Kairos Palestine

Kairos Palestine is an organization primarily known for its issuance in Bethlehem in December 2009 of the Kairos Palestine document, full title of which is "A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope, and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering", a call by a number of Palestinian Christians to Christians around the world to help fight the Israeli occupation.

And it charges against Israel with having launched a "cruel war" against Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009; with ravaging Palestinian land "in the name of God and in the name of force"; with separating family members, thus "making family life impossible for thousands of Palestinians, especially where one of the spouses does not have an Israeli identity card"; with restricting religious liberty for Christians and Muslims; with lack of consideration for refugees and prisoners; with turning "Jerusalem, city of reconciliation," into "a city of discrimination and exclusion, a source of struggle rather than peace"; and with holding "international law and international resolutions" in "contempt."

And it declares "that any theology, seemingly based on the Bible or on faith or on history, that legitimizes the occupation, is far from Christian teachings, because it calls for violence and holy war in the name of God Almighty, subordinating God to temporary human interests, and distorting the divine image in the human beings living under both political and theological injustice."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) described the Kairos Palestine document as casting "a political agenda in theological garb, re-writing history, ignoring Jewish roots and presence in the Holy Land for thousands of years," and placing "all blame for the tragic circumstances of Palestinians on Israel, and none on the actions of Palestinians who blew up innocent Israelis in restaurants and launched rockets at school buses."

Instead, said Rabbi Abraham Cooper of SWC, the PCUSA's study guide "reads like an endorsement of the Kairos document by the leadership of the Church.

Foxman charged the document with calling "terror a form of legal resistance," with endorsing "boycotts and divestment against Israel," and with denying "any connection between biblical covenants and the Jewish people.

"[3] Lowe has also noted that the World Council of Churches (WCC) was "heavily involved in the gestation of this document as part of its long-term program to promote Palestinian political aims" and has argued that the document "is meant to mobilize churches worldwide in a program of boycotts, divestment and delegitimization directed at the State of Israel."

Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chanel found EPF's call for divestment too “flawed and dangerously unhelpful at this particular time in history,” telling Episcopal News Service that the sanctions called for by Palestine Kairos would “further hurt the critical development of the economy of Palestine and increase the marginalization of the Palestinian people.”[11] In its own April 15, 2010, rebuttal to the Kairos Palestine document, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) criticized it for arguing “that leading Israel into isolation is the only way there can be a peaceful solution in the Holy Land.” While the document professed to condemn both sides of the Israel-Palestinian struggle, it contained “pronouncements which vindicate one side while demonizing the other,” applying one “moral yardstick” to Israel and another to Palestinians, and calling for action only against Israel.

Lowe argued that this text, which is now generally treated as an official prefatory statement to the document, does not in fact constitute “an endorsement of worldwide campaigns against the State of Israel” and “contains nothing that would offend people of goodwill anywhere.” Lowe suggested that the statement can even “be read as a mild rebuke to the authors of the document: Palestinian Christians should put their main effort into strengthening their own community rather than engaging in worldwide political agitation.” Lowe thus accused Kairos Palestine of deliberately misleading the public about the clerics’ involvement, combining the document and the Heads of Churches' statement into a single PDF file on the website.

“The unwary reader,” complained Lowe, “does not realize that the statement is no endorsement, but rather a wary reaction that seeks to divert the energies of the faithful into constructive activity within the community rather than wasting them on vain political posturing.” Lowe also noted that the name of Bishop Younan, the only recognized church leader on the document drafting team, was silently removed from the list of authors on the kairospalestine website.

when our nation's ally, the State of Israel, violates international law.” Saying that “the 'peace process' has continued to be no more than a means for the ongoing colonization of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the imprisonment of Gaza and the continuation of the structures of oppression,” the authors expressed remorse for the history of Christian anti-Semitism and pledged to “work and even suffer for peace, filled with a heart of love for both Israelis and Palestinians.” They then proceeded to describe Israel as “pursuing a course that is fruitless and corrupting, both morally and politically.” Citing the gospels of Matthew and Luke, the authors call for BDS and nonviolent direct action against Israel.

