In a papal letter dated Feb 3, 2024, Pope Francis called for a cease fire in the Middle East and an end to antisemitism. In a letter sent to Jewish theologian Karma Ben Johanan, Francis wrote: “My heart is torn at the sight of what is happening in the Holy Land, by so much division and so much hatred.”
According to the Religious News Service, “Johanan was among 400 rabbis and experts who signed an appeal in December asking the pope to acknowledge the suffering endured by the Jewish people and asked him to reiterate his comment to Catholic-Jewish relations by condemning the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.…” In the Religious News Service story, Pope Francis goes on to note the increase in antisemitism and even anti-Judaism in instances of protest and violence around the world.
All of this is true, and troublingly so. Yes, but. The problem is that the situation is so polarized that it is impossible for anyone to say anything negative about Israel without being called antisemitic. Israel’s war against Gaza, under the guise of a war against Hamas has led to bombing schools, hospitals and other sites that are considered war crimes under the Geneva Convention. That isn’t to say Hamas isn’t doing the same thing; they are. The reporting is, however, extremely uneven. We hear about the war crimes of Hamas, but not the war crimes of Israel. If we do hear about the violence leveled against hospitals and schools, it is couched in language that points to defeating the secret hiding places of Hamas. This may well be true, but excusing the war crimes that are committed in the process is not something to dismiss lightly.
What is needed is balanced reporting that equally shines a light on the war crimes of both Israel and Hamas. What is needed is accurate reporting that cites the casualties on both sides. According to Wikipedia (a source I use with some trepidation), 1,410 Israelis and 26,637 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the current conflict. This includes Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese journalists and 136 workers from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
In addition, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving or on the verge of starvation throughout Gaza. According to the United Nations’ emergency relief agency, “The great majority of 400,00 Gazans characterized by UN agencies as at risk of starving are actually in famine, not just at risk of famine.” According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, “Israel has denied critical supplies from entering northern Gaza. But Israel has accused the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency of not doing enough and ‘stalling’ the progress.”
Conflict along access routes and the mobile nature of the refugee population make aid to starving Gazans difficult to deliver. Yet, this is something we rarely hear on the news. Given that 90% of the Gazan population has been displaced since the beginning of the war, it is easy to understand how delivering humanitarian aid is a challenge.
It seems clear, at the risk of sounding antisemitic, that Israel is waging a wholesale genocide on the Gazan people. It is little wonder that global support for Israel is waning. Voicing that dwindling support, however, is likely to launch a spate of name calling. I can take the heat and I hope you can, too.
The weird theology behind all this, which makes such strange bedfellows of politics and the religious right, which is not a religious movement, but a social/political voting block is that a “literal” interpretation of the Old Testament says that Gaza is part of the land promised to the Israelites. The restoration of the of Israel in Biblical times (including Gaza and the West Bank) is needed before a series of historical and theological events can unfurl which will usher in the Kingdom of God. This will cause the final victory of Christianity throughout the world. This is an oversimplification, but it is the gist of the theological “foundation” of much of the current arguments.
What is needed are balanced theological essays which debunk some of this right-wing interpretation which leaves little room for a rebuttal. What is needed is a balanced humanitarian vision of relief interventions needed in Israel and Gaza. At the very least an immediate ceasefire is a starting point. No one can think rationally about what is possible when being bombed into oblivion. The issue of war crimes is another discussion for another day, but one we are wise to not lose sight of in the current conversation.
Mostly what we need is a starting point for honest, balanced criticism of both Israel and Hamas and this hopeless war that neither side has any hope of winning. Gaza is hopelessly out-gunned (thanks to US support of Israel) and Israel claims (wrongly) that God is on their side. Reason says a two-state solution is the only possible way forward.
Sources:
Religious News Service
Wikipedia
CNN-Christiane Amanpour
The Irreverent Reverend 