Living in the shadow of the wall

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is so complicated it taxes the mind to even begin to comprehend the situation. I believe the Jewish Settler that we spoke with recently put it best, you are either A) Pro-Israel, B) Pro-Palestine or C) So confused you don’t touch it. If you were to ask me my point of view a mere two weeks ago I would have been a staunch supporter of option A. As a matter of fact I recently taught a Sunday School lesson at my church on Israel’s claim to the land and how the events from 1948 forward were simply God honoring his covenant promise of the land to His people. I would boldly defend the actions and policies of Israel as nothing more than a harsh reality of what life is like in a land of conflict and brush them aside. As we made our way to and through Israel, and more recently the Palestinian West Bank, the clarity with which I thought I viewed the situation has effectively been lost. As I write this I find myself teetering on the edge of option C, so confused I’m tempted to step back and forget it. The truth of the matter is there is right and wrong on both sides. Is the Israeli state inherently bad? No. Are the Palestinians inherently bad? Again, no. However there are “radical” forces at work on both sides I believe. On one hand there are absolutely extreme elements in the land that have harmed and desire to cause further harm to the Israeli state. At the same time it is an undeniable reality that Palestinians to various degrees are experiencing some form of oppression. There are restrictions to utilities, travel, education and land just to name a few; whether or not it is justified or a byproduct of the defensive measures Israel has implemented is open to interpretation and/or debate and is heavily influenced by who you are speaking to as both sides express all too real fears, concerns, and frustrations with the conflict that defines and affects many of their lives.

All too often we want to view the world in black or white, this is seldom the reality of things as there is always a gray area somewhere in-between. The tangible evidence of this dividing line here can be found in the presence of the wall. This wall adorned with the prayers, stories, pleas for peace and the scars of protest stands as a monument of the unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine. In a moment it triggers memories of the Berlin Wall or the “Troubles” in Ireland. This wall stands in the middle of the two extremes, but living in the shadow of the wall are people who are not extreme at all. Speaking with these people, they are not radical, they just want to live. They want freedom, to work their fields, visit their relatives (who can be feet away yet unreachable because of the wall that divides them), have water, electricity, to live without the concern of their utilities being shut off or a curfew preventing them for pursuing the inherent right of an education. In the end I am not for the extremes. I am not simply “Pro- Israel,” or “Pro-Palestine,” I am for those caught in the middle. Those who live their life in the shadow of the wall who are either forgotten, or generalized to the point that their identity has been lost. When asked what we should take home from this experience the people have repeatedly said, “share our story.” And this is what I pray we do, be a voice for those whose own voice has been drown out by the extremes that surround them. These are good people, many are Christian, they are husbands, fathers, mothers, daughters, and brothers no different than we are and they want to enjoy life no less than any other.

Tonight I was privileged to become part of a Palestinian family for an evening, as we were concluding our time together I asked the big question, “What do you want?” Their response was not the usual 1 state, or 2 state solutions we’ve grown so accustomed to hearing. The response was this, “We want life, not as Palestinians or as Israelis but as human beings.” So the question remains, what do we do? What is right? Who is right? Ultimately, I concede to know only that I do not know. Humility is a wonderful thing and I embrace it and say that I do not know who is right, or even what the solution might look like. But I do know this, that I must rethink some of my theology, rethink my politics and my view of the people who live here. I challenge you who read this to not simply be an A, B, or a C but to get close enough to the situation to see past the politics, see past the extremes, and see those living in the shadow of a conflict that has dehumanized and deprived good men and women who want nothing more than the most basic human right, life.

Eddie Helm