By Steve Thomas
Photo credit: Steve Thomas
Our joint peace and tree-planting delegation of 25 people, representing Mennonite Men and the Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network, recently returned from Palestine. We heard firsthand reports of the brutal reality of Israel’s occupation: a history of ethnic cleansing, concentration of families into refugee camps, random acts of violence to terrorize Palestinians, the demolition of homes and schools, the seizure of farmland, the choking restriction of movement. All of this is designed to make life miserable, to push Palestinians off their land or to provoke resistance so Israeli military can unleash greater violence against them.
Illegal Israeli settlements and outposts are spreading like a cancer across Palestinian land. While we could not enter Gaza, we are acutely aware of the horrific genocide occurring there since October 7, 2023. Despite this suffering, we were deeply moved by the resilient spirit of the Palestinians we met and the creative, nonviolent ways Christian and Muslim peace organizations continue to resist.
Why This is Our Concern
Our delegation’s mission aligns directly with the aims of Mennonite Men: “standing with marginalized people for diversity and inclusion” and “transforming oppressive systems for freedom and justice” as we seek to “live into God’s shalom.”
As Americans and Mennonites, we cannot remain silent for several reasons:
- Complicity: Our tax dollars enable the occupation through billions in military aid.
- Connection: Many Israeli settlers and soldiers are U.S. citizens who were recruited by Israel.
- Theology: “Christian Zionism” in U.S. churches endorses Israel’s occupation in God’s name.
Greater actions of political witness, accompaniment, boycott, and divestment could influence the United States government to withdraw its military support for Israel. This would drastically limit Israel’s ability to continue its oppression and expansion in Palestine.
The Expanding Occupation and “Greater Israel”
Maps of the region illustrate a devastating loss of Palestinian land. Since 2012, settlement expansion has accelerated; today, over 350 illegal settlements and outposts house more than 700,000 Israelis on stolen land according to international law.
Source: Palestine Portal
There is a growing fear that this expansion will not stop at Palestine’s borders. During our return flight, an Arab Christian shared with me the widespread fear among Jordanians that Israel intends to invade Jordan, citing Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon and the “Greater Israel” plan. This vision, originally mapped by Theodor Herzl, encompasses not only Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, but also Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
This “Greater Israel” ideology relies on a literal interpretation of biblical covenants (such as Genesis 15:18–21) for a Jewish state stretching from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Iraq. This is no longer a fringe idea:
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed strong support for this vision last August.
- US Ambassador Mike Huckabee recently suggested it would be “fine if they [Israel] took it all.”
Confronting the Roots: Zionism as Colonialism
To achieve peace, we must confront the underlying Zionist ideology. Dr. Mazin B. Qumsiyeh explained to our group that Zionism drives displacement-based settler colonialism like the colonization of the Americas. This confronts us with our history and also calls us to act in solidarity with with Indigenous peoples in pursuit of justice.
We also met with Dr. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian pastor and theologian known for his “Christ in the Rubble” message. Isaac defines Jewish Zionism and Christian Zionism as ideologies of supremacy and racism that dehumanize Palestinians. His research highlights several critical points:
- Tribal Deity: Zionism makes God a “racist tribal deity” favoring one ethnic group over others.
- Bad Theology: It falsely equates the modern secular State of Israel with biblical Israel.
- Tool of Empire: Zionism serves as a colonial project and a tool of Western empire, using “divine mandate” to sanctify ethnic cleansing, political crimes, and apartheid.
- Call to Repentance: Isaac calls for Christians to repent for their complicity in the “genocidal project” in Gaza and proposes an alternate theology where the Holy Land is “God’s Land”—intended to be shared by all, not possessed exclusively by one (illustrated in photo below).
On February 15, worshipping in a church in Bethlehem, we sang God of Grace and God of Glory. Let these words be our prayer and our call to action against the “warring madness” of our time:
“…Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal, lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal.”
Postscript
The day after I completed this report in February, the United States, together with Israel, bombed Iran. This, like Israel’s war in Gaza, violates international law and has unleashed violence against countless innocent lives. With world attention focused on the larger region, Israeli settlers and soldiers have escalated violent aggression against innocent Palestinian communities.
Photo credit: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP