Israel’s war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas are “genocide” against Palestinians, according to a United Methodist official.
“This is not a war of Israel versus Hamas, it’s not even a war of Israel and Gaza. This is a war of Israel against Palestine. It’s a genocide,” United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) Executive Secretary for Human Rights & Racial Justice David Wildman told an online seminar held January 31.
Sponsored by the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) and United Methodist Kairos Response (UMKR), the webinar “Methodists in Palestine in a Time of War” featured presentations by Wildman and Bishop Ivan Abrahams of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.
The two church officials traveled to Israel and the Palestinian territories in December as part of an international delegation organized by South African Christians, shortly before South Africa charged Israel with genocide at the International Court of Justice.
The online discussion, moderated by retired General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) Rev. Dr. Susan Henry Crowe, featured uniformly anti-Israeli perspectives.
Moral Equivalence
Hamas’ capture and holding of civilian hostages was minimized or presented as morally equivalent to arrest and detainment of Palestinian militants by Israeli officials.
“Hamas is but a symptom of the larger structure of oppression and dispossession that’s going on,’ Wildman insisted. “A symptom of a deeper problem in the world that bends its knee to the might of military force, instead of following the one who was born as a baby.”
That insistence – that widely condemned crimes against civilian noncombatants by Hamas terrorists were essentially the fault of Israel, and morally equivalent to civilian casualties from Israeli fire against Hamas rocket positions – was presented as an intersectional justice concern against “the global spirit of militarism, of racism, and of materialism of corporate greed of all the many war companies that are profiting from this ongoing genocide.”
The United Methodist official encouraged considerations of diplomatic sanctions against Israel as well as churches to be engaged in boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) “as nonviolent acts of love.”
“The call from Palestine was in the face of genocide. We’re hearing only silence from the global church, from the global international community,” Wildman, co-founder of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (now the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights) alleged.
The United Methodist official also challenged language used to describe the conflict in coverage by Western media.
“Why are some called hostages and others are called prisoners?” Wildman questioned, citing detainment and arrest of more than 6,300 Palestinians since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“There was a saying among all of the hostage families that we heard over and over again, which was to release all the hostages. But, also Israel needs to release all the Palestinian prisoners,” Wildman recounted of the delegation’s visit.
The General Board of Global Ministries official insisted that he heard a biblical mandate from scripture “saying release all the captives.” Wildman asserted that Christians need to embody this message in their demands, “That all the hostages be released and that all the Palestinians held without charge be released as well.”
Allegations Waved Off
Wildman characterized as “collective punishment” the decision of 13 governments, including that of the United States, to revoke funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following evidence of agency staff participating in the October 7 attacks. It has since been revealed that an underground Hamas command center was situated at least partly under the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza.
“I don’t think the allegations are quite serious, but they’re not new in terms of Israel’s government vilifying,” Wildman assessed. “This is part of a larger strategy of undercutting the UN as a whole and questioning it.”
“The U.S. didn’t have to do this,” Wildman insisted about the stopping of UNRWA funding. “They could have quietly said, look, what’s with these allegations? Let’s support an investigation. But, instead, they publicly vilify an entire [UN agency] and this is why I say we have to call it collective punishment and we have to challenge the U.S. government … and efforts to cut all funding to UNRA and it happened in the previous [Trump] Administration and to vilify and demonize people who are working 24/7 under bombardment. So it’s, it’s an outrage.”
Bishop Abrahams, a longtime anti-Israel voice, charged that the international community had failed the Palestinians and “needed to stand on the right side of history.”
“We heard stories of hunger, frustration, humiliation,” Abrahams recounted of the international delegation. “The word genocide was freely used, the word ethnic cleansing was used by many.”
The South African Methodist bishop said that the tour group committed to intensify calls for a ceasefire and to host a conference in South Africa in May of this year focusing on Israel.
Abrahams also took issue with the use of the word terrorist.
“Nelson Mandela was once labeled a terrorist by most of the Western media. Today, he is an icon,” Abrahams claimed. “There’s a big difference between a terrorist and a people who are fighting for freedom, for justice, and for human dignity. We were reminded again and again that we must re-look at our language.”
Abrahams said that Palestinians told the group that “they have been held hostage for 75 years.”
The South African church official thanked the South African government to bring a case of genocide before the International Court of Justice.
“I’m personally a bit disappointed that the court did not call for a ceasefire,” Abrahams disclosed.
Video of the webinar can be viewed in full on YouTube below:
Comment by Edward on February 14, 2024 at 12:28 pm
This is the current United Methodist Church. These “ministers” excuse and even justify rape and murder. They essentially deny Israel’s right to exist. To be clear Hamas is a terrorist organization from top to bottom. The UN has been shielding Hamas and providing sanctuary. I am so glad to be out of the United Methodist denomination.
Comment by Tim Ware on February 14, 2024 at 7:48 pm
War is the rich man’s terrorism. Terrorism is the poor man’s war.
There were two groups of people, Group A and Group B. Group A subjugated Group B, knocked all those in Group B down on the ground, and then proceeded to stomp all over those on the ground. One member of Geoup B, just as the heel of a member of Group A was about to smash into his chest, pulled out a knife and slashed the heel of the person about to stomp his chest. At which point, the guy in Group A yelled, “Look at this bloodthirsty terrorist! He slashed my ankle!”
One of the most ominous things in the Bible is in Revelation, in connection with the Beast. Revelation makes clear that those who followed the Beast were deceived; in other words, they didn’t intentionally follow wrong, they had been deceived into thinking they were doing right, deceived into believing they were on God’s side. A lot of American Christians have been deceived in relation to the state of Israel.
Comment by Dan W on February 14, 2024 at 8:49 pm
Years of rocket and mortar attacks against Southern Israel. The rape, torture and murder of approximately 1200 civilians. The kidnapping of another 240 civilians. These are not the actions of people who want peace. As for the three Methodists mentioned in this article – do they have to split the 30 pieces of silver equally, or do they each get 30 pieces? Just askin’
Comment by Tim Ware on February 14, 2024 at 10:08 pm
The killing of scores of thousands of people…the killing of an estimated 10,000 children…the displacement of 2,000,000 poverty-stricken, third world people…are these the actions of people of God?
Let’s face it–if Anerican Christians hadn’t been deceived into believing God demands their support of the state of Israel, if these actions had been committed by any other nation, American Christians would be decrying the slaughter.
Comment by Dan W on February 15, 2024 at 6:52 am
Tim Ware, I’m not excusing any bad behavior by the Israelis. I’m saying the actions of Hamas and the Palestinians are not the actions of people who want peace. And the actions of the three Methodists work against a peaceful solution.
Comment by Giles Caver on February 15, 2024 at 8:02 am
Tim Ware, be honest. “The killing of scores of thousands of people”? So at least 40,000 people? 60,000? 80,000? Now you’re just inflating Hamas’ Gaza health ministry’s figures. If you can’t be honest in a debate, you won’t be taken seriously.
Comment by David on February 15, 2024 at 9:44 am
Apparently, hiding behind the corpses of the Holocaust no longer works and Israel must face the same moral scrutiny as all other countries.
One has only to read the writings of Ben Gurion and others even before the establishment of Israel to see that the intention was to drive out the native population and take over the entire territory. Western countries supported this for reasons that included not wanting Jewish refugees in their domains. The early Balfour Declaration was written expressly for this purpose by a man who established a ban on Russian Jews entering Britain.
https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/232119
A two-state solution is no longer possible as Israel has taken over nearly all the land. An alternative would be a one-state arrangement where Palestinians were given full citizen rights with the right to travel, and settle where they wished. and have their property ownership legally recognized. However, this might lead to a non-Jewish majority in Israel eventually and would never be considered. So, the conflict is likely to go on.
