Within the Protestant Churches in the Netherlands (PKN), a fierce discussion about the relationship with Israel arose last fall. In the church order – the rules of the church – it states that the PKN has an ‘inalienable solidarity with the people of Israel’. A group of liberal theologians has written a pamphlet. They want to get rid of the suggestion of inalienable solidarity with the state of Israel and its politics. The relationship with Israel is also a point of discussion within the Dutch Christian political parties.
Jonathan Kuttab is a Palestinian Christian, human rights activist and in favor of non-violent resistance. In his lecture he tells how Christian support to Israel is experienced by Palestinian Christians. And how, according to him, Dutch Christian organizations can make a positive contribution to the dialogue between Palestinians and Jews.
After his lecture there will be a panel discussion led by Jan Keulen, director of The Rights Forum.
About the speakers
- Jonathan Kuttab is a human rights lawyer from East Jerusalem. For him, working for peace is “a way of life”. Kuttab worked as a lawyer for the Christian Peacemaker Teams. “If people only put a fraction of their time, energy and resources into trying to create peace, we could achieve much more”.
- Han cuperus is a preacher and member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams.
- Jan Keulen is the director of The Rights Forum, a center that provides knowledge on the Palestine/Israel issue. He was a journalist for a long time and worked as a correspondent in Lebanon and Jordan, among other places. Keulen will moderate this program.