Weekly Insights
What church leaders need to know about young people and the pro-Palestine protests.
Stat of the Day:
Nearly 900 students have been arrested after participating in pro-Palestine protests across the U.S. (AP)
What it Means:
Students around the country are speaking up and demonstrating across the country as they call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the disclosure of their university’s financial ties to Israeli institutions, and the divestment of all university finances that currently do business with or otherwise support Israel. Various protests began at the start of this latest iteration of the Israel/Palestine conflict: solidarity with Israel protests after Hamas’s October 7th raids that killed hundreds of civilians and took 204 people hostage as well as ceasefire protests taking place shortly after the conflict started. Lately, student protests have intensified on college campuses around the country, with more and more arrests each day.
In addition to calling for a ceasefire and pushing their university and elected leaders to oppose the war, the student movement on the quads and in other public places signifies the shifting of young people’s perspectives on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Overall, younger people are much more sympathetic to Palestinians than older generations and much less pro-Israeli. This shift follows the publishing in recent years by several international human rights organizations and Israeli institutions describing the systematic oppression of Palestinian people as an apartheid system.
Though this most recent wave of protests expanded rapidly in the wake of Columbia University’s President calling in the NYPD to clear a Gaza-solidarity tent encampment on the campus, many of these protests represent a continuation of demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza, settlement expansions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and spikes in settler violence backed by the IDF. Young people are much more likely to oppose military aid to Israel, and so the bipartisan Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan aid bill that was signed into law last week is also likely further inciting the protests.
Why It Matters:
In recent months, various international human rights organizations have accused Israel of systemic war crimes and human rights abuses, and people around the world are getting live video streams of atrocities happening on the ground on their smart phones. In the face of all this, the governments of western nations, and especially the United States, largely continue to support Israel. In light of this, many young people feel they have few options to make their voices heard and to get their government to take concrete action against the carnage rather than actively enabling it.
As with climate change and the disruptive protests pushing for a green energy transition, many young people view the ongoing conflict as a defining moment in their lives that they must speak out against. Their efforts to force political change at their local institutions and across the nation are only likely to grow in response to police and other forms of repression, just as the antiwar protest movement swelled in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
What can the Church Do?
Many mainline church bodies have already made strong statements supporting a ceasefire and criticizing Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip (these bodies have also often criticized Hamas’s crimes against humanity in its October 7th attacks). Beyond supporting such statements, church leaders can consider joining together with other protest groups committed to a just peace and equal rights for all human beings living in the Holy Land. Groups of this kind exist across faith traditions: Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow (also Jewish), Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker), Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Churches for Middle East Peace (ecumenical), American Muslims for Palestine, and many more.
When we are better informed as leaders, we are less likely to react emotionally and can be better prepared to listen to and learn from impassioned young people. The passion young people are expressing is their vocation at work. As always, if young people feel seen and trusted by us, our efforts to guide them toward faith-based advocacy and relief groups will likely be more fruitful.
Even if church leaders don’t get involved with any of these organizations directly, simply being aware of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it can make us more informed as we navigate the treacherous political waters of the ongoing crisis. Furthermore, understanding these organizations, their goals, and their tactics can help us as church leaders to support the causes of justice and peace in the Middle East without falling prey to extremist positions or employ hate speech. When we are better informed as leaders, we are less likely to react emotionally and can be better prepared to listen to and learn from impassioned young people. The passion young people are expressing is their vocation at work. As always, if young people feel seen and trusted by us, our efforts to guide them toward faith-based advocacy and relief groups will likely be more fruitful.