The Arab/Israeli Conflict and the Western Church

The Arab/Israeli Conflict and the Western Church

This study is meant to take the Western Church into a deep look at the lives of their brothers and sisters in the Middle East, especially in Israel and Palestine. I believe that we are not sacrificing our Jewish ancestry or the ancestry of Jesus by standing beside Arabs. I do not by any means condone the violent acts of any religious extremist group, nor do I support the use of violence by the Israeli government. It may prove beneficial for readers to view the contents of this study as neither pro-Palestinian nor pro-Israeli, but pro-Peace. I believe, as Brother Andrew has stated, that the only path to peace in this part of the world or anywhere is Jesus, The Prince of Peace.

Where should the conviction and the dedication of the Christian Church lie? Where should the deep concern and heart of the body of believers be moved toward? Should it be concerned with prophecy and the past of thousands of years and traditions before the life and death of our Savior? Or, should the heart of the Church be yearning to see the current condition of the world changed, should it be concerned over the now and more importantly the condition of its members in the world? Should its greatest allegiance lie with its fellow brothers or with the ties of Jewish tradition?

The answers to these questions may seem easy to some, but to others perhaps they pull at the very core of important scriptures. The Bible says that Israel is God’s land and the Jews are His children and the recipients of His covenants. If we, as followers of the Messiah, want to hold to this scripture then what does it mean to our lives and what does it mean the relationship between God and a bunch of Gentiles who call themselves Christians. In the Gospel, Jesus called his followers to work for the least and to proclaim His Word to all the nations. Jesus said that he came for the Jews, but they rejected Him and His gift of life was then given to the Gentiles, all those who are not Jews. “Gentile” means every person on earth who is not Jewish. Christians are called to stand by those who are under injustice, oppression, and unfair government. We are called to defend the defenseless, the orphans, the widows, the hungry, and the naked. How much greater a call if these that we encourage are also followers of Christ.

We often picture these people, the ones we are called to release from captivity, in war-torn places, places of oppression. Do we ever picture that Arabs need our help and our support and words of encouragement? Or do we only picture them as Muslim or only ruthless murders and terrorists? Do we only consider them to be enemies of Christ and enemies of Israel? What if you were to find out that when you draw your stance on the Arab/Israeli conflict that you may very well be turning your back on brothers and sisters in Christ. This is where the important question needs to be considered, “Should the Church’s greatest allegiance lie with its fellow brothers or with the ties of Jewish tradition?”

The population landscape in Israel is divided into many categories, mainly Israeli and Palestinian. The western church has traditionally had a strong stance behind the Israeli nation. Much of this has to do with prophecy and Biblical tradition concerning Abraham’s seed and Israeli’s position at end times. Some of it also has to do with guilt over the Nazi Holocaust, in which many Christians stood by silently. Looking a little further into Israel’s population, there are basically three more groups that the people are divided into: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian. Within Israel and the Palestinian Territories the majority of Christians are Palestinian and expanding beyond to the greater Arab World we find vast numbers of Arab believers in comparison to Jewish believers. Traditionally, Christians have supported, with great fervor, other Christians in most conflicts for over 2000 years. Why then is there contradiction between our current support for Israel and our historical support for fellow believers?

This is, perhaps, one of the most important conflicts of all history for the Christian Church and yet the majority of believers in the United States have chosen to stand against their brothers just because they are Arab brothers. Meanwhile, a predominately secular Israeli government enforces strict law and builds a wall to keep all Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza in their desolate circumstances. Christians in Bethlehem are facing very dire and heartbreaking times, and the Israeli government does not seem to take the time to ask whether an Arab is Christian or Muslim.

Members of the Church body in Palestine have been leaving the Holy Land in great numbers since 1948. Christian’s homes have been taken away by Israeli settlers coming from areas of the West. The Believers that do remain in Israel proper and the West Bank and Gaza are in need of support and prayer just for the strength to hold onto their faith. They read the same words of Jesus that we read from his sermon on the mount. “Love your enemies.” But, their enemy is also supported by millions of there brothers and sisters in the West. To these many people who fight to follow their Messiah, a Jew, Islam offers an explanation for their situation by naming Israel as a wicked, occupying enemy. We cannot afford to lose this fragile part of the body to Islam and vengeful Arab mindset. They need to be encouraged and loved by the Church so that they can be a light in their neighborhoods and communities. That being said, can we expect them to accept any type of outreach by the western Church if we do not change our support and affiliation for Israel’s government?

The answer is no, and we would be the same if we were living in that contradicted society. We feel that we are superior as American Christians in comparison to Arab Christians, we are sadly mistaken. The Apostle Paul said that in The Body of Christ there is no distinction between us, whether slave or free, Jew or Gentile, man or woman. Therefore, they are equal to us in the eyes of God, which is the most important judgment that one can ever face. If the judge of all creation and our Father looks at them with the same eyes that he looks at us, who are we to know better than God. None the less, some of us, being human as we are, still look at the world in class, race, and a separation of people. In that train of thought, and within Biblical context, the Arab race would be the highest of all Gentiles with regard to Jews as the pinnacle. Their blood line is a direct descendant of the family of Abraham. In the lineage of Biblical history the Arabs are of more right to the promises of Jewish Patriarch then are all other Gentiles. This notoriety, I think, should warrant the Arab follower’s of Jesus a special place among the Church in the way that some respect Jewish followers.

Please understand that I am not putting loving arms around the entirety of the Palestinian people, especially their leaders who often exploit the situation for their own means. But names like Hanna Massad and Bashar are names that need to be spoken in our churches and in our prayers. Ministries like the Gaza Baptist Church, Bethlehem Bible College, Musalaha Reconciliation Ministry deserve our support and will not survive without it. You need to know that as much disgust as you feel toward Hamas and Hizb-allah, our brothers living in Gaza and Bethlehem are losing their lives in a war where they stand on neither side. They pray for a future without terror groups running their cities, but their children are not immune to stray bullets and their homes are not invincible to rockets fired from either those waving the flag of the Crescent or those with the Star of David around their neck. Neither side of this war is looking for their interest or concerned with their future. Their hope is in the church, whose power and strength is truly unmatched by any regime, terror group, or government that ever will be.

This is why I encourage my brothers and sisters to stand beside their fellow believers, even though they may be Arab and even though there may be Jews standing on the other side. The Arab believers in Palestine need to know that the Body of Christ stands behind them and encourages them toward peace and understanding in their land. We should not allow them to believe that we have forsaken them because of their heritage and have instead decided to stand on the other side of the wall and shoot at them. We need to be found on neither side of the wall, but we need to be found tearing down the wall.