For those of you who may not know, evangelicals have recently embraced a call for lasting peace in Israel/Palestine by calling for a two-state solution. Essentially, they are saying that it is about time that the two were able to split and be two separate nations, able to elect whom they want, to govern the way they want (at long as it is democratic), and to be two separate nations. Let me just say that this is great and it is about time.
However, I have a few problems with the drawing up of this statement. The first major problem I have is that 4 of the 5 Wesleyan schools did not have a representative; Houghton was the lone exception. Now, the GS’s for my denomination did sign the statement, but we were missing the signatures from the presidents of four of our schools. To me, this is incredibly disappointing. However, I am also ecstatic that we got all three of our GS’s to sign. This is fantastic and real progress for my denomination.
Second, I have an issue with the reasons given in the statement for the adopting of this statement. The first reason is for the safety of Israel. Now, I do not disagree with this, but it begs the question of the safety of Palestinians as well. I understand that evangelicals have traditionally “kissed up” to Israel and favored Israel. However, in this crisis, Israel (and the creation of Israel) is the real culprit for much of the violence and many of the problems in the area. This comes about through many Israeli policies, not the least of which is to erect a wall around Palestinian territories so as not to allow Palestinians out (this is a similar tactic to that of the Berlin Wall, always a symbol of evil in the West). And so, where is the call for Israel to be actively engaged in creating a peace-full place where Palestinians are allowed to thrive, to have economic success, and to not be treated like second-class citizens. It seems that to me, it is time for evangelicals to stop bowing at the feet of Israel – and giving them a free pass – and to start holding them to the same standards.
The second reason given for the statement is the safety of America and Americans abroad. I find this to be completely narcissistic and naïve. A statement is made to the effect that many people in the Middle East view America through the Israel-Palestine conflict. And, while this is true, people in the Middle East also view America through the Soviet-Afghanistan war (and America’s involvement therein), the first Gulf War, and continuing to label various countries as terrorist states. America is not popular because of America’s policies in the Middle East. And, so now, evangelicals call for peace between Israel and Palestine to keep America safe. Perhaps the next call should be to America to attempt to repent and right wrongs to keep itself safe? This should be strictly about Israel and Palestine, not about America.
I want to end this by saying that I am incredibly encouraged by this statement. It seems that evangelical leaders are starting to understand that they have more of a role to play in the world than has traditionally been supposed. This is a good thing. It is also very encouraging that the people signing this are educators in evangelical schools, meaning that hopefully these schools are raising socially-conscious evangelical leaders.
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