IPMN Statement on the Murder of Shireen Abu Akleh
May 14, 2022 — In the early hours of May 11, 2022 in Jenin, located in the Occupied West Bank, Shireen Abu Akleh—a Palestinian-American journalist with Al Jazeera—was assassinated by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) snipers while wearing a clearly labeled 'PRESS' vest. This senseless act of violence is a war crime and to call it anything else does further injustice to the memory of this truth-telling woman.
A revered Palestinian voice, Abu Akleh has been telling the story of the Palestinian people for over two decades. A leader and role model, Abu Akleh spread the true message of life on the ground in Palestine to people across the globe. As Mohammad Hawwash, her former colleague at Al Jazeera, describes, Abu Akleh was a “professional and unbiased journalist who conveyed the reality and events as they are.” Her witness to the Palestinian people, to those living in the diaspora, and folks committed to truth-telling around the globe can be seen in the outpouring of those speaking out about her death. Abu Akleh is the 55th journalist to be murdered by Israeli Occupation Forces since 2000.
IPMN stands against violence in all forms and works alongside our faith partners for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. As stated in our statement on last year's ceasefire between Israel and Hamas May 28, 2021, peace is not the mere absence of armed, active conflict, but is an environment free from the everyday violences of the Occupation. For more than 70 years, the apartheid system of repression that Israel has inflicted on Palestine has been allowed to continue due to the ongoing silence of a majority of Americans. As Phyllis McGinley, the late American children’s book author said, “Sticks and stones are hard on bones aimed with angry art. Words can sting like anything but silence breaks the heart.” Now, more than ever is a time for speaking truth to power. If not now, when? To our Palestinian partners, and all those around the world impacted by the work of Shireen Abu Akleh, we see your broken hearts.
As Christ-followers we deplore this action by the IDF and call on President Biden and the entire Biden Administration for a independent, international, thorough, and transparent investigation into the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh. As an American citizen Abu Akleh deserves to have the U.S. government react with strong diplomatic measures to bring her murderers to justice, especially when they are an ally to the U.S. To reflect the words of Cornel West, we must ensure that the world never forgets her courageous witness.