אין שלום במזרח התיכון – No Peace in the Middle East – Hebrew
אין שלום במזרח התיכון – No Peace in the Middle East – Hebrew
Introduction – The End of History, Identity
Part 1 – We the people, Chapter 12
Part 2 – Russian and Ukrainian Identity
Part 3 – The End of the Story, Just War, The Spirit in Ukraine Moves
Introduction
The End of History, by Fukuyama [1] was one of the primary reads when I was working on my Masters in International Relations (Boston University, 1992). Amazon writes on the End of History…Francis Fukuyama’s prescient analysis of religious fundamentalism, politics, scientific progress, ethical codes, and war is as essential for a world fighting fundamentalist terrorists as it was for the end of the Cold War.
His was book was debated then and certainly, in light of the Israeli – Hamas war, terrorism takes a front stage where liberal democracies face an existential threat.
His book Identity[2] continues to provide rich debate and dialogue fodder. Fukuyama states that the drive to establish and protect political identities has caused, “The current dysfunction and decay of the American political system is related to the extreme and ever polarization of American politics, which has made routine governing an exercise in brinksmanship and threatens to politicize all the country’s institutions” (p.116). He goes on to say, “The rise of identity politics in modern liberal democracies is one of the chief threats that they face, and unless we can work our way back to more universal understandings of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict” (p. 116).
Part 1 – We the People
In Spring of this year Todd Henley asked me about a question about U.S. Immigration, in my answer I remember saying to him, “We the people” did not originally include persons from Africa and China (and women)– “We” meant white property owners. This basic “Male, White Property Owner” identity has wonderfully transitioned over time in the U.S. and Fukuyama describes how identities can and must change.
In, “We the people” chapter 12 Fukuyama uses Syria as “an extreme example of what happens when a country lacks a clear sense of national identity. He provides a succinct overview of the 2011 Arab Spring and brings to the fore the “Loyalties to one’s sect, ethnic group, or religion” (p.124). This lesson continues in the Israeli war as the impact of Shia, Sunni, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and Israel are all colliding in a bloody contest. (Sidenote: perhaps it might be wise for us to identify the difference between the Palestinian individual from the Hamas militia?)
His statement, “Weak national identity has been a major problem in the greater Middle East, where Yemen and Libya have turned into failed states, and Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia have suffered from internal insurgency and chaos.”
As a participant in Operation Desert Storm as part of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Directorate of Operations and Infrastructure, I can attest to the earnest endeavor taken by the Coalition to rebuild Iraq. However, our lack of understanding the “identities” at play outside of the Green Zone, would lead to a failed effort.
Attempting to replicate our restructuring programs for both Germany and Japan, the identities of both were substantially different from those in the Middle East. Post WWII the U.S. was dealing with populations that had a strong national identity. Fukuyama writes, “Part of the reason they have been able to grow in such spectacular fashion in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is that they did not have to settle internal questions of identity as they opened themselves up to international trade and investment” (p. 125).
Part 2 Russian and Ukrainian Identity
Fukuyama speaks to Russian and Ukrainian Identity in a you tube video, Russian and Ukrainian Identity with Francis Fukuyama, April 17, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPlcES4eH5A. He mentions at the 35:35 minute mark that his dissertation was on Soviet Policy in the Middle East. Fukuyama mentioned that in 2014 that he spent a lot of time in Kyiv working with leadership programs. In his talk, he quickly mentioned biological and racial nationalism (think Hitler) and scientific nationalism (whites are smarter than browns).
Fukuyama states that identities can be “Socially constructed” are not biological, and encompass
narratives, stories custom, language which can be manipulated. He states that political elites can shape identity and that clever elites do it without the public noticing.
A case in point I share the information manipulation of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban and Newly elected Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Both countries are now pro Putin and anti Ukraine. Our educated GoodSports Staff in both countries have swallowed the government propaganda hook, line and sinker.
At video minute 48:06 Fukuyama highlights, “Shared trauma, more so than common success, shapes national identity.” Watching the Ukrainian/Russian conflict, we see that the national will and identity of Ukrainians has been solidified by the conflict.
Part 3 The End of the Story, So What?, The End of Times, The Spirit in Ukraine Moves
Estimates of the deaths and injuries for the Ukraine War is hovering near 500,000 people (both sides included). In his failed view of “a larger Russian Identity” Putin’s grab for Ukraine has cost his nation dearly and in the fire of battle has concreted the Ukrainian national identity forever. The nostalgia for a Russian Fatherland is forever erased for Ukrainians who continue to fight and who have lost loved ones in the battle.
