Newsweek OpEd - The Moral Imperative of Just Peacemaking in Gaza
Does the war meet all the Just War criteria? What about the pacifist perspective? Is the 'logic of the state' the only framework?
Last week I co-wrote an opEd with Rev. Dr. Mae Cannon of Churches for Middle East Peace for Newsweek… You can read the article here. What follows below are further thoughts on the idea of a moral imperative for Christians towards a just peace. Since most Americans have never been exposed to “just peacemaking” theory, my hope is this Newsweek article may provoke thought and challenge deeper thinking on the notion of ‘self defense' and ‘just war’.
Claiming a right to self-defense is often the knee jerk response to the Israel Gaza conflict, but is it the Christ-like response to conflict?
I suspect much our typical response to tragedy, war, retaliation and violence follows the logic of the state rather than the logic of the Kingdom. For example how much of our thinking is taken up with moralizing about or justifying violence vs. preventing hostility in the first place? For Christians called to be peacemakers (Matt 5) and ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5) we should be far more engaged in preventing hostility and war rather than postulating about how Middle East conflict is a sign of the end-times. I will compare the logic of the State and of the Kingdom in a later article…
The kidnapping and murder of Israelis on Oct 7 was an abomination, an assault on humanity disastrous for any hope of peace in the land. It has likely set back the prospects of peace or Palestinian statehood by decades. I found even in my own heart watching the news from great distance, a desire for retribution and revenge. This is important to notice lest we become self-righteous… for the line between good and evil (as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said) cuts right through every human heart.
If we around the globe sense these urges how must Israelis feel? In lieu of the staggering death toll now nearing 40,000 Palestinian civilians I find myself equally troubled and angered by the suffering on display of many innocent civilians compounded by continual references to ‘Just War’ and the ‘right to self-defense.’ And this by Christians who worship the Prince of Peace. At what point does self-defense cross over to rage, collective retribution and a lack of restraint?
How can an ideology (Hamas’ or Islamic jihad in general) ever be defeated when the very violence and control visited upon them stirs and reinforces their primary grievance?
We have been here for awhile. The war has raged for 300 days. There seems to be only a binary choice, obliterate Hamas (and all the sub-human Palestinians with them) claiming a just war or (from Hamas’ perspective) eliminate the State of Israel and all the Jews “from the river to the sea.” (Important Note: This phrase means very different things to Arab Christian Palestinians like Mitri Raheb who yearns for Israel to be a free place where all can live in peace “from the river to the sea.”)
Dehumanizing rhetoric and contempt, the more outlandish the better, rages from both sides. A Hamas cleric called for the annihilation of Jews from the land calling them “filthy animals, apes and pigs (link).” An Israeli official called Hamas “human animals” and Netanyahu likened Israel’s military campaign a fulfillment of prophecy citing the divine command to “Do not spare [the Amalekites]; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys (link)." Strident leaders propagate these violent social contagions through bestializing words, giving implicit permission to their followers to act. 72% of Palestinians supported Hamas’ attack in Gaza, 85% in West Bank link. Israel’s response to Oct 7 has likewise drawn early support, with 81% approving of the IDF’s performance (link).
Even conservatives in the US advocate for “Holy War” and “leveling the place.” Shockingly, pastors and Christian leaders are also joining in the rhetoric advocating for killing “all of them” calling Hamas the “pantheon of barbarians” and saying this calls for a “smashing the nations” (link, link, link). I wrote last month in an opEd for Religion News Service about how some in the church are even radicalizing with calls to violence.
But this is the logic of the state, the logic of Rome. Are there no other stances, choices or ways to peace? How does the ethic of the Kingdom apply?
We made a very brief case for the just peacemaking paradigm as an application of the Biblical ethic of peacemaking. There are some great books and other articles out there that go more in depth if you want to learn more.
To close, a Lebanese friend recently preached a sermon saying “I don’t know the context where just war theology was formed but I live where it is implemented… and it is anything but just.” Those close to the conflict, including many Christian Arabs and Israelis note the disturbing disproportionality of the conflict, Western apocalyptic frenzy and the dissonant nature of Christians, following the Prince of Peace, and called to be peacemakers, supporting it.