{"id":37996,"date":"2024-08-28T11:26:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T18:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37996"},"modified":"2024-08-28T11:26:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T18:26:47","slug":"just-outside-the-city-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/just-outside-the-city-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Outside the City Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Previous knowledge of the Israel conflict<\/em><\/p>\n

I grew up in a church that held to a traditional Zionist perspective when it came to Israel. Essentially, the return of the modern nation-state of Israel was the fulfillment of a prophecy that was going to usher in the Apocalypse. This might be overstated and simplified a bit. However, as I have grown as a believer, and an academic, I have taken a more nuanced approach in my perspective of Israeli conflict. I find myself less confident in my perspectives and more confused by the massive history of conflict.<\/p>\n

After the attack on Oct. 7th<\/sup>\u00a0and then the subsequent responses by Israel and the world, I asked my peer group for their wisdom and understanding of this tough subject. At home, I had college-aged students refuse Christmas gift cards to Starbucks because of the company\u2019s position in support of Israel. At the same time, we were hosting my parents, who held to the belief that Israel could do no wrong, and it was America\u2019s duty and pride to support her at all costs.<\/p>\n

Sitting around the dinner table, I started with an overview of the land that Abram was called to in Genesis and walked my family through the long and tumultuous history of Israel up to the modern state.<\/p>\n

Learnings from this week\u2019s reading<\/em><\/p>\n

My attempt at looking back at the historical realities with my family mimicked what Bunton writes, “One of the main premises of this book is that there can be no assessment of the present, nor discussion of the future, without an understanding of how the conflict unfolded from the beginning.”<\/a>[1]<\/sup>\u00a0The problem with his perspective is that he views the history starting in the early 1900s. Notably, there has been conflict in the land (currently known as Israel) since Abrahamic days, up through the judges, the kings and the exile. At no point in history was the land fully controlled by Israel, as the book of Joshua demonstrates how the task was not completed.<\/p>\n

This book did a great job of summarizing the variety of attempts at peace and reconciliation and taught me how different countries, presidents, and groups have all tried to bring the parties together. It does seem that the White Papers were as close as ever to bringing a two-state solution that was acceptable. Bunton writes, \u201cMost importantly, the White Paper called for the establishment of a unitary Palestinian state in which Arabs and Jews would jointly exercise authority. It contemplated needing ten years to bring about an independent Palestinian state.”<\/a>[2]<\/sup><\/p>\n

Navigating the Israel-Middle East conflict<\/em><\/p>\n

I recognize that I am neither a theologian nor a historian, and given the time, it would be great to deepen my understanding of how the biblical Israel intersects with the modern state. I am, however, a follower of Jesus who wants to see all of humanity as image-bearers of God. Furthermore, I also work with immigrants, and I have great concern for the plight of refugees. My understanding of the modern conflict is through these two lenses.<\/p>\n

Image-bearers of God, born of Jewish descent, endured the most tragic atrocity the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century ever saw in the Holocaust. It makes sense, then, that Jews who have gathered to protect their new nation respond with such extreme measures when poked by smaller entities.<\/p>\n

Image-bearers of God, born of Palestinian descent, have grown up in the last few decades under increasingly oppressive structures and a large majority of them have been forced out of the country as refugees. The Human Rights Organization states,<\/p>\n

As the Palestinian human rights group al-Haq\u00a0wrote, \u2018the legacy of the Nakba events is that about two-thirds of the Palestinian people became refugees,\u2019 while Israel \u2018imposed a system of institutionalized racial discrimination over Palestinians who remained on the land.\u2019 Today, there are\u00a0more than\u00a05.9 million Palestinian refugees, including the descendants of those who fled or were expelled.<\/a>[3]<\/sup><\/p>\n

Most Palestinian image-bearers are spread around the area into neighboring countries such as Jordan and Syria, along with Gaza and the West Bank.<\/a>[4]<\/sup>\u00a0It makes sense, then, that Palestinian refugees continue to push back against the apartheid-like rules of Israel. Bunton writes,\u00a0“Their suffering as refugees set the primary context for the evolution of Palestinian national identity. Denied the right to return to their homes, Palestinian refugees deeply resented Israel’s hurried efforts to develop and settle their former lands, and some fought to obstruct it.”<\/a>[5]<\/sup><\/p>\n

So, the big question then is, where does this lead me and my understanding? It leads me to the cross. On a recent podcast, a Palestinian-Christian born in Bethlehem stated, “We have to look at Hamas and Israel through the cross.”<\/a>[6]<\/sup>\u00a0He has condoned the evil attributed to both parties and challenges Christians everywhere to look at the issue through a missiological lens. He poignantly stated, “Jesus is a paradigm shifter, and we should therefore love our enemies, even the terrorists.”<\/a>[7]<\/sup><\/p>\n

As a Christian, I have brothers and sisters on both sides of the conflict. I see the evil committed by Hamas. I see the evil committed by Israel. I see image-bearers of God destroying each other and pillaging each other. I see Palestinians responding to Israel from the position of refugees without land. I see Israel responding to terrorism and the threat of other nations as a people who have endured genocide through the ages. The hope for this broken and militarized land is found on an ancient hill called Golgotha, just outside the old city of Jerusalem, where once stood a Roman cross with the limp body of a Jewish man who had been born in a small town, found in Palestine.[8]<\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

_____________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

<\/a>[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Martin Bunton,\u00a0The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction<\/em>, illustrated edition (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013), xiii.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Bunton, 43.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Omar Shakir, \u201c75 Years Later, Israel Blocking Palestinian Refugees\u2019 Return | Human Rights Watch,\u201d May 15, 2023, https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2023\/05\/15\/75-years-later-israel-blocking-palestinian-refugees-return.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Elliott Davis Jr., \u201cEverything You Need to Know About Palestinian Refugees,\u201d US News & World Report, January 5, 2024, \/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/best-countries\/articles\/2024-01-05\/explainer-the-complicated-plight-of-palestinian-refugees.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Bunton,\u00a0The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict<\/em>, 55.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u201c\u200eTheology in the Raw: A Gospel-Centered Perspective on the War in Israel-Palestine: Dr. Fares Abraham on Apple Podcasts,\u201d Apple Podcasts, accessed August 18, 2024, https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-gospel-centered-perspective-on-the-war-in\/id1018952191?i=1000663294892.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u201c\u200eTheology in the Raw.\u201d<\/p>\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Jesus was born in Bethlehem, currently found in Palestine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previous knowledge of the Israel conflict I grew up in a church that held to a traditional Zionist perspective when it came to Israel. Essentially, the return of the modern nation-state of Israel was the fulfillment of a prophecy that was going to usher in the Apocalypse. This might be overstated and simplified a bit. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3222,2967],"class_list":["post-37996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bunton","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37996"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37998,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37996\/revisions\/37998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}