Taking sides!!!!
It seems that we have more easily understood that Russia invaded Ukraine, following on from its much earlier invasion when Crimea was seized. That hospitals, energy infrastructure have been attacked and civilians killed. War crimes have and are being recorded with accounts of mass killings, rape and torture. Overall the response of western nations has been to welcome people fleeing the war and to provide weapons that Ukraine might defend itself. The trap to avoid is to see this as the work of all Russians. It's not. The dictatorial rule of Putin and allies is what has led to the situation that sees a war in Europe. However we cannot ignore the fact of western governments that sought to appease the Putin regime and the interconnectedness of big business. It comes as no surprise to find revelations that still money flows both ways as rich and powerful appear to continue to make money. I sense in worship and in society we have on the whole chosen to take sides and stand with the people of Ukraine. Are we however able to understand the need for liberation not just for Ukraine but also for Russians? Or do we tar the Russian people with the same brush as we do Putin?
The other week in leading Iona worship with a blessing workshop I invited people to hold a slip of paper with both Israeli and Palestinian flags. The invitation was to hold them in their hands allowing their own thoughts and prayers to arise and silently offer them to God. This was not to avoid any heated discussion where people might take sides or to assume where people might be coming from. Rather it was to acknowledge that the current conflict in Gaza is far more nuanced than we sometimes admit or indeed can handle.
People appear to like black and white situations. It's why our recently sacked Home secretary played to the 'us' and 'them' playbook to stoke fear as so few people truly understand the complexities of migration. People choose to ignore its causes, its real challenges but also the the way it has enriched overall our society for generations. So much easier to blame "them". So it was equally easier to label all who marched for peace as those who had taken the Palestinian side, as endorsing Hamas, and hating Jews. This ignored the fact there was a contingent of Jews marching also for peace.
The atrocities of the 7th October by Hamas are an abomination and should be condemned no ifs, no buts. All life is precious in the eyes of a loving God. The torture, rape, murder of civilians and kidnap of many are horrific.
The desire by Israeli society to stop it ever happening again I feel we all understand. But how to achieve that goal?
The experience of the last 75 years or so has shown that a cycle of violence does not stop it. So we can't realistically expect the violence now being poured out on Gaza to achieve that.
The horror of 7th October should mean that a more radical approach is required but who would dare? Who would dare to break the cycle of violence? Certainly not the current leadership on both sides who depend on it for their power and position.
So we now have the growing number of civilian deaths (you can argue the numbers) made up of children, women and men, old and young as bombs are dropped flattening homes with vital resources of water and fuel withdrawn. Acts of violence do not stop the cycle of violence. They just breed the next generation of terrorists.
In this most terrible of situations, which takes our eyes off Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen and so many other places of war, it seems people are being drawn to takes sides. But that is again to want to see things in black and white terms. When those who take their time to reflect carefully this situation needs to be understood in a far more nuanced way than what the popular press, TV channels and social media would have us believe.
There is a real failure to grasp that what is taking place between Israeli and Palestinian should not be imposed upon Jews or Muslims living around the world. Yes some people will have relatives in Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza, but that does not mean they approve or associate themselves with those nations actions. Nor must people allow themselves to believe that all Israelis and Palestinians agree with the actions of the Israeli Government or Hamas.
I find it very concerning that underneath the surface in some peoples minds there is a deep seated dislike even hatred of Jews which is rooted in an antisemitism that I struggle to understand. The Gaza situation has become another trigger to allow it to surface. This antisemitism appears to be rooted in long standing myths which have led down the centuries to pogroms and of course to the Holocaust.
Those who are different from 'us' quickly become the scapegoat for our ills just as migrants and refugees from around the world become 'them' and so can be labelled, persecuted and blamed for anything. What is scary is how people get caught up in this thinking.
David Baddiel the comedian and a non believing Jew, but ethnically a Jew, really helps to explain in his book "Jews don't Count" how Jews are treated differently from other ethnic groups. It certainly goes some way to explaining how those on the extreme left of politics are blindsided and so conflate the Palestine issue with Jews, when it really should be about the Israeli state.
The actions of Hamas should not taint every Palestinian or indeed every Muslim around the world. Yet again the dislike and hatred for those who perhaps dress differently from 'us' become a focus for prejudice.
It would be naive to think that what happens between Israeli and Palestinian should not spill over into life around the world, of course it does, and causes people to a greater or lesser extent to take sides.
But we need to step back and acknowledge that is what we are being encouraged to do. We need to continually note as always that violence breeds violence no matter who perpetrates it. We are called as disciples of Jesus to walk the way of peace and to love all, including our enemies.
To pray for peace means to actively live the way of peace and break the cycle of violence. It means finding a language that enables people to listen and speak to each other. It means seeing the other as being like yourself another human being and rejecting the trap of 'us' and 'them'.
This is not to ignore or dismiss the underlying causes going back decades which need to be addressed.
Israelis who need to feel safe in a country of their own where others do not speak of destroying their state. This requires those to change their attitude to the reality of Israel.
Equally Israeli settlers need to stop seizing Palestinian land in the West Bank for this further erodes trust, breeding more bitterness and diminishing the possibility of enough land to create a viable independent Palestinian state. The current Israeli Prime Minister has sought to cling to power by exacerbating the situation and encouraging settlers to seize more land.
For all this and more to happen it needs those who sponsor behind the scenes Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian authority, such as the US, Iran, and others to positively work towards two states living alongside each other and build trust. This of course highlights that other factors are at work not just Palestinian and Israeli finding a way to live together in peace. Do these other major players truly want peace to break out?
I don't have an answer to the conflict. I pray that peace with justice will come, because unless people feel they are being treated justly peace won't come.
Peace won't come through violence no matter how many rockets are fired or bombs dropped.
In the end the cycle has to be broken and the majority who will want to live in peace need to be facilitated through good leadership to talk to each other and tentatively build trust.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.
May the blessing of God
be upon women and men
young and old
who tirelessly
work for peace
who see in the other
someone like themselves
not an enemy
but one to be loved
cherished
and celebrated.
May the blessing of God
be upon
Palestinian and Israeli
Christian, Muslim and Jew.
May God
raise up
leaders who unite
and bring down
those who divide.
May the Blessing of God
fall upon
Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
like refreshing rain
to wash away
the dirt of violence
and allow
the green shoots
of hope to flourish.
Amen, Amen, Amen.
(c) Mark Goodhand 17th November 2023
Comments
Post a Comment