March 10, 2025 // Diocese

ND Panel Urges Solidarity in Israel-Palestine Conflict 

Todays Catholic

By Elizabeth Mitchell

The University of Notre Dame hosted a panel discussion focused on “Catholic Perspectives on Israel-Palestine” on the evening of Wednesday, February 26, in DeBartolo Hall. The event was a part of the 2024-25 forum “What Do We Owe Each Other?” – a lecture series dedicated to engaging contemporary issues in light of Catholic social thought.

Moderated by Gabriel Reynolds, the Jerome J. Crowley and Rosaleen G. Crowley Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, the panel featured three speakers: Matthew Tapie, Daniel Schwake, and Jordan Denari Duffner.

Discussion began with remarks from Tapie, an associate professor of theology and director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University in Florida. He prefaced his message with an appeal to Church teaching, exhorting the audience to “follow the lead of what the magisterium teaches on dialogue and the topic of Israel-Palestine.” Flowing from this foundation, he went on to outline several key principles, including “truthful analysis of the difficult history of Catholic-Jewish relations,” understanding “the self-definition and memories” of both Jews and Palestinians, and finally, “an approach to conflict through the lens of international law and Catholic social teaching.”

Tapie’s initial comments highlighted the importance of charitable dialogue. Referencing the Second Vatican Council, he explained: “The council famously rejected the deicide charge of antisemitism. It affirmed that God holds the Jews most dear, and it declared also that study and dialogue is an important goal for Catholics.”

He went on to discuss his interactions with a Palestinian Anglican priest named Yazi, quoting their conversation by saying, “For the indigenous Palestinian Christians and Muslims, their history cries out for a broad, informed engagement.”

The latter portion of Tapie’s address discussed the way in which Catholic principles can be applied tangibly within the context of politics and international law, taking as a foundation that “the basis of international law is the natural law.”

Jordan Denari Duffner, a scholar of Catholic-Muslim relations and member of the National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, followed Tapie.

Duffner began by stressing the importance of informed engagement from Catholics, stating, “I want to argue that Israel-Palestine is a Catholic issue, because our faith tradition compels us to be in solidarity with folks, even if they don’t share our religious or ethnic or national identity.”

She then talked about the application of the principle of human dignity to the conflict in Gaza, saying, “In the context of Israel-Palestine, this principle reminds us that each and every person of the land, Palestinian and Israeli, is deserving of rights – the right to life, to safety, and also to living well a life of flourishing.”

Duffner added, “I think acknowledging the realities the Palestinians are experiencing and advocating for their rights is wholly consistent with a commitment to ensuring the rights and safety and dignity of Jewish Israelis, too.”

The final panelist was Daniel Schwake, the executive director of Notre Dame Jerusalem – the university’s campus in the Holy Land. Living along the West Bank, he shared how his experience being in the geographical context of the conflict in Gaza has been both challenging as well as moving.

“As representatives of a Catholic American university in Jerusalem, we have to ask constantly: ‘Why are we here? What actually drives me to be here …?’”

Schwake concluded by discussing the hope he has discovered amidst this conflict, saying, “Hope comes from the fact that despite all of this weakness, despite all these weaknesses, we are able, at times, to build these coalitions with others who put human beings always as an end, never as a means.”

After the panelists finished presenting, the session switched into an hourlong question and answer session.

Tapie was asked about practical ways to form better relations between Jews and Catholics. In response, he cited his work in Florida, stating, “A visit to a synagogue to say hello, to send a note of kindness to them, or a mosque, makes a big deal.”

Teepu Siddique, who had driven from Chicago to attend the event, stressed his heightened conviction in the role Catholics can play in the conflict in Gaza.

“Catholics [are one of] πthe largest religious communities in the world, and so they have a greater responsibility than any other religious government to put an end to war and destruction.”

Many members of the Notre Dame faculty were also in attendance. Melissa Paulsen, professor of the practice at the Pulte Institute for Global Development, told Today’s Catholic, “I appreciated the fact that it was from a more targeted political, geopolitical kind of lens, and this view of Catholic social tradition, even referencing papal encyclicals.”

Paulsen continued, saying: “I’ve been to Jerusalem; I’ve been to the West Bank. I know [Schwake], one of the speakers somewhat well, and I’ve also witnessed what is happening on the ground there. … As Daniel said so beautifully, so eloquently, [I value] deep listening, connecting, and being humble in the way that we think about our own place and our own positionality with other people of different faiths, ethnicities, and cultures.”

For more information on events taking place as part of the “What Do We Owe Each Other?” forum, including in the Israel-Palestine series, visit the university’s website at forum2024.nd.edu.