As a Palestinian Christian, Daoud Kuttab has often felt that defending symbolism can be an easy replacement for the practice of faith in action. He argues that this is certainly the case with a recent Olympics controversy.
For nearly three days in and around Washington, D.C., an interfaith coalition challenged the Christian Zionism of pastor John Hagee, founder of the largest pro-Israel group in the U.S.
Organizers said the group included Mennonites from at least 40 different churches, as well as interfaith supporters from Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, evangelical Christian, and Southern Baptist traditions.
The letter comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the U.S., where he is expected to address Congress on Wednesday and meet with President Joe Biden on Thursday.
During the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance, members of the body’s general council unanimously passed a resolution on religious nationalism that specifically denounced Christian Nationalism. Two other unanimous resolutions addressed issues of world hunger and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The new statement of values, which passed with 80% support, is the first wholesale revision of the Unitarian Universalist covenant clause since 1987 and reflects over three years of feedback and discussions.
There are 182,000 Christians in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. The vast majority are Palestinians.