Can't Have it Both Ways

Even Bibi can’t have it both ways.  On the one hand, he appeals to Jews all over the world, especially Europe, saying come to Israel, it is the only place on the globe where a Jew can be safe.

Then, he turns around and addresses our US congress declaring that Israel and all its citizens are on the verge of being wiped off the face of the earth by Iran.  For two decades now, Netanyahu has declared Iran about one year from getting “the bomb,” which will immediately be dropped on Israel.

So, is Israel a safe place or not? Even Bibi can’t have it both ways.

I am inclined to think Israel is not a safe place, but not because of threats from Iran.  It is because of Gaza, West Bank and the US.  The international conscience for justice and fair play will someday turn against Israel.

GAZA – Israel’s latest bombardment of Gaza which left over 2,100 Palestinians dead, including over 500 children, and destroyed thousands of buildings, including schools, mosques, power plants and water supplies, will not be forgotten anytime soon by those who suffer from it or those who have seen it.

Oxfam published on February 27, 2015 concerning the conditions in Gaza:

Since July, the situation has deteriorated dramatically. Approximately 100,000 Palestinians remain displaced this winter, living in dire conditions in schools and makeshift shelters not designed for long-term stay.  Scheduled power cuts persist for up to 18 hours a day… With severe restrictions on movement, most of the 1.8 million residents are trapped in the coastal enclave, with no hope for the future.

Bearing the brunt of this suffering are the most vulnerable, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, women and nearly one million children, who have experienced unimaginable suffering in three major conflicts in six short years.

Catherine Essoyan, Oxfam’s Regional Director said:

Families have been living in homes without roofs, walls or windows for the past six months. Many have just six hours of electricity a day and are without running water. Every day that people are unable to build is putting more lives at risk. It is utterly deplorable.[1]

Strip away my dignity, call me an animal and treat me as such, as Israel has done to the people of Gaza for 67 years, give me the opportunity and I will hit back.  Israel has a lot of making up to do if it is to ever feel safe.

WEST BANK - Though the focus of attention has been on Gaza since last year’s massacre by Israel, life in the West Bank continues under Israeli harassment.  In 2014, Israel demolished 1,177 Palestinian homes in West Bank, an average of nine Palestinian buildings per week.[2] In January, alone, Israel destroyed 77 buildings, leaving 110 people, half of whom were children, homeless in the frigid cold of winter. When a home is destroyed, Israel declares the area abandoned and confiscates it for Jewish only homes, roads, checkpoints or to make room for their apartheid wall. Israel talks of a “Two-State Solution,” if the Palestinians would just be reasonable, all the while pushing them off their land in West Bank back onto less than 39% of the least desirable land for agriculture, while systemically cutting off water and electricity. 

According to the United Nations, last year, Israel killed 54 Palestinians in the West Bank and injured 5,866 others, including 1,187 children.  The average home invasion for search and arrest was 98. There were 330 incidents of Israeli settler-related violence including the destruction of 9,400 trees.[3]

US - Of course, Israel could never keep its boot on the Palestinian neck were it not for the support and encouragement of the United States.   As I write this, there is much talk in the media about the strained relationship between Israel and the US because Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to congress in a few days.   I am sure the view from Palestine blurs when trying to see the rift.   When the Palestinian Authority appealed to the UN for help, Obama’s UN ambassador, Samantha Powers called it “deeply imbalanced.” And when Mahmoud Abbas speaks of going to the International Criminal Court, the US said it would “damage the atmosphere.”  Ali Abunimah claims that the atmosphere is already severely damaged:

I challenge Ms. Powers to go and repeat her words to any of the 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza still living in the damp and freezing rubble of their homes, to the surviving parents of more than 500 children killed in the Israeli attack or to the thousands who will live with lifetime injuries. … Few Palestinians will forget that when Israeli fire was raining down on them, the Obama administration authorized the transfer of grenades and mortar rounds to resupply the Israeli army.[4]

And what does the US government have to say about all this?  Only that Israel has a right to defend itself.  No matter what Israel does, our US government supports it and every Palestinian knows it.  

Mike Coogan may help us to understand why such blind support by the US:

“You see this napkin? In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on the napkin.”  These are the words of Stephen Rosen, official of AIPAC, describing the power of the pro-Israel lobby... Four years earlier, while boasting about his bad faith implementation of the Oslo Accords to a group of Israeli settlers, Benjamin Netanyahu said, “America is a thing you can move very easily.”[5]

So, as Netanyahu comes to address our Congress as to why he thinks we ought to go to war against Iran for the safety of Israel, our US media is baffled to understand why the Palestinians just can’t make peace.

