Christians: Why do we skimp on compassion when it comes to Palestinians?

October 28, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

It’s troubling to see, day after day, compassionate people doling out compassion with a teaspoon, as if too much empathy for the 3,000+ Palestinian children who have died in the past weeks will somehow leave too little for the 30 Israeli children killed on October 7th. And so we are carefully balancing our expressions of grief: half for this side, half for that side. Christians, our “fair and balanced” compassion makes Palestinians invisible. They feel unloved, unnoticed, unvalued. It doesn’t... Read more

Advice to the Church: Gaza is the hill you should be ready die on

October 24, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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Jesus died on a hill for defying the conventional “wisdom” of his day. Conventional wisdom says love your friends and hate your enemies; Jesus preaches that we should love all people. Conventional wisdom says shun and judge those who are different from you; Jesus tells us to help anyone in need. Conventional wisdom says those who are in prison deserve their punishment; Jesus came to set the captives free. Conventional wisdom expects the needy to lift themselves up by their... Read more

How to make sense of the Palestinian call for freedom and justice

October 22, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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On Oct 7, the resistance group Hamas did not invade a peace-loving country. To Israelis, it may have felt tranquil and carefree – they were dancing, raising families on tree-lined streets, planning vacations abroad. Palestinians are pretty much invisible, locked as they are behind high concrete walls and driving on segregated roads. Israelis have never experienced the kind of invasion they got that day. The roles are usually reversed. This time Palestinians were killing, kidnapping, making a mess, causing panic... Read more

Update from loved ones – what it’s like in Gaza right now

October 19, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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Alhamdulillah (thank God), after nine days of silence, prayer, and (not gonna lie) near despair, yesterday we heard from our family in Gaza. At last. Horea wants me to share her words with anyone who will read them. Will you take the time? (lightly edited, and yes, yesterday was my birthday, and again, shoutout to Google Translate) Hi, good evening. How are you, Aunt Kathy? How is Uncle Ziyad? I hope you are all well. I love you with all... Read more

500 Palestinians killed in one Israeli airstrike – this is genocide UPDATED

October 17, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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At least 500 Palestinian people have been killed in a bombing of the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City. Just like that. UPDATE: Israel is now claiming – without providing evidence – that it did not bomb the hospital (kind of like it claimed that it did not kill Shireen Abu Akleh – until the truth came out). Time will tell. Israel has been demanding that Gazans in the north of their densely populated enclave flee to the south, also densely... Read more

Don’t compromise truth on Israel and Palestine

October 15, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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As the world is gripped by the situation in Israel and Palestine – including Hamas – it is critical to be informed – it’s literally a matter of life and death. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that freedom brings with it an implicit responsibility – to actually know what you’re talking about. Without accurate knowledge, we only make things worse. By passing along misinformation, or poorly-informed opinions, we may inadvertently support the worst players As my husband and... Read more

In Gaza, she inhabits a solitary space between life & death

October 9, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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People of faith, we can not hide our heads in the sand any longer. Today we learn from an expert what it’s like to sit through Israeli airstrikes. Below is part of a conversation I had with my dear niece Horea, and a message she wanted me to pass on to you. Horea lives in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. She is 26 and lives with her parents and eight younger siblings. She and I have been communicating... Read more

What People Of Faith Need To Know About Gaza And Israel Right Now

October 8, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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If you follow world news, you know by now that on Saturday, Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza launched a surprise attack on Israel. My husband’s family live in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, so we are watching events closely. We have been following the situation for many years, and I have written about it several times on Patheos. In a nutshell, the resistance group Hamas initiated what may loosely be called a war against Israel. On Saturday morning, they... Read more

3 simple questions guaranteed to make your pro-birth friends really think

October 4, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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The pro-choice/anti-choice issue can get pretty heated, and usually ends in a stalemate, right? “Yeah, I always feel like I just wasted a bit of my life.” So if you’re going to go our separate ways at the end of the conversation, why not send them home with something to really think about? A few tidbits they won’t be able to get out of their minds? Notions that might even make them rethink their paradigm? “I’m listening.” Below are three... Read more

You’ll just love Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest antics

October 1, 2023 By Kathryn Shihadah

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As part of the tug-of-war that comes with defense spending, our favorite cartoon characters – Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene – managed to make enough noise to remind us just how ridiculous the far-right can be. At the same time, they insulted thousands of American soldiers and signaled loyalty to white supremacists. All in all, just another ordinary day on Capitol Hill. Their nonsense took place on Wednesday and Thursday – hours before the US budget deadline – in... Read more