I’ve been watching news recently about the Gaza pullout. Now, normally I don’t watch network news—it depresses me way too much regarding the state of humanity. But it is raining this morning, and I wanted a weather report so I knew what to wear today. So in addition to seeing the winner of the world’s ugliest dog contest on the Today show (and believe me, it was indeed an incredibly ugly dog), I saw their latest piece on the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

Everything I have seen on the pullout (I’m also subjected to cable news when I go to the gym), paints a very pitiful picture of the settlers in Gaza. This morning I saw clips of basketball games going on in the settlements, with the commentary that “this gym will be razed to the ground in just a few days.” You can switch on your TV sets and see old women crying at being torn from their homes. You also see footage of masked Hamas leaders, declaring victory through violence.

My concern with this whole tableau is that it really doesn’t give a contextual or entirely complete picture of what’s going on. I remember when I first went to Jerusalem last year. I thought that all this land had been given to the state of Israel after World War II, and they were being nice enough to give a bit of it back to these random Palestinian people, despite their violent and evil intent. I have to admit that my best knowledge of the conflict came from a Christian novel series about the creation of the state of Israel, in which Israeli freedom fighters struggled for survival against the evil Mufti and his Arab thugs.

Yet however you feel about this conflict—who’s right, who’s wrong, what should be done—it is important to acknowledge some facts: just as right now it is difficult for settlers to leave homes they’ve lived in for thirty years, it was incredibly painful for Palestinian refugees to leave their ancestral homes in Israel in 1947… homes to which they’ve never been allowed to return. It is also important to know that the land currently under dispute in Gaza and the West Bank was given to the Palestinians by United Nations resolution back in 1947. During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel seized control of this land from Jordan and Egypt. It then proceeded to consolidate control of these two regions by building Israeli-only settlements on the land—islands of Israel in territory set aside by international resolution for the region’s Palestinian population. And you have to know that not all Palestinians, probably not even most Palestinians, want Israel obliterated. They understand the reality of the situation. They just want a homeland of their own.

There have certainly been victims on both sides of this conflict. There are reasons Israel has taken certain actions against the Palestinian population—there are also reasons the Palestinians have acted in certain ways as well. Before you come down on one side or the other, though, I would ask you to turn off your television sets and go pick up a book. Turn on National Public Radio. Find a professor who knows a bit more about the history of the region. Don’t be like me, who allowed a few news reports and a very biased fictional account to determine how I understood an issue that affects millions of lives.

And this lesson doesn’t just apply to Israel/Palestine, either. We often have a tendency to spout off really uninformed opinions based on a few news sound bytes, without understanding issues that have taken decades to develop. We talk way too much when we should keep our mouths shut. Perhaps the secret to shalom, or peace, is that we slow down and listen. Listen to our neighbors. Listen to our enemies. Listen to the quiet voice of God.

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” --1 Kings 19:11-13

Kelsey

Hi Kelly,

I agree with you about people needing to read a book and listen when it comes to subjects like Israel and the Paestinian people. But I also have problems when people mention the occupation of Gaza because of the Six Day War and fail to mention that Jordan and Egypt had attacked Israel with the purpose of driving her into the sea. And this wasn't the first time! While that doesn't excuse such a long controling occupation of Gaza it does give more understanding of Israel's position. I have an article at http://www.naminggrace.org/id68.htm on this subject and it includes the title of a couple of books that are helpful.
Peace in Jesus Christ,

Viola Larson

Hi Viola,

Thanks for your comments and the link... I do appreciate how you separate a dispensationalist understanding of the state of Israel from our Reformed tradition, as that "end times" theology can be a stumbling block for some Christians in viewing the conflict with compassion for the innocent on both sides. It is critical that as Christians, we show love to both our Palestinian and Jewish sisters and brothers while insisting that the human rights of all people be respected. The Jewish people have a right to exist and be free from hatred and anti-Semitism. The Palestinian people have a right to freedom, too.

In terms of Christian faith, it strikes me how sad it is that the conflict has decimated the Christian population in Palestine. As Palestinian Christians become refugees and leave (such as Palestinian and former PC(USA) moderator Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel), we're beginning to lose a vital Christian presence in the land where Jesus walked. All the more reason to study the conflict and pray for peace in this region.