One Sunday In Seattle
There were so many ways to spend this past Sunday in Seattle. From cheering on the Mariners’ victory at T-Mobile Park to buying your favorite fruits and veggies at one of the city’s famous farmer’s markets, many people enjoyed this year’s Mother’s Day soaking in the high-70s sun.
Interestingly, this past Sunday also witnessed a clash of protests on the University of Washington’s campus. The existing pro-Palestine encampment braced themselves for an encounter with an abrupt pro-Israel rally. Led by Seattle Church The Pursuit NW, Russell Johnson, Pursuit’s pastor, spoke to a crowd of 200 individuals enveloped in Israeli and American flags. Unlike other protests around the country, this one remained non-violent.
As of May 16th, Over 35,000 people in Palestine have been killed by the Israeli occupation, more than 15,000 of them children. Yet, not every American feels that these war crimes are an urgent matter. Complacency is more or less the norm. However, certain groups of people still find protest meaningful. In Seattle, it’s pro-Palestine-leaning Gen Z and this pro-Israel church.
Younger generations like Gen Z demonstrate a historical pattern of standing up to injustice — around the same time the pro-Palestine college protests started, Kent State University marked the 54th anniversary of its 1970 shooting of 13 students during an anti-Vietnam War protest.
But a Washington Church protesting against perceived injustice — on the UW campus — during a Sunday is…peculiar.
Here’s a bit of information about Pursuit NW. They are a non-denominational church with three locations across western Washington — Kirkland, Seattle, and Snohomish. This church of assorted Christians got together not only to support Israel on the UW campus, but also helped assemble counter-protests at UCLA, USC, and Columbia University.
While their church website mentions nothing about Israel and Pastor Johnson chose not to provide a statement to The Seattle Times about last Sunday’s protest, their Instagram page provides some insight into their motivations. In posts persuading individuals to join them in counter-protest on UCLA, UW, and other campuses, they say, “We are taking a stand against the rampant anti-Semitism that is plaguing our nation. / Partner organizations are joining us from across the nation. Join us as we pray for the peace of Jerusalem!”
Christian Zionism is not uncommon. Other pro-Israel Christians include the evangelicals, who support the occupation of Palestine because of their end-of-times beliefs. While they are Zionist, they are not too crazy about Jewish people as a key aspect of this prophecy is that non-believers, such as Jewish and Muslim people, will perish during Jesus’ resurrection. It is Christian nationalism that fuels many Christians’ love for Israel.
But Pursuit NW is specifically against “anti-Semitism;” implying that they support the Jewish people — but do they really?
The word “anti-Semitism” has been tossed around a lot recently. Israeli and American politicians currently use that word to denounce the widespread criticism of Israel’s actions. Notably, on May 1st, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that melds criticism of Israel with “anti-Semitism.” It codifies a definition of anti-Semitism created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). It won by a margin of 320 to 91.
However, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already bans discrimination against Jewish people.
Although this bill is supposed to seem as if it protects Jewish people, that is not its true goal. Instead, the bill aims to limit freedom of speech on college campuses. If this bill were to become law, the Department of Education would be barred from subsidizing campuses that allow this new kind of “anti-Semitic” speech.
Similarly, if this is the definition that Pursuit NW believes in, then it can be assumed that this non-denominational church condemns anti-Semitism to promote Christian Zionism, not to support Jewish people.
According to their theology document (an online PDF), the Pursuit does not support the right for gay people to get married or the right for transgender individuals to exist. Considering their prejudice, it’s hard to believe that the goal of their protest is to support Jewish people, even if they condemn “anti-Semitism.”
The Pursuit NW is not a crusader for Jewish rights, it is a parasite of complacency.
Complacency in America crushes collective action that combats actual injustice. It creates a feeding ground in which hateful organizations like Pursuit NW can leech on the hysteria of Israel’s occupation, allowing them to grow and thrive.
The perpetual theme of complacency leads to varying, yet overwhelmingly negative consequences for the Palestinian, Israeli, and American people. The right’s rise to power does not happen overnight; it happens through conflicts such as these in which no one, except for the younger generations, is willing to make sacrifices that ultimately help others. America’s complacency and complicity are what originally allowed Israel to become an alt-right state and, now, a culprit of genocide.
