‘Everything is political’

When Martin Vegt tried to hang up a poster promoting a film on Palestine at his local Christian Reformed Church (CRC), he was rebuffed. “‘You’ve got to separate politics from church,’” he was told, “but the stance that they have now is political, too,” Vegt said in an interview with Christian Courier (CC) in early July. From Vernon, B.C., Vegt has been protesting Israel’s occupation of Palestine for more than 10 years. In his words, “everything is political.”

Based on its recent statement calling for sanctions, divestment and arms embargoes against Israel, the World Council of Churches would agree: “The unbearable suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza, and the escalating violence and oppression in the West Bank and in Jerusalem, compel the global fellowship of churches to speak with clarity, urgency and commitment to the principles of justice under international law and ethics.” But clarity can be hard to find, even when our heads of state speak out.

On June 24, Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared in an interview with CNN International and addressed President Trump’s involvement in bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. Carney said that Trump’s proposed ceasefire “does create the possibility of moving forward,” then added: “[Palestinians] living side by side in security with Israel – a Zionist, if you will, Palestinian state that recognizes the right of Israel not just to exist, but to prosper and not live in fear – we can’t have peace unless we move towards that.”

The confusing soundbite of “Zionist Palestinian state” travelled fast on social media. “That was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard,” Vegt said. “Palestine has the right to self-determination. I was really disappointed to hear that.”

Vegt’s activism roots

In 2015, Vegt travelled to Palestine and Israel with Christian Peacemaker Teams (now called Community Peacemaker Teams). In the company of Mennonites, Vegt participated in demonstrations and visited soldiers, lawyers and Bedouins. Hebron made the biggest impression on him: “There were so many checkpoints and places people weren’t allowed to go, and everything was fenced off. It was terrible. Now, of course, it’s worse.”

Before Vegt’s trip, he had begun what would become a close friendship with a Palestinian named Rajai, who grew up in Ramallah and attended a Catholic school in Jerusalem but, after leaving in 1967, was denied the right of return to his home. Today, “watching the suffering taking place there, it’s really hard on him. You know, we’re almost the same age. And he said to me, ‘You look way younger than me.’ And I’m thinking, ‘these years have been hard on you.’”

After the trip, Vegt joined the Vernon Palestine Study Group in the company of sociologists and professors, some of them retired. Vegt himself is a retired photographer who came to Canada from Holland when he was 14 years old. After October 7, 2023, the demographics of their group began to shift to include younger people, including students from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Okanagan. Rajai’s daughter Gabrielle, a teacher, began to take leadership.

Now, the group meets once or twice a week and holds a vigil or protest every weekend. They put Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) stickers on products sourced from Israel and the West Bank, and protest armament investments outside of banks. They visit and write letters to MPs. The group has organized Indigenous Blanket Exercises for those curious to learn more about Israel-Palestine land allotment. “And that was very productive and very educational.”

Shifting demographics in the group also means that more Jewish people are coming to CJPME meetings. Vegt still recalls Jewish men joining the Christian Peacemakers Team’s protest in East Jerusalem ten years ago with a large sign that read: “Zionism doesn’t equal Judaism.” In a conversation with loaded terms on every side, it’s hard to remember that difference. “And I have to say it to [someone defensive of Israel] again, you know – Zionism I have a problem with, not Judaism. Because the aggressive nature of Zionism is a terrible thing.”

Between generations

Once, when the Palestine study group met in Vegt’s home, “some of the younger Arabic people said to us older people that were involved, [who] come from Dutch and British ancestry, that we had white privilege. It was kind of tense, which was sad. I think we got things ironed out.” Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, an organization Vegt is a member of, has had similar conversations and made changes. Sometimes the very young are “overzealous and not very diplomatic,” Vegt reflected.

When UBC Okanagan had an encampment, the older members of the group “went there a number of times and encouraged the young people.” The two generations read their news in different mediums: Vegt listens to Al Jazeera as well as the CBC, but when I asked about the younger people, he reflected: “It all depends where their parents are at with all this and where they get their social media from, you know?”

I asked if there’s a shared sense of direction in the group – what actions are they requesting? “It’s like South Africa in that change wasn’t possible, but it was the pressure from the rest of the world that made the change, like BDS, for example. So it’s the responsibility now of our society and our world, especially in the West, to change things and to work on our governments to change. And we have a ways to go still.”

Churches respond

Vegt wishes that churches would send more delegations to Palestine, similar to the large delegation the CRC sent in 2006, or similar to the work of the Reformed Church in America in the Middle East. Churches could lean into their existing ecumenical partnerships, like KAIROS Canada, which partners regularly with KAIROS Palestine.

“We stand united with Palestinian and Israeli partners in calling for the international community to hold Israel and Hamas accountable for their violations of international law,” KAIROS Canada said in an “Ecumenical Statement of solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli partners.” The CRC’s Canadian churches are members of KAIROS.

“We call on members of our churches and all Canadians to act in support of the human rights and dignity of Palestinians, and in opposition to continuing violations of their legal, civil and human rights by the Israeli government and its allies. We have been advocating for the safe release of all captives and lament the violence. All lives are sacred and deserving of respect, dignity and safety.”

Now that visiting is difficult, Vegt recommends educational documentaries. And listening to knowledgeable voices in the CRC like that of Professor Gary Burge, New Testament theology professor at Calvin University. Several times, Vegt said that he’s just an “ordinary guy” in a movement with other ordinary people. “It’s a long time now and it’s getting a little tiring. But we always think of the people in Gaza and the hell they’re going through, and then we say to ourselves, ‘okay, let’s pull up our sleeves and keep going.’”

“Words are not enough,” the KAIROS statement said. “We call on church members to continue to pray and act for peace.”