• The ABC Palestine Justice Network is a gathering place for American Baptists who seek justice and peace for Palestinians, Israelis and the land on which they dwell. We exist to educate, advocate and encourage our denomination in the work of prophetic peacemaking.



  • Who are we?

    We are growing group of American Baptist clergy and lay leaders who have come together to form a movement grounded in faith, compassion, and a deep commitment to justice. United by the call to be peacemakers in a time of profound suffering in Palestine, these leaders are advocating for the dignity, rights, and freedom of the Palestinian people. Rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the prophetic tradition of justice, we seek to raise awareness, engage in moral witness, and mobilize American Baptist churches to stand in solidarity with Palestine. Our voices reflect a powerful conviction: that silence in the face of injustice is not an option, and that faith must lead to action.

    While this network of clergy and lay leaders is made up of American Baptists, it does not speak on behalf of the denomination as a whole. Rather, we are grounded in our Baptist identity and compelled by our faith to speak prophetically to our own community. With love for the church and a deep sense of responsibility, we seek to open space for honest reflection, courageous dialogue, and faithful action around the realities in Palestine.

  • Contact us

    Use this form if you wish to join ABC-PJN

  • News from the American Baptist World

    Palestine-related advocacy and events

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    Learning & Solidarity Journey to Palestine in August facilitated by Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain

    This trip is an opportunity to experience the reality of life, faith and struggle in Palestine. We will spend 10 nights in Bethlehem and 2 in Nazareth meeting Palestinian Christians and Muslims, listening to their stories and challenges as well as seeing their resilience and hope. We will also connect with Israelis who are seeking a just peace. This pilgrimage will take us to historic holy sites but most importantly will connect us with God's people who are working for justice and human rights. The journey is facilitated by Rev Ashlee Wiest-Laird, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, who has lived in Bethlehem and worked with Sabeel Liberation Theology Center and The Middle East Council of Churches in Jerusalem. Why go? Because, as Omar Halaby- director of Sabeel in Jerusalem- writes, people who are believers in justice and nonviolence are needed! (Click here to find out more)

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    ABC Chicago adopts resolution calling for Gaza cease-fire (Baptist News Global)

    American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago unanimously adopted a resolution May 18 calling for an end to genocide in Gaza, the end of Israeli occupation of Palestine and an immediate cease-fire and rebuilding of Gaza.

    The Chicago group is the first regional body of the American Baptist Churches USA to adopt such a resolution, its news release said. The Chicago ABC body also voted to send a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court calling for protection and upholding of “civil, reproductive and transgender rights.” (Read the full article)

  • Resources

    Click on the images to access the videos and websites

    Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac on the war in Gaza, Christian Zionism and religious stereotypes

    Silence Is Complicity: Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac Calls Upon U.S. Churches

    Decolonizing Palestine by Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb

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    By Jack Nassar: "As a concerned believer, I am deeply troubled by the recent resolutions of the Southern Baptist Convention against my family, my people and my homeland, Palestine.

    Despite professing to uphold Christian values of compassion and justice, the SBC’s approach in this region is deeply flawed and demands urgent reevaluation. Their stance reflects a troubling mix of theological narrowness, political expediency, racial discrimination and dispensational theology."

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    The primary focus of Palestine Portal is church-based advocacy in the United States for a just peace in Israel/Palestine. All such Christian advocacy is a response to the Palestinian Christians' theological message and urgent call to action for the global Church. To understand what Christians in the U.S. and around the world are striving for – and why – it is important to hear what the Christians of Palestine are saying to us.

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    Christian Zionism merges theology and politics. It teaches that the secular State of Israel is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Christian Zionism believes that this fulfillment of Biblical prophecy began when European Jews started moving to Palestine in the 1800s, and continued as Israel became a nation in 1948. Christian Zionists believe that modern Israel is a continuation of Biblical Israel and therefore should enjoy special privileges. They declare that it is the responsibility of Christians to support the State of Israel and its policies.

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    The Kairos Document is the word of Christian Palestinians to the world about what is happening in Palestine.

    “Our word is a cry of hope, with love, prayer and faith in God. We address it first of all to ourselves and then to all the churches and Christians in the world, asking them to stand against injustice and apartheid, urging them to work for a just peace.”

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    Pinkwashing is a term used by activists to describe Israel’s cynical weaponization of a veneer of LGBTQ acceptance to distract from, and ultimately justify, its brutal oppression of Palestinians. Pinkwashing is a deliberate and well-resourced Israeli public relations strategy – one that emerged decisively out of Israeli state-sponsored firms in the early 2000s.

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    Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.

    Israel is occupying and colonising Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel, and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS call urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law.

  • What we write

    “Will you help us get our freedom back?”

    By Rev. Allison Tanner in The Christian Citizen

    Palestinian Christians have reached out to the international Church, calling us to join them in their quest to be treated with human dignity. Their voices echo the larger Palestinian call to the international community to help them in their quest for freedom, justice, and equality—deeply Biblical goals.

    Send food, not bombs

    By Rev. Allison Tanner in The Christian Citizen

    Getting arrested isn’t my preferred way to preach the gospel. I’d much rather be preaching from the pulpit or talking to the children on the church steps. But after months of ongoing bombardment, bearing witness to starvation’s effects on Gazan bodies, marching in the streets, and offering prayers, this seemed the next logical step.

    How many dead children does it take?

    By Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird in The Christian Citizen

    Our Lord and Savior Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” (Matthew 19:14). If Jesus has truly freed us, if he is the head of the Body, then Christian individuals and churches must live as if every single child matters. The Jewish child. The American child. The Christian child. The Israeli child. The Muslim child. The Palestinian child.

    Celebrating National Arab American Heritage Month in 2024

    By Rev. Dr. Anna Piela in The Christian Citizen

    While the establishment of a national heritage month for Arab Americans was a big success for the community who had fought for a long time for recognition, the handling of the Gaza war by the Biden administration raised questions about how genuine American authorities’ professed care about the Arab American community is.

    The Bible says

    By Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird in The Christian Citizen

    As faithful followers of Jesus, we need to stand up to those who use the Bible to do injustice in the world.

    Fasting during famine: Ramadan in Gaza

    By Rev. Dr. Anna Piela in The Commons

    With the constant military bombardment of Gaza and withholding of humanitarian aid, many Gazans are unable to fast intentionally, and they are unable to break the fast in a joyful manner. In this sense, they are deprived of more than sustenance: they are robbed of a spiritual experience of connecting to God, dispossessed of joy, hope, and religious agency.

    Bearing witness to the suffering of both sides

    By Rev. Dr. Anna Piela and Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf in The Christian Citizen

    As we sat in a Shabbat service in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors over the past week, we saw unbelievable pain and grief. We also witnessed the mourning of our Palestinian siblings at a vigil. As Christians, we must bear witness to such grief, but we must not make the mistake of only seeing one side’s pain.

    The conflict in Israel and Palestine is complicated, but seeing who has power is not

    By Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf in The Christian Citizen

    As we pray for peace in Israel and Palestine, as many churches are currently doing, that does not mean sitting in the middle and avoiding making moral judgements.

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