[Sundaycommunity] FW: Will they listen to KAIROS II

[Arthur Blomme]

It seems like a great document.  It does not pussy foot around zionist 
racial supremacy ideology.  Thanks for posting this review.

Art

On 11/15/25 17:46, sylvia skrepichuk via Sundaycommunity wrote:
> This is not the actual document but about the document that was 
> released yesterday at the Global Kairos Palestine Conference,  the one 
> I was to attend.
> Peace
> Sylvia
>
>
>
> Sent from my Galaxy
>
>
>
> Subject: Will they listen to KAIROS II
>
> Kairos Palestine II
> A Moment of Truth After Genocide
> The Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac
>
> Introduction
> In December 2009, Palestinian Christians issued the first Kairos 
> Palestine document, A Word of Faith, Hope, and Love from the Heart of 
> Palestinian Suffering. It was a cry from a people living under 
> occupation and apartheid — a call for justice rooted in faith, hope 
> and love. Sixteen years later, in 2025, we stand in a radically 
> different landscape. Kairos II itself states plainly that “we live now 
> in a time of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement 
> unfolding before the eyes of the world” (§2). This alone marks a 
> fundamental shift.
> Yet even as we identify new elements in Kairos II, we are not 
> departing from the foundations laid in 2009. We are building upon 
> them. We remain indebted to the wisdom and prophetic courage of the 
> original authors. Many of them were involved again in writing Kairos 
> II; their theological vision still guides us.
> Kairos II emerges “from the heart of the assault on Gaza” (§1.1), from 
> mass displacement, starvation, the destruction of every sector of 
> life, and the burial of families under rubble. It speaks as “a cry of 
> hope in a time of genocide,” renewing faith, hope, and love in the 
> darkest moment.
>
> 1. A New Context: Faith After Genocide, Church After Gaza
> Kairos II describes Gaza as having endured “hundreds of thousands of 
> martyrs and wounded, and nearly two million displaced” (§1.1). We 
> write with unflinching clarity: “The Nakba of our people is our daily 
> reality” (§1.3) – it is not a past event.
> This is the context from which Kairos II speaks.
> It acknowledges realities that were only partially visible in 2009, 
> but which are now undeniable:
> • The consolidation of “an organized and sophisticated regime of 
> apartheid” (§1.3).
> • The exposure of “the hypocrisy of the Western world” (§1.4).
> • The shock that “many churches…adopted the colonizer’s narrative or 
> remain silent in the face of genocide” (§1.5).
> • The Christian presence now facing “a real danger…of ethnic cleansing 
> and extinction” (§1.17).
> And perhaps most painfully: the weaponization of theology. Kairos II 
> names Christian complicity, describing churches that “judge one side 
> and excuse the other — or simply remain silent” (§1.5). Not only must 
> we think about theology after Gaza; we must think about being the 
> church after Gaza.
> This document is written, as it says, from “within the genocidal war 
> itself,” not in retrospect. It is a cry born of catastrophe.
> 2. A New Clarity: Naming Reality Without Euphemism
> Kairos I named the Israeli occupation as a sin against God and 
> humanity. Kairos II speaks with theological clarity. It names:
> • “Genocide” (throughout)
> • “Ethnic cleansing” (§1.3)
> • “Settler colonialism” (§1.22)
> • “Apartheid” (§1.3, §1.22)
> • “Jewish supremacy…codified in the Nation-State Law” (§1.3, §4.2)
> • “Environmental genocide” (§2.6)
> • “Christian Zionism as a theology of racism, colonialism and ethnic 
> supremacy” (§3.7)
> • “The misuse of antisemitism to silence the Palestinian voice of 
> truth” (§3.4)
> Kairos II explicitly rejects euphemism. It does not speak of a 
> “conflict.” It states:
> “We reject the very concept of conflict. The reality on the ground is 
> colonial, oppressive tyranny” (§1.22).
> To call this a conflict is to participate in erasure. This language is 
> not neutral; it is complicity.
> Equally dangerous is the refusal to name settler colonialism — 
> replaced with slogans of reconciliation or “dialogue.” Kairos II 
> exposes such avoidance:
> “Any denial of this reality is an evasion of manifest truth…that 
> reinforces injustice” (§1.22).
> Refusing to name genocide, apartheid, or colonialism is not 
> theological caution; it is moral failure. Kairos II confronts this 
> directly: We have the right therefore to ask: How can one speak of 
> Christian fellowship or communion while denying, supporting, 
> justifying or remaining silent before genocide — especially when such 
> acts are committed in the name of God and Scripture? (§3.4)
> 3. A New Theological Confrontation: Unmasking Zionism and Christian 
> Zionism
> Kairos II is probably the most explicit theological rejection of 
> Zionism an Christian Zionism ever produced by a Palestinian Christian 
> body.
> It identifies Zionism as:
> “a continuation of European colonialism…built on racism and ethnic or 
> religious superiority” (§3.3).
