PC(USA) webinar seeks clarity on Israel-Palestine crisis

Christian and Jewish voices advocate for peace

by Scott O’Neill | Presbyterian News Service

Rabbi Alissa Wise

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s World Mission ministry, in collaboration with the Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, is launching a webinar series dedicated to the current crisis unfolding in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. The first webinar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Dec. 12, is titled “Jewish and Christian Voices for Peace.” There is no cost to attend the online Zoom presentation, but registration is required here.

“Through conversations with people and our partners in the region living the crisis daily, we hope to provide further clarity and better understand the crisis in a historical and real-time context,” said Luciano Kovacs, PC(USA)’s area coordinator for the Middle East and Europe and webinar moderator. “These are people who work for and yearn for justice in their homeland and can offer a unique point of view that the media often cannot provide.”

Featured speakers for “Jewish and Christian Voices for Peace” include Rabbi Alissa Wise, the lead organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire and former co-executive director at Jewish Voice for Peace. In a recent interview reflecting on the March for Israel in Washington, D.C., Wise noted that, “We are, as rabbis, responsible to serve the Jewish people’s spiritual, cultural, communal health. And as part of that, our obligation as rabbis is to ensure that Jewish people are part of the most profound and sacred obligation in Jewish tradition, which is saving lives. And that is the root of our call for ceasefire.”

The Rev. Fursan Zu’mot

Joining Wise will be the Rev. Fursan Zu’mot from the Arabic-speaking Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land (ELCJHL). Zu’mot, who grew up in Amman, Jordan, was a vicar at ELCJHL before ordination. The ELCJHL seeks to minister within a Muslim majority to live into healthy Christian-Muslim relations and strives to serve those of the Jewish faith equitably.

Future webinar participants and dates are planned but have yet to be confirmed.

PC(USA) members, friends and partners are invited to register here for “Jewish and Christian Voices for Peace.”

To view a comprehensive list of multi-media resources, advocacy opportunities, and partner voices in the region, visit the PC(USA) Israel-Palestine resource page.