Rethinking Israel, Palestine, and the Faith That Formed Us

Episode 8- Lessons Learned, Implications, and Next Steps

In this final episode of our Rethinking Israel, Palestine, and the Faith that Formed Us Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin reflect on what they’ve learned and what comes next. They trace how unexamined evangelical theology shaped their early views of Israel, and how new frameworks of history, faith, and justice helped them see Palestine more clearly. Together they explore Palestinian Liberation Theology and the conviction that no one’s liberation can depend on another’s oppression. Erna shares her growing sense of responsibility to speak back to the evangelical world that formed her, challenging deconstructing Christians to move from critique to accountability.  Barnabas offers reflections on repentance, prayer, and formation — and both describe how meeting Palestinians who refuse to be enemies or victims reshaped their understanding of peacemaking.  📚 Mentioned resources: They Called Me a Lioness, Where Olive Trees Weep, A Wiser World, and the Ezra Klein Show with Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Episode 7- Learning History, Undoing Myths

In this episode, Erna shares how digging into history after Oct 7 reshaped her evangelical frameworks—and made Palestinian lives, losses, and resistance visible. From the Nakba to the Oslo Accords to the separation wall, we trace the events and ideas that formed today’s reality and ask what faithful ethics require now. Story snapshots * Iqrit (Iqrīt): A Christian Palestinian village ordered to evacuate; residents won a court ruling to return—then the army demolished the village on Christmas Eve, 1951. Families still hold weddings and Christmas Mass among the ruins, waiting for a right of return. Key terms * Nakba: “Catastrophe”; Palestinian dispossession in 1948. * Intifada: “Shaking off” oppression; popular uprisings (late 1980s; early 2000s). * Settlements: Israeli civilian communities built in occupied territory. * Areas A/B/C: Oslo-era administrative divisions of the West Bank (A = PA civil/security; B = PA civil/Israeli security; C = full Israeli control). Resources mentioned * Conquer & Divide (interactive history since 1967) — https://www.btselem.org/maps [https://www.btselem.org/maps] * UN data on fatalities/injuries (2008–2020) for context on asymmetry  [https://www.statista.com/chart/16516/israeli-palestinian-casualties-by-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank/?srsltid=AfmBOootEuKY1S5oOO8AQp57UV0VXwf44KbhQvHsO8Y8Ya9LgMc8pgZN] * Great March of Return (2018) — Learn more about the March of Return [https://www.unrwa.org/campaign/gaza-great-march-return] ✉️ Questions for our upcoming Ask Us Anything: rethinkingpalestine@gmail.com 📸 DM us on Instagram: @RethinkingPalestine

Episode 6- Didn't God Give the Land to the Jews?

Episode 6 · “Didn’t God Give the Land to the Jews?” For many Christians shaped by American evangelicalism, the phrase “God gave the land to the Jews” feels like a complete thought. In this episode, Barnabas Lin helps us expand how we think about that statement by asking: Why did God give the land to the Jewish people? From Genesis through the prophets, Barnabas traces how the Old Testament tells a much fuller story—one where the gift of land comes with a vocation: to live justly, care for neighbors, rest the earth, and resist empire. Together with Erna Kim Hackett, he unpacks how partial readings of Scripture, shaped by colonialism, have hidden that bigger picture. Barnabas invites us to see the entire witness of the Old Testament and the lessons it is trying to teach us and the invitation to live in right relationship—with God, one another, and the land itself. 📖 Key texts: Genesis 12 & 15 · Deuteronomy 26 & 28 · Leviticus 25 · Isaiah 2 & 11 · Luke 24  💌 Send questions for our upcoming Ask Us Anything episode: rethinkingpalestine@gmail.com 📱 Follow us on Instagram: @rethinkingpalestine [https://instagram.com/rethinkingpalestine]

Episode 5- Why Is It So Hard to Learn About What is Happening?

