Across the Divide Across the Divide Podcast

In this episode Daniel has a conversation with Thandi Gamedze, a South African poet and educator. They discuss the Kairos Document, which was released by South African theologians in 1985 in response to the theologies of violence and discrimination by the apartheid state and South African church. They also reflect on the impact of that document and its relationship to the Kairos Palestine document, which was released in 2009. In this episode, Thandi recites some of her beautiful poetry that interweaves biblical language with the demands for justice in South Africa and Palestine. You don’t want to miss this episode!



Thandi Gamedze is a South African educator, a writer, and a poet. She works across churches, universities, and NGOs in South Africa, and is driven by a deep commitment to critique and reimagine a world that is just, nurturing, and kind.

Here are the Kairos document and the Kairos Palestine document. We highly encourage you to read these two important documents.

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In this episode, Daniel has a conversation with Mennonite pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin. They discuss the history of the Mennonite church, and the role that Mennonite theology plays in shaping her advocacy and peace work in Palestine-Israel. 

Amy Yoder McGloughlin is a Mennonite pastor living in Chester County, Pennsylvania, on the traditional lands of the Lenape people. She received her theological training at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, now known as United Lutheran Seminary. Amy has been actively involved in Community Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank since 2013, and with Mennonite Action since it began in November of 2023.


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In this episode, co-host Jen has a conversation with writer, educator, and activist Azmera Hammouri-Davis. This conversation explores the harms of Christian nationalism and theologies of supremacy, and delves into the scriptures that call us to enact justice and love. Azmera shares about her intersecting identities as a Black Palestinian Christian, poet, and musician, and the ways her faith has shaped her journey of being in solidarity with Palestinians and heeding what Palestinian Christians are calling the Western church to live out.


Azmera Hammouri-Davis, M.T.S is a faith-based writer, poet/MC, educator and independent scholar-practitioner from Kea’au, Hawai’i. She is the proud daughter of a Palestinian-American mother and Black German father and has been teaching and learning the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira for over fifteen years. She is an organizer with the Black Christians for Palestine Network, is a Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference MICAH Ministry Fellow, and founder of Transition Turn Up, a coaching & consulting company that helps  people expand their capacity to experience love, joy and healing even amidst life's difficult turns. In 2016, she founded  Break The Boxes, a popular education organization committed to raising critical consciousness by centering creative expression, and wisdom across faith traditions and generations. She holds a Master of Theological Studies in African/American Religions from Harvard Divinity School and a dual B.A. in Visual & Performing Arts and Social Sciences Psychology from the University of Southern California.

You can learn more about Azmera on her website and follow her on Instagram @azmerarhymes



If you enjoy our podcast, please consider becoming a monthly supporter at:⁠ ⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/acrossthedividepodcast⁠⁠⁠

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Notes

Black Christians for Palestine

Lenten Series with Freedom Church of the Poor

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

Christianzionism.org



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In this episode we hear from father David Neuhaus a Jewish-background South African Jesuit priest who is also an Israeli citizen. Fr. Nauhaus shared with us his background of growing up as a Jew in apartheid-era South Africa, and his journey moving to Israel and being transformed by his encounters with both Israelis and Palestinians. This is a very insightful and powerful conversation that you don’t want to miss! 

Fr. David Neuhaus, S.J.,  is a Jesuit priest who teaches Scripture in Israel and Palestine. He has been a long-term member of the Holy Land Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission. From 2009 until 2017, he was Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew-speaking and migrant Catholics in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Born in South Africa of Jewish German parents during the apartheid era, he has lived most of his life in Israel and is an Israeli citizen. 

 

Article:

As war begins again in Holy Land, Jesuit David Neuhaus hopes Christians can be instruments of peace | America Magazine


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In this episode, Jen has a conversation with
Palestinian Christian scholar Lamma Mansour. This episode delves into the practice of lament--exploring the importance of lament in the Church, how we can lament the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and why it is often difficult for the Western Church to lament. Lamma also shares about her experience as a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship and about her research on the discrimination Palestinian Arabs face in Israeli higher education.


Lamma Mansour is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research focuses on the experiences of Arab Palestinian undergraduate students in Israeli higher education. Lamma has also been involved in research projects focusing on other groups within Palestinian Arab society in Israel (e.g., young women, and social workers).



Show Notes:


“Stop! Make space for lament,” Lamma Mansour (Come and See article, 2021)




“Being our neighbour’s keeper by lamenting injustice: a Palestinian Christian reflection,” Lamma Mansour (Christ at the Checkpoint lecture, 2022)




“A prayer of lament and hope,” Lamma Mansour (Recorded Devotional, 2023)




“Palestinian Arab undergraduate students’ transition to Israeli higher education: a mixed methods study, Lamma Mansour” (journal article, 2024)


Haaretz article on Palestinian singer, Dalal Abu Amneh (2024)




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In this episode, Daniel and Jen have a conversation with Anton Deik, a Palestinian Bible scholar, about the biblical understanding of justice and its relationship to mission and evangelism. Anton challenges the prevailing understanding among some Christians that social and political issues are not part of the gospel, and provides a compelling biblical case for the interconnectedness of justice with faith and spirituality, particularly through the ministry of Christ and the Great Commission. 



Anton Deik is a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem, and is a member of the networking team and board of directors of the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation, lecturer in Biblical Studies with Bethlehem Bible College, and research associate with the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence in the United Kingdom. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Aberdeen where he researches biblical and Graeco-Roman conceptions of justice.


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