From a Biblical Long view, the Middle East political and spiritual situation will not be resolved until the Second Coming. The failure of the Jews to eliminate the various tribes when they took the land of “milk and honey” could be argued to be a reason for the Israeli War today.
In the short term, they will secure their southern border, and a variation of some sort of reoccupation of Gaza will emerge. Innocent, men, women and children will suffer and die because of the sins of those in power. Collateral damage, a horribly innocuous term, will ride the stories for both nations. Lebanon will have to decide if they want to invade themselves, while Iran urges both Hamas and Hezbollah on (there will be reckoning).
So what?
Simon Walker issued a warning that in the face of evil that we may have to revisit “Holy Violence.” Dr. Clark briefly mentioned “Just War.” Mankind has traveled this path before, and Holy Men have argued this concept as each episode of violence emerges. “What is the position of the church on ….(name your war). “
The Good Kill: Just War and Moral Injury[3], by Dr. Marc LiVecche, (Amazon Review)…
”The just war tradition, a moral framework for thinking about war that flows out of our Greco-Roman and Hebraic intellectual traditions, is grounded in the basic truth that killing comes in different kinds. While some kinds of killing, like murder, are always wrong, there are other kinds of killing that are morally neutral, such as unavoidable accidents, and still other kinds that are morally permitted–even, sometimes, obligatory. The Good Kill embraces this tradition to argue for the morality of killing in justified wars. Marc LiVecche does not deny the morally bruising realities of combat, but offers potential remedies to help our warfighters manage the bruising without becoming irreparably morally injured.”
Dr. LiVecche’s book creates a space for dialogue and debate. I fear that our cohort will have to wrestle with the issues surrounding a “Just War” as the speak into the lives of those congregations that the lead.
The End of Times
Accurate prediction of the “End of Times” is forever thwarted by scripture.
Matthew 24:6 – You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Matthew 24:36 – 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Revelation remains an enigma to most, but I have chosen a colorful chart to remind us of the sequence.
However, since we are not to know when the end will come. Our efforts to expand the kingdom remains.
As the Ukrainian, Russian, Israeli and Palestinian people die each day, what are we doing to meet the need spiritual and physical needs of those in pain?
Here are some YouTube links for brothers in Christ who are working to expand the kingdom In Ukraine even as rockets fall from the sky.
Christian Soccer league.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4MhVivdo7Y
Child Development Center.. https://youtu.be/P890FXCpeRA?si=WxuTpT1pnTajTw5o
Evacuation and supply.. https://youtu.be/_PXcr4BqIIw?si=oBCbxUupt5kJ6E8H
[1] Fukuyama, Francis. The End of History and the Last Man: With a New Afterword. 1. Free Press trade paperback ed., [Nachdr.]. New York, NY: Free Press, 2006.
[2] Fukuyama, Francis. Identity. S.I.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018.
[3] LiVecche, Marc. The Good Kill: Just War and Moral Injury. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2021.
About the Author
Russell Chun
interlinkt.org is now ready for your Refugee Resettlement needs. 15 tasks, languages ESL plans coming3 responses to “אין שלום במזרח התיכון – No Peace in the Middle East – Hebrew”
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Like you, my ears perked up when Simon Walker started talking about “Holy Violence.” I grew up in the Mennonite tradition, so the idea of a Just War is not an easy one for me. That said, I’ve appreciated the intellectual challenge and I’m leaning into the rich diversity of thought in our Christian faith. Thanks for your reflections, Russ.
Hi Kim,
I believe it was Krissy in year group three that revealed a different perspective. She asked, does this mean it is time for us to be martyred for our faith. Wow, did not see that coming.
Since we have relative peace in the U.S.A. I believe the answer is no to martyrdom. For those in the Middle East and those ministering to those in Moslem countries. I think the answer is “Maybe.” I have a friend who is working with the Khurds in Iraq.
Her light shines, but could be snuffed at any moment.
Shalom…
“Just war” and “Holy Violence” is most certainly a sticky topic. If someone busted into my house coming for my family, I would have to defend them with whatever force necessary. However, I believe the heart of God is to have a society where that is no longer a need or unthinkable for humans to have to engage in, but until then we will need military, prisons, law officials, and judges. I think the best and most effective strategy to bring the kingdom of God here is to continue to pray and work for inward transformation in the heart of humanity through the Gospel and education. Until then we will keep wrestling with these ethical dilemmas.