The role of Christians in the struggle for justice in Palestine

Sami Awad (samiawad.wordpress.com)

Yoav Litvin writes in Mondoweiss, “The occupation of Palestine is often erroneously portrayed as a conflict between the Jewish and Muslim faiths.”…

“Sami Awad is a Christian Palestinian from Bethlehem. He is the executive director of Holy Land Trust, a Palestinian nonprofit organization focused on empowering communities and promoting social justice, the arts, nonviolent resistance, compassion and love. In this interview, Awad discusses the role of Christian theology and nonviolence in the struggle for Palestinian justice.”…

“The notion of a unity between Christians and Jews captured by the term “Judeo-Christian” is one such example. It conveys a strongly rooted connection between Christians and Jews; a common biblical foundation of faith – same God, prophets, etc. As such, Islam is perceived as an outsider and a threat. This “Judeo-Christian identity” is purely Western, mid-20th century, capitalist and consumer-based, and mostly a white-supremacist construct.

The conception of a “Judeo-Christian” identity is grounded in a European/US white Evangelical Christian alliance with European Ashkenazi Jews. It is a construct that privileges white people at the expense of others, promotes racism and discrimination, including of members of Christian and Jewish faiths who do not fit its specific mold.

I aim to challenge this ahistorical conception with the purpose of promoting equality and justice and a true return to the core of our faiths.” (More…)