|
On Faith Vaughn Beckman |
Violence and hatred
in Mideast must stopThe world was stunned when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon uttered these words: "It is not possible to continue holding 3 1/2 million people under occupation." While the right wing of his own party seemed quite disturbed by the use of the word "occupation," Sharon made it very clear that the current situation is a terrible thing for Israel and for the Palestinians.
Certainly, terrible seems like a mild term.
The situation has been horrendous.
The escalating violence in IsraelPalestine has caused great suffering and hardship for all the peoples of that troubled land.
Malnutrition is rampant among the young.
Some 2,000 Palestinians and 780 Israelis have died since violence began in September 2000.
The residents of the occupied zone had more than 190 days of curfew in 2002 alone. No people can nor should have to live under such conditions.
The whole world has been hungering for a new vision of peace that will move past the current cycle of violence and despair.
We must condemn suicide bombings; we must condemn the corruption of young minds taught hatred and, also, the violence of military incursions in the occupied lands. No side is completely satisfied with the proposed "road map" plan for peace, but both the Israeli and Palestinian leadership have committed to viewing this plan as a first step toward peaceful coexistence.
The plight of the Palestinian people may be the very reason that President Bush felt compelled to step up to the plate with this new attempt. When Abdullah of Saudi Arabia arrived in Crawford, Texas, in April of last year, he presented the president with a book showing pictures of Palestinian suffering and a 10-minute video displaying the images of children shot and crushed.
Then Abdullah laid it on the line with the president: Was he going to do something about this or not?
History has demonstrated, time and time again, that unique, unexpected happenings do take place addressing the needs of the disenfranchised, the voiceless, the marginalized and the oppressed.
The successful struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall are clear examples.
Peace can be accomplished, but it must be built upon justice. It cannot be justice that is understood as merely some abstract measure of balance or equality.
Rather, it is based upon the real stories of real people, stories of Israelis and of Palestinians alike.
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let us pray for the peace of the Holy Land. As the former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu has proclaimed to the world: "Peace is possible; peace based upon justice is possible. We will do all we can to assist you to achieve this peace because it is God's dream, and you will be able to live amicably together as sisters and brothers."
Vaughn Beckman is senior minister of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Makiki, chairman of Friends of Sabeel Hawaii and president of the Interfaith Alliance, Hawaii.
Religion Calendar