Good Friday in 2023 was on this date, April 7, in 2023 and we were on an eleven hour flight from Toronto to Tel Aviv, Israel. We arrived the morning of Holy Saturday to the warm greeting of Ruth's step-sister and her husband. Despite sleep depravation and jet lag we drove straight to Jerusalem and rambled round the streets of the Old City, including a mystical evening visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The next morning we were are the Garden Tomb for Easter worship where I had as much a sense of joy observing butterflies amidst the abundant flowers as from the packed service.
I have been haunted during the past week in contemplating what was a wonderful time in Israel in many respects. We realized quickly that our beloved family members knew very little about Palestinian Christians despite being long-time residents in Israel as part of an evangelical ministry. And while they lived very close to the West Bank and at one point we drove within 40 kilometres of Gaza we couldn't talk about the separation some describe as apartheid either.
My spirit is troubled by what we didn't explore even though we had a unique trip in many respects. I feel...what... shame, sorrow, rage? Should we have gone, and should we have pushed harder for more information despite what we already were aware of? Should we have asked for the opportunity to meet Palestinian Christians?
In the past few days we've heard that between 15,000 and 17,000 children have died in Gaza. Even though the Hamas attacks on Israel were barbaric these deaths in retaliation are inexcusable and a monstrous sin against humanity and God/Allah/Yahweh.
There was also the news that the Israeli military now admits that the 15 Palestine Red Crescent medics killed by its forces last month were unarmed and in ambulances driving slowly with flashing lights. This admission comes after the initial claim that they were acting suspiciously. It took a cell phone video of this massacre to get closer to the truth, including the burial of the bodies in a mass grave. In the West Bank the situation continues to deteriorate with attacks on Palestinian villages, the destruction of homes, and lengthy detentions without charges.
We have to acknowledge that Israelis live with the sense that they are under seige and families mourn or wait in the hope of release of family members held captive by Hamas. We know that our family members lived with huge stress until their relocation to the United States. We can't minimize this.
And yet...What will happen to the new generation of Palestinian children, the ones who survive and grow up to hate Israelis? What is happening to the Israeli soldiers, young people we saw everywhere, who are agents of war and too often involved in atrocities which may haunt them for a lifetime?
For me it all feels like Good Friday, regardless of religion, a time of sorrow and darkness and I really have no answers or peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment