“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” – Romans 14:19
At Christmas, Christians sing about Jesus’ birth; songs like “O’ Little Town of Bethlehem,” with lyrics that include “And praises sing to God the King / And peace to men on earth.”
Bethlehem. This mostly Christian Arab town is shuttered for Christmas due to the war which started Oct. 7, when Hamas killed roughly 1,400 Israeli civilians.
In response, we see the cruelty of corrupt, right wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His war against Hamas seems more like a war on Palestinians, with well over 11,000 killed. Palestinians gathered in a Greek Orthodox church were bombed. Homes and hospitals have been ruined. Doctors and nurses scrambled under cell phone lights to help frail newborns or to conduct surgery.
You might think most would want a peaceful solution – peaceful and fair, but not so. Among many American evangelicals, so-called “prophecy” is more important than people.
When I wrote the column “None of Us are ‘vermin,’” I failed to show enough concern for Palestinians. Their equality. For this I apologize. I do not wish to align myself with those who dismiss the assaults on Palestinian hospitals, saying, Hamas, possibly hiding within, doesn’t care about Palestinians, so why should we?
If we dismiss their pain, then what have we become?
I also do not wish to be like Pastor John Hagee, head of CUFI (Christians United for Israel.) He doesn’t seem to care about the plight of the Palestinians. Many, like Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, wish to revive the two-state solution – Israel and Palestine. But Hagee calls such a plan “satanic.”
Why?
Hagee supports the notion of Jews alone controlling the land in order to fulfill prophecy, like that described in Hal Lindsey’s 1970s bestseller “The Late Great Planet Earth.” It’s all just a set-up for Armageddon and the return of Jesus.
Not only do evangelicals like Hagee disregard Palestinians; they disregard Jews themselves.
As Chris Lehmann reports in The Nation, “Jews are a means to an end.” As Lehmann says, “Hagee indeed has compiled a long record of antisemitic statements, including the claim that Hitler and the Holocaust represented the work of divine Providence” since they led to the creation of Israel.
We need peace with justice. Hamas wants to wipe out Jews everywhere. That’s Hitler’s evil final solution. On the other hand, Israel has mistreated Palestinians. Even my own Palestinian students years ago complained of harassment and long lines at checkpoints.
A recent article in The Washington Post mentions other injustices. Palestinians are often incarcerated for indefinite lengths of time, even without charges. Israelis employ torture and fail to allow legal counsel, with a 99% conviction rate.
As Sen. Sanders points out in The New York Times, “The last year saw record Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank, where more than 700,000 Israelis now live in areas that the United Nations and the United States agree are occupied territories.” He said, that in this war, 70% of the casualties are women and children, along with 53 journalists. Palestinians become refugees.
Jesus took time to minister to many, including non-Jews, on the way to the cross. We are to promote love for our neighbors, over prophecies, not the other way around.
Interested in a broad range of issues, including social and faith issues, Joan Brickner serves as a regular contributor to the Forum’s opinion page. She is a retired English instructor, having taught in Michigan and Minnesota.
