Ignorance, Awareness, Action
Canadian History Professor, Martin Bunton chronicled the last 120 years of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in his book The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, A Very Short Introduction.[1] While far from exhaustive of the thousands of years that the conflict has been raging, the book gave me a better understanding of many of the struggles in the area and the hardships that exist. But let me start with what I knew or thought prior to October 7, 2023, based on news casts and limited personal exposure.
Quite candidly, my knowledge of the Israeli/Palestinian was limited to say the least.
The conflict that Bunton has chronicled in more modern history, was in no way a part of my thinking. Until 1978 when President Jimmy Carter invited Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Camp David for peace talks, I was not even aware that they needed peace talks until it was blasted over the evening news for several nights. It was the 70s and I was in college living in a bubble of ignorance, play, and study. Yes, likely in that order.
In the early 2000s, a widowed friend of mine married a Palestinian Christian who was also widowed. Her husband did not speak of the conditions in his homeland. He was a good man, we socialized, and he had no interest in discussing his homeland when we were together. Again, my bubble was floating aimlessly, and I was so uninformed I did not even think to ask why not.
My awareness started to change when a guest minister I invited to preach, talked about the struggles the people in Palestine were facing. It was thought provoking. Yet the part that puzzled me that day was that some people in the congregation got up during the sermon and left. Our friends started talking about the tragedy of the living conditions in Palestine. The conversations were cerebral and interesting, Yet, still, it felt far away. My bubble was punctured and drooping but still floating.
After October 7, 2023, the bubble completely burst. News outlets accounts of Hamas raiding a festival in Israel was horrifying. Yet the footage of the life the people in Palestine have had to endure was even worse. I cannot imagine being told to flee then still being bombarded with artillery in the refugee site.
Martin Bunton’s book helped me understand several things. First, the conflict is not new. In my limited way, I thought that it was only rooted in religion. People of different faiths claim the territory as holy ground for their faiths rooted there. But that is not a simple answer. That part of the world is one that has also known occupation and exile at different times. Jeremiah 29: 1-10 NRSV documents one such exile of elders from Jerusalem for seventy years.
The current situation is more complicated as both groups have been marginalized at different times. Palestine was an area that knew occupation in modern time. The people living there were under the rule of the British Empire and mistrusted the British due to the perception of their favor toward the Jewish people.[2] In 2012, The United Nations recognized Palestine as a nonmember observer with boundary lines based on 1949 armistice.[3] I have to wonder if Hamas would have attacked Israeli citizens if the conditions in Gaza weren’t so bleak.
Jewish people also suffered throughout history. The most blatant in modern times occurred at the hands of the German Nazis who exterminated Jews throughout Europe. It was brutal. By 1949 after WWII, Israel was proclaimed a State and in claiming land, they displaced Arabs currently living there.[4] Each time there was some sort of agreement or accord related to boundaries, the Palestinian Arabs lost more land.
The Jewish people believe that they were given the land by God.[5] Maybe both sides do, for they both consider parts of the area sacred. One of the main things I have learned reading Martin Bunton’s book is that much of the warring, enmity, and outright hatred is also due to real estate. I believe it is more than just the place to build a home. Access to land and water impacts agriculture, trade, access to the greater world, and ultimately prosperity.
How I navigate the Israel-Middle East conflict varies from day to day. Sometimes it is very far away, and I am almost completely absent from it to being prayerful, sick to my very being at the suffering that Palestinian people are forced to endure. Yet unlike my college years, and even adult years pre-October 7, 2023, I am reading, watching news, and discussing with people about the issues and hardship of people living in Gaza.
I would also like to talk with the students in my eighth and ninth grade Sunday school class when we restart in September. I think young people do have the capacity to discuss difficult topics and begin to form their ideas. For instance, why can’t people who have major differences live peacefully side by side? In this case it’s the Israelis and Palestinians. But in their world, it might be the uncool kids, book nerds, or popular teens that seem to have everything handed to them. Each characteristic mentioned has reasons for someone to stay away, mock or trample on them. I could be wrong but maybe teaching about ways to live out our faith in the Lord Jesus is one way to lead young believers to live lives filled with the fruits of the Spirit. Pray it be so.
[1] Martin Bunton, The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2013), xii.
[2] Bunton, 147.
[3] Bunton, 107.
[4] Bunton, 116.
[5] Bunton, xv.
About the Author
Diane Tuttle
16 responses to “Ignorance, Awareness, Action”
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Hi Diane, thanks for your honesty. Great reflections. I too didn’t know much about the modern-day history of this conflict. I love that you are seeking to understand more and also that you would talk with 8th/9th graders in Sunday school about this. After reading this book, how does it inform how you will lead into and frame this conversation? Also, what do you think this book has to say to you about leadership?
Hi Graham, thanks for reading the blog and your questions. With my class, the group will be new so we will need to get to know and trust each other before delving into some of the more sensitive areas. Right now I see this topic coming up when we discuss topics on justice, who is our neighbor, what does it mean to follow Jesus when others are not. We will have have to see once we are there. As far as my leadership, mostly, this book tells me what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to be like Netanyahu who came out and was for a 2 State solution for Israel and Palestine years ago then has literally fought against it either because to maintain power, retaliation or pressure from his party. I don’t want to be like Hamas who while, I understand might have thought they waited long enough yet saw no change so kidnapped and killed, not the decision makers of Israel but the innocent people. It draws me back to say that my leadership has to be grounded in prayer and following the lead of Jesus who modeled a nonanxious presence and the will of His Father.
