EPF PIN member Newland Smith reports on a 3-day conference at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary last month.

This two-day conference which was held on the campus of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston April 14-16 was attended by about a hundred people. The purpose of the conference was clearly stated in the flyer: “The conference will focus on racism in Israel/Palestine and the United States from political and theological perspectives with an emphasis on popular resistance.” From the opening address “Racialized States and the Quest for Justice” given by Stephen Ray, Professor of Systematic Theology, at Garrett, and President, Society for the Study of Black Religion, to the closing reflections and conversation led by Beth Corrie, Director, Youth Theological Initiative; Associate Professor in the Practice of Youth Education and Peacebuilding, Emory University, participants were challenged to wrestle with White privilege and what it means to be accountable to communities of color. Sandra Tamari who is an organizer with the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee and Co-Chair of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation described how the Palestine Solidarity Committee in recent years had developed a relationship with Black organizations in St. Louis County so within hours after Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee began to show up at rallies in order to be in solidarity with members of these Black organizations. PSC never told the Black organizers what they should do. Given this established relationship, authentic intersectionality between Black and Palestinian liberation movements became a reality. In May 2014 a similar conference was held at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary but participants were there by invitation only. The required reading was the then new book by Keith Feldman, A Shadow over Palestine : the imperial life of race in America. But while this conference’s theme was the connection between organizations of the American civil rights movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization, race was not engaged in any depth.

Intersectionality is far more than making the connections between liberation movements. Racism must be acknowledged as a reality and confronted. Sandra Tamari led a break out group on White Privilege which attracted twenty participants. Several people strongly recommended anti-racism training. In the closing session Beth Corrie led participants in a series of meditations on racism and White Privilege interspersed by one on one conversation. She urged us to “sit in discomfort” with our White Privilege.
Presentations that especially resonated with me were given by Stephen Ray, Professor of Systematic Theology, Garrett-Evangelical, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Midwest Regional Director for the American Friends Service Committee and the rabbi of Tzedek Chicago, Hatem Abudayyeh, Executive Director of the Arab American Action Network, and Iva E. Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. Dr. Ray, an African American, talked about White Christians as members of the polis of the United States. These are the real citizens. The rest are simply members of society. So we talk of “real Americans” and “Israelis.” Israel is a recapitulation of the mythic past with its categories of race and ethnicity. Such identities are immutable and to critique them becomes an act of disloyalty. We must demythologize the polis and the idea that the United States was not built on slavery which in itself was the most important economic factor in the growth of the country. Ray called the conference participants to be “insurgents” who with members who are not of the polis will reshape the polis and to create alliances with non polis members and by doing so to create a space where people can flourish. Brant Rosen critiqued the myth that the modern state of Israel dates back to its founding three thousand years ago – a history that is unbroken to the present. Zionism is the negation of the Diaspora. Rosen said we need to face the Conquest Narratives of the Books of Joshua and Judges for in these narratives Yahweh the Deliverer became the Conqueror. We need to listen to the voices of the Canaanites of this world and to follow them. Hatem Abudayyeh who served on the panel discussion, “Racism Against Arabs and Muslims : Racism in the United States,” talked about oppression of Arabs and Muslims in Chicago and cited the case of Rasmea Odeh who is being prosecuted for unlawful procurement of naturalization. He also cited the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression’s call for all elected Civilian Police Accountability Councils. He stressed the need to establish authentic relationships with the Black liberation movement. One must be anti-racist and anti-Zionist for true liberation. Iva Carruthers who stepped in at the last minute for Jeremiah Wright who had come down with a bad case of the flu spoke for over an hour about the United States as a racialized empire. Dr. Carruthers drew upon the witness of Black Lives Matter and wove into what was a meditation the well known words of Assata Shaker, “We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Throughout the conference participants were challenged to be in solidarity with communities of color, knowing that there was risk in so doing. One speaker urged participants to take seriously the 198 non-violent methods of non-violent action as set forth by Gene Sharp and to be willing not to turn away from those methods that carry considerable risk. Dr. Carruthers in reflecting on the connection between Ferguson and Jerusalem said we must address racialized empire at home before we can address it abroad. Sandra Tamari and Hatem Abuddayeh both said Palestinians cannot win liberation until Blacks win liberation. I think what they meant is that by realizing racial justice for Blacks in America, America will no longer be a racialized empire to the degree it is today which in turn will mean it will no longer support Israel as a racialized military state.
All of the plenary sessions were recorded and will be made available on You Tube on the home pages of the sponsoring organizations. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference will archive the proceedings of this provocative and unsettling conference.