The Senseless Cycle of Violence in the West Bank & Israel

 

Settlers look on as cars and homes burn in the West Bank town of Huwara on February 26, 2023. (Courtesy)

Around the time that we booked our April flights to Israel late last Fall a right-wing coalition was formed in the country following an election. Nine-lives leader Benajamin Netanyahu resurfaced despite charges for corruption which remain unresolved. 

Since this government was formed there has been a steady increase in violence resulting in deaths of both Jewish settlers and Palestinians, nearly all in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. These are areas where settlements condemned by international bodies including the United Nations have been established and expanded. There are now hundreds of thousands of settlers living in communities in those areas. 

While the violence is simply wrong, from both sides, the number of Palestinians who have died far outnumber the Jewish settlers killed. While some of the Palestinians who have lost their lives are linked to terrorist organizations and considered martyrs for the cause of liberation, many have been bystanders, including children.

This past week settlers responded to the murders of two brothers by overrunning a Palestinian town called Huwara and several nearby villages. Hundreds of settlers burned homes, cars, and orchards, and assaulted citizens. Not only have they done so with impunity, the Israeli finance minister, Belazel Smotrich said that Huwara should be "wiped off the earth" by the government. While Netanyahu condemned the violence the army did not intervene. 

Increasingly human rights agencies and Christian denominations are using the controversial term "apartheid" to describe what is happening in Israel and these regions. Apartheid was the entrenched legal racial separation between whites and people of colour for decades in South Africa. When it is applied to Israel there is always a strong reaction. 

Some of you may recall that back in 2012 the United Church of Canada General Council called for a boycott of  goods produced in the settlement of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The term "apartheid" was floated, although not adopted, but the denomination took a lot of heat just the same. Still in congregational ministry at the time, I received emails and calls from Jewish groups and conservative Christian pastors expressing their dismay and asking me to speak against this initiative. I didn't. 

Last year the UCC again issued the results of a denominational study regarding Israel/Palestine, with greater diplomacy. We were condemned for even raising the subject by some and for not taking a decisive stand by others. 

Remarkably, the first time the United Church addressed the injustices regarding Palestinians was 1969 when  the Rev. Al Forrest the editor of the United Church Observer magazine condemned what he saw as oppression, even as he affirmed the existence of the State of Israel. He also wrote a book called The Unholy Land for which I'll include a link, as I've done before. /https://www.justpeaceadvocates.ca/the-unholy-land-by-rev-dr-a-c-forrest/

As much as we're still trying to look forward to our trip and to spending time with Ruth's step-sister and husband who have lived there for decades, I doubt we would have chosen to visit now if we'd known what would unfold under this reprehensible government. 

This is all heart-breaking in a land so important to the three Abrahamic religions. When will this senseless cycle of violence end?