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Joshua in the Shadows of Genocide: A Decolonizing Reading Group
Sep
7
Palestine, Indigenous, Affirming

Joshua in the Shadows of Genocide: A Decolonizing Reading Group

Join us for a collaborative, community-rooted exploration of the Book of Joshua through a decolonizing, gender-aware, and non-conquering lens. This interfaith reading group critically examines how conquest narratives have been used to justify violence and colonialism, while opening space for liberatory interpretations of sacred text.

Fall Intensive Series
September 7, Oct 5, Nov2

Our foundational three-month journey meets on first Sundays from 1:00-3:00 PM, building momentum through consistent monthly gatherings. Each session deepens our engagement with the PARDES+ framework while rotating through different cultural and theological perspectives. Read more about 2026 schedule in the COMMUNITY INFORMATION below.

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WHO IS THIS FOR

Everyone is welcome! This group is designed for:

  • People from Jewish and Christian backgrounds seeking critical engagement with scripture

  • Those interested in interfaith, multicultural perspectives

  • Anyone wrestling with violent texts and their contemporary implications

  • Community members committed to anti-colonial solidarity

  • Individuals seeking redemptive approaches to sacred literature

No prior biblical knowledge required - bring your questions and curiosity

OUR GOALS

  • Address how conquest narratives have been used and abused across faiths and ideologies

  • Bring the wrestling and the ongoing questions as our pedagogy

  • Challenge the isolation that comes from questioning sacred violence

  • Synthesize reflection into action for liberation

  • Build apartheid-free, interfaith community models

QUESTIONS WE CARRY

What does it mean to be a member of a faith community which perpetuates violences rooted in these types of texts?

  • How do we wrestle with violent texts without minimizing the violence?

  • Can we invite people to share their stories and starting points?

  • How do we assume folx like us were there - witnessing, carrying, grieving?

  • How do we make sense of this in the context of Sacred Scripture?

  • How do we acknowledge the evangelical/observant trauma in our spiritual journeys?

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Click on + to expand the text.

  • We employ the PARDES+ framework - an expansion of traditional Jewish hermeneutics that centers justice:

    • P'shat (Simple/Literal): Unpacking personal experience with the text

    • Remez (Allegory): Creative and symbolic interpretations

    • D'rash (Analysis): Critical examination through decolonial and liberatory lenses

    • Sod (Secret/Mystical): Wrestling with redemptive possibilities and spiritual insights

    • + Justice: Centering how conquest narratives connect to contemporary liberation struggles

  • We acknowledge the tensions within interfaith dialogue that can inadvertently create victim/perpetrator binaries. Our approach seeks to hold multiple truths: the reality of contemporary violence justified through these texts, the rich traditions of resistance within each faith community, and the archaeological realities that challenge mainstream biblical narratives. We resist the temptation to flatten complex histories while maintaining our commitment to justice and liberation.

  • Winter Reflection & Celebration (December 2025) December 7th offers a more casual gathering - part Chanukah/Christmas celebration, part reflection on our journey together. This session creates space to discern whether and how the community wants to continue.

    Winter Expansion Series (February - April 2026) Welcoming new participants, we resume with three sessions designed to integrate fresh voices while building on the foundation established in fall. The April 5th gathering coincides with Easter/Passover/Palestinian Child Day, honoring the convergence of holy seasons with justice work.

Event Breakdown

1:00 Arrival and Food
1:30 Introductions and recap
2:00 Highlight one Voice
2:20 Group Discussion
2:50 Embodied Closing

Our Visual Explained

Who are the organizers

  • Shadia Qubti is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth, currently an arrivant on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, known as Vancouver, Canada. She worked in faith-based peacebuilding in Palestine/Israel for 15 years, focusing on amplifying women's voices through initiatives like the Women Behind the Wall podcast. Her writing is inspired by her completed research into Palestinian and North American Indigenous understandings of land, informing her approach to contextual theology. Her forthcoming publications include "Noticing Sumac in Unexpected Places: Theological Engagement" in The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivation Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza (2025) and "The Significance of Peacebuilding in Theological Education." Shadia currently serves as Community Engagement Animator at Trinity Grace United Church in Vancouver.

  • Orev Reena Katz (they/them) is an anti-zionist prayer leader, Hebrew Priestess and psychotherapist.  They are a member of Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver, and a co-founder of Women for Palestine in Treaty 13-Tkaronto/Toronto.  As resistance to the genocide in Gaza, apartheid across Palestine, and the profound Jewish exceptionalism of this time, Orev is excited about and committed to understanding texts central to Jewish practice and history from a decolonizing lens.

  • Beth Carlson-Malena (she/her) is a co-pastor at Open Way Community Church, and a member of the Lead Team of Christians for a Free Palestine. She grew up as a pastors' kid in the Canadian Baptist denomination, and studied at Regent College. She's excited to continue her interfaith and decolonial learning in this group

Like Banksy's dove wearing a bulletproof vest, we are faith leaders from three apartheid-free communities who carry both the symbols of peace and the protective commitment necessary to challenge how our sacred texts have been weaponized for violence. Some of us identify as anti-Zionist Jews and Christians, working within our traditions to reclaim liberatory interpretations.

We are affirming and reconciling communities of faith, recognizing that our work for Palestinian liberation exists within a web of interconnected justice concerns. Our commitment to being apartheid-free is aspirational—a pledge to continual growth and action rather than a finished achievement.

Our Apartheid-Free pledge acknowledges that Palestinian liberation is intrinsically linked to Indigenous sovereignty, inclusive community for all marginalized groups, climate justice, and economic equity. As we stand against Israeli apartheid, we humbly recognize our own complicity in systems that have harmed Indigenous peoples in Canada and excluded many others based on their identities.

We see profound connections between Palestinian struggles and the experiences of Indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, racialized people, and those facing economic injustice. The systems that oppress Palestinians share roots with those that discriminate against marginalized communities everywhere. Our prophetic witness against one system of injustice strengthens our ability to recognize and resist others.

We move forward with both humility and determination, knowing that freedom and justice for all peoples are inseparable. Like that armored dove, we embody the commitment to work for peace while acknowledging the protection required to do this sacred work of liberation.

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