Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Politics and Religion
Sometimes the most urgent topics aren’t the trending topics

Sometimes the most urgent topics aren’t the trending topics

Last updated on: March 4, 2024 at 5:19 pm by Kathryn Shihadah

0 Comments

Sometimes the most urgent topics aren’t the trending topics 2024-03-04T17:19:22-05:00 Kathryn Shihadah

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Ok, boys and girls. Roll up your sleeves. We have a job to do.

We have a war to stop. I do not say this lightly.

It’s great that millions of people have turned out for pro-Palestine, pro-ceasefire marches – but it’s not enough.

Call for ceasefire and end to oppression in Gaza. Gayatri Malhotra via Unsplash.

It’s impressive that Democrats in Dearborn, Michigan cast their votes last week for nobody at all rather than Joe Biden – but it’s not enough.

It’s legitimate to feel angry about the 30,000+ Gazan death toll (poised to skyrocket due to the Israel-imposed famine) – but it’s not enough.

If you have marched, voted “uncommitted,” and gotten angry, that’s great.

I’ve already asked you to call/email Washington (contact info below) and demand an end to the bloodshed (President Biden could, if he so chose, bring the war to a screeching halt with a phone call to Netanyahu). Now, I’m asking you to contact your reps and your president every day. Every. Day.

It’s time to do even more than that.

It’s time to bring Gaza to the attention of our faith communities.

I’ve been told that, at least here on Patheos – the website of choice for millions in the global faith community – the genocide in Gaza is no longer a “trending” topic.

As an author writing regularly about the genocide in Gaza, I’m bummed about that. As a person with many relatives living (and dying) in Gaza right now, I’m devastated – and that’s why I’m coming to you with a big Ask.

Family starting on their journey of evacuation

My family starting on their journey of evacuation from Nuseirat refugee camp.

I imagine, if you’re still reading, you’re a person of faith who already believes that the people of Gaza deserve to live free of fear, free of occupation.

Until there is a critical mass of human beings loudly opposing the massacre in Gaza, the bloodshed will continue.

There are millions of people of faith, all around us, who are either ignorant about the situation in Gaza, or indifferent. We need to reach them.

How? You can talk to people you know, and I can talk to people I know.

But there are millions more that neither of us know. Many of them come to Patheos for insight and inspiration.

If you look across the top of every page on the Patheos website, you’ll see a list of trending topics. Today it’s Lent, Soul, Resurrection, Joy, Feminism, and Gratitude. Those have been the trending topics for days now. Maybe weeks.

One of the trending topics needs to be Gaza. That requires action.

When Patheos algorithms notice that people are starting to read about Gaza, the website will (I’m told) boost posts about Gaza to a prominent spot near the top of the home page. More people will read about Gaza. Patheos executives will (hopefully) notice that the faith community cares about this topic, and will pitch in to amplify the message. The snowball effect will kick in. More authors will write about Gaza, more readers will read and learn and care – and so the call for justice and peace will grow.

Eventually, there will be enough pressure on our governments, and they will start to take action – impose weapons embargoes, make meaningful demands for ceasefire and justice, withdraw funding for Israel’s war. A just peace will come.

Don’t you want to be able to say, when that happens, that you did your part to help?

(Let me say, as I make these suggestions, that I’m not trying to get rich or famous on Patheos. I’m trying to help save the lives of my family – and hundreds of thousands of other people in Gaza. Patheos isn’t where an author goes to get rich – it’s where we go if we have a message that needs to be heard.)

Obviously it’s going to take more than a trend on Patheos to bring a ceasefire – but this is an all-hands-on-deck time. Every little bit helps.

Are you willing to take a few minutes to help end a genocide?

Hopefully, we as a faith community – and a Patheos community – can join the call to end the Gaza genocide – one of the great moral issues of our time. Most of the world is already there. We should have led the world on this, but since we didn’t, let’s follow.

Here’s how:

Share this post on your social media of choice.
Read and share other posts about Gaza (below, you will find a list of my Gaza posts, and you can search Patheos for more authors). Do it a whole bunch of times – we’re fighting genocide here.
Share the facts about Gaza with other people too – at your church, with your loved ones, wherever you have a circle of influence. If you have been too shy to speak up before, now is the time to stretch your comfort zone.
Drop a note to the Patheos editorial management team (link – fill irrelevant fields with “N/A”) and ask them to help make the faith community aware of the situation in Gaza. Remind them that this is not a political issue to sidestep. It’s a genocide– everyone should want to help bring it to an end.
Also, contact your representatives in Washington every day. They (allegedly) work for you.

Reach your Representative here.

Reach your Senators here.

Email President Biden here.

Tell them, “ENOUGH. CEASEFIRE NOW. NO MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL. STOP THE GENOCIDE. NOW – OR YOU’RE FIRED.” Tell them every day.

This is not a drill, a popularity contest, or a philosophical conversation. This is not political. This is not a time to be shy or self-conscious. Lives are hanging in the balance.

Let’s do this.

PS If you want to keep up with the news on Palestine and Israel, I commend to you If Americans Knew (israelpalestinenews.org). Humble brag: it’s where I work, and I think we do a pretty great job (again, I say this for your edification, not for clicks). Every day, we provide a summary of the most critical news, especially on Gaza, but also on the West Bank and other Palestine-related news around the world. It’s an easy way to stay caught up, and we tell the truth.

I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. I write about the Palestine-Israel issue regularly, and other issues relevant to progressives or those considering becoming progressive. If you would like to comment on this post, please pop over to my Facebook page. All of my posts are there and open to constructive comment. I welcome your thoughts.

READ MORE ABOUT PALESTINE ON PATHEOS:

Posts about my Gazan family (in chronological order):

Further reading on the Palestine-Israel issue:

FEATURED IMAGE: by Sunguk Kim via Unsplash

Religion News

About Kathryn Shihadah

I was raised as a conservative Christian, and was perfectly content to stay that way – until the day my stable, predictable world was rocked. A curtain was pulled back on conservative Christianity, and instead of ignoring the ugliness I saw, I confronted it. I began to ask questions I never thought I’d ask, and found answers I’d never expected. Old things began to fall away, and – behold! – the new me has come. What a gift to be a new, still-evolving creation. I found out that it’s better to look at the world through Progressive Lenses, with Grace-Colored Glasses. https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1358/2021/07/7-30-headshot.jpeg You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

February 27, 2024

Did you know the US is complicit in genocide RIGHT NOW?