Overcoming Pledge Barriers in Churches
In addition to the primary FAQ for the pledge, below are some common concerns that people have encountered in presenting the pledge to their churches, as well as some taking points on how to respond. If you have additional questions or concerns that you’d like to talk with someone about, please email them to info@apartheid-free.org.
I am not knowledgeable enough about what is going on in Palestine and Israel.
Educating yourself/your congregation on Israeli apartheid is a great first step in considering this pledge. The Apartheid-Free website (apartheid-free.org) is filled with educational resources including short films, human rights reports, expert analysis, Bible Studies and denominational statements. The FAQ offers great initial insights into the background and usefulness of the pledge.
We also highly recommend bringing in Palestinian speakers to talk with your church and can share our speakers’ bureau for suggestions.
How will taking this pledge affect our interfaith relationships?
If your interfaith partnerships are focused on the work of freedom, justice and equality in our world, this is a powerful way to further your joint efforts. If your interfaith partnerships have not yet addressed what is happening in Palestine/Israel, you have likely already silenced or alienated some of your interfaith partners. While engaging in interfaith conversations can be challenging, they can also be rewarding and deepen your mutual faith commitments.
I’m afraid of alienating my Jewish friends or colleagues.
Jews have a wide range of responses to the State of Israel and its actions, much like Christians do. We encourage you to build relationships with several of the Jewish communities who have already signed the pledge. If your Jewish partnerships are uncomfortable with the work of ending apartheid, this will cause some conflict. Doing the work of challenging deeply entrenched and systemic injustice is bound to alienate some people. In navigating these conversations, it is important to remember that the goal is to end the deep harm caused by legalized racial injustice against Palestinians. We recommend bringing in Jewish speakers who can provide wisdom for these conversations, and can suggest speakers. Jewish partners in this work beseech Christians not to let this discomfort silence us from naming injustice and working to end it.
If your congregation is actively addressing the continuing effects of Jim Crow apartheid in the U.S., drawing on skills to navigate these essential, yet uncomfortable, conversations can be helpful.
I fear we will be called antisemitic.
It is not antisemitic to hold a country enacting apartheid accountable for its actions. However, charges of antisemitism are often used to silence those insisting on human rights for Palestinians. It is important to not let the fear of being falsely labeled antisemitic silence your congregation’s commitments to work to end injustice. Remember the words of Jesus, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account…for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:11-12).
This pledge is a commitment to address all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression, including both antisemitism and islamophobia. When antisemitism becomes weaponized to silence the work of freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians, this diminishes the real nature and harm of antisemitism. Further, the vast majority of Zionists in the United States are Christian Zionists, who promote an antisemitic theology. Challenging Christian support of Israel is challenging antisemitism.
Why are we focusing on Palestine and not our own communities?
The United States provides political and financial support to Israel, and the largest pro-Israel lobbying groups are Christian Zionists. Because of this, U.S. Christians have a responsibility to reject the ways our government and our religion are upholding Israeli apartheid.
Justice is indivisible; in the immortal words of Dr. King, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Joining those working to end injustice in Palestine, that U.S. Christians are complicit in, contributes to the work of ending injustice everywhere.
Our congregation is focusing on anti-racism work and that takes all our energy.
Working to end apartheid is anti-racism work. If your congregation is committed to challenging racial injustice, this is a powerful way to add a global element to your work and connect the dots between anti-racism work in the United States and internationally. Further there are direct connections between racial injustice in Israel and in the United States: both countries were established as settler colonial states and both have engaged in genocidal practices against indigenous peoples, apartheid regimes that legalize white supremacy, and militarized policing to control these projects. In many ways, U.S. support of Israel is a continuation of its racist practices.
Our congregation cannot take on another social justice issue.
Signing this pledge allows your community to explore the ways social justice issues you are already passionate about are deeply connected to Palestinian struggles against colonization, militarization, mass incarceration, environmental degradation, exploitation and forced migration. Understanding the Palestinian experience provides both international and intersectional lenses through which you can address these issues.
Not everyone in our congregation would be on board with this.
The work of challenging injustice often entails education, conflict, and taking stands that not everyone agrees with. Think of ways your congregation has taken other prophetic stands and apply those insights to how you can take action to do so again.
What difference will signing a pledge really make?
The work of challenging deeply entrenched injustice anywhere can feel defeating. However, this pledge was created in direct response to calls from Palestinians and Palestinian Christians to take action. It offers ways the international community and the international Christian community can join efforts with Palestinians for freedom, justice and equality. How you live out the pledge is context specific, so your congregation can find ways that connect the calling of your congregation to ending Israeli apartheid.
Further, signing this pledge allows your church to become part of the growing anti-apartheid movement that is slowly bending the moral arc of the universe toward justice.
Why doesn’t the pledge say anything about Israel’s right to exist?
The goal of the pledge is for Israel to stop engaging in legalized, structural and governmental practices of injustice. In other words, it is focused on how Israel conducts itself, not whether it should or should not exist. This can be compared to the work of ending Jim Crow apartheid in the United states. The Civil Rights movement was not about challenging the U.S.’s right to exist, but to demand the US government live up to its democratic ideals and constitutional rights – thus forming “a more perfect union.”
People who sign this pledge will have a variety of ideas about future Israeli and Palestinian governments, but the goal of the pledge is focused specifically on ending Israel’s structural and governmental practices of injustice.
Can we change the wording of the pledge?
We encourage congregations to sign the pledge as it stands so they can join the larger Apartheid-Free network that has agreed to its specific language. We also encourage congregations to write their own statement about why they are signing the pledge that provides any interpretation, clarification or additions they would like to include.
Is it still important to take this pledge when Israel is charged with genocide?
Pledging to end Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism and military occupation address the root causes of Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza. While there are immediate, pressing needs to save lives, push for a ceasefire, and end further arms sales to Israel, continuing to address the structural injustices that brought us to this point is essential to moving toward justice, freedom and equality for Palestinians and all people.
A few final words:
This isn’t easy work. But it is the work that the church is called to – to stand with the oppressed, to help bring release the captives, to open the eyes of the blind, and to engage in the prophetic work of liberation.
This work takes time. It entails education, difficult discussions and discernment about how your church can live out its gospel commitments. Think strategically – what ways can you realistically work to educate your community and offer ways to engage in taking action against Israeli apartheid?
If bringing this pledge to your church is something you want help with, please reach out to info@apartheid-free.org for support!