Natalie Abudayyeh has spent one month in Israeli detention with no charge.
On June 2, 2026, Natalie Abudayyeh, a 21-year-old Lutheran young adult of the Church of the Reformation congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), was abducted from her university housing at gunpoint by Israeli forces alongside three of her classmates. An "Update from Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad on Natlie Abudayyeh: 6 July" can be read from the ELCJHL Facebook page. To date, Abudayyeh has not been charged with any offenses. It is not known why Abudayyeh was abducted or continues to be held in Israeli detention, and no information has been shared with her lawyer, her family or her church. Abudayyeh’s family and pastor have all been denied access to see her, and her lawyer has only been able to speak to her through a video chat.
The ELCA has named the priority to “defend the human rights of groups most susceptible to violations, especially all minorities, women, and children” in the social statement For Peace in God’s World (p. 14). In 1 Corinthians 12:26, we are reminded: “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” Our voice as Americans and as Christians matters in proclaiming that Abudayyeh, her classmates, and the thousands of other Palestinians being held without charge have human rights and must be treated with the dignity, respect and humanity they deserve.
Abudayyeh is the latest victim of an institutional system of incarceration that mistreats Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians are processed in Israeli military court, while Israeli citizens are processed under a civil court which offers more rights and freedoms. Abudayyeh’s detention comes at a time when Israeli settlers and Israeli security forces continue to target the indigenous Christian community of Palestine. In 2025 alone there were 155 documented incidents in Israel and East Jerusalem against Christians, their property, and Christian institutions and houses of worship, as well as a marked increase in attacks on Christian communities in the West Bank. While Palestinians of any faith continue to face systemic persecution and violence, the uptick in violence specifically targeting the Christian community has risen markedly since October 2023.
Please take a moment to advocate for the release of Natalie Abudayyeh and her classmates.
[Posted: 7/17/2026]