Thank you for sharing your reflections and perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s a complicated subject.
I’m curious, when you mentioned that some of the congregation left during the sermon about Palestine, do you have any sense of why that might have happened? Was it due to discomfort with the topic, or perhaps something else?
Glyn I think what you wrote in your post about a “fondness for the Biblical land and compassion for the Jewish people” runs deep with a lot of people in the States as well. My congregation was no different. The minister was sharing a different point of view on the Middle East about a people who not more than 40 years earlier had been captive by the Nazis who were now treating others in questionable, at best, conditions. People didn’t have a lot of tolerance for calling them into question. I do think that is sad because yes the Jews did suffer but I don’t think that gives them license to harm others. If we look to Jesus, which neither group in the ME do, the responses might be different. In the current situation, I also don’t “blame” all Jews for what is going on in Palestine or all Palestinians for what Hamas did. The actions of their leaders are driving the conflict. As I am reading Jesus and The Powers now, I am not surprised that leaders are seeking power under the guise of responding to attacks.
Not sure if this answered it but the topic is a big one and my answer only touches a wee fragment of it. Peace.
Thanks Diane. I appreciate your honesty and insights.
As you think about teaching the 8th and 9th graders, what questions might you ask to facilitate the discussion?
hi Ryan, Thanks for the question. With the understanding that I am operating in a vacuum until I meet the students, I would likely start by asking them if they ever felt left out of their friend group. Maybe asking if their school have people who look or act different. I am not sure what the actual question is but to begin with their world which might be narrow at their age. From there we would move toward how to get to know people who might look or sound different from themselves. People tend to gravitate toward others who look at sound like themselves. Based on their answers we could move into things going on in the larger world- perhaps our city or country and then the world. Ultimately we would look at the example Jesus lived and preached and what does that mean in their lives and for others in the world. One question that could be difficult is how they think Jesus might respond to what is going on in Gaza. Again, this is an imperfect answer because the real questions will be based on our dialogue.
Diane,
It is great that you are able to find a way to have discussions with the youth regarding this complicated topic. I do wonder if you have connected with your old Palestinian friend and what his perspective might be right now?
Hi Adam, Oh that I wish I could. He died several years ago. But I thank God my life is better from having known him.
Diane, I am glad you want to bring up this topic with your high school Sunday school students. They are definitely at the right age to begin to think about what world events mean in their lives. Even though they aren’t directly affected, as followers of Jesus we are all affected by such violence. It permeates our culture and works its way into our souls. It’s displayed in how we treat each other in our neighborhoods.
When those youth grow up, some may be in positions of power and influence. I’m glad you will share this with them now.
Hi Debbie, I agree. In fact in another setting I talk about youth volunteers in my organization that way. I say to our staff – who knows, these young people might want to enter this field, support us as donors, enter the political realm and vote on topics with greater understanding of our needs because of time spent as a teen. Investing in our youth, regardless if it is a Sunday school class or a volunteer work day is definitely worth the time and energy.
Hi Diane,
Thank you for your honesty regarding your priorities in college. Hahaha. I am curious to know some of the hot topics frequently discussed when you were in “your college bubble” and how you navigated the more difficult conversations during that time in your life? Also, what are some ways you have changed (college Diane vs. CEO Diane) regarding your engagement with people who might disagree with you?
Hi Elysse, Some of the answer to your question might be best saved until we are in DC. However, here I can share that my first 2 years in college were play and study. I maintained an awareness of my faith but I definitely had Jesus in the back seat of the car. Thankfully, God didn’t let go of me. Most of the conversations were about where was the party, who was going, etc. Looking back, most were superficial relationships. Most of my life I have valued the contributions of people different than me, mostly because I think I always felt different. Over the years, I have seen my board change in make up. For this conversation, I can easily use politics. The board is pretty diverse. Yet, people have gotten to know each other and genuinely like one another. Consequently, they are able to focus on where they agree and not demonize a person in all areas of their lives because they disagree on someone’s politics. What they agree on is our work and they work together to advance it. I think that is a powerful witness and one which I wish our legislature would figure out.
Diane, I love that you are planning to engage your youth Sunday School class in how to live peacefully with those who are different. I am curious what are some of your pearls of wisdom concerning this area that you hope to share with them? I want to learn from you too.
Hi Kari, Thanks for the question. I am not sure I have great wisdom. When we get to know people, we have a better understanding of, perhaps, why they react or behave certain ways. My mother used to tell us not to compare ourselves to others. There will always be someone who is better off and always someone who might need our help. What I do think is that when we get to really know people, no matter where they live or how much money or education they have, the things that are most important to them often ring true with others. Love of family, feelings of safety, and hopefully love of God and caring for others. We just find different ways to seek and express it.
Hi Diane, thanks for your post.
I am considering your question myself, “Why can’t people who have major differences live peacefully side by side?”
If you haven’t started it already, I think you’ll enjoy NT Wright’s book, “Jesus and the Powers”. One basic premise is that we must be able to build for the kingdom and live peacefully alongside those that think different from us.
It’s easy to view people who are different as threatening in some way. As I’ve engaged in cross-cultural ministry, I have come to view people who are different as intriguing and a wealth of perspective, but as a young adult, this wasn’t so.
Praying for your Sunday school class!
Hi Christy, Thanks for reading the blog and your comments. I do like “Jesus and the Powers”, probably too much because I am reading it very slowly to try to absorb everything. 🙂 Thanks for the prayers for our youth.