In 1996, my spouse Beverly and I had the opportunity to travel to Israel. I am grateful for the experience.
We learned so much and I was able to gain a better understanding of the events of the Bible. I loved the story the priest told us about the two seas, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee receives, lives, flourishes and gives. The Dead Sea keeps every drop it gets, shares nothing and is dead.
I remember this as I receive many blessings, knowing I must give in return.
Our tour guide was an Israeli named Nate and our bus driver was an native Arab named David. One day as we drove through a neighborhood, David told us these homes used to belong to Arabs. I learned that the original owners had fled during one of the wars, and the homes had been occupied and claimed ever since by Israel.
On another day, we were close to Mt. Carmel and Nate told us of the archaeological sites dating back 10,000 years that proved the land belonged to Israel. Listening to both views, I started to gain an understanding on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is one land – claimed by two peoples – and no way to compromise on how to solve the deadly dispute of ownership.
After World War I, Britain gained control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. Soon. Jews from Europe began immigrating to Palestine. This escalated after World War II and in response to the Holocaust, the call for a Jewish homeland was renewed.
In 1948, the modern country of Israel was born. Many Palestinians were displaced and many Jews emigrated to Israel. During the 1967 Six Day War, Israel gained control of the Golan Heights, West Bank, Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula. Again, hundreds of thousands of civilians became refugees. Under the Camp David Accords, Sinai was returned to Egypt and a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt signed.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to this day. Most recently, Hamas – a terrorist organization which controls Gaza – began firing rockets into Israel and Israel retaliated. Before the cease fire, 242 people were dead, including 63 children in Gaza and two in Israel.
War is not for children. The deaths of innocent victims on both sides is inexcusable and a crime.
Some look to solve the conflict with a two-state solution. This has the Palestinians controlling the land they lost in 1967. This is agreeable to some but others take an all or nothing position. There is no easy solution to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Father Elias Chacour, the author of “Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel,” has spent a lifetime working for peace among Arabs and Jews. He calls for common friends of both sides to work for peace.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for the peace of Palestine, pray for the peace of the world.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church. Email him at ereece@wnccumc.net.