A growing list of church leaders and justice advocates sign on to the call

Bethlehem, Palestine, July 1, 2020— Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice, a broad network of allies including Palestinian Christians and international friends of Kairos Palestine, issue Cry for Hope, an urgent call to end the oppression of the Palestinian people.  

Rifat Kassis, General Coordinator of Kairos Palestine, explains, “The Body of Christ can no longer stand by as world leaders and the international community trample on the rights of Palestinians to dignity, justice and self-determination under international law. The integrity of the Christian faith itself is at stake.”  

The authors of this international call describe the release as coming at a time of global emergencies, when the world has been summoned to turn its attention to the most vulnerable. They point to movements around the world that are seeking to bring down the structures of racism, ethnic cleansing, and the violation of land and its resources. 

Cry for Hope: A Call to Decisive Action makes the case that, as Israel announces its annexation plans, a critical point has been reached in the struggle to end the oppression of the Palestinians. Authors of the Cry for Hope argue that the personal, cultural, economic and environmental suffering of Palestinians under occupation increases day-by-day. 

Apart from the Cry, leaders around the world have made the case that, with expected support from the U.S. administration, Israel’s annexation of an additional one-third of the West Bank, including the fertile Jordan Valley, will effectively accomplish the goal of colonizing the Palestinian homeland.

Dr. Souraya Bechealany, Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, says of the call, “The Kairos document Cry for Hope is our cry for Justice and, therefore, we sign in conviction under this petition as an institution representing all the Churches in the region. Our struggle for Justice and Rights will never cease. It is our raison d’être as Christians, the pursuit of and establishment of Justice. Peace without Justice is inconceivable.” 

Attached to the Cry are the names of over 300 persons and organizations offering their endorsement—church leaders, theologians, officers of ecumenical bodies and grassroots advocacy networks. Embodied in the Cry, released today, is an appeal for more signatures and bold actions on the part of the church. 

The international writing team declares, “Cry for Hope is rooted in the logic of love which has as its goal the liberation of both the oppressor and the oppressed. To bring an end to the suffering and bloodshed and to bring peace in the Holy Land, we invite churches, international ecumenical  organizations, concerned advocates from all faith traditions and partners from every sector to commit through the seven action points in the Cry.”

The Cry and its accompanying signature campaign are accessible at http://chng.it/qyNLXmvvdZ . The list of international leaders who have endorsed the document and translations in multiple languages can be found at www.cryforhope.org. Authors of the document encourage persons to report how they plan to take action for hope, justice and freedom at the movement’s Facebook page, Global Kairos for Justice Coalition

Attached: Cry for Hope: A Call to Decisive Action. Please see www.cryforhope.org for the full listing of global leaders and organizations endorsing the call.

 Kairos Palestine, the most extensive Palestinian Christian ecumenical non- violent movement, is based on the Kairos Palestine document, A Moment of Truth, launched in 2009, affirming that the Palestinian Christians are part and parcel of the Palestinian nation, calling for peace to end all suffering in the Holy Land by laboring for justice, hope and love, embraced by the Christian community, signed by all historically recognized Palestinian Christian organizations, and endorsed by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. 

Global Kairos for Justice (GKJ), a worldwide coalition of concerned Christians from different churches, denominational and national (or people of faith), churches and church related organizations born in response to the Kairos Palestine “Moment of Truth: a word of faith, hope, and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering,” which was launched in 2009. GKJ is committed to none violent means, calling for ending the Israeli colonization of Palestine and advocating for the right of self-determination of Palestinian people and peace with justice for all people in the holy land. 

We Cannot Serve God and The Oppression Of The Palestinians

1st July 2020

We, Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice, a worldwide coalition born in response to the Kairos Palestine “Moment of Truth: a word of faith, hope, and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering,” issue this urgent call to Christians, churches and ecumenical institutions. We do this together with committed Christians in Palestine and around the world. This is a call for decisive action on a matter that we believe relates to the integrity of our Christian faith.

We have arrived at a critical point in the struggle to end the oppression of the Palestinian people. The State of Israel’s adoption of the Nation State Law in 2018 legalized institutional discrimination in Israel and the Palestinian territories, officially depriving Palestinians of their rights to life, livelihood, and a future in their homeland. Recent acts of the U.S. administration have supported Israel’s ongoing project of land taking and attaining control over the entire territory of Palestine. These include the 2018 move of its embassy to Jerusalem, its announcement in 2019 that the U.S. government no longer deems West Bank settlements to be “inconsistent with international law,” and the 2020 “Peace to Prosperity” plan. Fueled by U.S. support and emboldened by the ineffectual response of the international community, Israel’s newly-formed coalition government has cleared the way for outright annexation of around one third of the occupied West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. These developments make it all the more clear that we have come to the end of the illusion that Israel and the world powers intend to honor and defend the rights of the Palestinian people to dignity, self-determination, and the fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees. It is time for the international community, in light of these events, to recognize Israel as an apartheid state in terms of international law.

Pastoral letter to our Filipino seafarers on the celebration of International Seafarers’ Day

The sea is your life. Our life here on earth is our voyage. There are times as you sail, you experience or encounter waves that are rough and violent. It is terrifying. But no matter how rough the sea may be, it returns to reassuring calmness in its majestic vastness.

Life has its ups and downs. It presents many cruel trials and costly troubles. Yet we go on in life. We set our sights on the shore, on our port.

Whether on the water or on dry land, our life can be rough sailing. We are continuously battered and bruised by this unforgiving Covid 19 pandemic. These lockdowns, quarantines, and closing of companies are added storms to our earthly journey. But remember, even if the waves are big and the winds are so strong, we have to raise our sail and keep our hands on the deck.

Along the sea of life; placid or turbulent, deep or vast, when a “​storm gathered and it began to blow a gale” (​ Mark 4:37), remember to do these three essential imperatives:

Reach out
Communicate
Stay on course

First​, our goal is our port; not only to dock to our destination but to get there safe and sound, with our goods complete and whole. The key is to reach out.

It is always a long voyage. There is separation from your loved ones and surely loneliness sets in. Weather can be cruel. Works can be difficult. When these creep in, don’t isolate yourself. Acknowledge the current situation you’re in and initiate to reach out to your trusted shipmate(s). Reach out to us.

You have the Church, especially the Apostolatus Maris on your side, ready and willing to assist you. You are not alone in your journey. We are with you, working for you and welcoming you at our chaplaincies. You have us and we are reaching out to you.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us reach out to our seafarers with compassion and kind understanding. They are our modern-day heroes, not to be falsely labeled as coronavirus carriers. They should be ​accepted, assisted, and accommodated.

A stranded male seafarer was housed by Apostolatus Maria in Manila. He was young and wanted to come home. But he had strong reservations, worried, and afraid. He confided to his chaplain, “Padre, when I went home to my province before, I was always very much welcomed. Everyone was nice, warm, and happy to see me.” With tears rolling down his cheeks he continued, “but now Padre, with this Covid19 pandemic, being in the cruise ship makes me the  suspected coronavirus carrier. Everyone avoids me. I feel that we, the heroes, have become villains.”