By George Pratt, Contributing Writer
Stand with Palestine!
Heal their land Lord. And do it now!
Oh Lord, we pray for Palestine.
Apartheid MUST DIE! We speak it now.
Oh Lord, we pray for Palestine.
Give them strength Lord. Don’t pass them by!
Oh Lord, we pray for Palestine.
We seal this prayer. And it is so! Amen.
Oh Lord, we pray for Palestine.
We cannot be silent. We must lift our voices with the oppressed of the Earth. As a church born out of resistance, we must continue to fight for liberation. We must lift our voices with all who are marginalized by hegemonic and oppressive systems. This includes Palestine!
Israel’s expulsion of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah is simply an assault against humanity. The horrendous acts of the Israeli government, evicting Palestinian families from their homes is sinful, unjust, and inhumane. What bell hooks calls the “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy,” otherwise known as America, continues to fund the Israeli Apartheid system. We cannot expect America to condemn a system that it supports, especially when it is a system that is the very framework of the nation.
The fight for liberation is a global struggle that should be taken up by all those who are othered and disfranchised by white supremacist powers. As Black people, political prisoners and enemies of the state, we must acknowledge that our plight is similar to that of the Palestinians. We are oppressed by the same racist, capitalist, and militaristic system.
We must strengthen and continue the Black radical tradition of supporting Palestinian liberation, for our freedoms are connected. In fighting for justice, Blacks and Palestinians are resisting the same evils of colonialism and forces of government repression. Our fight is their fight.
Not only must we pray for Palestine but we must also put our “social justice and liberating faith” where our mouth is! We must act by openly speaking out and condemning the acts of Israel. We must also condemn the United States government for aiding and abetting in crimes against humanity, both domestic and abroad.
Lest we forget our Emmanuel 9? One of our mother churches, a sacred site, desecrated by a bloody massacre wrought by an agent of white supremacy who executed our members. This terroristic act was motivated by hate. This is the same hate that fueled Israeli forces to fire teargas and grenades into the al-Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramadan. This is the same hate that emboldened Israel to fire airstrikes on Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinian men, women, and children.
Israel and Palestine are not in conflict. This is not a double-sided story. Only the oppressor posits that there are two sides to every story. For the oppressed, there is only one side. It is a story of struggle, characterized by colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and state-sanctioned violence.
God is on the side of the oppressed. God is on the side of the Palestinians. As a church, we must stand with the Palestinian people. Free Palestine!
