The Palestinian Question: Thoughts on Being Labeled an Anti-Semite

With the posting* I’ve been doing about our time in the West Bank, I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. And as you might imagine, I’ve got a few things to say about being labeled an anti-Semite.

First, let me say that my interest in the question of Israel and the Palestinian people is firmly rooted in my desire to be a better follower of Jesus, and my growing conviction that the Gospel is the announcement of God’s plan to redeem all of Creation. As NT Wright would put it, God has a plan to "put things right." Because of these beliefs I agonize over the way large segments of the Christian church in the west automatically side with Israel on all issues, almost as an involuntary reflex. Israel is given a blank cheque, and as the state of “God’s Chosen People” is assumed to be in the right, regardless of its actions or the consequences thereof. My goal is to seek solutions to the conflict there that are pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-justice, and pro-peace. This is where I’m coming from on this issue.

I also need to state clearly for the record that there are real anti-Semites out there. For reasons that will become clear I no longer think that term is useful, but there are some--bigoted, small-minded people--who hates Jews and everything Jewish. I hate no one, and I am especially fascinated by and attracted to the culture and history of the Jewish people, through whom Jesus came to the world.

Thirdly, it seems I need to say that I believe the Holocaust was real, horrific, and evil beyond words. Understandably it forms a significant part of the individual and communal history, psyche and identity of Jews everywhere, and of the state of Israel.

Here’s where the problem arises: We need to keep going on the issue, to talk further, and as soon as we go beyond what I’ve expressed in the paragraphs above, we are in serious trouble.

Case in point: While we were rooming together in the West Bank earlier this year, my friend Greg Barrett recounted for me an interview he conducted back in 2003 with Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, and author of Never Again and The Deadliest Lies. The interview took place over lunch in an upscale Washington, DC restaurant, and Greg recalls the conversation as initially very pleasant. The atmosphere quickly changed as Greg raised the issue of the lopsided death toll as a result of then recent violence. (Given the timing of the interview and the fact that the Second Intifada was in progress, Greg believes he referenced statistics from the First Intifada. According to Wikipedia "an estimated 1,100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and 164 Israelis were killed by Palestinians.")

At that point Foxman erupted.

"You want to talk numbers? You want to talk NUMBERS?!" Other patrons in the restaurant stopped and stared. Foxman went on to reference the millions killed in the Holocaust. Greg waited while Foxman yelled. When he finally paused to take a breath, Greg pointed out that those millions weren't killed by Palestinians.

It must have been quite a scene. Let me reiterate that I am very sympathetic to the work of the Anti-Defamation League, and to the life and work of Abraham Foxman. I suspect that I need to keep repeating that fact, and there will still be those who won't hear me. However, do you see what is happening here?

Here is the thumbnail sketch: I've posted before about the system of economic, social and racial apartheid that is designed, among other reasons, to keep visitors to Israel from ever meeting a Palestinian. The system tries desperately to keep us from seeing both sides of the story. And now we understand the second part of this system. Should you, through your own initiative, meet Palestinians, speak with them, get to know them and their circumstances, get a better understanding of the facts on the ground, well, any criticism you may express is summarily dismissed as anti-Semitism.

(And if you happen to be Jewish and you still have the nerve to criticize Israeli policy, well then you are a “self-hating Jew”, a condition diagnosed by no less than the Israeli Prime Minister himself.)

Because of all this very real and very tragic history, no current criticism can be offered. This perfect, protected, closed system exists, and to even suggest the existence of the system itself is to be labeled an anti-Semite. We all know the saying about absolute power, and so it seems to me we're not doing anyone a favour by granting a group absolute power without any accountability. The unspeakable injustices Jews suffered during the Holocaust make a moral demand on those who stood idly by as it happened, but it does not demand that we turn a blind eye when injustices are perpetrated against Palestinians. The greatest way to respond to the injustices done against Jews is to stand against injustices committed against anyone, anywhere.

It seems to me that if I had issues with some of the policies of, say, the Norwegian government, to pick a random country, I’d just be another guy with an opinion. The same thing would apply to my various criticisms of my own government here in Canada. I don’t hate Canadians, or Norwegians, I simply have opinions about the policies of those governments. But if the country I am criticizing is Israel, well then some will say my views are what they are because I’m an anti-Semite, and I hate Jews, and as a result my opinions are summarily dismissed. This makes no sense to me. Ah, but you say, Israel is not Norway or Canada. Exactly! The only difference in these examples is the tragic history of the Jews, and yet I am the one labeled as a hater of people in one out of those three examples. That is incongruent.

As I've already stated I am very sympathetic to how the haunting memory of the Holocaust has become imprinted in the identity of Jews everywhere. I don't expect that to change. What I am hoping to accomplish here is simply to reopen the issue of blind support for Israel from the western church. If we believe that God is a God of justice, then we must be willing to consider all issues in that light. The alternative is to state clearly that God's concern for justice applies to every people group on the planet except the Palestinians. We simply cannot have it both ways.

Can we have that conversation?

* Here's a list of related posts

The People (Feb. 3)

Dead Dove in the Razor Wire (Feb. 5)

The Pushback (Feb. 6)

The Wall (Feb. 8)

The Refusnik Movement (Feb. 17. See also Stop Smiling and Do Something)

The People of Beit Sahour (Mar. 2)

The Daily Grind (Mar. 11)

Comments

[yshekster]

I have felt and thought this way for a VERY LONG TIME. Thank you brother, for reflecting the thoughts of Christ followers everywhere.

