W ashington Watch Towards a Just Peace Being prophetic can be hard and being pastoral is not always a walk in the park. Speaking truth to power, as Dr. King did, can get you killed–even when you smile kindly while saying it and hope for the transformation of the oppressors. If “pastoral” could mean something like “caring for the wholeness and faithfulness of each person and the church” and “prophetic” could mean something like “calling for greater justice and peace by pointing out injustices committed by states, citizens, religious leaders, and religious people,” then perhaps we could seek to be both pastoral and prophetic. If we are only pastoral we might not see and address the social injustices around us; if we are only prophetic we might forget that structural injustices needing to be dismantled involve the hearts, minds, lives, and humanity of specific people. I think the church needs to address the Israeli-Palestinian situation with God’s pastoral love and God’s prophetic call for justice–godly love and godly justice. To do this we must be willing to point out both the positive and the negative that policy makers are doing, affirming the just policies and criticizing the unjust. And since the Israeli-Palestinian situation involves the US, we must do this for US policy as well as for Israeli and Palestinian policy. Sometimes when a person criticizes the policies of the US they are called unpatriotic or anti-American, which diverts attention away from the policy being criticized or suggested. A similar phenomenon happens when people criticize the policies of Israel or the Palestinian Authority. An Orthodox rabbi told me that a way to lower one’s chances of being called anti-Israel when criticizing its policies is to be sure neither to demonize the Jews nor to delegitimize the existence of the State of Israel. My desire is to speak pastorally and prophetically to this issue and be clear that I love Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians and want all three peoples to enact the most just policies possible. My threefold approach to this situation is to discern the best perspectives and
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actions for churches and for followers of Jesus and to offer policy recommendations to the nations involved. Churches should be communities of character that create people of integrity who live truthfully. Discovering the truth as a church could happen by connecting with Palestinian churches and evangelical organizations in the West Bank, like Bethlehem Bible College, and using resources at ESA and Churches for Middle East Peace in your Christian education programs and sermons. Churches should speak clearly against the use of violence by all parties, and if they tour Israel they should learn the Palestinian narratives alongside the Israeli ones. Followers of Jesus who seek to be faithful could learn about the situation not only from American and Israeli Christians but also from Palestinian evangelical Christians like Sami Awad (Holy Land Trust), Alex Awad (Palestinian Memories), and Salim Munayer (Musalaha). Watch the film Little Town of Bethlehem, which features the stories of an Israeli Jewish fighter pilot, a Palestinian Muslim, and Sami Awad. Also learn from the many Jews who are working for a just peace through organizations like Rabbis for Human Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (Jeff Halper). While learning, pray about whom you should become as a peacemaker and justice seeker and be open to having conversations with family and friends, writing letters or making phone calls, or even journeying to Israel/ Palestine to meet the folks who live there. Jesus’ invitation to pick up our crosses and follow him seems to entail a willingness to risk, and the journey of faithful discipleship means that one may lose (and gain) reputations, friends, family, even one’s life. Count the cost as you engage this issue, and proceed wisely. Based on my desire for both Israel and Palestine to have viable states, I have specific policy recommendations. The Obama
Paul Alexander administration should be commended for bringing the Israelis and Palestinians together for direct talks, but it should pressure Israel to stop building Israeli cities in Palestine. These “settlements” of hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens are built in occupied territory and are illegal under international law, and the US must stand strong against their expansion. The US should also fund Palestinian infrastructure development to empower President Abbas and draw support away from Hamas. The State of Israel should be commended for its willingness to engage in direct talks, but it should cease building additional structures in the West Bank (neither homes for settlers nor walls on the Palestinian side of the Green Line), end the occupation by withdrawing troops from the West Bank and handing control to the Palestinian Authority, and vocally denounce any violence against Palestinians by the Israeli settlers. The Palestinian Authority should be commended for its willingness to engage in direct talks and for denouncing the use of violence to resolve the conflict, but it should even more vocally denounce all uses of violence by any Palestinians, persevere in building efficient infrastructure in Palestine, and consider financial compensation related to the return of refugees. Hopefully, we can become better followers of Jesus and more faithful churches while also addressing the nations. We are certainly called by God to love the Israelis and the Palestinians–Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others–and it seems that a Spirit-led way to love is to work pastorally and prophetically for a just peace.z
Paul Alexander is ESA’s director of public policy and professor of Christian Ethics and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa.