A future free of fear

I wrote this blog last week, and so in a fast-moving situation it is somewhat dated, but it mostly holds true.

Looking back to a time before 7th October 2023 and the Hamas slaughter of so many is like looking into a different world. I had just said farewell to a visiting group from Scotland charged with supporting our Resource and Presence in Israel-Palestine. I was excited about development plans for the Galilee Garden in the church grounds in Tiberias, and I was looking forward to my first visit to Gaza. A week ago today (11th October)we were scheduled to visit Al Ahli Hospital. I was to be travelling with Doug Dicks, Regional Liaison Officer (Presbyterian Church USA) and Rev Dr Stewart Gillan, my fellow mission partner in Israel.

Now a week later, I am sitting in my study in Glasgow and straining to hear news from friends and partners. And then, last night, the worst news. Al Ahli Hospital had been bombed. The numbers are still unclear, but it seems many hundreds have been killed and many more injured. The hospital had been a place of refuge for over one thousand people, who had hoped that a hospital would be relatively safe. It wasn’t.

We are beyond shocked that this place of healing has been devastated and the lives of so many patients, medical staff and ordinary Gazans seeking a place of safety while under intense rocket fire have been lost.

The news of the slaughter had a polarising effect on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook and among good friends. Some wanted to prove this was a failed Hamas rocket and not an Israeli precision strike. Others stuck firmly to their belief that only Israel has the fire power capable of causing such carnage.  Both Hamas and the IDF are blaming the other.  Truth is always the first casualty in war.

But the polarisation driving people further into their tribes and fixed opinions is not good soil for growing peace. Somehow, we have to hold on to the humanity of everyone involved. Somehow, we have to be able to recognise that the 16 year blockade of Gaza and the increased settlement building and belligerent behaviour from extremist settlers in the West Bank and the Israeli government and the world’s failure to do more than contain an impossible situation has led to where we are.

And where we are is not good for Israelis either. Many have connections with those killed or injured. Many are army reservists or have family who are. Many peace activists are struggling. It is hard for an Israeli to hear from a Palestinian friend you admire and respect that her heart lifted with joy when she saw the breaches in the security fence around Gaza because it meant change is possible, even if, as we now know, inhumane and indecent things were done in the name of freedom.

And yet, there are still voices, often muted at the moment, asking that vengeance not be carried out in their name, or their child’s name; asking that the work done to build bridges in understanding should continue, even as urgent work is done to find common ground on which to build a future free of fear for Israeli and Palestinian.

Everyone is afraid. People in Israel-Palestine are being arrested for posting the ‘wrong’ thing on social media. Legitimate protest is being characterised as antisemitic.

I was reminded this morning of the prophet Micah’s call: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Justice, kindness and humility are present in the current unholy mess, because God is present, but their voices need amplified and we all need to join in. We must call the UK Government to press for an immediate ceasefire, for hostages to be released, for humanitarian aid to be allowed in and for the rule of international law to be applied. We must call for the world to look beyond the immediate crisis to a longer term solution which guarantees safety and self-determination and an adequate standard of living to Palestinians and Israelis alike. We must, as I’ve said before, hold Israelis and Palestinians together in our hearts.