‘Part of our creative resistance’

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, an author, pastor, social entrepreneur and theologian who founded and leads Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, took a six-member PC(USA) delegation around campus Wednesday and shared lunch with them in the signature domed restaurant on campus.

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Raheb has been a longtime partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “My claim to fame is I have participated in more PC(USA) General Assemblies than any other pastor. I’ve been to five of them,” he said. “I am proud of the PC(USA) and proud of your stands.”

As home to about 600 students, Dar al-Kalima University focuses on art, culture and design programs, which Raheb said “are really important” in carving out a Palestinian identity. About two-thirds of the students are women. “This is a university invested in women power and gender justice,” he said.

The striking campus “was designed by Palestinian minds and built by Palestinian hands,” he said. “It is a beacon for the whole region.”

Raheb outlined four major challenges that are “facing us and the region”

• Settler colonization in Palestine. “Settlers come to a land with the intent to replace indigenous people. This happened in the U.S. 400 years ago, and so it’s nothing new for you,” Raheb said. “Here, it has happened in a decade, which is unbelievable.” But even with the war in Gaza, Palestinians have been very resilient, he said, and “that’s a sign of hope.”
• What Raheb called “the Israelization of the world,” which accelerated after 9/11. Before that terror attack, people who would fly in to visit Israel were frustrated with the level of airport security in Israel. Israel began promoting itself as “being security experts par excellence,” and started exporting its technology after the attacks when authorities worked to make flying safer. “Think about how America looks more and more like Israel,” he said. Even walls have become more popular, and the current American president ran on a slogan of “build the wall” during his first campaign. A “global Palestine has risen up that was not there before. You can see people all over the world demonstrating for Palestine.” There is global Israel, he said, “but you also have global Palestine rising.”
• What Raheb called “the Zionization of theology,” which has been going on for a half-century, he said. Christian Zionism used to be limited to the Western world, he said. Now it’s “much stronger” in the Global South. Despite that, “I was shocked positively to see right now we have 20 young Palestinians doing their doctoral work in theology. All these young people are thinking decolonial,” he said.
• Militarization in the region. “The region is not poor; the region is made poor,” he said. In addition, the leaders in the Middle East “are not the best leaders. We didn’t do a good job creating a democratic and just society.” On this challenge, Rahab didn’t have good news. “The region is in a mess, and I’m not sure how long it will take to get out of this mess.”

Majors in art, culture and design can help address these challenges, he said. “If we did a lecture, 50 people might come, but 40 don’t need to be there” because “they know everything. Five people are there by mistake, and the other five are there to make problems.”

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But screen a film and “you will attract people who have not heard about Palestine before,” he said. The university was set to screen “Palestine 36,” which eight Dar al-Kalima students helped to make. The film has been shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98^th Oscars.

“When we started, there were no Palestinian films,” he said. “We now have films on Netflix our students have worked on.”

There’s also an increased demand for Palestinian art, and Raheb showed the visitors some of the works displayed at the university on their way to a delicious multi-course lunch prepared by student chefs.

“We are proud to be able to contribute to this process,” he said, “as part of our creative resistance.”

Dar al-Kalima University had a campus in Gaza, but it was destroyed during Holy week in 2024. The 40 staff members are all displaced and live in tents. “Every day I take a shower, I think of them. They are so resilient, and they say we cannot stop,” Raheb said.

Those staffers are working to provide art therapy for children in refugee camps in Gaza. To date they’ve reached 25,000 children. “It’s amazing work. I could not do that,” Raheb said. “It’s the resilience of our people.”