Ben Gurion understood why years ago:

Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does it matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it’s true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing.  We have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?

And Ben Gurion knew nothing of the history above. All he knew was the Nakba of 1948. But, he also knew what Bibi Netanyahu seems to not understand. Israel can strive to be a good neighbor, or Israel can be at war until it is destroyed as a Zionist state. But, he can’t have it both ways.

Thomas Are

March 1, 2015

           

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[1] Andrea Gemanos, Gaza Rebuilt Effort Could Take 100 Years: Oxfam, Published by Common Dreams, February 27, 2015

[2] Ben Norton,  UN: In 2014, Israel Demolished 1,177 Palestinian homes in the West Bank.  Reported in Mondoweiss, February 2, 2015

[3] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Defense of Children International.

[4] Ali Abunimah, For Suffering Palestinians, the Obama-Netanyahu “rift” is a Side Show,  Published in Huffington Post,  February 20, 2015.

[5] Announced to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg.  Reported by Mike Coogan, Netanyahu is a Paper Tiger,  Mondoweiss, February 3, 2015. 

Dear Senator Isakson

An Open letter to Johnny Isakson

Thomas Are

6621 Crepe Myrtle Way

Stone Mountain, Georgia  30087

                                                                                    February 23, 2015

Senator Johnny Isakson

120 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senator Isakson,

I could give you many reasons why it would be foolish and immoral to enter into a military conflict with Iran, but I just want to point out one thing that I think you ought to know as you go in to support Israel on March third.

AHMADINEJAD DID NOT THREATEN TO WIPE ISRAEL OFF THE MAP.[i]

Your friend Netanyahu is going to imply that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon he would use it to destroy Israel.  However, what Ahmadinejad actually said in Farsi, his own language, in a speech on October 26, 2005 was, “This occupation regime over Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.”   This sounds like a moral condemnation, not a physical threat.

Iran voted for UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/67/19, on November 29, 2012, backing a two state solution with Israel/Palestine living side by side in peace and security.  Nothing about “wiping Israel off the map.”

So, as congress jumps up and down like puppets to cheer Mr. Netanyahu, at least know that as you do so, he is pulling your strings.

                       

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Thomas Are

P.S.  My wife says that I might get a more favorable reading if I sugarcoat this a bit.  I told her that this is sugarcoated.  I can’t tell you in strong enough terms how dumb it would be for us to get pulled into a war with Iran.  Your defense of American values and morality on March 3^rd is far more important than any photo of you cheering the Prime Minister of Israel, party victory or re-election.

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[i] See Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett,  Going to Tehran, Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran,  (Metropolitan Books, New York, 2013)  p.19   and  Peter Oborne and David Morrison,  A Dangerous Delusion, Why the West is Wrong about Nuclear Iran,  (Elliott and Thompson Limited,  London, 2013)  p. 79

Presbyterian Denied Entry by Jewish State

Was he denied entry into Israel because he was a Presbyterian?  If that implies that all Presbyterians had best stay away or be turned back, then probably not?  He is an activist with a compassionate heart for the poor, oppressed and abused people wherever they are.

Chris Weaver grew up in the church where I was a pastor for 21 years.  He would never carry a gun, nor would he ever encourage violence. As far as I know he never made a public speech.  What he did do was question the fairness of the news media and the blind support of Israel by our leading politicians.  Last Sunday, on a five o’clock flight, he left for Israel to volunteer to work for six months with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, a group of doctors and medical professionals who for 35 years have dedicated themselves to helping the victims of Israel’s violent attack on Palestinian civilians, especially children.  Chris was sponsored by The Joining Hands for Justice in Israel and Palestine, a committee of Presbyterians in Atlanta.

Chris was held up at the Allenby Bridge crossing. Israeli security searched and interrogated him with questions for seven hours. Then without offering any reason or explanation as to why,  he was told that he would not only be denied entry into Israel to work with the Medical Relief Group but that he was banned from entering Israel for ten years.  As I write, Chris is in limbo, holding up in a hotel in Jordan, not knowing what to do.  My guess is that he will fly back home as soon as possible.  At least, I hope so.

