Society of Biblical Literature Statement about Hamas Attacks

Last updated on: October 16, 2023 at 7:15 pm by James F. McGrath

0 Comments

Society of Biblical Literature Statement about Hamas Attacks 2023-10-16T19:15:27-04:00 James F. McGrath

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.

From the Society of Biblical Literature:

The following statement has been approved by majority vote of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Council.

The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) vigorously condemns the terrorist attacks in Israel initiated by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The slaughter of innocents, taking of hostages, wanton destruction, and the ongoing atrocities against civilian non-combatants are horrific and opposed to the values we espouse as human beings and as a professional society dedicated to the advancement of scholarship on the Bible. We are concerned by the subsequent upsurge in anti-Semitic violence in the United States and globally, and encourage each one of you, our scholarly community, to stand firm against such actions in your own academic institutions. As a professional organization, we stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and wish to support all impacted by these tragic events, especially our members and their families. SBL resolves to develop appropriate educational media, publications, and conferences challenging the use of biblical and other authoritative texts to justify hatred and intolerance in any form. As SBL’s governing board, we pledge our support and send strength to members of our organization in Israel whose family members are missing or held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, and we mourn with our colleagues impacted by these tragic events and all other innocent victims of the conflict.

It is my understanding that before sending this the organization of which I am a member ineptly sent something to Israeli members saying they would not be able to get refunds for the upcoming conference. My sharing and commenting on the official statement in no way says anything about any other email they sent which I did not receive and have not seen. What I do want to say is that, when they issued this official statement, they found a great way of putting things that is quite balanced. I say that having been struggling for words in recent days, and preferring to remain silent than say something that could be taken the wrong way or hurt even when the intention is to help. In volatile situations even words of support can miss their mark. I’ve recirculated things others have written, but even then it has often been with some hesitation. Why? Because I don’t want anyone to think that my unqualified denunciation of Hamas and their recent atrocities means that I am opposed to justice for Palestinians. I don’t want anything I say that indicates my concern for Palestinian civilians and the people as whole to be twisted to imply that I do not condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas.

I have struggled with how to speak about this even in the past when we were not in the midst of violence and in the aftermath of atrocities. When I’ve taken student groups to the Holy Land, among them have been Palestinian-Americans who accompanied me on their first-ever visit to the land their parents were forced to flee. I also took them to the Holocaust Museum where they were confronted with a perspective they hadn’t encountered previously. I also had the privilege of taking a Jewish student who had been to Israel before on her first visit to the West Bank. I’ve never been to Gaza, and it is fascinating to look at ancient maps that label much that same stretch of land as “Philistia.” That has absolutely no bearing on the contemporary situation, since neither the Arab population there now nor Israelis are the heirs of the ancient Philistines who were of European extraction and invaded from the Mediterranean islands. No one today is where they were two thousand years ago, yet both Arabs and Israelis in the region genetically show their connection to the ancient Canaanite inhabitants of the land (as well as the links of the Canaanites with Anatolia). We cannot settle matters by asking “who was here first?” We can only stand against atrocities, and stand for justice.

Hence my appreciation for the SBL statement. Like SBL I stand unequivocally with the people of Israel. I stand with the people. In the broad sense, being of Jewish descent on my maternal line I am part of that people, but I am not a citizen of the modern nation state, and siding with the people does not stand with a party in power or a national policy any more than my being a U. S. citizen means I align with a political party, a president, or a policy. I stand with victims of violence whose only desire is to live freely and in peace with justice for themselves and others. I stand with those who have had their lives cheapened by the ideologies and politics of others. I stand thus with people wherever they are found, and in my home country as well.

I am under no illusion that the SBL statement is perfect, or that my own words are adequate or appropriate. Statements are like justice. The work of human beings is never perfect. But we must never allow our inability to be perfect to keep us from trying our best to do and to say what is right.

Politics and Religion

Israel

Society of Biblical Literature

Gaza

Israel

Palestine

Society of Biblical Literature

Previous Post

October 16, 2023

The Theology of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

Next Post

October 17, 2023 Release Day for The A to Z of the New Testament!

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"V. good.For me, the gold standard for this sort of thing is still Wikihistory by ..."

Scurra

The Time-Traveler’s Apprentice (A Short Story)

"The one who says "no one comes to the Father but through me" is the ..."

James F. McGrath

Attack on Religious Freedom in Indiana

"Until I read, "As a Christian, it is possible but not at all necessary to ..."

Sam Vimes

Attack on Religious Freedom in Indiana

"Hey James, regarding your penultimate paragraph, I struggle with the same issue. I do think ..."

Jeff Cate

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy academia Acts of the Apostles afterlife Akhaten Alcatraz American Academy of Religion Amos Anglican Arabic Aramaic archaeology art artificial intelligence astronomy atheism atonement Babylon 5 Baptists Battlestar Galactica Bible Biblical Studies Carnival biblioblogging Black Mirror Blade Runner Book of Job book review Buddhism Call for Papers China Christianity Christmas Christology Chronicles Coptic creation Daniel Deuteronomy Doctor Who Dune Easter Ecclesiastes economics education Eldad Keynan Enoch Seminar Ephesians eschatology Esther Evangelicals evolution Exodus Expanse Ezekiel Ezra fantasy Fringe fundamentalism Galatians games Ge'ez genealogy Genesis Gnosticism Gospel of Jesus' Wife Gospel of John Gospel of Judas Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Peter Gospel of Thomas Greek Harry Potter Hebrew Hebrews Hinduism historical Jesus history Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Holidays horror Hosea humor incarnation India inerrancy information literacy inspirational Intelligent Design Ireland Isaiah Islam Israel Italy James Jeremiah John the Baptist Jonah Joshua Judaism Jude Judges Judith Lamentations languages Latin Leviticus libraries literature Lord of the Rings LOST Mandaeans Mandaic memes Methodism Micah monotheism morality Mormons movies music mythicism NASSCAL Nehemiah new perspective New Testament news Numbers Orthodox paganism panentheism pantheism Patheos Paul and his letters Pentecostals Philippians Philippians 2:6-11 philosophy physics Planet of the Apes podcast politics Progressive Christianity Protestantism Proverbs Psalms pseudoscience racism religion Revelation Roman Catholicism Romania Romans Ruth scams science science fiction Secret Gospel of Mark Society of Biblical Literature Song of Songs Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Swahili Syriac Taoism technology Terminator The Handmaid's Tale The Hobbit The Matrix theodicy theology theory Timeless Titus tomb Torchwood travel TRON Uncategorized United Kingdom Westworld X-Files young-earth creationism Zechariah

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 February 2007 January 2001

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz