Born 1965 in Al-Rameh, (Galilee). Schooling in Al-Rameh, Studied at Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Seminary, Jerusalem . In 1983 studied in the Theological faculty at University of Thessalonikia, Greece, where he was awarded M.A and Ph.D. degrees. In 1991 he was ordained priest in the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre), Jerusalem, and was made archimandrite by Patriarch Diodoros I of blessed memory, who put him in charge of the Arab section of the Patriarchate, and named him spokesman . He taught religious studies at Orthodox schools in Jerusalem and Ramleh, and the Arab College in Haifa he taught church history and Arab civilization for seven years . He established the Orthodox youth movement in the Holy Land, for which he serves as spiritual father. He was elected chairman of the committee to publish books in Arabic on religious studies for use in schools in Galilee and in Palestine . He oversaw broadcasts about the Orthodox faith on the voice of Palestine radio station. He is active in the local and International ecumenical movement, and participates in Muslim Christians dialogues.
Q. Father Dr. Attallah Hanna, it is very obvious that this campaign launched by Israel against you is as a result of your nationalistic views, and a continuation of their attempt to create a schism between Palestinian Muslims and Christians. Can you tell us more about this campaign, and which sides are involved in it?
A. This campaign has been launched against all nationalistic figures that call for the Palestinian right of return to their homeland. In fact, several nationalistic and religious figures were targeted in the past, as was the case with Sheikh Ikrama Sabri, the Mufti of Jerusalem for example.
The issue of my arrest is a grave indicator especially that it is the first time that a Christian religious leader and official is arrested in such an inhumane and non-acceptable manner that is devoid of all human ethics and without any prior notification. A few days prior to my arrest, unidentified individuals assaulted me as I was on my way to attend a meeting held at the Schmidt Girls' College in the old city of Jerusalem. In the past three months, a far-reaching defamation campaign was launched against me in a number of Israeli newspapers accusing me of supporting terrorism and violence and condoling suicide attacks. I have a strong conviction that the slander, assault and arrest are all part of a chain of accusations meant to deliver a message to me, and the rest of the Christian and Moslem religious leaders. In light of the tragic and critical conditions that our country is passing through with the continuation of the Israeli siege and policy of closure, especially after the September 11th attacks, and in light of the global events, it seems that the campaign solicits Israeli interest. The Israeli authority has launched a campaign aiming at silencing all those nationalistic voices in Jerusalem and claiming that these voices support terrorism, violence, etc. I believe that the only concerned party is the Israeli authority. In my case there could be some elements involved from within the Church itself, and this is something that I cannot disregard, especially that there are those who do not share my stance on issues pertaining to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The dimensions of this campaign are very serious as the campaign is a grave infringement on the rights of religious leaders in carrying out their spiritual and human responsibilities as well as on their right of mobility especially that the spiritual mission of the church in Jerusalem is not restricted to Palestine but goes beyond to several other Arab countries. We go beyond the borders set by Sykes Pico and maintain communication with several Arab countries. As to the case of the visit to Syria considered by Israel an enemy country, we say that we are not bound by the Israeli stance. The number of people who belong to the Greek Orthodox Church in Syria exceeds a million and the number in Lebanon exceeds half a million. Israel has no right of preventing us from visiting Syria and Lebanon under the claim that these are enemy countries especially that we maintain spiritual and nationalistic ties with these countries. When we visit these countries we meet with all political and religious officials with no exceptions whatsoever. We are open to everyone. Israel has no right of claiming that we maintain relations with terrorist organizations because what Israel calls terrorist maybe to us nationalistic, freedom fighters. We refuse to accept the terms that Israel dictates; therefore, what Israel condemns or what it elevates may not be necessarily as such to us.
We condemn terrorism and violence and that stems from our ethical and religious convictions and from our sense of belonging to a nation rich in culture and civilization. Therefore all oppressors should not disregard the fact that our region is the birthplace of inspiration, religions and civilizations.
Q. Israel has and continues to directly intervene into the Orthodox Church's affairs and succeeded in removing you from your position as the spokesperson for the Orthodox Church. What are your feelings towards Israel's interventions and what does it mean to arrest an Archimandrite in your position for investigation?
A. The ongoing attempts made by the Israeli occupation authorities at intruding in the affairs of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem date back to 1967 when Israel occupied Jerusalem. The Church has long resisted these attempts. When Patriarch Irinios was elected a year ago, pressure and blackmail continued to be exerted on him to make him give concessions to Israel in return for an official recognition by the Israeli government of him as Patriarch. Both Jordan and the Palestinian National Authority gave an official recognition immediately after his election a year ago. Israel has not given him recognition yet. Patriarch Irinios confided with me several months ago over the fact that Israelis have made attempts to secure demands from him in return for recognition. These demands maybe summarized in the following three points: first, that the Church take a neutral stance in the case of the negotiations on Jerusalem, second, all nationalistic voices be silenced and finally, the church surrender land and real estate belonging to it to Israel.
I believe that the act of ousting me from my position as the official spokesperson of the Church and the other measures taken are closely related to the pressure and blackmail exercised especially that the Patriarch confirmed to me months ago that I am targeted and that Israel has demanded that he oust me from my position. This is what actually happened later on based on the Israeli desire to conceal the Christian dimension of the Palestinian issue. Israel attempts to present this conflict as a Jewish-Moslem religious conflict, and it also attempts to neutralize the Christian position, and therefore it is irritated by the growing Christian voices raised on the Palestinian issue. We have always asserted that the Church in Palestine is there to serve all Palestinians for it is a church for the people. It is also a church that is deeply rooted in this land and the Arab Palestinian Christians and Moslems who live in it. We have always asserted our resistance to the Israeli pressure, and we believe that in the case of the arrest itself Israel has transgressed all borders.
Q. You are a man of God and a theologian, how do you explain the positions of some Western Churches, which support the Israeli occupation of Palestine on the basis of the Old Testament, branding Israelis as "the chosen people"?
A. It should be made known to everyone that Israel occupied this land with the Balfore 'promise' and not with God's promise, and there is much discrepancy between the Balfore 'promise' and God's promise. God according to our religious books does not admit occupation, oppression, humiliation and deprivation of human life.
The Zionist interpretation of the Holy Bible is faulty and disguises the truth and is considered a serious infringement on the spiritualities, the creeds and the essence of the Holy Bible. Zionism takes verses from the Holy Bible and interprets those verses according to its own purposes that justify occupation, aggression, tyranny and control over a land that it does not own. The Holy Bible is innocent of these false proclamations and deceitful interpretations. No one should believe that anyone who claims Christianity is a true Christian for there are in this world "false Christians" who do not belong to Christianity and its spirituality in any manner whatsoever. Therefore, all the wrongs committed by the West should not be tied to Christianity in any manner especially that there are Christian, atheist and anti-Christian movements all at work there. There is much discrepancy between saying the "Christian West" and Christianity of the West for the West is not all Christian.
These groups that claim Christianity but are in fact Zionist who support Israeli occupation, are tools used in the service of Zionism. They have taken the United States and other countries as their haven from which to infiltrate Christianity and vilify its creeds and its humane essence. We do not recognize these groups that are most often Protestant groups holding numerous names but with one sole aim which is the service of Zionism. The Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Arab Anglican churches spurn these intruding and suspicious groups.
The people united will never be divided
Date posted: April 30, 2024
By Joharah Baker
I was born in the United States and lived there through early childhood, but since returning with my family to Palestine, I have never wanted to go back. The United States has always evoked mixed feelings in me. I have a certain nostalgia for the place of my birth but my overall sentiments always culminated in a sense of resentment for this so-called superpower that has systematically aided in my people’s oppression, occupation and dehumanization.
