehem Bible College

Sabeel Ecumenical Center for Liberation Theology

Dar al-Kalima University

Al-Liqa Center for Religious, Heritage and Cultural Studies in the Holy Land

The East Jerusalem YMCA

The YWCA of Palestine

Arab Orthodox Society, Jerusalem

Arab Orthodox Club, Jerusalem

The Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches

Arab Education Institute Pax Christi, Bethlehem

I strongly condemn this letter.

The people are never innocent. Hamas didn't fall out of the sky. It came from the people. It requires the support of the people. Every time there is a war, the people are used to regenerate Hamas until it is ready to fight again. The cycle of violence can only stop when the people have suffered enough. They get to decide what is enough. So far, merely wrecking their lives is not enough. The punishment must be a lot worse.

This time it looks like the fighting will stop when Isaiah 17 comes into play. Here, all of Israel's neighbors are obliterated and about 75% of the people are wiped out. Then the fighting will stop. I didn't decide this. God decided this.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I strongly condemn this letter.

The people are never innocent. Hamas didn't fall out of the sky. It came from the people. It requires the support of the people. Every time there is a war, the people are used to regenerate Hamas until it is ready to fight again. The cycle of violence can only stop when the people have suffered enough. They get to decide what is enough. So far, merely wrecking their lives is not enough. The punishment must be a lot worse.

This time it looks like the fighting will stop when Isaiah 17 comes into play. Here, all of Israel's neighbors are obliterated and about 75% of the people are wiped out. Then the fighting will stop. I didn't decide this. God decided this.

If you saw your loved one's and friend blown to bits, you'd have a different attitude.

It's easy to judge from our comfortable living rooms, and another to be in the heat of
the matter as these Christian Palestinians are. They have experienced persecution
by the Israeli government, but also from Islamic Radicals. Remember a couple years ago,
it was Muslims who guarded and stood outside of a Catholic Church so the Christians inside
could celebrated Easter. They know the pain people are suffering from the Israeli bombardment.

 

[rjs330]

If you saw your loved one's and friend blown to bits, you'd have a different attitude.

It's easy to judge from our comfortable living rooms, and another to be in the heat of
the matter as these Christian Palestinians are. They have experienced persecution
by the Israeli government, but also from Islamic Radicals. Remember a couple years ago,
it was Muslims who guarded and stood outside of a Catholic Church so the Christians inside
could celebrated Easter. They know the pain people are suffering from the Israeli bombardment.

Funny, not a single solitary word about what Hamas has been doing to the Jews for years or what happened on October 7. Not a peep.

But hey the Israelis are the bad guys right?

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Funny, not a single solitary word about what Hamas has been doing to the Jews for years or what happened on October 7. Not a peep.

But hey the Israelis are the bad guys right?

Read about what Israel did in 2008 when they made a preemptive strike against the Palestinians when they had a
ceasefire agreement with Hamas. They killed thousands of Palestinians and the world spoke out against Israel for it.

Hamas was wrong on October 7, but Israel has committed genocide itself since 1948 and the tension between
both sides has grown over the decades. Whenever it looks like the US is going to cut back on funding for Israel, they attack
Palestinians, Syrians or Hezbollah killing Lebanese civilians in the process.

It doesn't matter if people on your side were wrong. You won't cheer for the bombers when it's your
own flesh and blood being blown to bits by them.