Now, the rest of the story.  What do you do when your son is in trouble overseas? You call your representative in Washington. However, when Chris’s father,  Bert Weaver, contacted the office of Representative Tom Price to ask for help in understanding what had happened to Chris, Price’s staff person said, we are not interested.  In other words, if you live in Georgia and have a conflict with Israel, you don’t have a Representative to represent you. He represents Israel.  Even if you are an American citizen, a life long Presbyterian, being sponsored by a Presbyterian organization and seeking to support a team of humanitarian doctors,  if your Representative’s friends in Israel say “no”, then you are on your own.

When the office of Senator Johnny Isakson was called, the answer was pretty much the same. His office was not the proper place to seek help.  Fahed Abu Akel was told to file a complaint and Isakson would pass it on to someone else, but he would not get involved. Now, I know that Isakson, like all politicians, is thinking about his next election and is concerned about running afoul of AIPAC. But is he not aware that the tide in America is turning?  More and more people, including American Jews, are siding with people like Chris, and questioning the policies of Israel and the leadership of politicians like Tom Price and Johnny Isakson, and they also vote.  

While any Israeli Jew can enter the U.S., no questions asked, because of our “special relationship” with Israel, it does not work the other way.  Israel lives in constant fear that decent Americans will look around at their Jewish State and talk about what they see. Visitor after visitor comes home from Israel saying, “You have to see it to believe it.”  This explains what caused so much panic in the security guards at the Allenby Bridge. Chris was carrying one of the most frightening “weapons” ever used against Israel.  He had a camera.

Even so, I cannot imagine what Israel is thinking.  Pass the word around the US that in spite of your country’s giving Israel billions of dollars in charity every year, you may receive no respect if you seek to enter Israel.  What will this do to their tourist economy?  For years I have had people ask me if it were safe to travel to Israel. I have always assured potential travelers, whether going on a Bible study tour or going to work to help the victims of Israel’s occupation and racist policies, that they, as an American citizens, would be welcomed and respected. I can no longer say that.

                                                                                    Thomas Are

                                                                                    February 9, 2015

Babies Freeze in Gaza

It got cold in Georgia last week.  We pushed our thermostat up, bought an extra little space heater for our sun room and mostly stayed inside where it was warm.  It also got cold in Gaza, twice as cold and the freezing temperatures did not stay outside. Five babies froze to death.

One month old, two months old, three months old, five months old, and eighteen months old.  And all dead.  But, what are five babies to Israel?

Why should the Jewish state care about the death of five non-Jewish babies even if the State of Israel is responsible for their deaths? Israel’s attitude is, if the people of conscience around the world are bothered by the death of a few babies, then let them rescue number six and number… no telling how many.  But, to do so they will have to get around Israel’s blockade of electricity, heating oil, medicines, food and construction materials from entering Gaza.  However, people of conscience will try. Other people have been cleaning up Israel’s mess for almost a century now.  

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza last summer destroyed 18,000 homes and left 100,000 people homeless and living in rubble. 

Article 32 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, states:

A protected person/s shall not have anything done to them of such a character as to cause physical suffering or extermination.

Even the most mundane physical abuse is thereby forbidden by Article 32. 

Yet, since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza last summer, families are forced to live in damaged houses. Many people sounded the alarm as to what would happen if repairs where not immediately done. Severe winter storms came as predicted.  Heavy rains blew into houses without roofs or walls and soaked the floors. Then the temperature dropped to 4 degrees, With Israel having cut off the electricity for 16-18 hours every day, parents simply could not keep their children warm. 

Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said that money for aiding Palestinians is running out:

The consequences of suspending the program would be dire as Gaza’s 1.8 million people struggle to recover from last summer’s fighting… The conflict damaged or destroyed more than 96,000 homes, more than double the original estimate…. More than 14,000 people driven from their homes live in schools run by UNWRA, while others live in makeshift shelters or prefabricated housing or homes so badly damaged that they are exposed to the elements.[1]

It was obvious to anyone willing to see that if something were  not done before winter,  people were going to be very cold and some, especially old folks and the very young, were going to die.  But, who cares? Not Israel, and not our government.  These were real children, loved by real mothers and fathers and who had a God given right to be protected and kept warm.  

One and a half year-old Fadi Qudeih died on Tuesday, January 6th. His home had been demolished during Israel’s attack on Gaza this past summer.

