The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP) is a left-of-center organization co-founded by Philip Farah, a founding member of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. ¹ The organization states it was founded when the United Methodist Kairos Response Group asked Palestinian Christians to help push for the United Methodist Church to divest from “corporations that profit from the Israeli occupation.” This is in line with the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. ²

The organization published a letter in June 2021, written by its co-chair Alex Awad, that claimed designating Hamas as a terrorist organization hides a “complicated truth” that Hamas is “a reflection and result of the untenable and unjust status quo in the land.” The letter also stated that “a sizable number of Palestinians support Hamas,” as it is “seen as less corrupt and more effective in governing” than the Fatah political party. ³ The letter called for the United States to “support fair and transparent elections for Palestinians, including Hamas and their candidates,” as well as “engage with Hamas in order to foster cooperation.” ³

Background

The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP) is a left-of-center organization based in Vienna, Virginia. The organization was co-founded by Philip Farah, a founding member of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. ¹

PCAP states it was founded when the United Methodist Kairos Response Group asked Palestinian Christians to help push for the United Methodist Church to divest from “corporations that profit from the Israeli occupation.” This is in line with boycott, divestment, and sanctions (better known by its acronym BDS), an international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel as the expression of the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination by isolating the country economically through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions. ^{2 4}

PCAP lists the BDS movement on its website’s “resource” page, and lists supporting BDS initiatives as one of its goals. It also lists Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) as a resource. FOSNA is the United States-based advocacy organization affiliated with the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel), a Jerusalem-based anti-Israel Palestinian Christian organization. ^{5 2 6}

Political Activities

World Council of Churches Assembly

The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace wrote a letter to the 11th World Council of Churches Assembly in September 2022. The assembly is the highest governing body of the World Council of Churches. ^{7 8}

PCAP called for the assembly to “condemn Israeli apartheid against Palestinians,” an end to “Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories,” and for the World Council of Churches and its constituent churches to “undertake a program of active advocacy for Palestinian human rights” based on international law and United Nations resolutions that acknowledge the “Palestinian call” for boycott, divestment, and sanctions to be used as legitimate strategies and “an expression of free speech.” ⁷

Christian Zionism Series

The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace launched a series of articles that, it claimed, attempted to link Christian Zionism with the “Israeli apartheid regime” and its “ghettoization and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.” ⁹

PCAP also claims that Christian Zionists are “among the leading supporters of Israeli Apartheid, not only in North America, but also in Latin America, Africa, and around the world,” adding that the organization aims to “expose the colonial roots of Christian Zionism and show how its adherents play a major role in supporting racist and militarist policies and politicians in the U.S. and elsewhere.” ¹⁰

Affiliated Organizations

The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace endorsed the March on Washington for Gaza, a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The march was organized by the American Muslim Task Force on Palestine, a network of Islamic organizations including American Muslims for Palestine, an anti-Israel organization that has been described by the Anti-Defamation League as “the leading organization providing anti-Zionist training” in America; the Muslim Legal Fund of America, which is vocally opposed to Israeli policies regarding Palestinians and encourages the U.S. government to curb aid to Israel; the Muslim Students Association, an Islamic community and advocacy group with chapters in universities throughout the United States and Canada; and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent advocacy organization for Muslims in the United States that has been accused of having ties to Hamas. ^{11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18}

Controversy

The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace published a letter in June 2021, written by its co-chair Alex Awad, that attempted to defend the Palestinian Islamist terrorist faction Hamas. ³

The letter, which was addressed to President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, claimed that designating Hamas as a terrorist organization hides a “complicated truth” that Hamas is “a reflection and result of the untenable and unjust status quo in the land.” The letter also stated that “a sizable number of Palestinians support Hamas,” as it is “seen as less corrupt and more effective in governing” than the Fatah political party. ³

The letter called for the United States to “support fair and transparent elections for Palestinians, including Hamas and their candidates,” as well as “engage with Hamas in order to foster cooperation.” ³

