Overcoming territorial nationalism

Two things have been in my mind recently: one large scale, the other small scale. 

Firstly (large scale), the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has caused me to pray for a de-escalation in violence, especially in Gaza. At my church prayer meeting recently, alongside praying for a ceasefire in Gaza and for peace in the Holy Land, prayers were also said expressing shock at the uprising of support in the UK for Palestinians because Israel is "the apple of God's eye". As I've said before, when generic prayers are said in support of Israel my mind immediately thinks of actual Arab/Palestinian Christians I met there in 2018. One such person I met, Azar, from Nazareth, wrote recently: I'm aware that many Christians around the world pray for the peace of Israel and the Middle East, especially these days, and this is very much needed. I would like to bring to your attention that the Christians who live here already are the answer to your prayers; they are the instruments that God is using to bring His peace. This is the heart of our ministry, raising a generation of leaders who preserve even as a small minority, to present the true hope for our region, Christ.

Secondly (small scale), I'm researching the life of Harold Abrahams, the son of a Jewish immigrant. Abrahams ran in the 1924 Paris Olympics and features alongside Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire. This year marks the centenary of Liddell's success at these games, but Abrahams' story is no less interesting.

Both of these things - the Israel-Hamas war and the story of Harold Abrahams - have caused me to think more about hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people, past and/or present. On the large scale, the evil terrorism of Hamas has ignited tensions, caused more violence and so many unnecessary deaths. On the small scale, Abrahams said he experienced a certain amount of anti-semitism as a young man at public school, which motivated his athletic success and made him more determined to win.

There is always more than one side to a story. Prayers for Israel/Israelis need to include prayers for Palestine/Palestinians too. Viewers of Chariots of Fire engrossed in Liddell need to remember Abrahams too. So I ask the question: Is it possible to be both in favour of a strong stance against anti-Semitism (the Semites were originally groups of people in the Fertile Crescent, the land from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea to Palestine) and at the same time in favour of supporting suffering Palestinians? I believe it is possible.

I have been reading The Land of Christ by Yohanna Katanacho, a Palestinian Evangelical Christian. He writes in order to promote a biblical view of land that is rooted in biblical love, faithful to the Bible and that seeks justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. He believes there is territorial diversity in the Old Testament and challenges the notion that the modern state of Israel is the same as biblical Israel.He writes 'It seems that the land of Abraham is not going to have fixed borders. God's intention was not to set fixed borders ... the many lands will become one through Abraham's seed' (p.37). The crux of his argument is captured well in his comment that 'In accordance with progressive revelation, Christ is now the owner of the whole earth, even though God had entrusted it to Abraham and his descendants in the past. Christ owns it because he is the Abrahamic seed and the fulfillment of prophecy' (p.40). The book certainly doesn't espouse a replacement theology and the author would not want his readers to conclude that he believes Jews have now fallen outside the purposes of God's redeeming love. Katanacho finds room for both Israeli and Palestinian in God's kingdom: 'Love opens the channels of communication. It should provoke Palestinians and Israelis to talk to each other instead of killing each other. It should help them to pursue justice and security together, for love is not an excuse to abandon justice but an opportunity to pursue it ... Revenge and spilling the blood of innocent children is never the Christian way. It must be condemned. Killing the children of Israeli settlers is as evil as killing Palestinian children; both are an attack on God. Consequently, both terrorist actions and the occupation are not only sinful acts against human beings but also against God. Terrorism and the occupation dehumanize, stereotype and demonize the creatures of God. A sinful and oppressive system needs to be resisted with love and nonviolent actions. Violence breeds violence, but peace-making is the path to a better world. It is the path of Jesus Christ. Children must have the right to fully develop, to be protected from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, let alone brutal massacres. We have to build a better future for our Palestinian and Israeli children. Bloodshed is not the right path and state violence must be resisted nonviolently' (p.58-60) ... 'Through our love, we will overcome injustices and establish foundations for a new society both for us and for our opponents. Our future and their future are one. Either the cycle of violence will destroy both of us, or peace will benefit both. We call on Israel to give up its injustice towards us, not to twist the truth of reality of the occupation by pretending that it is a battle against terrorism. We place our hope in God, who will grant us relief in His own time. At the same time, we continue to act in accord with God and God's will, building, resisting evil and bringing closer the day of justice and peace' (p.85).

I will continue to read Palestinian authors to see the conflict in their land from their view. I will re-watch Chariots of Fire to see it from Abrahams' view and learn more about Jewish suffering. I believe the saying to be true: 'If you are too pro-Israeli or too pro-Palestinian you become part of the problem and not part of the solution'.

Another book I look forward to reading this year is Beyond Christian Zionism, by Ian Stackhouse. In the recent Baptist Minister's Journal (January 2024) he refers to his forthcoming publication, saying 'To espouse either pro-Palestinian sympathies or pro-Jewish ideology, to the exclusion of the other, just doesn't get anywhere near the complexity of the situation. It seems to me that we have a responsibility as Christians both to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people over the shock of 7 October, to speak out against antisemitism wherever it occurs, while also, without in any way contradicting ourselves, raise moral objections to what can only be described as collective punishment on the people of Gaza. Otherwise, what did Jesus mean when he said 'Blessed are the peacemakers'?' He adds that the motivation for his book 'is because I could no longer remain silent about an ideology that, for the sake of a territorial eschatology, turns a blind eye to injustice ... Just because I reject Christian Zionism doesn't mean I can't stand in solidarity with the Jewish people or support the state of Israel'. 

One-sided nationalistic prayers, attitudes and actions are incompatible with the international Christian community and God's redeeming purposes.