February 05, 2006

Synergy for peace

With all the talk about Hamas and the Palestinian elections and terrorism, I thought I would post a link to an old post of mine over at my personal blog about non-violent protests in the West Bank.

People frequently ask, "why don't Palestinians work against the Occupation like Ghandi and King would?" The answer is that they are. Weekly, sometimes daily. Have you ever heard of the village of Bil'in in the West Bank? Or Rateb Abu Rahma?

Didn't think so.

But you do know who Islamic Jihad is. CNN makes sure of that.

However, Isrealis know about Bil'in and many of them are joining the Palestinians to protest the Wall.

My Palestinian friends say that it's up to the Israelis to take the moral high ground and do the right thing, which I'm usually inclined to agree with because the Israelis are also the ones in the position of power -- they have the high ground on everything. My Israeli friends, of course, look to the Palestinians to do the moral thing and non-violently protest the occupation. But what these demonstrations in Qalqilyah show is that it takes both sides to do the right thing in this situation. Both Palestinians and Israelis to stand up against the Wall and the Occupation. Both to create the synergy needed to confront the decades of hate and violence and dehumanization.

Many have been making the point that this Wall meant to separate Israelis and Palestinians is bringing them together in ways nothing else has managed. And well, as Christians we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. I can't think of a better way to show our love for God than by standing up for human life and dignity in a way that demonstrates human love and dignity.