Wading Into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

As you know, Elysabeth and I were in Israel earlier this month. We never went anywhere near the Gaza Strip, but we did drive up and down the Jordan River and right up next the border between Israel and Lebanon and Syria. The only time we entered the Occupied Palestinian Territories was to visit Bethlehem (O Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie?) Our guide gave us quite the lesson in modern Israeli history. Needless to say, the violence between Israel and the Palestinians that we have been hearing about for the last 5 days or so has been deeply disturbing to me and I've been trying to read anything I can get my hands on.

While I am terribly unqualifed to speak with any authority on Middle East politics, I want to share with you what I am reading that I have found helpful in the hopes that you will also find these resources helpful.

What's Next on Gaza/Israel and Why Americans Should Care, by Daniel Levy
I've read a lot of articles and blog posts on this issue in the past few days but this is the single best piece I've read on the recent conflict and many of the historical and political reasons behind it. Yes, I realize it's from the Huffington Post and that some of you will be turned off by this fact alone, but consider for a minue that Daniel Levy has worked under several Israeli Prime Ministers. His bio is here.

Anti-Semites and Israel's assault on Gaza
I found this piece through Bill Cork's blog. This comes from a strongly pro-Israel source but strikes me a pretty balanced piece.

Brian McLaren shares a couple emails he's received from an Israeli friend in Palestine
Here and here.

The Christian Century on the blockade of Gaza.

Here's two sides (here and here) of the argument from The Chrisitan Science Monitor.

Ressurrecting Empire, by Rashid Khalidi
This is a book I'm reading right now, at the recommendation of my friend Doug Morgan. It is a great overview and history of the West's "involvement" (interference would be a better word) in the Middle East. It's craming a lot of history into a small space, so I'm not sure I'm retaining all the fine points, but it's a good primer on Mid-east politics and history.

My Analysis
This is my very simplistic and amateur analysis.
1. Hamas is an enormous problem. Right now they seem to be the present cause of the violence. Their persistent firing of rockets into Israel over the past several years is terrorizing and provocative and Israel feels duty bound to respond.

2. The Israeli government has been maintaining what amounts to a siege on Gaza, prohibiting the flow of basic resources such as food, medical supplies and electricity and sanitation, which has created a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

3. Hamas places is military establishments in residential areas, however what occurs to me is this (and I haven't read this in any article up until now). There are 1.5 million people who live on the 139 square mile piece of land known as the Gaza Strip, which makes it one of the most densely populated places in the world. No matter where you locate military establishments, you our bound to be nearby civilian neighborhoods.

4. Why are the Israelis targeting police stations and police graduation ceremonies if their target is Hamas? (This is an actual question).

5. Here's the bottom line for me: Israel's response is not making Israel more secure, which is ostensibly their goal. On the left sidebar of this blog, just under my picture, is a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that I believe with all by being.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

The Israeli government has the 5th strongest military in the world, backed by the single strongest military in the world. The world needs Israel to be a leader in the Middle East, not a retaliatory sibling. Yes, Israel is being bullied. Yes, Hamas is a destructive regime bent on destroying Israel. But we need Israel to show restraint and most of all, leadership, in creating a new reality in the region. I know this sounds naive, and maybe it is, but the Prince of Peace who we Christians claim to follow, calls us to nothing less. And it seems to me that the survival of the planet demands that someone stand up and be the leader.

So, I hope that you will join me in first of all praying for an end to this insane conflict. As of today 390 Palestinians have died, 60 of them civilians (according to the LA Times). Israel has rejected a call for a truce and seems prepared to engage a ground conflict any day now. Nothing good can come from this. Nothing!

Second, support organizations like CARE who are trying to save people's lives.

Third, learn all you can about the history of the Middle East and understand the problems on all sides.

Take Action
Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative
This is an organization I am very proud to say I am a part of. The organizing committee for this group just met to lay plans Memorial Day 2009. Stay tuned!

Churches for Middle East Peace
I haven't worked with this group before, but it seems like a something good you might want to check out.

Comments

[Johnny A. Ramirez]

Balanced, informative and actionable- well done! Please keep us updated on the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative. That is such an important cause.

/study war no more!

[Samuel Sukaton]

"4. Why are the Israelis targeting police stations and police graduation ceremonies if their target is Hamas? (This is an actual question)."

Understand, Ryan, that in Gaza and the West Bank, Hamas is more than a terrorist group. It's an actual political party, with branches for patronage and parliamentary politics in addition to the armed militia we always see on TV

Hamas is one of the two biggest parties in Palestinian politics (the other, Arafat's Fatah, is the leading opposition.) Since everybody's been fighting Israel since, oh, 1948, everybody's armed. Since Hamas won a majority in 2006, Fatah and Hamas have been fighting--either in chambers or on the street. As a result, to guarantee that the police stay loyal, Hamas may have packed Gaza's finest with loyalists from the armed struggle.

[Samuel Sukaton]

If you want more information on Palestinian politics inside Palestine, David Remnick's previous work for the New Yorker is very lucid. Also, setting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the context of the greater Arab world will also help.

[Ryan Bell]

Sam, good point about the police being deeply embedded with Hamas. But actually, Hamas in not in control in the West Bank and it seems like Abbas, in the West Bank, and leader of the Fatah, is in whatever weak way trying to get Hamas to stop and talk to the Israelis.

The other argument, tho, about the police being targeted is that this may be a way to totally disrupt the rule of law in the Gaza Strip.

Rashid Khalidi's book (mentioned above) also does a good job of setting the Palestinian conflict in the context of the wider Arab world and the whole Middle East.