On Friday, January 9th,  two-month old Rahaf Abu-Assi  died following the drop in temperature.

Salma Al-Masri froze to death in Beit Hanoun on Saturday, January 10th. He was three months old.

Dying on that same day, January 10^th, was  baby Adel Al-Laham, one month old.

Sami Abu Khesi found his son, Wadle, dead of hypothermia on January 15^th. He was five months old

None of this seems to be significant enough to make the evening news in the U.S. media.  Americans are ignorant of what is happening in Gaza even when it’s being done with the support of our government and money. We are committed to our ignorance.

I can’t imagine watching my grandchildren growing cold to the degree of freezing to death. Add to that, the knowledge that the situation causing their death was deliberately planned and executed, would be more than I could emotionally handle.

So, OK civilized people, Gaza needs help.  And so far, over 5.4 billion dollars have been pledged to rebuild what Israel destroyed. However, less than 1/1000^th of needed materials have been allowed by Israel into Gaza.[2]   

To the person, our Senate votes to support Israel. What if five babies freeze to death? They are not the children of our governmental leaders.  I feel sorry for the suffering families of Gaza.  I feel even more sorrow for those of us who allow it to happen.

                                                                                                Thomas Are

                                                                                                January 27, 2015

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[1] Astrid Zweynert,  U.N. says Cash to Repair Gaza Homes Will Run Out by the End of This Month.   Reuters.com.  January 22, 2015

[2] Mondoweiss,  Dan Cohen, Living in the Aftermath: Palestinians in Gaza Struggle under the Seige to Rebuild,    Mondoweiss, December 3, 3 2014

Some Situations Deserve a Little Sarcasm

I mean, how lucky can Israel be?  For years, Israel has claimed that anyone would defend itself against the unprovoked attacks of a neighboring nation.  I remember the news commentators consistently asking  “What would the US do if Mexico fired rockets into Texas?”  

Now, Abbas is talking of joining the International Criminal Court.  The whole world can see how long the Palestinians have been abusing Israel.

Now, Israel can take the Palestinians to court for putting their land under all those expensive settlements. And building the city of Qalqilya right over Israel’s main aquifer in the West Bank.  And forcing Israel  into the humiliating position of having to beg the US for more money and bombs to drop on Gaza.

Now, the ICC can tell the international community to get off Israel’s back for shooting a five year old boy in the face as he was getting off his school bus. He was going home. But who knows? He could have been a “terrorist” going to a cell meeting to build a bomb to wipe Israel off the map.  The courts could declare it illegal for any 5 year old to be a terrorist.   And the mothers of the babies who froze to death last week in Gaza when the temperature dropped to four degrees should be made to understand that Israel cut off their heat in order to save them from an exorbitant electricity bill.[1]  And the children, around 1200 of them, injured by Israeli forces last year in the West Bank are probably better off than those detained and subjected to humiliation and even torture in Israel’s jails.[2] They no longer have to work for a living within the horrible conditions of occupation. Israel is always looking out for those needy Palestinians.

And, suddenly, like icing on the cake, the Palestinians may have to face their responsibility for building their homes in front of Israel’s walls and bulldozers.  And surely the court will have some judgment on those Palestinians catching Israel’s fish off the Gaza coast. The world will have a chance to finally get it straight.  Like Golda Meir told Bob Schieffer, host of Face the Nation, “We can never forgive the Arabs for forcing us to kill their children.”

How lucky can Israel be?  Because Palestine is now going to the ICC,  the whole world will be able to see exactly the level of harassment with which Israel has  been forced to live for decades.

However, putting sarcasm aside, the court would also hear the claims of the Palestinians.  For years, Israel has referred to the West Bank and Gaza as “disputed territory.” A court, by definition, is where disputes are aired and settled.  Should not Israel, or any civilized people, choose to settle a dispute by appealing to a court, rather than resorting to bombs, planes, gunboats and white phosphorus gas?  However, Israel is the only party in the dispute who has bombs, planes, tanks and white phosphorus to fire into the unarmed people on the other side of the dispute. So, why should Israel go to court?

                                                                                                

                                                                        Thomas Are

                                                                        January 17, 2015        

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[1] International Middle East Media Center, News and Agencies, 4^th Infant Dies of Cold in Gaza Caravan House, January 13, 2015.