Comment by Giles Caver on February 15, 2024 at 10:09 am
David, one thing’s for certain, we may always rely upon your one-sided narratives against the State of Israel. As you well know but care not to acknowledge, the Turks, Arabs and Europeans forced most of their Jews to flee to “Palestine” during the period of de-colonization. Likewise, a far larger and more violent national transmigration also occurred between India and Pakistan, where territorial disputes also remain unresolved. Whereas precious few Jews live elsewhere in the Middle East, however, two million Arabs call Israel home and enjoy far freer lives than they do elsewhere in the Middle East. David, ignorance and bigotry do not become you. You are better than this.
Comment by David on February 15, 2024 at 2:01 pm
Giles Caver: Your moral compass seems to be if one can find someone behaving worse than yourself, what you do is OK. Your whole argument is a vain attempt to divert attention away from Israel and, of course, name-calling.
There is likely no other country in the world that receives as much aid from the US, both public and private. For this reason, we have some justification in demanding reasonable behavior from the recipient.
A late government in Germany had three major principles: Ubermensch (a superior people who have a natural right to dominate others), Lebensraum (“living space” that can be taken from others for expansion), and Judenrein (purged of Jews, or ethnic cleansing). If these comparisons upset you, I suggest you face the facts. Do not bring up the treatment of Israeli Muslims as many of them feel persecuted.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-arab-citizens-israel
When you support the actions of Israel, you put yourself in bad company.
Comment by Gary Bebop on February 15, 2024 at 2:21 pm
The comments of Hamas apologists here underscore the existential nature of this conflict. Israel will not exist if not defended vigorously. Hamas has recorded itself, vaunted itself, carrying forth its acts against humanity. The record cannot be erased. Believe your eyes! But the Hamas apologists here, in their inspired but twisted logic, serve an ironic purpose: they clarify for us that moral depravity is now set forth as reasoned argument.
Comment by Giles Caver on February 15, 2024 at 2:53 pm
David: You ascribe Nazi policies to the State of Israel, but you cannot deny that it was the Turks, Arabs and Europeans who drove out their Jews while the Israel claims two million Arab citizens. And do you and your sources really believe that Israeli Muslims fare worse in a pluralistic republican democracy than their peers do under neighboring autocracies? Really? No, Israel is not a perfect nation-state. No place is. However, your singular rejection of the nation-state of a long and extensively persecuted minority is both disturbing and discrediting. It is also ignorant and bigoted.
Comment by George on February 16, 2024 at 6:05 pm
Why do we readily accept seeing huge piles of nude skeleton thin corpses by the thousands on the TV, books, and magazines (courtesy of the GERMAN Nazis) but fail to show the atrocities up close of what the Muslim Palestinians committed back in October?
If we were allowed to see up close what they did, a cry of revenge would be so loud, that the calls for Israel to cease their offensive would be completely reversed.
Comment by David Gingrich on February 19, 2024 at 7:22 am
Israel isn’t perfect. Hamas is evil. Hating Jews and Israel is evil.
Comment by Tim Ware on February 19, 2024 at 12:48 pm
Our enemies are always evil. They have to be. Otherwise, we couldn’t hate them and kill them. And isn’t that what Jesus told us we should do?
Comment by George on February 22, 2024 at 7:26 am
Well Tim, I guess you’re the kind of Christian that would stand by while your family is butchered, and say “I forgive you”and make no attempt to kill those who are attempting to eradicate you and your family. Jesus never preached this and you know it. Antisemitism comes in many forms.
Comment by Tim Ware on February 25, 2024 at 10:09 am
Ah yes…there’s the “antisemitism card.” That’s a card you can always count on to show up. It’s supposed to automatically end the discussion, but that card is not nearly as powerful as it used to be, and it’s getting even less powerful as time goes on.
Comment by SusanGarvey on April 11, 2025 at 5:47 am
I Am so proud of Methodist Church when I googled UMC Justice and Palestine and found this. Shared it with my Lenten small discussion group on Becoming More Christlike!