Kairos Palestine Easter Alert and resource – 2019
Easter Blessings! Thank you for accompanying us in this journey to the cross. The purpose of the annual Kairos alert is to shed light on the reality on the ground and provide a Christian commentary and analysis to this reality. Indeed, you have heard from voices on the ground and international activists on what it means to live as Palestinians and Palestinian Christians under systemic injustice and discrimination. Whether we talk about political pressure, collective punishment, restriction of movement, or the
denial of entry to holy sites, it all points to the severity of the situation.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Kairos document. When the document was written, the authors stated then: “Why now? Because today we have reached a dead end in the tragedy of the Palestinian people.” I wonder if they knew back then that things would be even worst 10 years later. Last year, Israel passed the new nation-state law, which arrogantly states that “the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.” This ignores the existence of millions of Palestinians who have been living in this land for hundreds if not thousands of years—long before Israel was even created—
and prepares the way for more laws that will further deny their rights. This is apartheid legalized! It is clear for the world to see.
It is time to unite in our response for justice and equality. Yet, may our response honor the one whose sacrificial death we remember this holy week. As such, this call is grounded in logic of love and is a call for non-violent resistance. In the face of discrimination and apartheid, we insist that the only way forward is a shared land and a political reality of justice and equality. Let us call and commit ourselves to work towards a new socio-political reality in which all the dwellers of the land share the land and its resources equally and have the same rights—regardless of their ethnicity, nationality and religion. There should be no “second-class” citizens in this land. This is our response to discrimination and apartheid. It all begins by ending the occupation.
We call on our sisters and brothers around the world to join the Kairos Global movement and its signature campaign, which aims to mobilize faith-based voices to lobby and unite towards ending the occupation. This is a call for persons from around the world to further the Kairos call for an end to the State of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people and its occupation of Palestinian territories. We urge you to consider signing, promoting and distributing this call to all your networks. The aim is to present this call on May 15, 2019, to Israeli embassies and foreign ministries all over the world.
Finally, let us remember that the journey to the cross does not end on Friday. Yes, Friday may last long and Saturday even longer, but Sunday will inevitably come! It will be a day of resurrection gladness; a day in which we remember that truth will overcome injustice; light will overcome darkness; and freedom and liberty will overcome oppression and discrimination. And because we believe in life and resurrection, we commit even stronger to work tirelessly to make this a reality. Amen.
Click here to access the complete Kairos Palestine Easter Alert and devotional resource.