Response to the Kairos Palestine Document,” states that the organization's mission is “to mobilize the churches in the United States to respond faithfully and boldly to the situation in Israel and Palestine.” The organization calls for an end to “Israeli violations of international law and of American support for Israel.” The document offers “a confession of sin to Palestinians in the State of Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, the diaspora and in refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria,” saying that American Christians “bear responsibility for failing to say 'Enough!'

when our nation’s ally, the State of Israel, violates international law.” The organization also acknowledges with “deep remorse” the role of Christians in “the historic persecution of the Jewish people,” which “betrayed the teaching and example of the one we claim to follow,” and promises to act with greater “faithfulness, compassion and justice” in the future.

It is because of Christians' past sins against Palestinians and Jews, the document continues, that Kairos USA has an obligation to “work and even suffer for peace, filled with a heart of love for both Israelis and Palestinians.” It acknowledges that by opposing Israeli policy, the members of Kairos USA expose themselves “to the charge of anti-Semitism” and risk losing Jewish friends.

Israel-Palestinian Territories is on the UMC list of fourteen countries, including Eritrea, Somalia and Syria, that they believe consistently abuse Human Rights.

Posted at the WCC website, it defined Israel as an “illegal regime,” called for “international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns” against the Jewish state, defined Israel-friendly churches as “accomplices in crimes against humanity,” and rejected Christian Zionism as “a crime and sin as defying the core of the gospel.”[20] Under the program “Come and See,” run in conjunction with tourism groups and the WCC, Kairos Palestine promotes what it calls “justice tourism,” encouraging “Christian pilgrims to live their faith as they visit the holy land, going beyond homage of ancient sites to show concern for the Palestinian people living there whose lives are severely constricted by the Israeli occupation of their lands.” Such pilgrims are invited to take “a journey of truth and transformation that will reveal the love of God to you through the eyes of the Palestinian people who, despite having suffered decades of occupation and dispossession-- maintain their dignity, faith, and capacity for hope.”[21] Rifat Kassis, in a January 2012 article, said that Palestine Kairos seeks “an end to unjust tourism to the Holy Land,” characterizing it as “historically monopolized by Israel and its hegemonic religious and cultural discourse...in such a way that tourism itself becomes an exclusionary political tool.”[22] The 2012 World Social Forum (WSF)-Free Palestine event, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in November and December of that year, focused considerably on the Kairos Palestine document.

Also, South African Muslim scholars issued a response document called “An Islamic Response to Kairos Palestine.” The Muslim text stated, among other things: “We reject the notion that the Eternally Transcendent and Almighty God is like a tribal chief or a dishonest realtor who parcels out land to his favorites, and we reject the idea our sacred texts can be abused as if they were title deeds of ownership.”[23] International Women's Peace Service (IWPS), which also took part in the World Social Forum-Free Palestine, described Kairos Palestine as “a movement addressing the injustice of the Occupation from a theological perspective.” Comparing Kairos Palestine to “liberation theology, born in the darkest night of injustice and repression in Latin America,” IWPS described the group as emphasizing “the Biblical call for justice to denounce the injustices of Zionism.”[24] Al-Awda co-founder Mazin Qumsiyeh represented Kairos Palestine at a Cape Town, South Africa, conference organized by Oikotree, an ecumenical group tied to the WCC.

Calling the op-ed “inaccurate and manipulative text,” the group insisted that the suffering Palestinian Christians “is caused mainly by the occupation that systematically degrades all Palestinians, restricts our movement, confiscates our land, devastates our economy, and violates our rights.” The group also insisted that Palestinian Christians “refuse to be pitted against our Palestinian Muslim neighbours and friends” and “refuse to let our collective oppression be manipulated in a way that fragments us, obscures us, or masks the oppression’s true cause.”[29] Rifat Kassis, in a January 2012 article, said that Kairos Palestine was “in the process of formulating a national Kairos movement, composed of young people; adults, both men and women; ecumenical and community-based organizations; and clergy.” The group was also “establishing an international “Kairos for Global Justice” movement in the wake of a Bethlehem conference at which “60 representatives from over 15 countries” decided to “mobilize churches and Christian organizations” around the world to work “for a just peace in the region.”[22] An April 2013 article in The Electronic Intifada described the West Bank firm SodaStream as having “looked to its Palestinian workers for help in cleaning up its tarnished image,” partly by means of a YouTube video “presenting Sodastream’s settlement factory as a happy island in the occupied West Bank.” The Electronic Intifada quoted Kairos Palestine as calling the video “cynical at best” and “at worst...criminally misleading,” and as describing the video's “emphasis on SodaStream’s economic benefits for its workers... absurd and offensive: what Palestinians need is freedom, not fancier oppression.