Two prominent churches in the United States have recently condemned the oppressive treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government. In July the US Presbyterian Church voted at its 225th General Assembly to declare Israel an “apartheid state” and designate a Nakba Remembrance Day within their calendars. In the same month The Episcopal Church voted at the 80th General Convention (GC80) to condemn Israel’s occupation and oppression of Palestinians and urge the United States to take action to oppose Israeli laws and practices that result in unequal rights for two peoples.

The GC80 Convention also passed a resolution opposing the criminalization and penalization of boycott, divestment and sanctions movements as infringements of First Amendment rights. Approximately 30 states currently have laws limiting people’s ability to boycott Israel.

The US Presbyterian Church Committee on International Engagement passed a resolution recognizing that “Israel’s laws, policies and practices regarding the Palestinian people fulfill the international legal definition of apartheid”. The committee also called for an end to Israel’s siege of Gaza and affirmed the “right of all people to live and worship peacefully” in Jerusalem.

The two Church’s resolutions echo other church and human rights groups’ statements surrounding Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and continued occupation of Palestinian land that have been defined as apartheid by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In June, the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church overwhelmingly passed a resolution entitled “Identifying and Opposing Apartheid in the Holy Land.” The resolution called on the U.S. government “to condition U.S. funding to Israel upon Israel’s willingness to dismantle its apartheid system and implement all the rights due to Palestinians under international law.”

Jonathan Kuttab, wrote in an article titled Celebrate the Victories for FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America, a Christian voice for Palestine), communicating the decision. “Today, we are blessed with the news of a great victory from the International Committee of the Presbyterian General Assembly 2022, where a number of important overtures were overwhelmingly passed”. He was referring to the recognition of the practices of Israeli government on Palestinians fulfull the definition of apartheid, that 15 May will be designated a Palestinian Nakba remembrance day and the call for Israel to lift the siege of Gaza.

“The detailed reports by Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, Amnesty International, the UN Special Rapporteur, and even Harvard University Law School all reached the same conclusion: that the international crime of Apartheid was in fact being perpetrated by Israel. As Presbyterians and other church denominations join in this recognition, it will become a standard, recognized description of the situation on the ground.

The big challenge, however, is how to translate such a new understanding into actionable political facts. Activists feel frustrated and paralyzed. We must find ways to translate this growing understanding of Palestinians and their cause into a new political reality that challenges apartheid in favour of a new society built on justice and equality for all.”