The Peacemaking Palestinian Evangelicals of Israel

AS Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded cantankerous negotiations to finalise his right-wing cabinet, Palestinian-Israeli evangelicals were hoping for something better.

Alienated by campaign rhetoric stigmatising Arab citizens as an electoral threat, they turned in response to the source they know best: the Gospel.

In doing so, they seek to reverse a disturbing trend of isolation from society as a whole, and in particular their Jewish neighbors.

‘Are we not asked to be the salt and light of the earth?’ asked Revd Azar Ajaj, president of Nazareth Evangelical College, in an open letter shortly after the Israeli elections.‘How important, then, to show love to those who have been styled as our “enemies”. In fact we are asked to be peacemakers.’

And from April 16-18, he gathered 60 local and international leaders to discuss how.

Salim Munayer: The Kingdom of God Within the Impasse of the Israeli and Palestinian Historical Narratives

This is the first in a series of recordings I will post on my blog from the 3rd conference Christ at the Checkpoint in which I participated in Bethlehem, Palestine.

Salim Munayer, from Musalaha, speaks at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference March 11, 2014.

You may find HERE recordings from the previous (2012) conference.

Salim Munayer – Beyond Bells and Smells. The Gap between Eastern and Western Christianity – 1

Dr. Salim Munayer

Introduction

This past week, as America commemorated the tragedy of 9/11, much was said about the gap between the Western world and the Muslim world. One important aspect that was overlooked in this discussion is the gap between the Western and Eastern church. I would like to share some of my experiences and observations in this area.

I regularly teach American Christian students on short-term study trips in the Holy Land. I often notice a weakness in their curriculum, as much time is spent studying biblical history, particularly the first and second temple periods, and the apostolic period. But when we begin to discuss the ecumenical councils and their resulting doctrinal schisms, I find that my students have spent little time studying the historical and political contexts in which church history took some of its most significant turns. Instead, their curriculum fast forwards hundreds of years to the sixteenth century, into the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, and the subsequent politics and history of this period.

Intalnirea mea cu Jaroslav Pelikan

In mai 2000 faceam prima mea vizita la Ierusalim. Dincolo de responsabilitatile profesionale, legate de slujba mea la World Vision, am avut ocazia de a cunoaste realitatea necosmetizata a Tarii Sfinte, care se deosebeste radical de imaginea paradisiaca promovata de foarte eficienta masina propagandistica israeliana. Dar nu aceasta este obiectivul prezentului articol si voi lasa subiectul respectiv pentru o alta ocazie.

Musalala on Gaza

Musalaha (însemnând “reconciliere” în limba arabă) este o organizaţie din Israel, care adună laolaltă creştini evrei şi arabi, şi al cărei scop este promovarea reconcilierii între iudei, musulmani şi creştini. Activităţile organizaţiei sunt dintre cele mai diverse:  conferinţe, seminarii, concerte, publicaţii, şi, mai ales, tabere inter-religioase, în care tineri din cele trei religii învaţă să convieţuiască împreună, în confruntarea cu condiţiile vitrege ale deşertului.

Salim Munayer

Redau mai jos comunicatul acestei organizaţii cu privire la situaţia din Gaza. El este semnat de Salim Munayer, liderul acestei organizaţii, cu care m-am întâlnit de câteva ori la Ierusalim. (Atenţie, site-ul Musalaha este încă în construcţie.)

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