The state of Israel has benefited greatly from Hawaii's support. Senior U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Gov. Linda Lingle continue to voice their strong commitment to Israel and its expansionist policies. Meanwhile, Hawaii television commercials advertise Israel as a tourist destination, Israeli cosmetics made by occupying industries in the Palestinian territories are sold at Ala Moana Center, and a U.S. military that controls much land in Hawaii and dominates our economy is viewed around the world as an essential guarantor of Israel's interests.

In Hawaii, religious organizations are also expressing a deep interest in what takes place in the Holy Land. One such group is Beth Israel Jewish Ministries International, a Christian organization that sponsors the Ends of the Earth Prayer Tower located on Bishop Street. This organization promotes an outreach to the Jewish people based on the belief that all of Palestine must be in Jewish hands and the Jerusalem Temple must be rebuilt so that the Second Coming of Jesus can take place.

Another Christian Zionist organization active in Hawaii is the Deep Sea Canoe Movement with its All Pacific Prayer Assemblies. Based on a vision of Michael Maeliau, a self-proclaimed prophet from the Solomon Islands, the Deep Sea Canoe Movement foresees the time when the people of the Pacific will journey to Jerusalem to witness the Second Coming of Jesus.

This movement, like Beth Israel Jewish Ministries, advocates an Israeli occupation of the entire land of Palestine and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. These will signal the Second Coming of Jesus. Ironically, according to an interpretation based on the Book of Revelation, the temple must be rebuilt only to make room for the Antichrist to destroy it.

I participate in a very different kind of organization, the Hawaii chapter of Friends of Sabeel North America. FOSNA was organized in support of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem. Sabeel recognizes the right of the state of Israel to exist, but not at the expense of the Palestinian people who also have a right to exist and live with freedom in their ancestral lands. Sabeel therefore desires peace and security for Israel and also justice for the Palestinians. Christian Zionists and many Jewish Zionists view the Palestinians as dispensable. Sabeel does not.

This coming weekend, from 8 a.m. Friday until 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sabeel is sponsoring a major conference, “;What Does Justice Require of US: Peace with Justice in the Holy Land,”; at St. Andrew's Cathedral. The conference will feature talks and workshops by noted Jewish and Palestinian speakers, including Naim Ateek, the Palestinian Anglican priest, and founder/director of Sabeel. Of concern will be the continuing occupation of Palestinian lands, the ongoing crisis in Gaza, and U.S. foreign policy in relationship to the state of Israel.

The conference will present an alternative vision for the Holy Land, one that is not based on religious fundamentalist messianic interpretations or military solutions, but one that is based on a vision of peace with justice in that troubled part of the world.