Kairos Palestine is an organization primarily known for its issuance in Bethlehem in December 2009 of the Kairos Palestine document, full title of which is "A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope, and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering", a call by a number of Palestinian Christians to Christians around the world to help fight the Israeli occupation. The chief activity of the group is the promotion of this document.
Kairos is the Greek word for "an opportune or decisive moment".
The document was issued at an international conference in the International Center of Bethlehem (Dar Annadwa). Among the authors of the document were Archbishop Attalah Hanna, Rev. Mitri Raheb, Rev. Naim Ateek and father Jamal Khader. The coordinator and the spokesperson of the Kairos group is Rifat Odeh Kassis the President of the International Executive Council of Defense for Children International and the General Director of its section in Palestine. In discussing the Kairos Palestine document, the drafting of which he oversaw, Kairos Palestine coordinator Kassis explained that its production took about a year and a half because of a difference of opinions. He further said that "more than 3,000 Palestinian Christian figures have signed and adopted it." The document is available in Arabic and several European languages at the website www.kairospalestine.ps.
The Kairos Palestine document The document contains the following explanation of its objectives: "As Palestinian Christians we hope that this document will provide the turning point to focus the efforts of all peace-loving peoples in the world, especially our Christian sisters and brothers. We hope also that it will be welcomed positively and will receive strong support. ... We believe that liberation from occupation is in the interest of all peoples in the region because the problem is not just a political one, but one in which human beings are destroyed."
The document's drafters describe it as "the Christian Palestinians’ word to the world about what is happening in Palestine." They express a desire "to see the Glory of the grace of God in this land and in the sufferings of its people," and add that in this spirit they are calling on "the international community to stand by the Palestinian people who have faced oppression, displacement, suffering and clear apartheid for more than six decades." They call the document "a cry of hope, with love, prayer and faith in God," and say that it is addressed "first of all to ourselves and then to all the churches and Christians in the world, asking them to stand against injustice and apartheid, urging them to work for a just peace in our region, calling on them to revisit theologies that justify crimes perpetrated against our people and the dispossession of the land."
The document declares that the Occupation is a "sin against God" and that any theology that tolerates it cannot be Christian "because true Christian theology is a theology of love and solidarity with the oppressed, a call to justice and equality among peoples." It calls on all peoples to put pressure on Israel to put an end to its oppression and disregard for international law. It also describes non-violent resistance as a "duty" for all Palestinians, including Christians. And it charges against Israel with having launched a "cruel war" against Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009; with ravaging Palestinian land "in the name of God and in the name of force"; with separating family members, thus "making family life impossible for thousands of Palestinians, especially where one of the spouses does not have an Israeli identity card"; with restricting religious liberty for Christians and Muslims; with lack of consideration for refugees and prisoners; with turning "Jerusalem, city of reconciliation," into "a city of discrimination and exclusion, a source of struggle rather than peace"; and with holding "international law and international resolutions" in "contempt."
The document argues that an end to occupation is a precondition for an end to Palestinian resistance, not the other way around: "if there were no occupation, there would be no resistance, no fear and no insecurity." If Israelis end the occupation, "they will see a new world in which there is no fear, no threat but rather security, justice and peace." The document further rejects biblical arguments for Zionism as a perversion of "the love of God and His providence in the life of both peoples and individuals." It calls Palestinians' "connectedness to this land ... a natural right," not just "an ideological or a theological question" but "a matter of life and death." It describes "the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land" as "a sin against God and humanity" that "distorts the image of God." And it declares "that any theology, seemingly based on the Bible or on faith or on history, that legitimizes the occupation, is far from Christian teachings, because it calls for violence and holy war in the name of God Almighty, subordinating God to temporary human interests, and distorting the divine image in the human beings living under both political and theological injustice."
The document goes on to declare that "Love is the commandment of Christ our Lord to us" and that it means "seeing the face of God in every human being." Yet this "does not mean accepting evil or aggression on their part." Love, rather, "seeks to correct the evil and stop the aggression." Therefore, Christian love compels that the Israeli occupation of Palestine be resisted. While calling for "civil disobedience" and "respect of life," the document also "high esteem for all those who have given their life for our nation" and affirms the importance of citizens defending their "life, freedom and land." It endorses the BDS movement and rejects the idea of "a religious state" in the Holy Land.
