Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, 2020 Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate, shares his heartfelt message from Jerusalem, addressing the
ongoing conflict and violence in the Holy Land. He emphasizes the need for
peace based on justice, the sanctity of every human life, and the importance of
promoting reconciliation and human rights. His message calls for an end to
violence, the illegal occupation, and a lasting solution that ensures peace,
justice, and equality for both Palestinians and Israelis.
What
Does God Demand of You, but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk
humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
A
Word from a Palestinian Christian
Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan
I write to you, dear friends, from the Holy
City of Jerusalem. I write to you with anguish and grief as this Holy Land is
gripped by yet another war threatening the wellbeing of all who call it home.
The Hamas attack of October 7 and the
resulting war have resulted in many statements about the tragic situation. Many
of these statements are either pro or against one “side” or another. Some of
the Western Christians are seeing the war through apocalyptic lenses,
suggesting it is a religious war. Many of us who live in Jerusalem see it
differently, praying with David: “I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where
will my help come? My help comes from the Lord who makes heaven and earth”
(Psalm 121:1).
I speak to you as a Palestinian Christian
Evangelical Lutheran bishop amid ongoing violence and the war on Gaza. Believing
in the sanctity of every life regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity,
political or denominational affiliation, I affirm that because every human
bears God’s image, both Palestinians and Israelis have equal dignity.
Jesus’ promise—“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John
10:10)—is for all. Every human being is loved by God and deserving of life
with dignity.
Our Holy Land is today stricken by the sin
of violence, the sin of hatred, the sin of war, the sin of dehumanization, the
sin of oppression, the sin of occupation and the sin of denying human rights to
other humans. Amid this sin and the tragedy that results, the Church is called
to speak a word. It must be a word that champions freedom, promotes
responsibility, encourages justice, inspires hope, makes room for mercy and
calls for accountability.
As a Palestinian, I cry to you from
Jerusalem:
-enough of violence and killing of human
lives that are created in God’s image
-enough of hatred
-enough of dehumanization
-enough of using religion for political
agendas
-enough of violence
-enough of illegal Israeli occupation
-enough of bloodshed
-enough of war
(C) Mint
We are people of life; we are never
people of death. This is the reason, God meant
that every human being whatever is their nationality or race must enjoy God’s
given life with dignity, including full human rights.
I always believed in a peaceful non-violent
struggle. There will be a time when those who lead wars will be forgotten by
history, but that peaceful, nonviolent believers will be written in the history
books. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi,
Nelson Mandela, Bishop Zephania Kameeta, Bishop Manas Buthelezi, Dorothy Day,
Mother Teresa, Archbishop Romero and many others challenged injustice, racial
discrimination, and colonialism with the power of the word. I have always believed
in a peaceful, nonviolent struggle for justice.
They spoke truth to power and have given a
true vision for justice, peace, living together, harmony, equity, and
reconciliation. They interpreted the teachings of religious tradition to
promote love of the neighbor, even going as far to love the neighbor by
protecting their human rights. While those in power were disturbed, these
leaders guided their people in times of injustice and wars to see that peace
based on justice is stronger than any war, oppression, racial discrimination or
violence.
Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s wise words still
ring in our ears: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper
darkness to a night devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only
light can do it. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do it.”
Even in catastrophic events when too many
Palestinians and Israelis are killed, the light of God shines in our hearts. According
to today’s numbers, in past few weeks, more than 1400 Israelis and over 10 000
The peoples of this land are tired to live
through another war every eighteen months; another attack, another revenge and
another counter revenge. Our people ask: why does not God hear our prayers for
peace based on justice? We have prayed for 75 years, including 56 years of
illegal occupation. Why does not God hear us? The story of Exodus teaches us
that God hears the groaning of the people and the prayers of the oppressed
(Exodus 2:24).
God hears our prayers, our yearning for
freedom and justice. It seems, however, that the Pharaohs of the world still do
not. As in Exodus, their hearts are hardened and they do not see the truth or
seek the liberation of every nation.
The western powers are among those
Pharaohs and are equally responsible for where we are today. They have heard
neither the cries of occupied Palestinians nor the cries of many peace-loving
Israelis. They care only for their political power, arms sales and economic
interests, not for justice in the Holy Land. Together, we must call on these
worldly powers to immediately stop this war in Gaza. The attack in Israel and
the war in Gaza must be the last ones in Palestine and Israel.
If only the world leaders would invest
half as much money and energy into peacemaking as they invest in war. It is time to end violence over the Holy Land. It is time to end
Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories along with all of
Israel’s unjust policies against Palestinians. It is time to establish two
states solution where the State of Palestine along 1967 borders will live
with State of Israel in peace, justice, equity, and equality.
Christians in the Holy Land are
disappointed to see some Christians elsewhere using biblical interpretations
that justify Palestinian suffering. Christians believe that the fulfillment of
prophecy has been in Jesus Christ alone. People should therefore not use the
Old Testament texts to identify the present situation with biblical events. The
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is neither religious, nor biblical, nor
eschatological. It is a modern conflict about the colonization of land. It
must be seen as political conflict that needs a political solution achieved
through the just application of United Nations resolutions and international
law.
In the Appeal for a just and lasting peace
in the Holy Land published on Oct 19, 2023, and written by the Roman Catholic
Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, The Anglican Bishop Emeritus Riah Abu Assal,
Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna and myself : “We appeal to the UN an
international community and those who consider themselves friends of Israel and
Palestine, to use your influence to stop the ethnic cleansing, implement the
rule of international law and uphold the
fundamental human rights of Palestinians as well as Israelis, to live as equals
with justice, dignity and security in their historic lands.”
Additionally, the Sabeel Center for
Liberation Theology has said: “The non-violent majority of Palestinians, along
with our Israeli and International friends, should continue to harness
creativity and courage as the primary tools, and it is imperative for all who
seek liberation, justice and peace in Palestine and Israel to uplift and
support each other.”
HH Pope Francis has said: “The Middle East
does not need war but a peace built on justice, dialogue and the courage of
fraternity.”
Let us also be mindful of the recently
departed former President of the Republic of Finland, Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, who
said in his speech for the Noble Peace Prize: “We cannot go on, year after
year, simply pretending to do something to help the situation in the Middle
East.” He knew that while “religion has been used as a weapon or as an
instrument for prolonging the conflict,” they can “also be a constructive force
in peacebuilding.” Following President Ahtisaari’s lead, we must draw on every
possible resource to seek peace based on justice in Palestine and Israel, and
also for the Middle East as a whole.
We must honor these calls for peace by
demanding an immediate cessation of the war and all the atrocities in Gaza, allowing
the humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Do not allow extremists to determine the
path forward. Instead, urge the international community to hold an
international conference where Palestinians and Israelis negotiate all final
status issues. Now is the Kairos for justice in Palestine and Israel.
As a Palestinian Christian friend who spent
many formative years in Finland, please hear me when I say I ask you to be
neither pro-Palestinian nor pro-Israeli. I instead ask you to be pro-truth,
pro-life, pro-justice, pro-freedom, pro-peace, and pro-reconciliation.
I ask you to pray for all victims of the
attack and the resulting war, for all the bereaved, for all the injured, for
all the traumatized, for all the prisoners of war, for all the displaced, for
all whose homes were demolished, for all the children that live in fear.
Please pray that God may touch the minds of
the politicians to work for justice in Palestine and Israel so we can realize
the vision of St. John, who wrote that “God will wipe every tear from their
eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old
order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
God bless you.
Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan
Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
Former President of the Lutheran World
Federation
The Honorary President of Religions for
Peace International