On April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. called on the United States to lead the world in what he termed “a radical revolution of values” during a speech at Riverside Church in New York City. He urged the United…
Framing the conflict: How religion is a factor of Hamas war
After the International Criminal Court recently issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for their crimes against humanity, it is becoming clearer that the war between Israel and Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks has reached…
Yes, ‘Palestine’ is a place despite what Facebook memes may have told you
As Israel wages war against Hamas in Gaza, many Americans have declared themselves armchair generals who think they understand everything about one of the most complex geo-religio-political conflicts in world history. Dear readers, Facebook is a poor resource for a…
We have a teachable moment, and we’re blowing it
We haven’t seen protests on college campuses like this since the 1960s. As a professor, I’m thrilled to see a deep level of engagement by students on an important issue. I’m also horrified at the responses of many institutions to…
Christians in Palestine ask why U.S. believers ignore them
Since Hamas launched horrific attacks on Israel and Israel responded with its deadly and devastating war in Gaza, we’ve heard much about this conflict. But we’ve been deaf to the pained cries of Christian brothers and sisters caught up —…
What are they wearing in District One? The Met Gala, Gaza and another real-life connection to the Hunger Games
On May 6, celebrities waltzed into the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the year’s biggest night of fashion, extravagance and outrageous displays of wealth: The Met Gala. One ticket to the Met Gala costs around $75,000, which the BBC points…
Like the Quakers, can we imagine peace between Israel and Hamas?
In what may seem an exercise in futility, the Quakers have produced a peace proposal for Hamas and Israel. I have great respect for the Quakers, starting with the influence they had on President Abraham Lincoln. I have been greatly…
As antisemitism and Islamophobia skyrocket, the effects ripple through politics
Antisemitism is on the rise in the United States across the political spectrum, and it is creating challenging questions for how best to address many of the most pressing moral challenges of our day — particularly U.S. policy toward Israel…
Experts detail how famine and disease are taking a second toll on Gaza
Global hunger experts are alarmed by the severity of famine conditions already present in the Gaza Strip and by how rapidly starvation is spreading through the population of the war-torn Palestinian territory. “Uniquely distressing about the Gaza situation is the…
The UN security council is a sham
You might be excused for not knowing that the United Nations Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on March 26 after the United States abstained from voting. Almost six months have passed since Hamas…
Netanyahu has turned Israel into an evil empire
The government of Israel, as led by Benjamin Netanyahu and empowered by his right-wing coalition in the Knesset, has become an evil empire. And their chief enablers are in the United States. This is a hard truth that must be…
Palestinians join Jesus in crying, ‘I thirst,’ Lutheran pastor says in Good Friday sermon
A Palestinian minister’s Good Friday sermon portrayed Israel’s continuing massacre of Gazan civilians as a mirror image of the passion and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of a brutal foreign power. “Today, we place the cross in the…