Jordanian artist Osama Hajjaj

Every day the numbers are going up, now over 23,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza in three months. The website Daily Brief documents, day by day, in excruciating detail, the numbers of those killed, those missing still under the rubble, those injured, and more. But these numbers only begin to tell the story. Every number is a person, and every person has a name, a personal history, and loving family members, in too many cases, also killed. They each had contributions they will now never make to the world. The human cost of Israel’s war on Gaza is devastating and soul-searing. 

As the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, said in his

Christmas sermon, “If you are not appalled by what is happening; if you are not shaken to your core – there is something wrong with your humanity. If we, as Christians, are not outraged by this genocide, by the weaponization of the Bible to justify it, there is something wrong with our Christian witness, and we are compromising the credibility of the Gospel! If you fail to call this a genocide. It is on you. It is a sin and a darkness you willingly embrace.”

We are appalled, but the Biden Administration, and most of our federal, elected officials as well, are still not yet sufficiently appalled. President Biden has been intransigent, refusing to call for a ceasefire whether permanent, or even temporary, and instead pushing for increased military funding to Israel. In the UN the United States is being obstructionist, vetoing ceasefire resolutions in the Security Council and in the General Assembly was one of only ten nations, out of 186, to vote against a ceasefire resolution. “How many deaths will it take ‘til [they] know that too many people have died?” How many?

South Africa knows that the answer is more than enough, too many, already. They have been emphatic and unequivocal in calling Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide, providing extensive and detailed documentation in their December 28 Application Instituting Proceedings at the International Court of Justice. 

Predictably, Israel has rejected the Application as lacking both a “factual and legal basis.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, “There is nothing more atrocious and preposterous.” And just as predictably, the U.S. has followed Israel’s lead. National Security spoke person John Kirby described the Application as “meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact whatsoever.” The world, however, is not being dismissive and is paying close attention. Over 1,000 organizations, including UCC PIN, have signed a letter calling on other countries to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. 

South Africa’s ICJ Application is a critical and hopeful development. Through it, Israel is being called to account as a signer of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Given the import of this filing, UCC PIN have included several articles about it in Breaking the Stories. One article by Robert Herbst, human rights lawyer, member of JVP Westchester, and friend of UCC PIN, breaks down South Africa’s carefully constructed arguments for and evidence of genocide. Of note is the compilation Herbst provides of shameless and unvarnished statements by Israeli officials establishing their genocidal intent. 

As the ICJ’s hearing of and ruling on South Africa’s Application play out on the international stage, here on home it is all the more incumbent on us to hold our government accountable for its complicity. It too is a signer of the convention. And it is supplying many of the very munitions that are enabling the genocide to be carried out.   Momentum amongst voters urging our government to call for a permanent ceasefire is strong and growing; 61% of voters want that.

Communities of faith are contributing to that momentum. May we amplify the call for a permanent ceasefire and be truthtellers about the reality of Israel’s genocide. As Munther asserted, our humanity and our Christian witness require our advocacy, now. May we be fierce and fervent in demanding an end to violence, saying as Jesus did, “No more of this.”

Looking for guidance for facilitating congregational activism? In response to the urgency of this moment and the imperative for our vocal and visible faith witness now, UCC PIN is producing as a resource, “Crisis in Gaza: Leading Congregations to Understanding and Action,” described more fully in the following article.