[2] See Mondoweiss, January 7, 2015,  UN report: 1200 Palestinian Children Injured by Israeli Forces in West Bank during 2014. ,   International Middle East Media Center, also reports December 5, 2014:

Cases of physical abuse, solitary confinement, stripping off clothes in chilly night air, deprivation of food and water for hours and denial of breaks were also reported… The report states that at least 600 Palestinian children were arrested in Jerusalem since last June, of whom nearly 40% were exposed to sexual abuse during arrest or investigation by the Israeli authorities.

Kerry's Frustration

John Kerry is frustrated. So reports my local newspaper.[i]  He has worked all year trying to bring about a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.  I am also frustrated. My frustration is not so much with Israel or Palestine, whose actions are totally predictable. It is with John Kerry.

Kerry is smart enough to know that the barrier to peace in the Israel/Palestinian conflict is the OCCUPATION.  The problem is that he does not have the integrity and courage to admit what he surely must know.  Throughout its history, Israel has shown little interest in meeting any conditions for peace with the Palestinians which might put its agenda for expanding into all of Palestine in jeopardy. 

Back in 1940, Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency’s Colonization Department, could have explained it to Kerry:

Between ourselves it must be clear that there is no room for both peoples together in this country. We shall not achieve our goal if the Arabs are in this country. There is no other way than to transfer the Arabs from here to neighboring countries – all of them. Not one village, not one tribe, should be left.[ii]

David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, established Israel’s strategy in clear terms.

After we become strong as the results of the state, we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine.”[iii]

Immediately following the Six Day War, Menachem Begin began referring to the West Bank only by its ancient Biblical names, Samaria and Judea, giving a “God endorsement” to Israel’s goal of expansion:

The right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is eternal and indisputable and is linked to security and peace. Therefore, Judea and Samaria will not be handed over to any foreign administration. Between the sea and the Jordan River there will be only Israeli sovereignty. Relinquishing parts of the Western Land of Israel undermines our right to the country, jeopardizes the security of the Jewish population, endangers the security of the State of Israel and frustrates any prospect of peace.[iv]

Raphael Eytan, IDF Chief of Staff, known for his part in the massacre of 762 to 3,500 mostly women, children and old people at Sabra and Shatila said:

We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel… Force is all they do or ever will understand… When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.[v]

Matthew Taylor sums it up:

For the past 66 years, Israel’s primary mission – no matter which party was in power – has been to steal land from Palestinians and give this stolen land to Israeli Jews.  In the words of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. “We will expel the Arabs and take their places,”[vi]

It is amazing that Israel has managed to sell their smoke and mirrors act to the Western world, (meaning Kerry), that in spite of the facts, Israel really wants peace but is the victim that needs an enormous amount of money to be protected from the Arabs.

As Kerry talks borders, Israel announces plans to destroy 2,000 more Arab homes in order to construct 828 Jewish only homes in East Jerusalem plus 20,000 more in the West Bank.[vii]   .

The issue, Mr. Kerry, is the OCCUPATION and its history. Israel’s separation wall has turned Palestinian towns and villages into prisons. Gaza continues to live in inhumane conditions, under permanent blockade. Settlements gobble up homes and land. Military checkpoints and road blocks by the hundreds, humiliate Palestinians trying to get to work or home and hundreds of thousands of refugees still live in camps.

Hamas has declared that it will recognize Israel within its '67 borders, but as long as Israel refuses to define borders, given Israel’s stated goals and track record, undefined recognition would leave nothing for the Palestinians.  

The news article lamenting Kerry’s frustration concludes:

The final breakdown was set in motion when Israel moved ahead with plans to build settlement units in the area of East Jerusalem that Palestinians consider their territory.”  

“Consider” their territory! And why shouldn’t they?  They have title deeds to the land, have lived and worked on the land for centuries and have never considered any other place their home.  Why would they not consider it their territory?  

Come on Mr. Kerry, turn the lights on. A thief loves the darkness and Israel loves your frustration.  My question is why would you be frustrated, and why, after 44 years of the same story,  would the Associated Press think this is news?

                                                                                    Thomas Are

                                                                                    January 1, 2015

[i] Laura Jakes, Associated Press, Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Foiled, The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution,  December 22, 2014.

[ii] Alan Hart, Zionism, The Real Enemy of the Jews.  Volume One.,  (Clarity Press, 2009) p. 122.