Broad-stroke-western-"Christians" have sided wrongly for a very long time. They tend to shrug their shoulders and just go with "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you." That's all they've got - quoting out of context. What about the rest of the Gospel?

[Jason Coker]

Some can have this conversation - and it is desperately needed - but most in the US Church can't. There are two more difference between Israel and Norway besides the tragic history of Israel:

1) The "chosen people of God" moniker that is mis-applied thanks to deeply entrenched low-level Zionism, and 2) Their sworn enemies are stereotypically Muslim, and nobody frightens typical Americans as much as Muslims.

There's a lot of baggage to work through here, and not just Israel's - much of it is our own. Kudos to you for trying to initiate an important conversation Mike.

[Greg Barrett]

Extremely well stated Mike. You've done us all -- Canadians, Americans, Israelis, Palestinians; Christians, Jews, Muslims, everyone -- a good service.

[Marnie]

By enlarge we have been taught to be black and white thinkers. Good/ bad, right/ wrong, evil/moral. This is deeply entrenched in the texture of storytelling. Myth, fable and drama are all rooted in this basic structure. Protagonist, antagonist joined together in conflict. Which makes for good fiction, but isn’t what is expressed or experienced in the real world. We constantly seek to define our history, current events and people groups by this ancient story model. Somebody has to be the epic hero and somebody has to be the oppressor. But, as we know the protagonist and antagonist is really a creation of who is telling or experiencing the story. People of faith are certainly susceptible to this type of either/or thinking. Which is odd to me.

For Christ followers one of the elements that fascinates us about Jesus is his ability to paint for us a broader and more complex story structure. He is a master of subtext. The story under the story. It is his very nature to fathom the unseen depths of situations and people. Blurring our preconceptions and making us look at the complexity of a world and humanity of grays. We are all an amazing mixture of protagonist and antagonist. But we don’t feel comfortable with a story structure that appears not to have structure at all. We don’t know who to attach our compassion to. Where do we place our empathy? If two different people are telling the same story two different ways who do we believe? Which journey do we take and invest in? Most often we choose the journey we feel most intimate with.

I’m not saying people and governments have not committed evil acts. Because clearly as the holocaust reminds us (and we should never forget) evil thrives and humanity must be protected and cherished. All I’m saying is that before you choose your hero and label your villain take both journeys and invest your understanding in both stories because that is the way of the peacekeeper. Perhaps that duality is impossible...but only impossible if we decide to make it so. Just thinking out loud for what it is worth.

[David duChemin]

Right, but why do you hate Jews? :-) Mike, as someone who has both Jewish family I love and spends time in the arab world, with people I love, thank you for this. I had a conversation a couple years back with a self-professed Christian who seemed to insist that this issue existed outside the mandate to love not only our neighbors, but our enemies as well. For me, it comes down to that. If Christ, a Jew, could forgive those who crucified him, perhaps there're hints in there for the needed future direction of all this - forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace.

We're so fond of the Us vs. Them, aren't we? God help us all.

Thanks for saying these things so articulately and with grace, respect, and love

[John Santic]

Well said Mike and spoken like a prophet. To level the playing field as you just did requires members of all parties and peoples to reconsider their assumptions in light of the truth you proclaim:

"The greatest way to respond to the injustices done against Jews is to stand against injustices committed against anyone, anywhere."

I think this is the crux of the matter.

[idelette]

Mike, thanks for breaking down the wall on this one. We cannot turn a blind eye to any injustice anywhere; we (whether persons or nations) should be held to the same standard.

So agree: "The greatest way to respond to the injustices done against Jews is to stand against injustices committed against anyone, anywhere."

Really well articulated response. Shalom. : )

[Mike]

Thanks for the comments friends, both here and on Facebook. Please keep them coming.

I'd also like to hear from those who are shaking their heads and saying, "Mike just doesn't get it."

Let's try to have that conversation.

[boxthejack]

Thanks so much for this. I was today involved in an email exchange which ended up with me reading similar ad hominem attacks on Stephen Sizer - a more gracious man you couldn't wish to meet. The fact that critics of Israel are forced onto the back foot like this is depressing, wearing, and probably does make people think twice about engaging with the issues.

But on the other hand, it is quite an endorsement of the arguments being made by those who are disturbed by the misery endured by Palestinians. Ad hominem attacks are a conversational last resort, in fact they are the end of conversation. Keep speaking the truth.

[chuck aka xtnyoda]

I read a great deal of dissent from Christian writers about the nation, Israel.

Egypt has also built a wall to keep the Palestinians out of Egypt... so why aren't we condemning Egypt as well as Israel?

[Mike]

Fair question Chuck, but I think one that can be addressed.

According to the UN (and every country that has refused to recognize the Israeli settlements located beyond the Green Line) Israel is occupying Palestinian territory, and is in violation of international laws governing the behaviour and actions of occupying forces.

Also, as I discussed in my post about the "Segregation Wall", that wall is not built to keep people out, but to disrupt and destroy the Palestinian economy, and to generally make life difficult for the local population.

Finally, much of the supplies that make it into Gaza are actually being smuggled in through tunnels from Egypt, so (thankfully) I don't think the Egyptians are trying very hard.

I've got a lot of time for the discussion about how other Arab countries are not doing enough for the Palestinians, but that is a completely different question. I think Israeli policy towards the Palestinians stands on it's own as a moral and ethical issue. As such, it's an important question to consider for those segments of the western church that offer their wholesale support of Israel.

Thanks for keeping the conversation going.

[Kayti]

Thanks for this. My husband and I can definitely relate as two persons living in this area. Looking forward to keeping up with your blog after a reference from a friend.