A statement by
the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East (NEME)
This July, 2020, the new Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz may begin to annex to Israel large portions of the West Bank. How should Christians respond to the proposed annexation? The Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East (NEME) is a coalition of evangelical Christian pastors, scholars, and leaders. We oppose Israel’s proposed annexation of the West Bank: it is not good for Israelis nor for Palestinians.
Evangelicals share a deep love for the Jewish people. Some identify as “pro-Israel” because of how they read the Bible and what they believe about the end times. Others might endorse annexation because they believe God promised the Land to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. Many Christians in the West regard Palestinian Muslims with deep suspicion, while giving little or no thought to the plight of the Palestinian Christian community and their historic connection to the Holy Land.
Whatever our differences, all Christ-followers are called to be peacemakers who extend the love of Jesus towards all persons and care as he did for the vulnerable and the marginalized. Christ is not honored when his disciples support injustice. Munther Isaac and Jamal Khader, leaders in the Palestinian Christian community, warn that if Israel annexes the West Bank, “many Palestinian Christians and members of the Church will lose the land they lived in and farmed for generations.” They see it as “a mortal blow to a dynamic Christian presence in the birthplace of Jesus.” There must be a better way. As followers of the Good Shepherd, we raise our voices in opposition to annexation and in support of a just and durable peace for both Jews and Palestinians in the Land.
We at NEME are not alone. Many in Israel, in Europe, in the U.S., and around the world see annexation as bad for Palestinians, for Israelis, for the U.S., and for the witness of the Christian church.
For Palestinians, unilateral, legalized annexation would end their quest for a future, viable, autonomous state, a quest for which there is broad international support and to which Israel has previously agreed. Annexation would confine Palestinians in non-contiguous enclaves beyond which they would need permission to travel. Palestinian farmers whose land lies in the newly annexed territory would likely see it declared Israeli state property or ceded to Jewish settlements.
For Israel, annexation, although in the works for years, would neither lead to peace nor enhance Israel’s image as a democracy. On the contrary, it would deepen inequalities between Jews and Palestinians, likely incur European retaliation, and undermine Israel’s security coordination with the Palestinian Authority and with Jordan. Stepping into the security vacuum would be either Hamas or Israel itself, in which case some 3 million Palestinians across the West Bank would come under their direct and costly control, a scenario Israel would dearly like to avoid.
As for the U.S., Israel’s move to enlarge its borders would follow the trajectory set by the Trump administration who released its Peace to Prosperity plan in January and has signaled its support. But annexation would increase anti-American sentiment in the Arab and Muslim worlds, destabilize relations with allies in the region, and put at risk U.S. military forces, diplomats and contractors. To endorse annexation would highlight U.S. partisanship in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and undermine U.S. opposition to illegal land seizures elsewhere in the world.
Signatories:
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Anderson
Evangelical Covenant Church - Serve Globally- MENA Region
Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon,
Executive Director
Churches for Middle East Peace
Evelmyn Ivens
Evangelicals 4 Justice
Kristyn Komarnicki, program director
Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA)
Rev. Fred Harrell
City Church San Francisco
Dr. Russell Jeung
New Hope Covenant Church
Sandra Maria Van Opstal
Chasing Justice
Michelle Ferrigno Warren
Advocacy & Strategic Engagement Director
Christian Community Development Association
Kathy Khang
vice board chair, Evangelicals for Social Action
Dr. Bruce N. Fisk,
Director, Jerusalem Semester
Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
Rev. Don N Johnson
Evangelical Covenant Church
Dr. Jon Gary Lemmond
Trinity Covenant Church, Salem OR
Pastor Sharad Yadav
Bread & Wine
Dr. Helen Rhee
Westmont College
Isaac Villegas, Pastor
Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship
Dr. Christopher D. Stanley
St. Bonaventure University
Dr. Alister Chapman
Westmont College
Rev Dr Rob Dalrymple
ECO (Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians)
Mr. James M. Sumner
Emeritus Dean & Retired Vice President
Willamette University
Dr Jace Broadhurst
Presbyterian churches
Bishop Ronnie Crudup
New Horizon Church International
Dr. Steven Paas(snr)
Private
Rev. Howard K. Burgoyne, Superintendent
The East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, U.S.A.
Dr. Mark Seversen
The Evangelical Covenant Church
Rev. Josh Rude
Evangelical Covenant Church
Dr. Gary M. Burge,
Professor of New Testament
Calvin Theological Seminary
Reverend Donald K. Nelson
Beverly Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, IL
Prof. Dr. Chandra Mallampalli
Westmont College
Rev. Mark A. Novak
Evangelical Covenant Church
Nick Scott-Blakely
Fuller Theological Seminary
Dale Engen
ECC pastor
Andrea Smith
Evangelicals 4 Justice and NAIITS
Reverend Greg Yee, Superintendent
Pacific Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church
Rev. Dr. Andrew E. Larsen
Evangelical Covenant Church
Cornelis H Blok, chairman
Kairos Sabeel Nederland
Nancy Jo Hoover
Personal
Mary Hubbard Given
Montecito Covenant Church
Dr. Wayne Iba
Retired Professor, Westmont College
Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
School for Conversion
Dr. Mary Docter
Westmont College
Pastor James Baysinger
Hope Community Church
Judy Neunuebel
Jewish Voice for Peace
Shane Claiborne
Red Letter Christians
Dr. Patti Hunter
Santa Barbara Community Church
Timon
Studio Berckheyde
Marlena Graves
Writer
Angie Hong, worship leader
non-affiliated
Dr. Frederic M. Martin, Pastor Emeritus
Evangelical Free Church of Bemidji, Minnesota
Dr. Richard Pointer
Westmont College
Mr. Gavin Jensen
Holy Community Covenant Church
Jim Wright
Margin church
Rev. Dr. J. Ross Wagner
Duke University Divinity School
David Neunuebel
Americans for a Just Peace in the Middle East (AJPME)
Pastor Curtis Lillie
Discovery Church of the Nazarene
Frances Iba
Retired
Dr. Heather Keaney, Associate Professor
Westmont College
Rev. David W. Swanson
New Community Covenant Church
Dr. Steven Pointer, Professor Emeritus
Trinity International University
Pastor Diana Trautwein
Evangelical Covenant Church
Rev. Dr Al Tizon
North Park Theological Seminary
Josh Hall, Senior Pastor
Fair Oaks Church
Rev. Curtis Peterson
Evangelical Covenant Church
Dr. Beth Seversen, Professor of Christian Ministries Studies
North Park University
Rev. Dr. Brooke Isingoma
St. Matthew United Methodist Church
Rev. Paul Robinson, Executive Minister
Love Mercy Do Justice Evangelical Covenant Church
Dr. Brenda Wagner
Richmond Hospital
Dr. M. James Sawyer
Sacred Saga Ministries
Dave Shields
Menlo Church
Teaching Pastor Matt VanCleave
Blue Oaks Church
David Husby
Covenant World Relief
Rev. Carlos L Malave
Christian Churches Together
Jessica Tissell
Rotary International Peace Fellow
Chrissy Palmerlee
Evangelical Covenant Church
Dr Ruth Padilla DeBorst
INFEMIT
Rev. Dr. Dana Allin
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians
Lenore Three Stars, Board Member
Evangelicals 4 Justice
Rev. Dana Miller Baker, Board Member
Evangelicals 4 Justice
Alexa Salvatierra
Mako A. Nagasawa, Director
The Anastasis Center for Christian Education and Ministry
Lisa Sharon Harper, President and Founder
Freedom Road, LLC