Financials

PCAP received just $150 in total revenue in 2013, all from contributions, while its total expenses amounted to $357. The organization’s total revenue dramatically increased to $26,358 in 2014, which all came from contributions, gifts, and grants. The organization’s total expenses amounted to $6,296. ^{19 20}

PCAP received a grant of $2,000 from the Adoni Family Foundation in 2022 and $6,000 from America’s Charities in the same year. ^{21 22}

People

Philip Farah is the co-founder of the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace and a founding member of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. Farah studied at the Anglican St. George’s School in Jerusalem, as well as the American University of Beirut where he studied political science. Farah earned a Ph.D. in natural resources and environmental economics from the University of New Mexico, and works as an economist in Washington, D.C. ²³

1.  Farah, Philip. “Philip Farah.” HuffPost. June 29, 2017. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.huffpost.com/author/pfarah52-437.
2. “About Us — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.” July 8, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.pcap-us.org/mission.
3. “PCAP News — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.” March 8, 2016. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.pcap-us.org/news.
4. “Calling out BDS anti-Semitism.” Canadian Jewish News. August 26, 2015. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://thecjn.ca/perspectives/opinions/calling-bds-anti-semitism/.
5. “Resources/Partners — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.” March 8, 2001. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.pcap-us.org/resources.
6. Elman, Miriam. “Sabeel – The anti-Israel Christian activists you never heard of.” Legal Insurrection. June 28, 2015. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://legalinsurrection.com/2015/06/sabeel-the-anti-israel-christian-activists-you-never-heard-of/.
7. “Official Statements — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.” December 8, 2022. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.pcap-us.org/official-statements.
8. “The Assembly.” World Council of Churches. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.oikoumene.org/about-the-wcc/organizational-structure/assembly.
9.   “PCAP Christian Zionism Series — Friends of Sabeel North America.” Friends of Sabeel North America. November 1, 2022. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.fosna.org/preach-palestine-blog/christian-zionism-and-the-continuing-nakba.
10. “PCAP Christian Zionism Series — Friends of Sabeel North America.” Friends of Sabeel North America. November 1, 2022. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.fosna.org/preach-palestine-blog/christian-zionism-and-the-continuing-nakba.
11. “Endorsers.” March on Washington for Gaza. December 30, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/endorsers/.
12. “March on Washington for Gaza.” Accessed July 8, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/.
13. “American Muslims for Palestine.” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.adl.org/resources/profile/american-muslims-palestine.
14. “March on Washington for Gaza Supporters Send Letter with Demands to President Biden.” Council on American Islamic Relations. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.cair.com/press_releases/march-on-washington-for-gaza-supporters-send-letter-with-demands-to-president-biden/.
15. “The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).” Anti-Defamation League March 9, 2022. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/council-american-islamic-relations-cair.
16. Gerstein, Josh. “Judge snubbed U.S. Islamic groups in secret ruling.” November 1, 2009. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2009/11/judge-snubbed-us-islamic-groups-in-secret-ruling-022503.
17. “UAE Cabinet approves list of designated terrorist organisations, groups.” Emirates News Agency. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://wam.ae/en/details/1395272478814.
18. Pipes, Daniel. “CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment.” March 7, 2006. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/916/cair-islamists-fooling-the-establishment.
19. “Palestinian Christian Alliance For Peace – 2013.” ProPublica. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/510555731/2014_06_EO%2F51-0555731_990EZ_201312.
20. “Palestinian Christian Alliance For Peace – 2014.” ProPublica. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/510555731/2015_05_EO%2F51-0555731_990EZ_201412
21. “Andoni Family Foundation – 2022.” ProPublica. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/831781081/202311159349100236/IRS990PF.
22. “America’s Charities – 2022 Tax Return.” America’s Charities. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.charities.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Americas-Charities-2022-990-Tax-Return-Public-Disclosure-copy.pdf.
23. “Philip Farah — Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.” Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace. July 8, 2000. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.pcap-us.org/philip-farah.