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Understanding Israel Palestine
This show is inspired by Citizens for Justice in the Middle East, a local group that has advocated for 20 years for a fair and even-handed U.S. foreign policy that recognizes the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis. Our program offers interviews with journalists, scholars, policy experts and activists to offer multiple perspectives, and to clarify the underlying issues that are often obscured by headline news.
The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP), an interdenominational group of Palestinian-American Christians, wrote a letter to the Biden administration in June urging it to recognize Hamas. The Rev. Dr. Alex Awad, a Methodist missionary in Jerusalem for 25 years and-co-chair of PCAP, explains why. Dr.Awad says it is not possible to make peace in Israel-Palestine without Hamas, which is the government in Gaza and a legitimate political party, not simply a terror group. The United States must recognize the democratic elections that Hamas won in 2006, cease its support for the punishing Israeli blockade of Gaza now in its 14th year, and support new free and fair democratic elections for the Palestinian people. Dr. Awad acknowledges that while he and the members of PCAP are committed to the power of non-violence, Hamas believes only armed force can liberate the Palestinian people. But Dr. Awad notes the violence Hamas commits is minor compared to the violence Israel is using every day against against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He says the U.S. is behaving shamefully in pressuring Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to cancel elections scheduled in May for fear Hamas might win them. It is time for the United States to step away from such undemocratic policies. Dr. Awad wonders why Christian churches in the United States do not work for peace and justice in the Holy Land and calls on them to do so.