In this candid conversation, hosts Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin unpack the blocks that Erna encountered while trying to understand Gaza and the broader Israel/Palestine context after October 7. Together they trace how biases, limited U.S. frameworks, and deeply embedded evangelical formation can hinder our learning. Erna names the specific narratives she had to push through—about the Middle East being too complex, about who is marginalized, and about biblical claims to land—while Barnabas offers tools for lowering “learning anxiety,” holding grief without dehumanizing anyone, and moving toward peacemaking. This is the first of three “pick-your-own-adventure” episodes: today’s on blocks, next on biblical frameworks, and then on history. WHAT WE COVER * Why learning stalls: “It’s too complicated,” Islamophobia, and fatalism about the Middle East * When U.S. frameworks don’t fit: Power analysis, marginalization, and why Gaza didn’t match Erna’s default lenses * Reframing the players: Distinguishing Jewish identity, Israeli state policy, and Palestinian experience * History that shifted things: Nakba (1948), Right of Return, and Israel’s Law of Return (1950) * Indigeneity & settler-colonial language: What fits, what doesn’t, and why weaponizing indigeneity isn’t Indigenous * Christian formation blocks: “God gave the land,” how Joshua is used, and evangelical tolerance for violence * Learning vs. survival anxiety: Creating space to learn without abandoning urgency or people’s safety * Global church perspective: Meeting historic Christian traditions in Jerusalem and decentering a “cowboy” evangelical lens * Owning responsibility: How evangelicals can steward their influence toward justice for Palestinians and Israelis KEY TERMS & IDEAS  * Nakba (The Catastrophe) — 1948 displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. * Right of Return — The international-law principle that displaced people can return to their homes. * Law of Return (Israel, 1950) — Grants Jewish people (and certain family members) the right to immigrate and obtain citizenship in Israel. * Christian Zionism — A theological/political movement that ties biblical promises to modern state policy; often shapes U.S. evangelical views. * Learning Anxiety vs. Survival Anxiety — Change theory lenses: we change when survival pressure outweighs the fear/vulnerability of learning. STAY CONNECTED * Ask Us Anything: Send questions for our upcoming AMA: rethinkingpalestine@gmail.com * Instagram: @RethinkingPalestine * Interest List for Future Witnessing Trips: rethinkingpalestine.com * Share the Episode: If you have a friend who’s new to conversations about the West Bank and Gaza, pass this along.

Episode 4- Witnessing Trip to the West Bank Part 2

Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin continue sharing what they witnessed in the West Bank (March 2025) with the Palestinian-led organization Sabeel. In Ramallah, they meet a multi-generational family of resisters—including Ahed—whose accounts of imprisonment, administrative detention, and psychological warfare confront the hosts with challenging moral clarity about colonialism, complicity, and courage. They also experience spaces of life and joy: a youth circus school, a park full of picnicking families, and a dance studio where Dabke becomes cultural memory and resistance. The episode contrasts West Jerusalem’s ease with the walled-in reality of Bethlehem—checkpoints, permits, separate roads—and reflects on a faith that refuses dehumanization while insisting on truth, perseverance, and the everyday work of building beauty. Send questions for our upcoming Ask Us Anything episode to: rethinkingpalestine@gmail.com Organizations that were mentioned * Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center — Hosted the witnessing trip; FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America) helps connect and coordinate groups from North America. * Palestinian Circus School — Trauma-informed arts and play for youth; cultivating confidence, community, and healing. * Dar al-Kalima University (Bethlehem) — Led by Rev. Mitri Raheb; arts/formation programs that teach building beauty amid rubble. * Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bethlehem / Rev. Munther Isaac — Pastoral witness and public theology (“Christ in the Rubble”). Resources mentioned * They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom — Memoir connected to Ahed’s story. * Where Olive Trees Weep — Documentary offering first-person stories that mirror much of what the hosts witnessed. Join the list for potential future witnessing trips: rethinkingpalestine.com Share this episode with a friend who’s new to the West Bank conversation.