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The band U2 has a popular song entitled, “Stuck in A Moment.” It’s about those times when life is so difficult, so demanding of our attention that the present moment seems inescapable. For ten days, as I walked the streets of Israel and Palestine, that song was blaring in my mind: “…stuck in a moment and you can’t get out.”
That’s where the people in that part of our world find themselves. It’s where the Jews who choose to live in the Land find themselves (and it should be noted that the majority of Jewish people do not desire to live in the Land. They willfully and happily choose to live throughout the world). It’s where the Palestinians find themselves. It’s the land where the three Abrahamic faiths (Jews, Christians, Muslims) variously offer the best and worst of their traditions, as some admirably choose to die for their spirituality and a non-negotiable belief that God is a God of peace, and others choose to kill for their religion – a religion that says the ‘other’ is an infidel and – according to God’s law – needs to be driven out or killed.
Israelis and Palestinians are caught in a struggle in which they appear, by turns, to be either victim or victimizer. Each has worn the mantle of the Other. Through the years the violence from each side has ebbed and flowed, waxed and waned. There have been genuine voices calling for peace and cynical ones pretending to offer solutions that were, in reality, no solution at all.
During the ten days I spent in the Land, I walked the streets and interacted with disparate voices from Bethlehem to Hebron, from Jerusalem to Nazareth to Ramallah, and through it all I marveled at the insanity and calculated cruelty that humanity was capable of as the song continued in my head: “…stuck in a moment, and you can’t get out.”
I also heard something else, something unexpected, a chorus of voices saying, “We want peace. We want to live beside each other as good neighbors.”
Nobody said they wanted to kill the other or drive them into the sea – in fact there’s no record of anyone in power actually using this kind of rhetoric, either in print or on tape. To the contrary, over and again we heard Palestinians, citizens as well as leaders, say that they would settle for peace even if it meant forfeiting 78% of the land they feel was unjustifiably confiscated over the years by the Israelis – even, they said, if it meant a one-state solution and that state were called ‘Israel.’ And we also heard Jewish voices lamenting the way the Israeli government was conducting itself, and from many who felt powerless to fight the political machinery, the principalities and powers that seem to hold us captive.
After returning home the question I’m most often asked is, “Do you think it’s possible to achieve peace over there?” My answer is a resounding yes – but we must stop seeing it as a problem “over there” and begin to see it as a problem within our hearts. The problems “over there” are problems of humanity. And we are all a part of this humanity and so we must bear the burden of educating ourselves as to what is taking place and then speak out loudly and often about it.
I am not taking sides as in pitting one segment of humanity against another. I believe both the Jews and Palestinians are my brothers and sisters. One is not more evil or more deserving than the other. On the other hand, there are very real inequities that form a barrier to peace.
The world should make no mistake: it is ‘un-get-over-able’ that the Israelis have enough power – military and financial – to extinguish the Palestinians from the Land. And as such, the Israelis have little or no motivation to step up to the bargaining table or even contemplate issues such as peace and justice for all.
So they don’t. And so far the global community has not spoken out to demand that the Israelis be held accountable for their systematic stranglehold on the Palestinian people. So far the world is not demanding that Israel’s government negotiate in good faith. Even worse, the world is turning a deaf ear to the groans of a people living under constant occupation. Recent events in Gaza also tell us that not only are the ears of the world closed, but their eyes as well.
And so it is that the Palestinian people seeking peace and justice cry out, “how long, O Lord, how long?” These should not be difficult words for Israel to hear and respond to – for they are the same words of their exiled ancestors that are recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures (what Christians call the Old Testament).
So how did we get to this moment in which so many find themselves stuck? What is the basis of this conflict? When did it begin and over what? And what are the facts on the ground as they exist today?
And perhaps more than anything else – what will it take to escape this moment so that everyone can live in peace?
More on Friday… Blessings.
7 comments to “Israel Report, Pt. 2: ‘Stuck In A Moment’”
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Wonderful reflections. Worshiping with Palestinian Christians radically changed my views on theology, politics, philosophy… you name it!
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Your question, “what is the basis of this conflict – when did it begin and over what” … brings to mind the book that I’m reading (recommended by Mike Morrell) … “The Fall: The Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of A New Era” (http://tinyurl.com/y9jhgb8).
(‘course, if he told me, you likely already knew…)
Fascinating read!!!
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Definitely this isn’t just a problem over there. The US finances Israel’s military to the tune of $7 million per day.
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I appreciate your thoughts.
Peace -
Dear Tim,
Excellent blog. I used to admire people who would die for there beliefs. I saw that as revolutionary. I now see the God of Peace. To bring Peace to conflict is more revolutionary. -
Tim, I know your “report” is as much a witness of your heart as it is an eye witness report. As I read your post, I thought about the first time I read Elias Chacour’s article on your David Group International site. I remember choking back the tears as I read his gripping words expressing his experience of longing to be recognized and affirmed as simply a “brother” through Abraham – worthy of love and dignity because he’s created by and in the image of God . For so long, many in our evangelical traditions have ignored the needs of our own Palestinian brothers/sisters for no other reason than a mis-guided understanding and application of particular scriptural passages of prophecy. It’s as if by embracing one theological viewpoint, we are excused from and/or allowed to forfeit a basic, primary teaching of our scriptures to love, serve, and bear one another’s burdens…..that in some way, God favors a “people” to such extent that the suffering of God’s other “children” may be ignored as if it is perfectly acceptable/honorable to do so. It is certainly “Religion”… rather than a way of being in the world as Jesus taught. I’m not pointing my finger without accepting the truth I have been guilty at times in my life of having had my head buried in the sand because of mis-guided theology. I would never have begun to grasp the heart of this issue without engaging with the “stories” of people like Elias Chacour. I personally believe the path of peace will be built much more through relational means than informational means, though information/education is important.
For example, although I’d read news stories about the Rwandan genocide, I’d remained somewhat detached until I befriended a couple who had lived it. As I heard their stories, I understood and responded in ways I never would have just by reading an article, book or watching a TV news report. I had the heartache of connecting to their pain and yet the privilege of learning from and sharing in their forgiveness. I’m an avid reader/news junkie, but I’ve learned the most and been moved to more mercy and action from sitting with the poverty stricken -eating what they eat, or hearing one’s stories of suffering under a communist regime, through hours of conversation with a career military officer who served in several conflicts around the world, or learning from a POW’s account of the horrors of humanity contrasted with the courage and mercy of strangers. It is through relationship that my mind has been renewed and my heart changed. A few decades ago, I met a devout Mormon man through business. As we became acquainted and began discussing our “church” backgrounds I asked him: “Tell me what you think we might have in common in our faith journey”…..and from there, we began to discover our common beliefs and share some wonderful stories of engaging with our Creator. There was no purpose in viewing one another as opponents.
Today’s post also brought to mind the parable of the good Samaritan. In Luke 10, the parable follows the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus is then asked…”who is my neighbor?” As He shares the parable, he returns the question: “which do you think was the neighbor? And gets the answer: “He who showed mercy”. Jesus said: “Go and do likewise”. All over the world, in other cultures, religions and traditions, we find those who show mercy….they are our neighbors, though we may be quite different. The question is not only–“who is my neighbor”, but to whom will I be a neighbor? There are enough “neighbors” to build the pathway…but we must be intentional in reaching out to them. You and your fellow travelers have just demonstrated this parable…thanks for setting the example and extending the challenge. Many of us will be joining you in building a relational pathway to peace! I sure look forward to your next post and learning more from your experience there!
Good questions. Good insights, too. I’ll be reading again on Friday. … Keep writing Bruddah Tim.