[iii] Ben Gurion in a 1938 speech . Cited in Ralph Schoenman, The Hidden History of Zionism, (Veritas Press, Santa Barbara, California, 1988) p.33.

[iv] Cited in Zionism the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land, Edited by Don Wagner and Walter Davis, (Pickwick Publications, 2014) p.38. oly Land, Edited by Don Wagner and Walter Davis, Holy

[v] Reported in New York Times,  April 14, 1983.  Google Wikipedia. 

[vi] Matthew Taylor, Roger Cohen recites Livni talking points in ‘NYT’ column to blame Palestinians for peace process failure.  Mondoweiss, December 24, 2014

[vii] Rachelle Marshall, Kerry faces Down Israel and its Lobby to Achieve Agreement with Iran,  The Washington Report on Middle east Affairs. January 2014. p. 9.

What is a Proper Theology?

I sometimes think there is an unwritten agreement for church membership.  We are to put our brains out of gear at the beginning of Advent. We are to sing and listen to selected readings from scripture, but no theological inquiry is allowed until the decorations are safely packed away.  It is during Advent and Christmas, the most celebrated season of the year, that we seem to substitute a theology about Jesus for the theology of Jesus.  We talk more about who he was than what he said and did. This leaves me wondering, What is a proper theology?

I used to think theology was something stored away in my books. Week by week, I would take one off the shelf and look for something fresh and interesting. I would dust it off and preach it to my congregation. I knew I was successful when people filed out after church saying, “Thank you Reverend, That was fresh and interesting.”

I know better now.  Theology is not in my books. Theology is in you, whoever you are.  It is known in how you live and how you relate to your fellow human beings.  You don’t learn theology in church, you discover it as you live in the world.

I used to think “church” was something we did up front in the sanctuary.  I know better now.  You don’t come to church, you bring church with you when you come.

I think it was John Calvin who said something like, theology is the spectacles though which we see God.  Maybe so. But I don’t believe that any more.  Theology is the spectacles through which we see the world as God intends it to be.

My fear is that what I learned in seminary was a fixed theology. I studied until I got it right, went out as a young pastor and dished “it” out one spoonful at a time until my sharper church members also got it right. I invited the world to come and get it. I had it and the world needed it.

I now believe such thinking is short sighted.  Theology is not something we have, or get or even something we believe. It is something we do.  It is something learned by following the teachings of Jesus and if we don’t do our theology, it makes little  difference what we believe.  

If we want the world to take us seriously, then we must show Jesus to be relevant and that we are faithful.  Jesus teaches such things as “love you enemies, turn the other cheek, go the second mile, feed the hungry, defend the weak and set at liberty those who are oppressed.”  When the world sees us doing these kinds of things, we might then claim a proper theology.

Now, what does all this have to do with a blog dedicated to justice and peace for the Palestinians? Just this. We go to church week after week  while our brothers and sisters in Palestine are persecuted, and we hear very little, if anything, about it.

Our theologians tell us that we must present “both sides” in the name of fairness. I confess;  when families are driven out of their homes in the middle of the night, I cannot see another side.  When  children are deliberately frightened by soldiers with guns and clubs until they cannot sleep, I cannot see another side. When people are denied access to a doctor or hospital at checkpoints, I cannot see another side. When water is confiscated and shipped out of Palestine and into Israel, when settlers are allowed to shoot holes into rooftop cisterns, I cannot see another side.

What I can see is that until the church speaks up, in a loud and clear voice to defend the oppressed and humiliated, we have no theology worth sharing.

“But the church is doing so many things right,” I am told.  This is true.  However, if all parts of my body function just right and only one tiny clot forms on my brain,  I am not 99% healthy, I am 100% sick.  If the church does everything else just right, but fails to defend the weak and oppressed, we are not almost healthy, we are totally sick.

So, what is a proper theology? Jesus got it right.  “Love God and neighbor.“ And who is my neighbor? The one who needs my help.  He said nothing about taking someone else’s home so he might come again (Christian Zionists) or that Yahweh might fulfill a promise to one set of chosen people, (Jewish Zionists) over any other people.

A proper theology is not just saluting the “General", and admiring his medals, It is following the General’s orders. It means looking at our world through the spectacles of God’s love. If the church doesn’t speak up, somebody else will and as soon as that happens, the church will become irrelevant.

                                                                                                Thomas Are

                                                                                                December 20, 2014