WASHINGTON (RNS)– A trio of Christian leaders are going to the U.S. capital bring a letter signed by churches in Bethlehem, the city in the occupied West Bank long declared by Christians as the birth place of Jesus Christ, advising President Joe Biden and congressional legislators to promote a long-term stop fire in Gaza and work to develop long lasting peace in the area.
The leaders– that include 2 popular ministers and a young Palestinian Christian activist– shown up in Washington, D.C., on Monday early morning in hopes of brokering a conference to present Biden and other politicians with the letter.
“God has actually put politicians in a position of power so that they can bring justice, support those who suffer, and be instruments of God’s peace,” the letter checks out. “We desire a consistent and detailed ceasefire. Enough death. Enough damage. This is an ethical responsibility. There need to be other methods. This is our call and prayer this Christmas.”
The letter was signed by agents from Bethlehem’s significant Christian neighborhoods, noting churches associated with Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Armenian, Catholic and Lutheran customs.
The letter kept in mind that Advent, a liturgical season when Christians prepare spiritually for Christmas, starts next week. The signatories pointed out that Christmas events in Bethlehem, which draw thousands of pilgrims and travelers from all over the world to the city every year, have actually been mostly canceled this year to reveal uniformity with Palestinians in Gaza.
“This need to have been a time of happiness and hope. This year, it is a season of death and anguish,” the letter checks out. “This year, Christmas prayers are the only minute of hope in the middle of this human disaster brought on by the war. There will be no symptom of happiness for the kids. This year, Christmas events are cancelled in Bethlehem.”
Christmas decors in Bethlehem in the West Bank in Jan. 2023. (RNS photo/Jack Jenkins)
Speaking on the phone Monday early morning, the Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of Bethlehem’s Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, stated he took a trip to the U.S. to provide policymakers with the letter since he thinks about stopping the war a spiritual required.
“I genuinely think that God remains in uniformity with those who are victims of oppression and injustice, and therefore the church must have the very same position,” stated Isaac, who likewise works as scholastic dean at Bethlehem Bible College. “God is under the debris.”
Isaac regreted the harsh Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which left around 1,200 dead and hundreds abducted. He likewise revealed outrage at the subsequent attack of Gaza by Israel, which has actually resulted in more than 13,000 deaths in the area and displaced most of the location’s approximately 2 million homeowners, triggering a continuous humanitarian crisis.
“We desire (legislators) to hear a various point of view,” he stated. “We wish to believe that there need to be other methods. Eliminating kids like this can never ever bring peace.”
The go to from Isaac and his buddies– that include the Rev. Jack Sara, who functions as president of Bethlehem Bible College and as the General Secretary of the Middle East and North Africa Evangelical Alliance for the World Evangelical Alliance– comes in the middle of a continuous multi-day cease-fire in between Israel and Hamas. On Monday, authorities revealed the time out in hostilities would be extended for 2 more days, enabling extra help to go into Gaza and for the release of more captives held by Hamas along with Palestinians put behind bars by the Israeli federal government.
Isaac worried that a short-term time out would not be sufficient to accomplish the higher objective of a long lasting peace.
“This can not be a 4 or 5-day cease-fire and after that return to the exact same damage,” he stated. “All we desire for Christmas is a consistent and thorough cease-fire and an end to this war.”
The pastor revealed deep issue for his fellow Palestinians, railing versus Israel’s decades-long profession of the Palestinian areas– consisting of Bethlehem in the West Bank. He voiced thankfulness for a few of his spiritual partners in the U.S. and other popular Christian voices who have actually been amongst those calling for a cease-fire in Gaza
Isaac stated that total, he and others in Bethlehem have actually been “really dissatisfied” in the action of lots of Christians to the war.
“Western churches have, unfortunately, continued to weaponize the Bible,” he stated. “The story of some Christians and churches is entirely dehumanizing to Palestinians– identifying all Palestinians as Hamas or terrorists, or not getting the entire history.”
Isaac likewise kept in mind that Gaza is home to a little Christian neighborhood that is amongst the earliest on the planet. The battling has actually damaged or harmed churches, consisting of an Israeli airstrike on the school of the Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City that eliminated more than a lots individuals nestling there.
“We have Christians in Gaza who are actually defending their lives,” Isaac stated. “Right now we’re worried that this long and constant Christian existence may pertain to an end.”
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