How Long, O Lord?

How long, O Lord? Anti-Semitic mistreatment of the Jewish people, pre-eminently and horrifically displayed in the Nazi Holocaust.* Broken and self-serving British-colonial promises to Arabs, leading to the 1948 Nakba and modern state of Israel.** Ongoing U.S.-/Israeli-tax-funded mistreatment and confinement of Palestinians—and confiscation of their land.*** Gallant, long-standing efforts by some Israelis, Palestinians, and others to overcome the prevailing and misinformation-fueled fear and mistrust through building relationships and standing for equal justice for all.**** Now the 9/11-esque***** October 7 slaughter and capture of civilians in southern Israel and genocidal displacement and slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza (and the West Bank). To follow the request from a faithful Palestinian pastor I know, “I ask for your prayers for God's mercy to envelop the entire region, and I hope for intervention and peace from the international community. People on both sides are suffering greatly.” How long, O Lord?

* I was able to take students to Auschwitz about 20 years ago. Touring that compound was eye-opening, unsettling, and disturbing to say the least.

** One of the best documentary films I have seen about the messy history leading up to 1948 is "Israel - Story of a contested country | DW Documentary" @ https://youtu.be/4upvoxP9-kg?si=-Zh5zsCqRUrUfrvJ

*** I grew up as a typical white U.S.-American Christian with a vague favoritism toward Israel and ignorance of Palestinians (and of Middle Eastern history). As a college student I joined a typical “Holy Land” trip to Israel to be inspired by visiting sites of biblical history. Years later, one of our daughters, as part of her college experience, spent several months living with a Christian Palestinian family in the West Bank (joined by my wife at the end). Soon afterward I visited the West Bank, talked with Palestinians, and saw the checkpoints, towering separation wall, and sleek Israeli settlements. I now resonate with the following analysis I heard recently: “If Israel has the right to self-defense, then Palestinians have the right to resist the Occupation.”

**** One of several such groups, working for “peace, justice, healing and transformation,” is the Holy Land Trust @ https://www.holylandtrust.org/

***** Both attacks were horrific and terrorizing. One main difference is that the Hamas fighters had the additional strategic challenge of breaking out of their formidable Gaza imprisonment.