That is, until present day. The scenes of American university campuses breaming with students in kuffiyehs, waving Palestinian flags and resisting the brutality of the police and their own university administrations, has uplifted my spirit in ways I cannot fully articulate. In a word, what is happening on US campuses today is validation of our people, of Palestine and of our struggle. To those who live comfortable lives in free countries, this may sound like an exaggeration, but for my people, who have been denied their very right to exist, who have been demoralized, demonized and dehumanized, this is huge. We are seeing students of all races, creeds, backgrounds and religions, calling for an end to the genocide in the Gaza Strip and marching for a free Palestine and divestment from the Israeli occupation. We are hearing Jewish voices, debunking Zionist propaganda and its below-the-belt attempts to conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. We are being validated for our struggle, for our resistance against oppression, occupation and settler-colonialism and we are finally being heard and seen.
Students have always been the litmus test for social and political justice. Rallies and demonstrations on university campuses have been the driving force against imperialist wars throughout the ages, the Vietnam War being the best example. However, what is so incredible about this movement is that American students are not directly involved in Palestine. Students are not being drafted into an army to fight on foreign soil, so the stakes are not as high for them at the personal level. What is happening today is the direct result of the intersectionality of struggles and the belief that no one is free until all of us are free. This is a force far more powerful than a genocidal regime will ever be.
The scenes from university campuses in the United States and now in Europe, juxtaposed against the crushing images from the Gaza Strip, are a balm for our wounded hearts. We feel a kinship with these incredible Gen Zs who have put their very lives on the line for Palestine. We send them love, energy and solidarity as we watch them being thrown to the ground, handcuffed and arrested and we burst with pride as we hear them chant ‘Free Palestine”.
This is a moment in time that must not be squandered. May these American university protests spread like wildfire throughout campuses across the world, putting to shame both Zionism and American imperialism, which has allowed this racist ideology to survive. The Palestinians have never wavered in their determination to liberate their land from Israeli occupation and oppression, whether they do it alone or with the help of friends. Today, thanks to the beautiful people all over the world who have championed our cause alongside of us, a free Palestine is not only an inevitability, it is just around the corner.
Who will hear their screams?
Date posted: April 01, 2024
By Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
When Israel claimed women were sexually assaulted on a mass scale on October 7, the world exploded. Almost the entirety of Israel’s genocidal war was based on these and other allegations, many unsubstantiated. We all remember the infamous’40 beheaded babies” story, do we not?
This article is not about Israeli allegations per se, neither will it only focus on violations against Palestinian women. This is about a world that is immediately up in arms when one side merely alleges atrocities while it turns a blind eye to actual documented violations against the “other”.
In Gaza, it is painfully clear that we indeed, are ‘the other’. How else can anyone explain the muted cries of women being stripped, raped, starved and murdered practically in real time, on our phone screens, documented in UN reports and described in horrific detail in eyewitness testimonies? There is no other explanation than that Palestinians are what Arundhati Roy calls “Children of a lesser God”. We are the victims of deep-rooted colonialism, one whose geographic demarcations may have vanished but whose insidious, dehumanizing mentality still prevails and manifests in the ugliest of manners.
For nearly six months, Palestinians have endured unspeakable atrocities at the hands of Israel’s occupying army. Today, the Gaza Strip has been reduced to an emaciated shell of what it once was. As Gaza is being systematically decimated and ethnically cleansed, the world, for the most part, looks on. Barring sympathetic supporters and a few well-intended but timid political actors, nothing has been done to stop the carnage. Palestinians once believed there was no way the world would allow Israel to erase Gaza off the map, no way it could see a live-streamed genocide and do nothing. But that is exactly what is happening.
Then, when we thought things could not get any worse, something unfathomable emerged from the deathtrap of Gaza. When this happened, we were certain it would be the turning point in this hellish nightmare. Well-documented reports, corroborated by the UN and eyewitnesses on the ground, told of harrowing stories of sexual assault against Palestinian women in Gaza.
