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On Oct. 7, the third anniversary of the events that triggered the Gaza war, New York mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed compassion for both sides - and was promptly excoriated by both sides. He has a tough job.
In this midterm election year, different attitudes toward Israel and Palestine defined some of the primaries, like the Democratic Senatorial primary in Michigan and the Republican Congressional primary in northeastern Kentucky. Different attitudes toward Israel and Palestine are in play for the general election too, notably in Georgia and Maine. Our vote will be over soon, but when will the conflict be over?
Last week the Nobel Peace Prize was given to South African human rights attorney Navi Pillay, famous for making the case that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. This award was cheered by much of the world, but denounced by Israel and the U.S. We live in interesting times.
Both the Israelis and the Palestinians are nations of refugees. Both are militarized peoples whose fighters live at home with their families, children, and elders: any combat is inevitably disastrous to civilians. Both sides might be accused of terrorism, atrocities, even genocide: but the war of words is as futile as the war of bombs and bullets.
Each side complains of boycotts and thought control by sympathizers of the other side. Israeli authors, artists, and academics are increasingly unwelcome at international conventions and forums, though these intellectuals typically oppose the Israeli government and its policies. Ironically, Western foes of Netanyahu are helping Netanyahu by stifling his critics. On the other hand, the Trump administration and pro-Israeli business leaders are trying to silence pro-Palestinian speech on campuses and in concert halls, thus adding fuel to the flame of public outrage. Censorship betrays the weakness of one's own cause. If we are confident of our opinions, we should not fear to debate the other side.
This week (Saturday) Jews are reading the story of Noah's ark. Noah's rainbow (Genesis 9:12-17) foreshadows the diversity of Noah's descendants. Noah is the ancestor of all peoples, and Noah's son Shem is the ancestor of all Semitic peoples (Genesis 10:21-31): that's where the word Semitic comes from. God gives Noah the primordial commandments, like the prohibition of murder (Genesis 9:6). And one must not eat an animal with the lifeblood in it (Genesis 9:4), a law preserved to this day in both Judaism and Islam. Blood is of course a symbol of cruelty (Genesis 4:10-11, Exodus 7:17-21, Leviticus 19:16).
The problem in the Holy Land is this: how can two disparate peoples - estranged cousins - share the small country that both claim as their heritage, after more than a century of bitter confrontation? The framing that treats the Israelis as civilized and the Palestinians as barbarians is transparently colonial: every non-European people has been called barbarians at one time or another. Conversely, the framing that positions the Palestinians as indigenous and the Israelis as foreigners is specious: surely no cultural fact is better documented than the age-old attachment of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. Of course it is legitimate to criticize Israel, even harshly: hey, the Prophets did! But the Prophets never denied that Israel was the Jewish homeland.
James Joyce observed, History is a nightmare from which we are trying to awaken. People wish to avenge wrongs done to their forebears, but vengeance is an endless cycle. We West Virginians know the dangers of blood feuds. The Bible teaches that no human being is entitled to vengeance (Leviticus 19:18). Only God has a right to vengeance (Deuteronomy 32:35), because only God truly sees all sides of the story.
Can enemies bury the hatchet? Obviously it isn't easy. Reconciliation begins with awareness of the other side's humanity. In Proverbs (25:21) we read, if your enemy hungers, give them bread; if your enemy thirsts, give them water. This precept has not been meticulously honored of late, but tomorrow is another day.
This week's scripture includes the Tower of Babel story (Genesis 11:1-9). Society's movers and shakers are beset by division and soon find themselves speaking different tongues. It's all right if some people talk Hebrew and others talk Arabic - or English, French, Russian, Armenian. But every language has a word for peace.
Joe Hample is the rabbi emeritus at Tree of Life Congregation in Morgantown and is writing as part of the Morgantown Faith Leaders Network.