> It names Christian Zionism as:
> “a theological and moral corruption…[that calls for] a tribal, racist 
> god of war and ethnic cleansing” (§3.7).
> And it exposes the complicity of mainline churches:
> “We are deeply shocked by the positions of many churches that adopted 
> the colonizer’s narrative or remain silent in the face of genocide” 
> (§1.5).
> This includes the liberal and ecumenical circles that chastise 
> Palestinians for using words like “apartheid” and “genocide.” Kairos 
> II calls this what it is: complicity.
> (Let us remember that it was a European Protestant bishop, not a 
> Southern Baptist American, who recently had the audacity to call out a 
> Palestinian bishop for using the word “genocide” in a sermon in Jerusalem)
> It also draws a powerful distinction:
> “Not every Jew is a Zionist and not every Zionist is a Jew” (§3.4).
> Thus, Kairos II calls for building relationships with “prophetic 
> Jewish voices” (§3.12) — those who oppose genocide and confront 
> Zionism at great personal cost. We therefore call on the churches of 
> the world to distinguish between dialogue with Jews and dialogue with 
> Zionism — indeed, to boycott dialogue with Zionist voices that have 
> supported and continue to support occupation, apartheid and the 
> genocide of the Palestinian people. Instead, we call upon the churches 
> to stand with and amplify prophetic Jewish voices that call for 
> justice and truth (§3.12)
> This is new: a reorientation of Christian-Jewish dialogue away from 
> institutions that demand Palestinian silence.
>
> 4. A ReNewed Call for Creative Resistance:
> Nonviolence, Love, and Global Solidarity
> Kairos I affirmed creative nonviolent resistance, in the logic of 
> love. Kairos II now makes it a central ethical imperative:
> “We reaffirm the right of all colonized peoples to resist…We remain 
> committed to creative resistance” (§2.4).
> It names BDS as:
> “effective forms of creative resistance…rooted in the logic of love 
> and nonviolence” (§2.5).
> It calls for, and calls the global church to join us in calling for:
> • Sanctions and boycott until Israel complies with international law 
> (§3.10)
> • An arms embargo
> • Prosecution of war criminals (§3.10)
> • Reparations (§4.2)
> And it expands resistance into a global coalition:
> “We call upon all people of conscience…believers from every faith and 
> persons of conviction” (§3.9).
> Accordingly, we emphasize the same truth: creative resistance must be 
> practiced in partnership with other faith traditions, secular justice 
> movements, and global civil society. No community can resist empire alone.
>
> 5. A ReNewed Theology of Sumud:
> Steadfastness as Spiritual Resistance
> Kairos II elevates sumud into a theological category. It declares:
> “To hold on to faith and hope is resistance. To pray is resistance…to 
> safeguard the holy places is resistance” (§2.3).
> This is a profound spiritual reconfiguration. Sumud is not 
> romanticized suffering. It is a deliberate, embodied, faith-driven 
> refusal to surrender to the reality of injustice as the norm, and 
> ultimately disappear.
> The document honors Palestinian women as “the unbending backbone” 
> (§2.4), youth as “the treasure of hope” (§2.11), and the diaspora as 
> an essential extension of the people (§2.13).
> It affirms:
> “We are woven into the fabric of this land. Its very soil knows us as 
> its own” (§2.10).
> Such language gives theological grounding to Palestinian presence itself.
>
> 6. A New Political Horizon: After Genocide, Justice
> Kairos II insists that no political solution is legitimate unless it 
> begins with truth:
> “We have heard much talk of political solutions and peace while the 
> reality on the ground says otherwise. To speak of a political solution 
> today is futile unless we first undertake the serious work of 
> acknowledging and rectifying past wrongs—beginning with recognition of 
> the historic injustice done to Palestinians since the rise of the 
> Zionist movement and the Balfour Declaration. Any genuine beginning 
> must involve dismantling settler colonialism and the apartheid system 
> built on Jewish supremacy as codified in Israel’s racist Nation-State 
> Law. We also reject proposals for a weakened, conditional state 
> lacking full sovereignty over its borders, waters, airspace and 
> security. What is required is international action and protection, 
> accountability for war criminals, and compensation for survivors of 
> genocide, the Nakba and settler colonialism. Enduring solutions will 
> not rest on the logic of force, but on the foundations of justice, 
> equality and the right to self-determination.” (§4.2).
> It rejects any state structure built on supremacy (§4.4) and calls for:
> • Equality
> • Full citizenship
> • Pluralism
> • The right of return
> • Justice and reparations
> • An end to all forms of extremism and racism
> This is not naïve idealism. It is a sober articulation of what justice 
> requires in a post-genocide future.
> 7. Renewed Global Call For The Christian Presence
> Finally, the document makes an appeal with clarity and urgency: “We 
> are not calling the church to admire our resilience from afar, or to 
> theologize our suffering. We are calling you to act” (§2.9–2.11, 
> paraphrased). The document is explicit: our calling is not to be 
> symbols, but a living community that must be sustained.
> What we ask of the global church is simple: help us stay. Help us 
> remain. Help us keep a Christian presence in the land of Christ’s 
> birth. As Kairos II states, the Christian presence is not merely 
> demographic; it is “a national cause and priority,” for “we are woven 
> into the fabric of this land… its soil knows us as its own” 
> (§2.9–2.10). This is not about nostalgia; this is about survival.
> Kairos II renews the call: “Come and See” (§3.13).
> This is the invitation the document gives to the global church — to 
> encounter the “living stones,” to witness our reality firsthand, and 
> to stand with us in sustaining the Christian presence. The document 
> calls Christians worldwide “to challenge the siege imposed on the 
> Christians of the Holy Land, come and visit the living stones… and 
> help strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinians and the 
> Christian Palestinians among them” (§3.13).
> Therefore, we say:
> Stand with the living stones.
> Strengthen our institutions, our churches, our schools, our youth, 
> scouts and our families.
> Accompany us in the daily struggle to protect our communities from 
> erasure.
> And above all, help us rebuild Gaza — its homes, its houses of 
> worship, its schools, its neighborhoods, and its Christian community. 
> Kairos II pays special tribute to the Christians of Gaza, saying: “We 
> especially commend the tremendous work of the churches of Gaza… the 
> faithful have written heroic stories of steadfastness and witness” 
> (§2.14). And it urges Christians worldwide “to preserve the Christian 
> presence in Gaza…and advocate for the right of all who were displaced 
> to return and rebuild” (§2.14).
> Against all human logic, against political trends, and against the 
> machinery of genocide, we insist that a Christian presence will remain 
> in Gaza. With your solidarity, your presence, your advocacy, and your 
> support, it can not only remain — it can live, rebuild, and bear witness.
> This is not charity; this is discipleship.
> This is not pity; this is partnership.
> This is the shared responsibility of the global Body of Christ — a 
> responsibility articulated and mandated by Kairos II itself.
>
> Conclusion: Costly Solidarity, Costly Sumud, and a New Kairos Moment
> And now we face the question:
> If they did not listen to Kairos I, will they listen to Kairos II?
> Our calling is not to guarantee outcomes. Our calling is faithful witness.
> And we must say this clearly: we did not want to write Kairos II.
> This is not a document we hoped to produce.
> Its very existence is a painful reminder that we failed — not in 
> faith, but in impact. The global church did not listen in 2009. The 
> world did not act. The ecumenical movement did not rise to its 
> calling. And the consequences have been devastating: things did not 
> simply remain the same; they got worse — far worse than anything the 
> authors of Kairos I could have imagined.
> Writing Kairos II is therefore an act of lament. It is an 
> acknowledgment of a wound that was ignored until it became a 
> catastrophe. And yet, despite this, we still dare to speak. We still 
> dare to believe. Some may say that making even stronger demands now, 
> after such profound global failure, is foolish. But faithfulness 
> sometimes looks like foolishness to the powers of the world. We write 
> because this is who we are. Because it is our vocation. Because 
> resilience — sumud — refuses to let despair have the final word. And 
> because we have not stopped believing in God, in His goodness, in His 
> justice, and yes — we have not stopped believing that the church can 
> still make a difference.
> Today, solidarity is more costly than ever. Israel denied entry to 
> participants in the Kairos II launch. Some were interrogated or turned 
> back. Some paid a personal price for daring to stand with us. We 
> salute them. This is what costly discipleship looks like.
> But costly solidarity is only one side of the truth.
> Kairos II also calls for costly Palestinian sumud.
> To stay is costly.
> To rebuild is costly.
> To raise children in hope is costly.
> To cling to life in the face of death is costly.
> Our people in Gaza have shown sumud beyond human measure. Our 
> communities across Palestine carry the weight of survival every day. 
> Kairos II is not a romanticization of suffering — it is a call to 
> stay, to hope, to rebuild, to refuse erasure. It is about the call to 
> carry the cross. Our sumud is our witness. Our hope is our resistance. 
> Our staying is our proclamation of life.
> Kairos II is thus a call to repentance, truth, and bold action. It is 
> an invitation to build new alliances — including with prophetic Jewish 
> partners — and to break with the theological frameworks that have 
> sanctioned our oppression.
> Above all, Kairos II declares that we are living in a moment of truth 
> (§1.23) — a decisive, God-given Kairos that demands the global church 
> choose whether it will stand with life or with empire.
> We look toward the day when we shall live free in our land, together 
> with all the inhabitants of the earth, in true peace and 
> reconciliation — founded upon justice and equality for all God’s 
> creation, where “mercy and truth meet, and righteousness and peace 
> kiss each other.” (Psalm 85:10).
> With this, and on behalf of the Kairos Group, we officially launched 
> Kairos II. You are all witnesses to and participants in this 
> historical kairos moment.
>
>
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