WASHINGTON (RNS)—A trio of Christian leaders are visiting the U.S. capital carrying a letter signed by churches in Bethlehem urging President Joe Biden and congressional lawmakers to push for a permanent cease fire in Gaza and work to establish lasting peace in the region.
The leaders—two prominent ministers and a young Palestinian Christian activist—arrived in Washington, D.C., Nov. 27 in hopes of brokering a meeting to present Biden and other political leaders with the letter.
“God has placed political leaders in a position of power so that they can bring justice, support those who suffer, and be instruments of God’s peace,” the letter reads. “We want a constant and comprehensive ceasefire. Enough death. Enough destruction. This is a moral obligation. There must be other ways. This is our call and prayer this Christmas.”
The letter was signed by representatives from Bethlehem’s major Christian communities, listing churches affiliated with Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Armenian, Catholic and Lutheran traditions.
The letter noted Advent, the liturgical season when Christians prepare spiritually for Christmas, begins next week. But the signatories pointed out that Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, which draw thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to the city annually, largely have been canceled this year to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
‘Season of death and despair’
“This should have been a time of joy and hope. This year, it is a season of death and despair,” the letter reads. “This year, Christmas prayers are the only moment of hope in the middle of this human catastrophe caused by the war. There will be no manifestation of joy for the children. This year, Christmas celebrations are cancelled in Bethlehem.”
Munther Isaac, pastor of Bethlehem’s Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, said he traveled to the United States to present policymakers with the letter because he considers stopping the war a religious mandate.
“I truly believe that God is in solidarity with those who are victims of injustice and oppression, and thus the church should have the same position,” said Isaac, who also serves as academic dean at Bethlehem Bible College. “God is under the rubble.”
Isaac lamented the brutal Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which left around 1,200 dead and hundreds kidnapped. He also expressed outrage at the subsequent assault of Gaza by Israel, which has resulted in more than 13,000 deaths in the region and displaced most of the area’s roughly 2 million residents, sparking an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
“We want (lawmakers) to hear a different perspective,” he said. “We want to think that there must be other ways. Killing children like this can never bring peace.”
The visit from Isaac and his companions—Jack Sara, president of Bethlehem Bible College and general secretary of the Middle East and North Africa Evangelical Alliance for the World Evangelical Alliance—comes amid an ongoing multi-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
On Monday, officials announced the pause in hostilities would be extended for two more days, allowing additional aid to enter Gaza and for the release of more hostages held by Hamas as well as Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli government.
Desire for lasting peace
But Isaac stressed a short-term pause would not be enough to achieve the greater goal of a lasting peace.
“This cannot be a four- or five-day cease-fire and then go back to the same destruction,” he said. “All we want for Christmas is a constant and comprehensive cease-fire and an end to this war.”
The pastor expressed deep concern for his fellow Palestinians, railing against Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories—including Bethlehem in the West Bank. He voiced gratitude for some of his religious partners in the United States and other prominent Christian voices who have been among those calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
But overall, Isaac said, he and others in Bethlehem have been “very disappointed” in the response of many Christians to the war.
“Western churches have, sadly, continued to weaponize the Bible,” he said. “The narrative of some Christians and churches is completely dehumanizing to Palestinians—labeling all Palestinians as Hamas or terrorists, or not getting the whole history.”
Gaza is home to a small Christian community that is among the oldest in the world, Isaac noted. The fighting has destroyed or damaged churches, including an airstrike on the campus of the Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City that killed more than a dozen people taking shelter there.
“We have Christians in Gaza who are literally fighting for their lives,” Isaac said. “Right now, we’re concerned that this long and continuous Christian presence might come to an end.”
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