Israel and Gaza

I will start by saying that I am not taking sides politically on this, because I don't know enough in a complex situation to make a judgement.What is more, anything I say here is what I can find out and may be mistaken, because ALL of the sources of information are biased, often very strongly. This is the case for everyone - it is almost impossible to find good, reliable information on this situation, because (for whatever reason) it seems nobody is allowed to be neutral.

There have been reports of the attacks on Gaza being Israels response to mortars being fired at them. This sounds reasonable, until you look at the numbers killed by such devices. From what I can find, the total numbers of Israelis killed by missiles fired from Gaza since 2000 is in double figures - probably somewhere in the sixties. In this latest conflict, Israeli deaths are small, and military rather than civilian - not that a single death is irrelevant, just that it is worth looking at numbers to see whether the response is valid. One of the reasons is the use of the Iron Dome technology to intercept most of the missiles fired at them.

Deaths in Gaza of the Palestinians are over 1000 in this conflict alone. So to argue that this is a reasonable response to attacks does not seem to make sense. It is like a kid being held at arms length by an adult, yet trying to punch still. Occasional punches will land on the arms, and may sting, but there is no real harm done. Then the adult punches the kid repeatedly in the face, as a response.

What is worse is that the Palestinian casualties are civilian, and relatively young. I posted a video from Jon Snow about his experiences, which is quite traumatic. One response I had was a video arguing the "human shield" approach of Hamas is what is causing the problems. The arrogance of the Hamas leaders is part of the issue - undoubtedly, they are using Gaza as a base for attacks because they cannot easily be identified there, because any response would cause massive civilian casualties.

But the truth is that it is Israeli missiles that are killing people, not Hamas mortars. If Israel was to stop firing into Gaza, then less people would be killed. Given that Hamas is not causing casualties, that would improve the situation. There might then be a chance for a solution to this.

Of course, this conflict does not stand alone as a one-off dispute. The problems are far more deep rooted than this. The current problems are caused because both sides have right-wing, nationalist leadership. there is an important lesson for those European countries who have elected significantly right-wing representatives here, that these policies seem to involve aggression and hatred of others, which often - in Europe as well as other places - can lead to armed conflict. That is a place we should not go again, not ever. This year is the centenary of start of WW1, a conflict that has scarred Europe because it was the worst of a war, the most unpleasant and gruesome conflict.

The deaths of the ordinary people is so often the result of this demand to occupy land. The people who usually suffer from the political ambitions of the powerful are the powerless. That is why Jesus was so often critical of the powerful, so often supporting the powerless - nobody else would look after them.

Of course, the real roots of this conflict go back even further - they go back to 1945, when Israel decided to form themselves a state in their traditional homelands. The problems are enhanced by the support from significant portions of the west, so often with a belief that this was their Christian duty to support Israel in its homeland. I have heard it expressed simply that "God promised them this land", as if that is it.

And yet a reading of the Bible does not really support Israel having a divine right to this land. The thing is, with the most conservative reading of the texts, they were promised this land, and used this to invade and occupy the land, killing the previous occupants. But then, they were driven out of the land, also by God, because they had failed to live up to the standard demanded of them. At that point, they lost any divine right to the land.

They were allowed back - note allowed - by their conquerors. The re-established themselves there, and existed for a long time under the rule of others, until their oppressors became fed up with them, and destroyed Jerusalem.

Israel do not have any "divine right" to their land. At the best, they should seek to occupy it under the rule of others. At the worst, the current Israeli nation is an occupying force who are invading the Palestinian homeland. They are being allowed - in fact, enabled - to do this by the west. So the responsibility for these deaths in Gaza is ours, every one of us.

And I say it is time to stop.

I have a word from God...

And he says "Stop killing people."

As I write this, Israel is attacking Gaza, and the reports about MH17 indicate that it was deliberately shot down.

The news reports make for very grim, very depressing watching, with a range of pictures that are totally unsuitable for viewing, that should not be shown. Many people are mourning their losses from both of these terrible events, both events that are deliberate attacks intended to kill other people.

The reality is very difficult to get to in these situations, because there have been many pictures going around purporting to be from the Israel/Palestinian conflict that are actually not. The images of the children bombed as they were running along the beach seems to be valid, and is sickening.

I am not wanting to take sides in these conflicts, because I do not understand all of the complexities involved. I do know that Israel has massive military power, and the Palestinians do not, so that seems like a rather one-sided contest: Israel is killing people it doesn't want around, people who cannot defend themselves, people who were on their land decades before Israel invaded.

Both sides has a religious affiliation, but - despite my opening paragraph - I don't believe this is primarily a religious war. It is political: Israel wants to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza. And most of the West is prepared to let it.

I know that one of the reasons behind this is the belief that Israel was "given the land by God". Well, I can see that argument, if you read only those parts of the Bible that suit your purposes. God brought the people out of Egypt, and into a land for them to conquer. And then, because they were not faithful to Him, he drove them out of that land again. Many years later, they returned, supposedly humbled, and as the subjects of a foreign power. Shortly after the time of Jesus, they lost Jerusalem and much of the land again.

I don't see anything in this that gives them any "divine right" to the land. I don't see anything in this that indicates a justification for using massively superior fire-power to fire at and kill unarmed people in their own land. They may have good reasons for thinking they are justified in this, but divine right should play no part in it.


The plane crash over Ukraine does not make for any more cheerful reading - and once again, I don't want to take sides, because I don't know the whole picture, and who might be responsible is still very unclear. But it would seem that someone shot down a civilian plane over a politically troubled area, I can only presume with political motives.

Included on the plane were 100 top AIDS researchers, so this will put AIDS research back some way. But there were also hundreds of other people - ordinary people - on the plane. They will all be missed and mourned for by families and friends. They are innocent victims of a power struggle over land - not that different from Israel and Gaza. The people who pay the price for these battles are rarely the ones who make the decisions to attack or to defend. Whatever the resolution of the Ukraine struggle, these people will not be brought back - their loss will be felt for many years to come.


It is the innocence of many of the victims of these battles that I struggle with. OK, nobody is entirely innocent in the eyes of God, but many of the victims are innocent of any involvement in the dispute for which they give their lives. My reading of the Bible is that God is on the side of the innocent, and is not in support of them being killed. So whatever your faith and your God, please stop killing others. It sucks.