Reaction to the document The document has been used in many Christian groups and denominations to encourage Christian opposition to Israel. It has never been officially adopted by the World Council of Churches. It has also drawn criticism from both Jewish and Christian groups.
In 2010, a gathering of church leaders in South Africa endorsed the document. A report on this endorsement noted that "support for Palestinians in Christian circles is gaining moral traction and theological legitimacy" and described this as "a very important trend, especially considering the fact that Christian Zionists have been among the most vocal and influential in support of the state of Israel."
The Presbyterian Church of the United States (PCUSA), in addition to endorsing the basic principles of the Kairos Palestine document, issued a study guide for its members to use while examining the full document. The study guide was prepared by the Middle East Monitoring Group. In a statement released on June 24, 2011, the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) expressed its disapproval, claiming that the "study guide does not accurately portray the Kairos Palestine Document (KPD) for what it is: a revisionist document of hatred for Israel and contempt of Jews."
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) described the Kairos Palestine document as casting "a political agenda in theological garb, re-writing history, ignoring Jewish roots and presence in the Holy Land for thousands of years," and placing "all blame for the tragic circumstances of Palestinians on Israel, and none on the actions of Palestinians who blew up innocent Israelis in restaurants and launched rockets at school buses." The SWC also criticized the document for employing "the replacement theology that denied legitimacy of Judaism and Jews."
The SWC, in addition, criticized the PCUSA's study guide for failing to "instruct readers on both sides of the conflict." Instead, said Rabbi Abraham Cooper of SWC, the PCUSA's study guide "reads like an endorsement of the Kairos document by the leadership of the Church. Where the guide does offer suggestions for reading, it chooses almost exclusively from documents long criticized as hostile to Israel."
Another guide to the Kairos Palestine document was prepared by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN), a group of activists within the PCUSA. The IPMN denounced the SWC's criticism of PCUSA's study guide, saying that the SWC's "tactics are shameless."
Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, criticized the PCUSA on July 15, 2010, for its endorsement of the document, calling the document "a prime example of an effort to undercut the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State." Foxman charged the document with calling "terror a form of legal resistance," with endorsing "boycotts and divestment against Israel," and with denying "any connection between biblical covenants and the Jewish people."
Malcolm Lowe, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and a critic of the document, has complained that while the document implicitly accuses Israelis of legitimizing their Zionism on biblical grounds, the document's authors "know ... that most Israelis do not subscribe to such a theology, but that the political theology of Hamas indeed 'calls for violence and holy war in the name of God Almighty' (or at any rate in the name of Allah)."
Lowe has also noted that the World Council of Churches (WCC) was "heavily involved in the gestation of this document as part of its long-term program to promote Palestinian political aims" and has argued that the document "is meant to mobilize churches worldwide in a program of boycotts, divestment and delegitimization directed at the State of Israel." Lowe has further suggested that the document's own reference to the 1985 South Africa document represents an implicit comparison of Israel with the South African apartheid regime.
The heads of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) praised the Kairos Palestine document as “powerful” in an April 2010 joint statement that encouraged members of both denominations to read the document, support Palestinians, and boycott Israeli West Bank products. “Palestinian Christian leadership,” said the joint church statement, “have taken the bold step of declaring this a Kairos moment, a designation not of chronological time, but of opportunity ripe for momentous action, and a moment that can be lost if the opportunity is not seized.”
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship also supported the document, although the Episcocal Church overall rejected anti-Israel divestment. Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane found EPF's call for divestment too “flawed and dangerously unhelpful at this particular time in history,” telling Episcopal News Service that the sanctions called for by Palestine Kairos would “further hurt the critical development of the economy of Palestine and increase the marginalization of the Palestinian people.”
In its own April 15, 2010, rebuttal to the Kairos Palestine document, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) criticized it for arguing “that leading Israel into isolation is the only way there can be a peaceful solution in the Holy Land.” While the document professed to condemn both sides of the Israel-Palestinian struggle, it contained “pronouncements which vindicate one side while demonizing the other,” applying one “moral yardstick” to Israel and another to Palestinians, and calling for action only against Israel. Noting that the document “consistently objects to ‘the Occupation,’ without making clear that it is referring exclusively to lands occupied by Israel and in dispute since the Six-Day War of 1967,” the rabbis said that the document implicitly rejects “the very notion of a Jewish State.” The rabbis were additionally concerned that the document, while professing to reject violence, expressed “respect” and “high esteem for those who have given their life for our nation,” which they interpreted as praise of suicide bombers.