Vengence

“How can we, as people of faith, say that there is another way?”

At our clergy meeting at First Congregational Church in Coloma two weeks ago, we were asked to share what made us aware of the kingdom or kin-dom of God showing up in the world. I knew immediately what I would say.

At the U.S. Capitol over these last few weeks, thousands of Jews rallied for what is being called the biggest Jewish gathering in protest on behalf of the Palestinians. Two major Jewish peace groups, IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace, came together to say that they would not use their grief to commit a genocide.

Jewish prophet, Naomi Klein, one of the prophets I regularly read and listen to, said,

We have a sacred responsibility to engage with our parents, our grandparents, our uncles, our brothers and sisters, and try to save their souls, to keep them from indulging in this quest for bloody vengeance. We are here because we will not let our fears of antisemitism be manipulated in this way, as cover for war crimes and colonial land grabs and to foreclose on the possibility of a political solution, which will only come with an end to occupation, with an end to apartheid, with true Palestinian freedom and self-determination. We will not use the fact that many of our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were refugees from genocide to justify making hundreds of thousands or even millions of new Palestinian refugees.

These are not our leaders, not in the Knesset, with its so-called unity government, and not here in Congress, which reconvenes now in part in order to approve new money and new weapons to send to Israel for its genocidal attack on Palestinians.

On Friday, Jewish Voice for Peace and their allies shut down the main terminal of Grand Central Station during rush hour Friday in one of New York’s largest acts of civil disobedience in 20 years to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

These are the Jewish people I have come to know and love. Rabbis in different cities I have ministered, Rockford, Illinois, and Billings, Montana, have been my best friends and colleagues. They have been my examples and leaders. Rabbi Sharon Brous, leader of the IKAR community in Los Angeles, has been one of my remote spiritual leaders. I have often said that the fundamental Jewish value of justice, rooted in their bone, as opposed to the Christian value of inclusion, feels more real and true to me.

As I write this on Monday, October 30th, the Israeli ground offensive into Gaza is about to start. The estimates of the dead in Palestine is now over 8,000 including over 3,400 children. All this since Hamas’s October 7 surprise attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people.

The grief I feel at the loss of so many Israeli lives just gutted me - partly because I hate the loss of so many lives; partly because I knew that this would lead to so much more death.

Every day the Palestinian people experience occupation and death in that part of the world. Throughout decades, this has meant disproportionate death and dislocation for so many people and all of their peaceful efforts in protest have led to nothing but more death.

And there is one country that is directly responsible for propping up Israel not out of some grand value for life in that part of the world but for power and the control of resources. That country is us. We have allowed Israel to do this without any accountability asked for by almost all of the global south. We want the resources to keep flowing, particularly the oil.

How can we, as people of faith, say that there is another way? How can we say that even if Satan offers us all the kingdoms of the world, we will not bow down and worship his hate just to achieve power over others? When will we say that? Will we imitate Christ and turn Satan away? Or is the offer too seductive? Too much of a comfort?

Jewish people are protesting on behalf of the Palestinian people. Would that there might be Christian people who find their way to enter into this complex situation and seek peace and life for all of the people involved. Would that there might be.

Shalom,

Mike

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