Conflict in Palestine

In this penultimate episode of our series on Conflict and War, Palestinian/American Jonathan Brenneman shares on the history of the conflict in Palestine and the witness of the Palestinian Christian church to the world.

Jonathan comes from a long line of Mennonites on his father’s side and a prominent Palestinian Christian family on his mother’s side. He grew up attending Lima Mennonite Church. After graduating high school he participated in the Mennonite Mission Network’s Radical Journey program in Northern Ireland before attending Huntington University, where he studied History and Philosophy. He then worked with Christian/Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Palestine Project in Hebron, where they built partnerships with Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers to transform violence and oppression. Jonathan was a Rotary Peace Fellow studying at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok Thailand and holds a master’s degree in International Peace Studies at Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute. That program included a six-month internship with Ndifuna Ukwazi in Cape Town South Africa, an organization which advocates for more just land policies. In 2017, he participated in the Mennonite Voluntary Service program, volunteering with MC USA to facilitate the writing, passing, and implementation of the Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine Resolution. He went on to work with Friends of Sabeel North America, promoting Palestinian Liberation theology, and Eyewitness Palestine, promoting responsible travel to Palestine. He currently resides in Syracuse New York, where he continues to advocate for peace, justice, and equality for everyone living in Historic Palestine.