A World Beyond Fear and Vengeance Is Possible
Guest Commentary by Rev. Gary Jewell | FāVS News
This letter comes almost three months into Israel’s war on Gaza. Many credible voices (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations — to name a few) claim this war to be a war of ethnic cleansing. Indeed, maybe even a stronger word like “genocide” might be closer to the truth.
Lest you think these words are exaggeration, let some of the numbers sink in. In a territory of over two million people, well over 20,000 Gazans are dead — the majority children and women and almost all of them non-combatants.
That number is 20 times the number of Israelis killed on Oct. 7. Eighty-five percent of Gazans are internally displaced, i.e. homeless, while Israel basically and intentionally makes the Gaza territory physically uninhabitable for return.
As the destruction of the whole Gaza strip continues, the Israeli government is actively soliciting other nations, mostly nations in Africa, South America and Middle East, to essentially deport to, or “take in,” Palestinians from their homeland.
And while this strategy of forced removal from the land is not new, polls say that up to 80% of Israeli citizens support this wholesale deportation concept.
I can only wonder what role collective Jewish trauma combined with ethno-nationalism and military power plays into this irony.
This being said, I am deeply grateful for the strong, moral Jewish voices, as well as other voices, faith-based or secular. These voices cry out for the world to stand against this moral disaster. And, yes, as U.S. citizens, we all have to acknowledge that our own nation was founded on the practice of genocide and removal of whole peoples — for which we have yet to make restitution.
But that still does not give us a pass from speaking to what is happening now.
Silence Is Complicity
So do we all just stand with our internal angst and say to ourselves, “How tragic! Such is the world!”? It may be an overused slogan, but it is true: Silence is complicity.
So, let us speak and act in whatever capacity we can. Speak out to those you know. Write your governmental representatives. Boycott Israeli products. Align yourself with other voices calling for justice, especially those coming from our Jewish and Palestinian brothers and sisters.
With each passing day the killing continues.
It is time for all sides to lay aside the weapons of war and instead make room for talk of lasting peace. I’m no diplomat but how about this.
First a ceasefire. And second, release of all Israeli hostages and most of Palestinian prisoners. Third, begin talks (truth and reconciliation style) that lead to a contextualized understanding of the collective traumas that are at the root of Middle Eastern violence. Because, neither the brutal attacks from Hamas on Oct. 7, nor the terrible reaction from Israel, happened in a vacuum.
There needs to be a broad national effort for deep listening and truth-telling whereby the deep and generational pain from all sides is heard and understood.
Again, the truth and reconciliation work done decades ago in South Africa is a model of what can happen.
And finally, from out of such deep listening, there might then be hope for a strategy to move forward, crafted under the biblical notion that everyone deserves to “live under their own vine and fig tree, in peace and unafraid.” But first the dropping of bombs and the firing of missiles must end!
As a person of faith, I know that such a world beyond fear and vengeance is possible. Indeed, it is the only world worth living for!
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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Thank you for this painful account of what is happening in Palestine, for this glimmer of hope, and, most importantly, for this call to action. We should all write to President Biden and to our legislators urging them to stop funding Israeli’s military, and start funding those who work for peace and reconciliation.
The solution is to die to self. But even Christians that are told to do so (Rom 6, 12:1, Gal 2:20, 5:24) ignore or shun that. They go to the government and demand laws. Laws will not and cannot change our heart
As Paul states, the cross is an offense; a stumbling block and foolishness. One cannot be born again unless our selfish human nature dies and we are re-created in the selfless image of God. Creating a new heart is what only God can do.
Selfishness, I want what I want and if you do not give it to me I will take it, force you (laws) or kill you, is what rules the human heart. Laws cannot change it any more than a STOP sign can force someone to stop. They have to choose to press the brake. Laws will never work because they cannot change the heart.
We teach our little ones that they are special and deserve whatever it is they think they deserve and wonder why they shoot someone that didn’t give them what they were told they deserve. We deserve the last 24 hours of Jesus life. If we have more, we are blessed.
People, and nations, are too invested in special (me first) issues, agendas, programs, etc.
What would our homes look like if we applied all the social agendas to our own homes?
Are we willing to take off the locks and take down our fences and take in the homeless, the immigrants, the disenfranchised into our homes? Will we give them (pay for) food, clothes, shelter, education and health care? or is that always something “the other” does?
Since before Russia invaded Ukraine, the dollars were all devoted to increase weapons and not food. Boost weapon production, not housing and health care. Everyone is in fear of the “other” that they will disadvantage “others” to protect themselves. Left/right, Dem/Rep, liberal/conservative, there is no difference. They all look out for “#1” first.