FOSNA joins 500+ congregations and communities in pledge to become “Apartheid-Free”
(March 21, 2025) – Today, FOSNA joins with communities all over the world to mark an important milestone: over 500 congregations and organizations have taken a pledge declaring themselves “apartheid-free.” Pledge signers commit to cut ties with Israel’s apartheid regime against Palestinians and to oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression. These 500+ groups represent hundreds of thousands of constituents and include congregations, faith communities, solidarity organizations, non-profits, student organizations, veterans’ groups, businesses, and even municipalities. A map and full list of apartheid-free communities can be found here.
“We took the pledge because we believe in it,” said FOSNA National Organizer Rev. Chad Collins. "We believe, as Christians, that we are called to be about the work of Jesus. Jesus who came to set the oppressed free, Jesus who came to bring good news to thee poor, Jesus who came to bring freedom and liberation to all."
For decades, the Palestinian people have faced Israeli occupation and systematic human rights abuses. Apartheid is defined under international law as a legally enforced system of separation and oppression based on race, creed, or ethnicity. Palestinian human rights groups have described Israel’s policies as apartheid for decades. Over the past few years, much of the international human rights community – including B’tselem, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International – have also joined the call for an end to Israeli apartheid.
The Apartheid-Free campaign originated in 2022 when an interdenominational coalition of faith groups in North America, convened by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), came together to organize the pledge. FOSNA was one of those founding coalition groups.
FOSNA Associate Executive Director Jesse Wheeler elaborates, “Friends of Sabeel North America has been a proud member of the Apartheid-Free movement since its inception. The sin of apartheid is an affront to the fundamental reality that each of us is crafted in the image of God with intention and loving care, bearers of the irrevocable and eternal Divine stamp. Consequently, regardless of age or gender, poverty or privilege, and ethnic or national background, each of us is entitled to respect, dignity, and freedom—a universal vision of universal rights belonging to all. The dehumanizing violence inherent to apartheid is a sin against the Creator as much as it is our human siblings, a rejection and denial of the author of life and the oneness of God. As Jesus tells us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:45).”
“The fact that more than 500 congregations, organizations, and businesses have come together to end Israeli apartheid fills me with hope,” said Noor Nabulsi, Apartheid-Free Communications Specialist for AFSC. “These groups represent hundreds of thousands of people from many different places, faiths, and walks of life. What we share is a belief that collectively we are growing the anti-apartheid movement and making it a 21st century issue.”
Each community that signs the pledge commits to resisting apartheid and all forms of racism and discrimination, but this looks different in every community. It can include community education, political advocacy, divestment, protest, organizing ballot measures, or creative projects. As a Christian Voice for Palestine, FOSNA embodies the Apartheid-Free movement in all of our programs: from bringing American delegations to witness apartheid firsthand, to organizing with denominational PIN leaders, to our pilot Friends of Palestinian Prisoners project and more.