One Year Later: A Reflection on Occupation, Persecution and the Call for Justice

My new piece for Good Faith Media, “One Year Later: A Reflection on Occupation, Persecution and the Call for Justice”.

I was in Palestine a year ago, attending a pivotal conference on “Land, People and Religion” at Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. The conference gathered scholars from around the globe to delve into the complex, painful realities of settler colonialism. We discussed how this ongoing process continues to reshape the lives of Palestinians, stripping them of their land, freedom and, increasingly, their hope.

My contribution was a paper on “The role of religion in settler colonialism as well as resistance,” exploring the ways in which religion is implicated in both the perpetuation of colonial violence and the strategies of resistance that emerge from oppressed communities.

The conference ended on a joyful note. As we shared a final evening under the cool autumn breeze, a banquet unfolded, filled with spontaneous dancing, laughter and new friendships made with Palestinian scholars and students under the bright fall moon. There was hope in the air, a fragile optimism that perhaps, together, we could pave a path to justice through dialogue.

I flew home on October 5, not yet aware of the significance of October 7, the day when a new chapter of violence would begin, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of Gazans.

Now, on the anniversary of that tragic day, the weight of loss feels unbearable.

Over 41,000 Gazans have been killed, and yet, we must ask, how many more will suffer before the world says, “Enough is enough?” How many more lives will be taken before we, as a global community, recognize the depth of the injustice being carried out?

This is not simply a question for politicians or diplomats but a moral outcry for all people of conscience, particularly for Christians who are called to love their neighbors as themselves.

Historical Parallels: The Persecuted of Yesterday and Today

To fully comprehend the current suffering of the Palestinian people, we must look beyond the immediate political context and explore the deeper historical parallels.

In the Christian tradition, we often recount the persecution of the Jewish people, particularly in the Old Testament. From their enslavement in Egypt to their exile in Babylon, the Jewish narrative is one of resilience amid suffering, oppression, and displacement.

In many ways, the plight of the Palestinians today echoes these biblical stories of persecution and survival.

In Exodus, the Israelites, under the harsh rule of Pharaoh, cried out to God. Their cries for liberation were eventually answered. They sought freedom from a land in which they were oppressed, and their story has since become a central narrative of hope, redemption and justice for countless generations.

In exile, they longed for a return to their homeland, just as Palestinians long for a land that has been systematically stripped from them, inch by inch, through decades of occupation.

The story of the Jewish people is one of surviving oppression, wandering through the wilderness, and ultimately being restored to their land. But in a tragic twist of history, today’s state of Israel, created as a haven for Jews following centuries of persecution, has become a perpetrator of the very kind of oppression the Israelites once fled.

Palestinians now find themselves displaced, exiled and confined to fragmented territories, reminiscent of the way the ancient Israelites were exiled from their homeland.

The Nakba and Ongoing Ethnic Cleansing

In 1948, the Nakba, meaning “catastrophe,”  marked the beginning of the mass displacement of Palestinians. Over 700,000 were forcibly removed from their homes, their villages were destroyed, and they were denied the right to return.

The events of the Nakba are not just historical but continue to reverberate today, with each new wave of violence, each new settlement built on Palestinian land, and each life taken by the machinery of occupation.

The land that once promised refuge for the persecuted has now become a battleground where the persecuted become persecutors.

The Christian Call for Justice

As Christians, we are called to remember the core message of our faith: to love one another, stand with the oppressed and seek justice for all people. The teachings of Jesus consistently point us toward compassion and a radical love that transcends political, ethnic or religious boundaries.

Yet, in the face of ongoing violence in Palestine, we seem to be doing the opposite.

Where is the Christian voice when we see images of children buried under the rubble of Gaza? Where is the outcry from the global church when entire families are wiped out in a single airstrike?

We must remember that the message of Christ is not one of neutrality in the face of injustice. Jesus stood with the marginalized, the poor, the oppressed—those whom society deemed unworthy of care.

The ethnic cleansing we see today in Palestine is a moral crisis demanding our attention. Just as the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance, so too do the Palestinians cry out today. We cannot turn away from their suffering. We cannot remain silent.

The Urgency of a Ceasefire

In the spirit of the Christian message, we must call for an immediate ceasefire. The killing must stop. If we are to embody the teachings of Christ, we must take a stand against the ongoing violence and advocate for peace, justice and the dignity of every human life—Palestinian and Israeli alike.

This is not simply about political alliances or religious affiliations. It is about human dignity and the right of all people to live free from fear, oppression, and violence.

The world cannot afford to remain silent anymore, nor can we. The time for action is now. The Christian message of love and justice compels us to stand with the persecuted, just as God once stood with the persecuted Israelites.

A year after October 7th, let us commit to the work of peace. Let us remember not only what happened on that day but also the long history of persecution that has led us here. And let us resolve that, in the name of justice, the suffering of the Palestinian people must come to an end.

Special Events:

1.I am honored to be invited to be part of this “Faith in Public Life Course” and will be teaching on October 9th. I will be drawing on my new book When God Became White. This online course is open to the public.

2.Join me in Boston for When God Became White book talk at Carter Memorial United Methodist Church.