Peace in the Holy Land
12 February 2024
Common Grace Aotearoa is participating in the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages as part of our pursuit for peace and reconciliation for all people, and an end to violence of all kinds.
As an organisation that works towards the vision of the flourishing of all people and the earth, there is a deep and provoking call on our hearts to respond to the ongoing tragedy of death and violence in Gaza inflicted by the state of Israel in response to the horror of the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7.
Though our primary mission is to organise Christians around climate, economic and Te Tiriti justice here in Aotearoa, we have discerned the need to support Aotearoa Christian voices that want to organise and make themselves heard in support of peace in the Holy Land, in prayerful and prophetic ways. We are responding to the direct invitation of many Aotearoa Christians, as well as the invitation issued by Palestinian Christian leaders.
Our approach to this issue is grounded in the convictions that:
The justice of Jesus values every life as made in the image of God - Palestinian lives and Israeli lives. We come alongside fellow Christians in condemning all attacks on civilians, especially defenseless families and children.
The nonviolent love of God does not see taking of life as a necessary evil to achieve any notion of ‘greater good’.
The justice of Jesus is about nonviolent solidarity not neutrality. We therefore must tell the truth about the power imbalance and context of oppression in which the current Gaza conflict is taking place, as well as the context of the October 7 terrorist attack.
God’s covenant with the Jewish people within the context of the Old Testament is very different to the context of the modern nation-state of Israel. Applying this covenant to modern Israel to justify displacement, occupation and war dehumanises Palestinian lives, and ignores the presence of a Palestinian Christian community since the time of Jesus.
We have hope in the redeeming justice of Christ as the realisation of good news for everyone, and a future where the Holy Land is one of peace, equality, and joy for all its people - and a place that shows the unfailing reconciliation and love that God promises for everyone.
We support the four core asks of the global Gaza ceasefire pilgrimages:
Enduring and Sustained Ceasefire
Immediate flow of life saving food, water, aid, fuel and humanitarian assistance.
Release of all hostages – both the Israeli hostages held by Hamas – and the Palestinian hostages held in the Israeli prison system.
End of occupation so a just-peace can begin.
We are signatories to the Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine open letter calling on the Government of Aotearoa New Zealand to demand an immediate ceasefire, to condemn Israel’s indiscriminate attack on Gaza, and to advocate for a just and lasting peace that recognises Palestinians’ right to self-determination in their ancestral lands.