Resources for General Council Decisions on Palestine
United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel has been working since 2012 in support of the 2012 Task Group Resolution. On this page, ​UNJPPI has gathered resources to support the proposals for GC44.

Breaking News

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May 20, 2022
UCC writes to Canadian MP's calling for a response to the killing of Shireen Abu Akhel, a Palestinian jounalist and the illegal expulsion of villagers from their homes and land.

CRY FOR HOPE: A CALL TO DECISIVE ACTION

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The proposals being presented to GC44 call for a response to the Palestinian "Cry for Hope: A Call for Decisive Action."

Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice, a broad network of allies including Palestinian Christians and international friends of Kairos Palestine, issued Cry for Hope, an urgent call to end the oppression of the Palestinian people.

See below and read more...
“We call upon all Christians and on churches at congregational, denominational, national, and global ecumenical levels to engage in a process of study, reflection and confession concerning the historic and systemic deprivation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and the use of the Bible by many to justify and support this oppression. We call on churches to reflect on how their own traditions can express the sacred duty to uphold the integrity of the church and the Christian faith concerning this issue. We cannot serve God while remaining silent about the oppression of the Palestinians.”​
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Support from Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS)

Letter to Moderator and General Secretary in Support of  Just Peace Task Group's Report

​Extract of CFOS Letter:
"We urge the United Church to stay true to these principles and continue to lead the way in social justice work as people of faith. We believe that the principles outlined by the Just Peace Task group reflect the report’s outlined goal to respond to the call from Christ to “stand in costly solidarity with those who seem most at risk of losing the fullness of life that God intends for all people.” We believe these principles can be inspirational to other Canadian churches as we all strive towards being true in our commitment as followers of Christ."

Greetings of Support for GC03 and GC04 from CFOS to GC44 by the Chair 

A dossier on Israeli Apartheid: A Pressing Call to Churches Around the World

Members of Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice have created a theological study for Christians and other civil society organizations who want to learn more about the crime of apartheid and why Palestinians and a growing number of churches and human rights organizations are using the word to describe Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
​From the Dossier:

"Words matter. Churches are called to use the word apartheid. The word apartheid points—in both its definition in international law and its description of realities on the ground—to a truth.

"A Dossier on Apartheid" includes:
  • A description of apartheid and how Israel’s laws, policies and practices meet the internationally agreed-upon definition;
  • A Biblical and theological perspective on the sin of apartheid;
  • A comprehensive compendium of statements and declarations by human rights organizations as well as scholarly and educational resources;
  • A stirring call to the churches of the world to respond to the call of the Palestinian people;
  • Actions to take now as congregations, denominations and citizens.

Actions Being Taken by other Church Denominations

We are not alone.
Other churches have been/are voting to recognize that the Israeli government has established a system of apartheid and to join the international movement of boycott/divest/sanction to support a just peace. 

​For more, view this page.
A response from Independent Jewish Voices
"​On January 11, several groups of Canadian rabbis issued a statement regarding the United Church 2022 General Council discussions on the church’s policy positions on antisemitism, Israel and Palestine. Those rabbis urge General Council commissioners to forego any further criticism of Israel."

Independent Jewish Voices has compiled a Q&A response.  
 Q&A on the "Rabbinical Statement on the UCC's Proposed Resolutions on Antisemitism and Israel."​

Four rabbis speak on justice and human rights

Understanding the Basics

Seek Peace, Pursue Justice in Israel-Palestine:
​Time for Action- video

This thirteen minute video was made for the United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI) in 2012. Still relevant todays, the film features several speakers from the United Church and Palestine to give a basic understanding of the situation in the region and the moral imperative as Christians to act for justice. 

Israeli Palestinian conflict explained - video

​An animated introduction to Israel and Palestine. This six minute animated video is a good introduction to understand present day issues in Israel Palestine created by Jewish Voice for Peace, a human rights organization based in the US. 
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​Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and Apartheid
​in the Holy Land

A background paper on Palestine and Israel worth reading for the history and context related to the current issues. By a member of UNJPPI​.​
To understand the current situation in Israel and Palestine, we must understand the history of the region, and for that we have to go back four thousand years. We must also refer to the Bible, the holy book of Judaism and Christianity. According to the Biblical narrative, about 4,000 years ago the patriarch Abraham (Abram) was living in historic Palestine.1He found favour with God, who made certain promises to him and his descendants. First, they would become a “chosen people” who were blessed in God’s eyes.

Download (PDF) and read the full text of this article.

An Open Letter to U.S. Christians from a Palestinian Pastor | Sojourners

By Munther Isaaac  in Sojourners 

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!”

Palestine and Israel are back in the news. So again, we Palestinians hear this common refrain. But such calls for prayer are no longer enough. I say this as a Palestinian pastor who believes in prayer, leads prayer services for peace, and genuinely values your good intentions.

But good intentions are not enough.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are the peace prayers.” He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matthew 5:9, emphasis added).

Peacemakers of every faith pray — and they discern what’s really happening, call things by their names, then speak truth to power. Here’s how this works.

Read more...

Christian Responses

"Is Peace Possible?
​Christian Palestinians Speak"
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The Justice and Peace Commission of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land released a new book, in Arabic and English, entitled “Is Peace Possible? Christian Palestinians Speak”. The book contains a compelling collection of articles and declarations from Jerusalem that provides an in-depth understanding of who the Christian Palestinians are today...

​“A Declaration for A Just Peace
​Between Palestine and Israel”
​United Church of Christ (2021)​

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ in the US approved "A Declaration for A Just Peace between Palestine and Israel" with 86% of delegates voting in favour.
 
The resolution was in part a response to a 2020 statement from Palestinian Christians, A Cry for Hope: A Call for Decisive Action and includes a theological declaration which affirms that "the continued oppression of the Palestinian people remains, after more than five decades...a matter of theological urgency and represents a sin in violation of the biblical prophets and the Gospel."  
The United Church is part of the global reformed church family. See this new resource about Palestine from WCRC. Focus: Palestine, is a comprehensive resource that lifts up Palestinian voices while placing the situation into theological, historical, and political contexts. The resource is composed of three parts—1) Voices and Lenses, 2) Theologies, Ideologies, and Resistance, and 3) Systems of Sin and the Jerusalem Microcosm—an extensive appendix, and over a dozen videos. ​

APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA! APARTHEID ISRAEL!

In this new book, Brian J. Brown, a South African Methodist minister, calls on Christian churches, not just to recognize that Israel is an apartheid state, but to declare that total opposition to that apartheid is mandatory for any person or church that claims to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Jewish Support

Understanding Antisemitism

Israel as an Apartheid State

Five Principles for
​Dismantling Antisemitism

A statement from Independent Jewish Voices, a human rights organization in Canada, warns against conflating criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism notable in the IHRA definition:
“The most prominent example of this dangerous campaign is the attempt to impose the flawed and widely discredited International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism on governments, public institutions, universities, and civil society. The IHRA definition is not designed to protect Jewish communities from the rising bigotry and racist attacks we face, predominantly carried out by white supremacists. Instead, it has been employed in many countries as a bludgeon to suppress advocacy and academic freedom.”

Also see IJV’s campaign opposing the IHRA definition: https://www.noihra.ca

More Resources on Antisemitism

As a Rabbi Raised in South Africa,
I Can’t Ignore Israel is an
Apartheid State

“In international human rights law, apartheid is defined as “a regime that uses laws, practices and organized violence to cement the supremacy of one group over another.” I had grown up in South Africa, and what I was witnessing in Hebron and across Israel and the land it occupies, was also apartheid – a system of domination and control that systemically privileges Jewish lives over Palestinian lives”

Read the full article here: 

 More Apartheid Statements

Amnesty International ,2022 report: B'Tselem Report:
  • B'Tselem Report: This is Apartheid  (5-10 min read) (A ‘short illustrated explanation’ of their 2021 report)
    ​   B’tselem is Israel’s oldest human rights organisation. 
Human Rights Watch: ​ Yesh Din

UN Special Rapporteur:
​"Israel is Committing Apartheid"

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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Michael Lynk has submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council, concluding that the situation in occupied Palestine amounts to apartheid, Amnesty International reported in its website. (Source: Palestine Chronicle)
Independent Jewish Voices campaign
Sign the  pledge 

Human Rights Watch Report
​A Dossier on Israeli Apartheid
Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice have created a theological study for Christians and other civil society organizations who want to learn more about the crime of apartheid and why Palestinians and a growing number of churches and human rights organizations are using the word to describe Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

What Next? 

Seek out people in your area for conversation to better understand the issues surrounding Israel Palestine and why our voice as church matters. There are people from the region, those who have visited or served as Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAPPI). The United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI), is the UCC’s own human rights network and has members across the country. Contact UNJPPI to be in touch: