Hi. I wanted to give my best shot at supporting this proposal, because it gives me a lot of hope for the future of the Israeli and Palestinian people.
I’m going to do my best to do this with the nuance and care this subject deserves. I’m going to try to do this not because I’m the most educated on the situation (I’ve been learning more about the history leading up to this conflict in recent months more than I ever have) or because I am closest effected (I’m visibly semitic but I never met my Jewish grandfather or was brought into the faith)
But because I fell in love with Universal Unitarianism because of its willingness to face the complicated challenges we, the living face right here and now.
I need to start off with saying all war is atrocious, in all of its forms. It’s a horrendous mistake that all of our ancestors have perpetuated. All of us need to heal from this atrocity but we can’t heal without first making people feel safe.
The Jewish people have felt unsafe for a very long time. Have had to learn with living in territories where people held animosity towards them for generations. I’m really happy, for myself as someone with identifiable Jewish ancestry, and for my Jewish friends that there are places where Jews can live in relative safety and freedom from violence, not having to worry that a neighboring nation will attempt to eradicate them… in the United States. Is there antisemitism here? Surely there is some, but I don’t know any of my Jewish friends to fear for their life, feel the need for a massive military industry and walls with automated gun cameras to feel safe.
The people of Palestine have not felt safe for over 100 years. A brutal apartheid has made them feel beneath a settler colonial power on land their families have lived on for generations. The state of Israel has not been good neighbors to anyone in the region. I had a friend who went on a work visit to a permaculture farm with people working to regreen the desert. He had to com home after Israeli settlers threw a hand grenade in their water cistern. Every year American volunteers will go to help with the Palestinian Date harvest because their presence makes it less likely that the local farmers are shot at by settlers.
We cannot condone the October 7th attack. It is a tragic event for everyone involved. Documents have been leaked that show Israeli intelligence knew the attack was imminent, and correspondences between Israeli politicians show that they viewed the attack as a wonderful opportunity to get the license to wipe Palestine off the map.
And that’s what they have been doing since October 7th. Filling wells with cement, firing upon starving families in line for bread. using bombs and ordinances in no small part supplied by the US in a… hostage rescuing mission?
The actions will not be forgotten, especially by the people of the region for a long long time.
Taking all the violence into account, it can seem untenable. That this conflict can only end with the eradication of either the Israeli people or the Palestinian people. It can seem like it won’t end and with the deep faith roots this conflict holds, that it has potential to Spyral out into a global conflict. Ukraine is still burning. China has been posturing around Taiwan. There’s American heads of state and industry that have believed the end times are coming and that Israel will be the catalyst for Armageddon since it’s inception.
What gives me hope. What I am really truly grateful for is how many Jewish people have been vehemently opposed to this war. Jewish voices calling for peace. Jewish bodies blocking the transportation of weapons to Israeli. Jewish leaders calling for their people to oppose this reenactment of the traumas their ancestors have faced onto another people.
The best path towards safety for the Jewish people is not to blindly support the state of Israel that would, in there name commit genocide. The path towards a world where we can all be safe lies with the many many Jewish people who say never again, not in our name.
It’s natural to feel afraid and uncomfortable faced with such a challenge as this conflict. I do believe that more people will educate themselves beyond what the heads of state/benefactors of war would tell us to justify their bloody trade.
I have faith in us, as a species and as a faith group and in this proposal that will bring us closer to a safer world for all.