How Long, O Lord?
In forty days of auto touring, Sarah and I saw parts of fifteen states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah. I anticipated writing some reflection about sights or people observed along the way, but the day we arrived home we heard the news: Hamas struck Israel, and Israel has declared war.
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have suffered injustice meted out by Israel for generations—since 1967 at least.
Jews have suffered injustice meted out by so-called Christians for centuries. Israel as a state exists largely because of a 150+ year-long mission (Zionism) to create a safe place for Jews.
Israelis and Palestinians must learn to live together in peace. Some think this calls for a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine with particular bits of ground and separate governments. Some think there should be one state with genuine freedom of religion. Almost everyone says they believe in democratic governance, but practice has fallen low. Israel has real elections, but their coalition government gives outsize influence to extremist parties. The government in the West Bank is worse, with much corruption. The rulers of Gaza, Hamas, are worse yet.
The United States officially lists Hamas as a terrorist organization. The attack on Israel gives overwhelming evidence this judgment is true. Hamas achieved military surprise, hitting Israel with so many rockets and missiles that the famous Israeli air defense system, the “Iron Dome,” failed to stop some of them. Hamas sent raiders into various parts of Israel, where they pulled civilians out of their homes to kill them. Other non-combatants were kidnapped and taken as hostages to hideouts in Gaza. Today Hamas leaders said they would execute hostages if Israel attacks civilian areas in Gaza. Such actions are quintessential terrorism: creating and using fear to manipulate an enemy.
Despite Hamas’ early “successes,” Israel remains militarily far stronger. Israel has declared siege against Gaza: no food, no water, no electricity. Israel has already pummeled suspected Hamas locations in Gaza with airstrikes, and they are preparing troops to invade. Israel’s Prime Minister has said the war may be protracted but Hamas will be destroyed. Hamas is backed by Iran, but Iran is not militarily able to intervene. If Israel’s government chooses to do so, they can probably eliminate Hamas in Gaza—if they are willing to kill enough people. How many? 100,000? Most of the dead will be civilians. If such horrible slaughter deters Netanyahu’s government from the stated goal of destroying Hamas, there will be hardliners in Israel (and supporters in the U.S.) who will criticize him for weakness.
I have read analysts in the papers who suggest Hamas’ real goal is to prevent long-term peacemaking between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Leaders of Hamas may count their war against Israel a success even if Israel kills all the leaders of the group.
Both sides have suffered great injustice. Both sides claim their cause is just. Neither, of course, is interested in “just war theory” as developed mostly by Christian theologians. But the war aims and justifications given for evil policies are familiar to anyone who studies the history of “just wars.”
Many leaders and public voices on both sides will claim God’s approval for their actions. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael supposedly approves of killing the children of the enemy.
Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come. How long, O Lord?
