Conference calls on churches to review their curricula and funding and confront Christian Zionism

A conference titled "Christianity without Zionism" concluded in Istanbul with the participation of 66 theologians and church leaders from 34 countries. The final statement called on churches to review their curricula and funding and confront Christian Zionism, considering it to be using the Bible to justify settler colonialism in Palestine. It also called for integrating the Palestinian narrative into the upbringing of generations.

The conference "Christianity without Zionism: Mapping Christian Zionism and Confronting it in Asia and Africa" concluded in Istanbul, with the participation of 66 theologians, church leaders, heads of theological institutes, students, researchers, and activists, representing 34 countries. The conference was organized by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, in partnership with the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Council for World Mission, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the World Student Christian Federation. The final statement affirmed that Christian Zionism is not merely an error in interpreting texts, but represents a system that uses the Bible to justify settler colonialism in Palestine, turning the land into exclusive property and political violence into a sacred act. The conference discussed the spread of Christian Zionism in Asia and Africa and its connection to religious nationalism and Islamophobia. Participants called on churches to review curricula, partnerships, and funding sources, confront Zionist readings of the Bible, and distinguish between "Israel" in the texts and the modern state of Israel. It also called for integrating the Palestinian narrative into the upbringing of generations and promoting Palestinian theology. The conference included a screening of the film "The Way of Sorrows" by Ambassador Amira Hanania, which addressed Christian history in Palestine from a Palestinian perspective.