Pastor Mark Harris
The Oasis Church
8961 East Tanque Verde Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85749
Re: CUFI “I Sought a Man Who Would Build a Wall” Event at The Oasis Church
Pastor Harris, we are saddened to learn that your church will be hosting a Christians United For Israel (CUFI), “Standing With Israel” event on June 22, 2016. Our Palestinian Christian friends, like Pastor Alex Awad (see “Palestinian Christians in the Shadow of Christian Zionists,” tell us that there are two sides to the Israel/Palestine conflict and their side is virtually unknown to American evangelical Christians. Unfortunately, CUFI, as a lobbying agency for the state of Israel, only gives the Israeli side of the story while completely ignoring the plight of Christian Palestinians. The CUFI speaker at your church’s event is Dr. Dan Tirza, the Chief Architect of Israel’s “Security Barrier.”

Israel Wall-27-Anastas-home-Bethlehem

The Israeli “Security Barrier” is actually a “Separation Wall” that snakes inside the 1967 Green LIne dividing the West Bank of Palestine from Israel, and, in many places, separating Palestinian land from other Palestinian land. This is a photo of the “Separation Wall” in Bethlehem that shows how the Palestinian Christian family, Anastas, has their home surrounded on three sides by the wall.


As a follower of Jesus Christ, I read your church’s website page, “The Great Adventure,” that details your core beliefs, and agreed with them. You state: “OUR STATEMENTS OF BELIEF: IN ESSENTIAL BELIEFS – WE HAVE UNITY. IN NON-ESSENTIAL BELIEFS – WE HAVE LIBERTY. IN ALL OUR BELIEFS WE HAVE – CHARITY (LOVE).” But when I consider public statements by John Hagee, for example, “John Hagee with Benny Hinn: Praying for War in the Name of Jesus,” your church’s association with CUFI baffles me. John Hagee and CUFI have never demonstrated any form of charity toward Palestinian Christians and routinely ignore the teachings of Jesus, like “Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” Mat. 5:9
Map of Anastas house showing the torturous route of the Israeli "Separation Wall."

Map of Anastas house showing the torturous route of the Israeli “Separation Wall.”


We are urging you to cancel the CUFI “Standing With Israel” event on June 22, 2016. If, I do not hear from you, by June 17, that you have cancelled the event, we will plan to conduct one of our “Vigils for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land” in front of your church, on the public sidewalks, prior to the scheduled CUFI event.
Toward the Strait Gate,
Tom Compton
We Hold These Truths
Arizona Outreach Director