Here are some excerpts from a sermon
I delivered in Minneapolis last
Sunday, combined with some recent events:
This week, our country celebrated Martin
Luther King Day and the
official end to segregation and racial discrimination
in this country.
As we celebrate certain historic advances, we mustn't
forget that these policies are far from over in this country,
and that as we struggle against one injustice we are
perpetuating another system of discrimination
and segregation on the other side of the world in
Occupied Palestine, a land where there are separate
roads, schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, and legal systems,
access to which depends on one's ethnicity or religion.
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King "wept"
from disappointment with the laxity of the church and its
leaders in taking action against the status quo for fear
of being considered "nonconformist." I recently met a
young Palestinian Christian dancer (one of those censored
in New England last December) who echoed similar
frustration with churches around the world who are doing
nothing to ease the suffering of Christians and others in the Holy
Land. She spoke to a group of church-goers in Old Lyme,
Connecticut:
"My name is Mary Qumsiyeh. I am an English teacher
from the little town of Bethlehem. My husband works in
tourism and I have met many groups that said `We are
here to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.' But
are they acting the way that Jesus did?
"Our churches are now like museums. Tourists visit,
take pictures, and leave. What about the living stories?
Jesus in his time was living
under the Roman occupation. Today, after 2000 years,
we are still living under occupation—now the Israeli
occupation that has confiscated 88% of Bethlehem's land.
If Jesus were alive today, would he permit this to happen?
Jesus helped the oppressed and the ones in
need. He made the blind see.
"I ask you all to see how many times in the Bible
the word justice is mentioned. And remember that
Jesus did not avoid politics. Please spread our message,
a message of joy, happiness, and justice, a
message from youth full of life, willing to live and die
in the little town of Bethlehem."
Thankfully, churches eventually stepped up to play
a large and historic role in the civil rights movement,
and it's worth remembering how: It was not simply by
hoping for change, or by praying for change,
or even by voting for change.
It was by making change happen, by
Christians stepping out of their comfort zones
and challenging the status quo even if it meant
going to jail or being ostracized.
Making change happen is never comfortable.
It's what Dr. King called "tension." He confessed, "
I am not afraid of the word `tension.' I
have earnestly opposed violent tension,
but there is a type of
constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary
for growth."
Notice the word "necessary." This necessity is
often hard for people of privilege to grasp. We think,
"if only we educate our leadership,
or the Israeli government, they'll come to their senses...
" How much more comfortable it would be if it were just
a matter of waiting, and listening, and sharing!
But we forget Dr. King's clear wisdom:
"We have not made a single gain without determined legal and
nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that
privileged groups seldom give up their privileges
[until they have to] ... Freedom is never voluntarily
given by the oppressor; it must be
demanded by the oppressed."
Today in Gaza, Palestinians demanded freedom
from the Israeli siege that has endured for years
since the so-called "disengagement" and
before. After several days under even tighter isolation
by Israel, which had sealed the borders of the small
strip and cut off electricity, food, medical supplies,
and other lifelines, Palestinians blasted through a wall of
their collective prison and flooded into
Egypt in search of medicine, soap, fuel, cement,
and other desperately needed supplies.
Some might call blowing up a wall "extreme."
In fact, just about any action taken unilaterally for Palestinian
liberation is portrayed as such. Martin Luther King was also
called an "extremist," and eventually embraced the word,
calling on others to join him in creative extremism. Criticism
of the status quo will always be dismissed as ideological or extreme,
and that's what makes challenging power structures so uncomfortable.
We would prefer to affect change through consensus and the blessing
of communities that have traditionally supported the status quo,
like mainstream Jewish temples and US legislators.
But, my friends, this is unrealistic; these groups
will hopefully become a part of the movement
someday, but they will not lead the movement today.
And while it would be nice to wait until a day when it feels
more convenient, remember that change will never
be convenient for those who are profiting off of the way things are.
Let us not forget that Palestinians, like people of color in Dr King's
time (and still today), have not had the luxury waiting and choosing a
convenient time... Indeed, there is no convenient time. But
inconvenience and discomfort are a small price to pay for justice.
Remember that prophets have always been scorned in their own time.
In Palestine, that inevitable discomfort—or tension,
as Dr King calls it—has taken the form of popular nonviolent
resistance met with army brutality, checkpoints, roadblocks,
invasions, curfews, house demolitions, and mass imprisonment.
In this country, that inevitable tension has taken the comparatively
mild—but admittedly unpleasant—form of moral blackmail:
anyone who dares criticize Israel's violations of human rights
and international law is labeled anti-Semitic. But this is absurd.
Occupation, oppression—these things have nothing to do with
Judaism, and to oppose them in Israel,
Palestine, or anywhere else in the world is simply not anti-Semitic.
On the contrary, it is in line with the Jewish tradition of critical
thinking, open debate, and social justice, which have been a source of
pride for Jews through history.
The Israel/Palestine struggle is portrayed in our media
and elsewhere as an endless religious rivalry, but it is no
more a war between Jews and Muslims than the civil rights
struggle was one between African-Americans and Whites.
This is a struggle for justice, one that affects us all and in which
we all play a part. In the words of Dr.
King, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single
garment of destiny."
This mutuality is clear in the collaboration today between
Palestinians and the Israelis who support their struggle, working
together towards an end to discrimination and the Occupation, towards
a common future of integration and coexistence. In the United States,
churches are once again taking the lead. The United Methodists, the
Presbyterians, and others have started campaigns calling for boycott,
divestment, and sanctions against the Israeli government until it
complies with international law. This is a crucial campaign not only
because it has the potential to be successful in conjunction with
Palestinian resistance (after all, it was Black South African
resistance supported by international solidarity and divestment that
ultimately contributed to the end of Apartheid there), but also
because it was called for by Palestinian civil society. This is a
Palestinian struggle, and we need to be taking our lead from
Palestinians. They have been reaching out for support through the
years, particularly this week in Gaza as they were cut off even
further from the world. We need to reach back.
Here are just a few reports, calls to action, and a petition regarding
Gaza this week:
www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id
www.freegaza.ps
english.aljazeera.net/NR
E72F-4AB2
www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_end_the
For more information about Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions, visit
www.BDS-Palestine.net
For a list of companies profiting off of the Occupation, visit
www.InterfaithPeaceInitiative
For organizing ideas, campaigns, and to get more involved in the
movement, visit www.EndTheOccupation.org
Thanks for reading,
Anna
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment