December 6, 2023
Dear Editor:
On November 28, 2023, Erich Bridges wrote an opinion piece in Baptist News Global arguing one should not participate in any demonstration calling for a cease-fire or an end to the Hamas-Israel war because, in Bridges’ opinion, those making such calls merely become “useful idiots” instrumentalized in service of Hamas interests. The moral, proper position would be to permit, if not encourage the continued bombing and starvation of the Gazan people until Hamas either submits or is fully eliminated and destroyed.
Those who hold this position believe a massive bombing campaign and overwhelming violence is the only response to what they perceive as an evil enemy. Those who refuse to hold such views, who call for restraint, de-escalation, cease-fire, negotiations for the exchange of hostages and prisoners, or other alternative methods of dealing with a serious, ongoing crisis, are merely “useful idiots.”
That designation, in the current case of fighting in Israel/Palestine, would have to include my own Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who instructed his followers not to meet evil with evil and to be peacemakers. This designation also would include the current pope, the heads of all churches in the Middle East, the secretary general of the United Nations, most U.S. churches, and the vast majority of countries throughout the world. All those, along with millions of their members or citizens, are horrified at the massive scale of the bombing, the high level of civilian casualties (about 20,000 as of this writing, including more than 5,500 children and 4,000 women) and the massive destruction of homes (about 50% of all buildings in Gaza) leaving more than 1.7 million people homeless.
And the bombing continues. The fact that this unprecedented level of bombing has occurred within the tiny area of the Gaza Strip (25 miles long by 5 to 8 miles across), all within the span of a few weeks, does not seem to bother Bridges. Neither, it seems, does the fact that this population of more than 2 million souls has no protection from the incessant bombing and no safe place to go. To call for a cease-fire or a suspension of the carnage is unacceptable to him.
Bridges’ second argument for knowing you are a useful idiot, and that you should therefore refrain from protesting, relates to the nature of those whose company you would be in when joining in these protests. Apart from the racist and Islamophobic hints that most of those protesting may not be white or Christian, but rather Muslim and Arab, he specifically calls out the organization Friends of Sabeel North America as an example of the “antisemitic company” one would have to keep if he or she calls for a cease-fire.
As the executive director of FOSNA and a committed pacifist and Christian myself, I deeply resent the accusation of antisemitism or anti-Jewish bigotry. I wish Bridges had checked our website or reviewed our publications and posts on social media or spoken to us directly before making this serious accusation. He would have found we take our faith seriously, that we are committed to nonviolence, reject and fight all forms of racism and discrimination. He would see that we understand our faith instructs us to honor and value the lives of all those for whom Jesus died and whom God loves infinitely.
He may have seen some strong criticisms of the state of Israel and the Zionist movement and an insistence on equality and human dignity, but he would have not found any hatred, ridicule or animosity toward Judaism or the Jewish people.
Bridges quotes a Jewish organization, the ADL, as accusing FOSNA of supporting the movement of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to protest Israeli occupation policies and bring pressure to bear upon it to stop engaging in human rights violations. This charge is correct. FOSNA does support BDS as a nonviolent method to oppose policies we consider immoral and unjust. Nowhere, however, does FOSNA support, encourage or glorify armed resistance, terrorism or anti-Jewish bigotry or antisemitism. We do object to policies of Jewish supremacy and a system of apartheid that favors Jews over non-Jewish Palestinians (both Muslims and Christians), but our calls for equality are hardly anything to be ashamed of and in no way constitute antisemitism, a charge often used for any criticism of Israel.
The only information Bridges cites about FOSNA, which is the basis for this serious accusation, is the fact that the Anti-Defamation League (whose current leader considers all anti-Zionist positions to be antisemitic) makes this accusation against FOSNA and states he considers us one of the top 10 antisemitic groups. He also mentions that our founder, Naim Ateek, in a sermon 10 years ago compared the sufferings of the Palestinians to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The ADL interpreted this statement as an attempt to revive the Western antisemitic accusation against Jews of deicide (namely the bigoted accusation that Jews killed Jesus, that “his blood be upon us and upon our children” and therefore Jews should rightly be persecuted by Christians).
It is true that oppressed people everywhere take spiritual encouragement from the biblical stories (for instance, African Americans have drawn inspiration from the story of the Exodus — of freedom from enslavement in Egypt). Ateek and other Palestinian theologians take comfort in the belief that Jesus knows of our suffering and in his humanity became acquainted with our grief. This has absolutely nothing to do with Western Christian charges of deicide. Naim has repeatedly stated he does not consider Jews today guilty of the crucifixion of Christ, and he has preached often against the sin of anti-Jewish hatred and discrimination, as well as all other forms of racism.
We may continue to have political differences with Bridges, and we are not ashamed that our views on peace and nonviolence may run counter to those who put their faith in military power and are insensitive to the destruction and suffering war causes to innocent civilians. I suspect, however, the real “useful idiots” are those who fall prey to the propaganda of the merchants of death and those who believe the thirst for revenge and vengeance and the domination of their enemies is the morally correct path toward safety and security.
In every part of the world, those demanding more power and seeking more destruction will always find eager listeners. We, however, prefer to listen to the voice of those calling for peace and restraint, those who seek to see good rather than evil — even in their enemies. If that makes us idiots, we are proud to wear that badge in obedience to our Lord, the Prince of Peace.
Jonathan Kuttab, executive director, Friends of Sabeel North America