This summer while I interning for the Jerusalem Institute of Justice I learned of the complexity of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. I had the incredible opportunity to research the history and basis for the conflict between the two groups.
As Christians we generally (and rightly) fall on the side of Israel because of God’s unique and special relationship with Israel. God indeed promised Israel to the Jewish people and we, as most Christians, correctly view the current situation as the Jews finally “coming home.”
Because of these biblical truths, however, we tend to be blindly one-sided.
“Israel is God’s country, and therefore Israel can do no wrong,” we say. At one point this summer we were talking to a Jewish man recently out of the service; he mentioned that “Israel is the land of milk and honey, but it is only the land of milk and honey for those who belong here.” This struck me.
Though Israel is in fact given to the Jewish people, it, including its military, is still made up of and run by human beings. As a result, Israel has its faults—just like any other country. As Christians, we should not condemn Palestine for their human right violations and at the same time make excuses for Israel’s human right violations.
In other words, we can be pro-Israel without being anti-Palestinian and be pro-Palestinian without being anti-Israel. Granted, this conflict is far more complicated than what I can write in a blog post.
But, as Christians we must remember that Israel and Palestine are made up of human beings – created in the image of God, and our job is to love and disciple both groups.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student intern. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.