Jeff Halper, one of the voices that uses non-violence to protest against his country through ICAHD (The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) shares some interesting insights on influences that motivate his actions. He notes that while reasons may vary, it is always “something [that] takes you out of your box” and for him it was the sixties; that generation when being critical was the norm.” [NI (January-February, 2009, p.37] He was active in the Civil Rights movement and against war in Vietnam. He further noted that in his studies of anthropology – his basic question was: What the hell is going on here? With “hell” being the critical part, meaning, the need to think outside of the box! How true this is in terms of the demands placed on all of us to seek a way of peace through the hate, distrust and destruction.
I suppose, as a progeny of the critical spirit and thinking out of the box, I may want to ask: where is God is all of this? Or should the Divine be left out on matters related to the Holy Land? At what point did David become Goliath (to draw from a familiar biblical story)? How is it possible that the oppressed, now liberated, can display elements of their oppression to another group of people? With the stones and rubble all around, the imagery of David facing mighty Goliath comes to mind, except that in this case the might of Goliath has prevailed. Not that David with his slingshot was some paragon of virtue, or for that matter, will any marginalised group who is fighting for survival. Yet, it is so easy for the once oppressed to become the oppressor. Freedom demands working on the internalised evils that still lurk around. History is replete with examples.
One of the problematic theological notions that is tied to the contradictory term “Holy Land” is, in my view, a bad, flawed and hegemonic theology of land. In this theology is a licence for lands to be annexed by reasoning that those annexing have received a Divine mandate to go in and take away the land from those who may have been living there for a long time – even if it means displacing and slaughtering them to get it. This is the very theology that European colonialists, endorsed by Christianity, used to enslave and kill the heathen populations of foreign lands. What a God? What a theology? What a bloody (mis)representation of the Divine?
It may be true that we are in for the long haul with this and the many other burning issues around us. It may be that the problems we are facing are much larger, deeply rooted in cultural, political, economic (i.e greed), historical and theological forces that have piled up over generations. But surely we do have some moral grounds to stand on and make a difference. Whatever has become of religious values such as: Love of God and universe; Do not destroy; Hospitality to strangers; Dignity/respect; Acts of love and kindness; Seeking peace; Respect of self and others; