Palestinian Christians denounce US evangelical support for war on Iran

Pastor Munther Isaac

Pastor Munther Isaac, from Bethlehem said that every human life is precious and urged peace and an end to suffering in an on-line briefing about the US-Israeli war with Iran and across the Middle East on Friday 6 March.

Rev Isaac who leads the Lutheran churches in Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, is well known for his 'Christ in the rubble' denunciation of the genocide in Gaza during Christmas 2023. Two other Palestinian Christians participated in the briefing organised by the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice.

Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning journalist and former Princeton professor, denounced the unjust killing of so many innocent people. He was "troubled" by Evangelical Christian pastors praying over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last Thursday in support of the current war and said: "We are all created in the image of God. As Christians, we are not in favour of the taking of a single life. We are totally upset by the way this war is being driven and the Bible abused."

US military commanders have been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical 'End Times' to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops, according to some 200 complaints made to The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) and members of Congress have recently expressed concerns about Pete Hegseth the US Secretary of 'War' using similar 'extreme religious rhetoric'.

Dr Salim Munayer, the founder of Musalaha - an organisation that works for reconciliation in Palestine/Israel - said: "Violence breeds violence. As Christians, we follow Jesus. He did not choose the sword but the cross. We are called to participate in a new creation of peace and reconciliation. The people of God are not outsourcing the proclaiming of the Kingdom of God to an army."

Dr Munayer really empathised with those who feared that without war the current repressive regime in Iran would continue indefinitely but insisted, "The moment you advocate the power of violence you become like your oppressor." He added: "The message of Christ is not only liberating for the oppressed but redemptive to the oppressor. There must be hope and compassion."

Pastor Isaac noted the sense of déjà vu. Recent wars in Iraq and Libya had trumpeted liberation and stability but chaos and great loss of life had ensued.

Professor Kuttab observed that Ali Khameini, the late supreme leader of Iran and Muslim cleric who was killed on the first day of the current war, had published a fatwa against nuclear weapons. He said: "You can kill a lot of people but who comes in their place could be a lot worse." He added that there had been no United Nations sanction for the current war and that it was, in his view, "to keep Netanyahu in power/" The Israeli Prime Minister currently faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Pastor Munther said it was important to remember that the Islamic revolution in Iran itself came as a response to Western imperialist intervention.

Dr Munayer warned against western orientalism and racism and against "othering" in order to justify domination. The United States evangelicals' narrative of a war of liberation would enslave, he added. '"My question to the pastors is what is their prophetic voice for Justice? Remember the Prophet Nathan and David."

He said that as Palestinian Christians, they understood it was crucial to reach out and be alongside people in their suffering. Over generations, they had learned to value 'Sumud' - steadfast resilience - and understood the need for equality.

Professor Kuttab noted that while most of the World's attention was focused on Iran, Israeli troops were on the ground in Lebanon and there was a 'creeping annexation" of the Palestinian West Bank. Only one per cent of the current Palestinian population in the Holy Land was now Christian.

In the face of this suffering, he said that non-violent resistance took courage and immense sacrifice, and was harder than violent resistance, but that it worked over time. This also applied to the international campaign of boycotting, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli state.

Dr Munayer added that a Harvard University study had found that nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population had never failed to bring about change.

Addressing Jesus's commandment of loving one's enemy in the context of the genocide in Gaza, he noted that one of the key aspects of reconciliation was confrontation. Addressing a systematic structure of injustice which underpinned the genocide, he insisted that we needed to ask what happened to the people who experienced this in order to restore their dignity, identity and culture. And those who committed the genocide had to be confronted in order to make restitution. Otherwise there would be a cycle of revenge.

"We need to keep warning the Church against adopting the ways of Empire and Power," he said.

Professor Kuttab, recalled the name of South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Speaking as a journalist, he advised: "Search hard for the truth and truth will set you free." Reconciliation could then follow.

Dr Munayer asked for prophetic imagination and hope to bring peace and for the sake of coming generations.

In a separate broadcast, the Palestinian Archbishop Hosam Naoum - Primate over the entire Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, which includes not only the Diocese of Jerusalem, but also the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf and the Diocese of Iran - said on Radio 4's Sunday Programme that the entire "Province is bleeding" and that 'war is evil'. He has asked 'for sound mind for people to get around the table to solve their problems.' Speaking of past failures to build bridges, he said the call was more urgent than ever: "This war is going to be disastrous upon everybody. People have to learn from past experiences. We urge all leaders to be responsible before we rip each other apart. Peace, bridge-building and standing in solidarity with each other at this time is of grave importance."