Our Kaupapa

We are located in Aotearoa

As our rōpu is comprised of people who live in Aotearoa and people who have deep connections to Aotearoa, we recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the foundation for our belonging to Aotearoa. This means Te Tiriti must also be one of the main basis’ of our Christian activism for peace in Palestine.

“As we stand and live on Māori land, we respect and acknowledge tangata whenua and mana whenua where we gather. Palestinians’ freedom and self determination also are not complete without that of Māori, as global colonial powers are one.“

For our activism to be Tiriti-led, we pledge to engage with and actively learn from tangata whenua voices speaking on Israel’s occupation of Palestine. We act in the knowledge that the land upon which we gather and organise is unceded whenua over which mana whenua exercise tino rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga. We bring to our activism the vision for justice and mutual flourishing that Te Tiriti o Waitangi envisions.

We are Christians

We are a cross-denominational group of Christians who stand for the biblical principles of justice and peace. We are followers of Jesus who showed us a non-violent, truthful, and loving way of standing against both the ideas and realities of the empire. We use non-violent ways to stand against violence and oppression. We follow the Way of the cross and of the resurrection. Because of this, we believe that life always triumphs over death, and that there is always hope for a new reality.

We live in a politically divisive age. We are deeply concerned about Zionist teachings in the church and especially the links drawn by Christians between the Gospel and the politics of Christian Zionism. We agree that:

“It should be clear that Christian Zionism is a problematic ideology. But it’s not enough to deconstruct Christian Zionism. We also offer an alternative theology that is centred on the liberatory message of Jesus.“

We recognise that we do not reflect the diverse beliefs of all Christians in Aotearoa. We ourselves are a diverse group of Christians in Aotearoa, however we are united in our stance that the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and violence towards Palestinians must end, and that a just and peaceful resolution must be reached for all peoples living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. We commit to challenging Christians in Aotearoa who don’t realise the detrimental impact that their beliefs and opinions hold. We seek to take on a prophetic leadership/prophetic justice role, and thus act out the role we want the church to have, and be inviting ie: calling in not calling out. We are the church, we don’t wait for the Church to act.

We stand for justice and peace in Palestine

Whilst our rōpu name does not contain the word justice, we believe that peace can not be achieved without justice, therefore we see them as intertwined necessities.

“While each anti-colonial struggle is unique, the Palestinian struggle shares
characteristics with many other anti-colonial struggles across the world, and here in
Aotearoa New Zealand. A close look at the powers that maintain Israel’s colonisation of
Palestine shows that they are the same powers that enabled colonisation across the
world and that makes all anti-colonial struggles interconnected.“
Tina Ngata, Ngāti Porou writer and activist

We see the connections between colonialism in Aotearoa and Palestine. We note that the whakapapa of the Israeli occupation of Palestine includes the former British and Ottoman occupations of Palestine.

As Christians located in Aotearoa, we recognise our unique role in uplifting and supporting the voices of Palestinian Christians and Kiwi Palestinian Christians, not least because the political ideology of Christian Zionism has been actively supporting the current state of affairs for decades. Whilst that is our unique role (to support Palestinian Christians), we also uplift and support all Palestinian’s that seek to work towards a just and peaceful resolution.

Our guiding principles

We act prayerfully, believing that God sees, hears, and creates Kingdom miracles.
We believe that the impossible is always possible, and we take actions with that in mind. We draw this from our Palestinian Christian brother Omar Haramy, Director of Sabeel.
We stand with all people working for justice and peace. This means we will work alongside people from various denominations, religious and social groups to seek the liberation of Palestinians from occupation, apartheid, and genocide. This means we can collaborate with others on mahi where the goals are in the same vein.
Because we believe in the way of Jesus, we will never use any anti-semitic slogans, incite hate against Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, Jews, Israelis, Zionists, abuse any people or flag, act violently towards any group, or use any curse words in any written, spoken, online or in person actions we take.
We take non-violent actions that challenge the current status quo in regards to the State of Israel and its actions towards the people and whenua of Palestine and Israel. This includes their actions towards Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. These actions are detailed further below in the “What we do” section.
We seek to address systemic injustices – this means dealing with the core issues and history that way pre-date Oct 7, and challenge policies, systems, legal structures, etc. that oppress people and cause an imbalance of power.
We harness prophetic imagination (arts, songs, poems etc) to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us. To creatively resist the present colonised ordering of things in Palestine and Israel, and energise the community of faith in Aotearoa by the promise of another, liberated, time and situation toward which we may move.
Whilst there has been, and continues to be much debate about a one or two state solution (and other options), we draw our hopes and imagination from Palestinian Christians such as Jonathan Kuttab who is a co-founder of Nonviolence International.

What we do as a rōpu

Offer uniquely Christian ways to pray (ie: liturgy etc…). lament & grieve about the past and current realities, and point to who our hope is ultimately grounded in.
Take non-violent actions that challenge the current status quo in regards to the State of Israel and its actions towards the people and whenua of Palestine and Israel. This includes their actions towards Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. These actions we take include, but are not limited to: prayer; peaceful protest; sit ins; civil disobedience (whereby it brings no physical, mental or verbal harm to others); lobbying those who hold power in our own whenua and beyond to take actions that lead to sanctions, divestment, and boycotting; writing, signing onto, and delivering open letters, petitions, and ministerial letters to places that hold power; confidently calling church leaders and communities in Aotearoa (and beyond) to re-examine their soft or hard Christian Zionist beliefs and practices, and to stop their financial, practical, and verbal support for the State of Israel and it’s actions (via resources and connections we and others have made, and any other prophetically imaginative means at our disposal); joining with other kaupapa that exists to the same aims eg: signing on to other open letters, petitions, joining campaigns etc… with our rōpu name/logo, humanpower and resources.
Amplify the voices of Palestinian Christians to churches in Aotearoa.
Push for more media coverage in Aotearoa on the plight of Palestinians, and against the single-story narrative from the Occupying Powers.
Outreach/education to churches; create a public witness for Palestinian liberation and justice and peace for everyone in Palestine-Israel.
Raise awareness on social media to provide a space for thoughtful and critical conversations that reflect on the situation in Palestine-Israel through the lens of Christian faith, theology, and the Bible.
Encourage donations to local Palestinian organisations responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza and the West Bank.
Strategically call on our officials to call for active support of an immediate end to this genocide and occupation.
Strategically call on our officials for them to Grant the Visas to families of Palestinians who are stuck in Gaza.
Strategically call on our officials for them to reinstate, and/or increase funding to UNWRA.
Call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
Stand against the ideology of Christian Zionism through non-violent, co-resistant online and community action.
Harness prophetic imagination (arts, songs, poems etc) to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us, towards God’s Kingdom.