Veroni's Views

In a sense neither is right – bloodshed on both sides. On the other hand, it may be argued that neither is wrong – Biblical grounds for blessing of both; desire for safe statehood. That is the depth of the dilemma. I have tried to stay out of the ongoing argument, but with both the war and the discussion raging on, I thought I could add my little bit to the debate.

There are (at least) three points of view to the issue.

Politically and legally the issue is statehood for Israel and the Palestinians. This is contemporary and factual.

Humanely there is the fact of many people being killed, which is always disgraceful.

From the point of view of God’s plans, there is the special place Israel has in God’s plans.

Someone once said we should deal matter of factly with facts and humanely with humans. This applies to the first two points of view stated above. That is where De Klerk’s advice is sound.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Only-dialogue-can-stop-Gaza-war-De-Klerk-20140729

This also includes moral issues: Is it right for Israel to keep the Palestinians in a politically subjected position? Is it right for Palestinians to desire freedom at all costs? I think we would all agree that the answer to the first question is “No!” We would probably hesitate to answer the second question, unless we placed ourselves in the position of the oppressed. If we could imagine ourselves to be in their position we would probably feel more inclined to go with “at all costs.”

The matter of the place of Israel in God’s plans is an eschatological issue. That is, it has to do with the unfolding of history according to the plans of God. None of us really knows in what specific manner or time frame God is operating. Christians enthusiastically cheering Israel on should take cognizance of the fact that Israel is a secular nation that does not seem to care much for God. What is important is that neither Israel nor Hamas or the Palestinians or westerners who comment on the crisis from a safe distance will prevent God from achieving his purposes. Maybe that will not be in the manner we wish it to be, but it will happen.

Our faith naturally determines how we see things. However, when we “mix” things incorrectly, we end up pronouncing judgments incorrectly. We cannot evaluate Israel’s approach to the issue of Gaza and the Palestinians from the viewpoint of what we believe about the ultimate destiny of Israel. The question is what would be the right way to handle the situation now, at this or any point in time? Ultimately, what would Jesus do?

From all points of view, I believe He would hate to see people killing each other. He would be equally sad at Palestinians and Israelis being killed and suffering. He would rather see them communicating and trying to find solutions.

What would He have us do? Our role right now is to pray for the will of God to be done. As we pray, we should remember the command of Jesus that we should not judge. Rather, we should examine ourselves, and work towards eradicating all injustice in our own surroundings.