We were paralysed with horror when we heard of women being raped by Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza, assaulted and stripped in front of their families. What’s worse, we all know that in times like these, the undocumented atrocities will far outnumber those documented. Who knows what horrors will unfold once the dust settles in Gaza; no doubt they will be so horrific, our entire nation will be traumatized for years to come.
The real question here is not how Israel’s soldiers perpetrated such gross violations. I think by now we can all agree that this depraved military establishment and its political echelon to boot, has dehumanized and vilified Palestinians so much and for so long, they will justify just about anything. No, the question is more about the moral compass of the rest of the world. While alliances and political interests are always part of the equation, even when the issue pertains to basic human rights, nothing can better explain the blatant hypocrisy, double standards and loss of collective humanity than the deafening silence today.
Our women have not only been killed, starved and displaced, they have been exposed to the very violations that sparked global outrage and a genocidal war against an entire population under occupation, unprecedented in modern history. This is not only unacceptable, it is an indelible stain on humanity. Sexual violence is a crime so heinous it is imperative to condemn and prevent, no matter the perpetrator or the victim. That must always be the baseline in any argument.
Palestinians will never get past this genocide; it is not something you can come back from. However, be assured, this is not only about the Palestinians. The world’s women, the majority of so-called feminists who have remained disgustingly silent, must know this: when you do not stand up for women, all women, no one will stand up for you in your time of need.
A new day will come
Date posted: February 14, 2024
By Joharah Baker
I once heard that anger is not a real emotion, but a cover for other feelings such as sadness, disappointment or fear. You need to peel back that outer layer to understand what is really going on inside.
Strange how this has lately resurfaced for me, but I think I know why. Lately, I and surely, millions of other Palestinians, have been filled with a blinding rage -- at Israel, at the United States, and at the world overall. This is a rage that is all-encompassing, the depth of which is palpable at the cellular level, permeating every molecule and every atom of our being. The genocide in the Gaza Strip has grated our emotions raw and we are left stinging and burning from our head to our toes.
Our anger is like a huge magnetosphere and we are all trapped inside, but its walls are translucent and we can see the source of our rage mocking us from beyond. We Palestinians are angry because we are so disappointed and we are angry because we are disillusioned and we are angry because we are drowning in sorrow.
Our disappointment lies in the fact that the world has failed us in the worst possible way and has allowed the unspeakable to be committed against us. Genocide is the ‘mother of all crimes’ and, contrary to the promises, the conventions and the historical lessons the world was supposed to learn, it has been committed over and over again. The Palestinian genocide, however, is unique in at least one way: it is live-streamed, which means no one can claim ignorance and everyone has a responsibility in stopping it. Hence, our disappointment is not limited to countries, Arab or otherwise, or to international and human rights organizations. It has spread to everyone in our orbit; acquaintances and people we thought were friends, but whose silence towards our slaughter is a deafening betrayal. Our sense of disappointment has discolored every relationship it touches because every relationship for us is a dichotomy: you are either with or against genocide and either support Palestine in word and deed, or not.
Our anger is a thin veil concealing our disillusion with the international community and its institutions, supposedly established to protect people in situations precisely like ours. We have confirmed what we knew all along, that these organizations were constructed for some and not all, for colonial powers and not those who suffer beneath them. Even when the highest court in the land rules in our favor, the Global North ensures that its ruling will not be implemented to save us, the oppressed, indigenous brown people whose lives apparently do not matter.
And finally, our anger is a survival mechanism to shield us from our own grief. Our sorrow over the murdered men, women and children, defenseless, homeless, starving and shivering in the cold, is so deep, so immense, we ourselves cannot fathom it. If we dare peek behind this anger and truly feel a fraction of the aching in our hearts, it will paralyze us for sure, because no people can endure the magnitude and scale of such suffering and not lose their minds.
We Palestinians know we cannot let go and that a new day is near. We know we must hold on just a little bit longer, because Palestine depends on it. We are no strangers to oppression, suffering and sacrifice and we know the price of our freedom has and continues to be painfully high. Still, we also know that a life without shackles and the yoke of oppression around our weary necks is the only life worth living.
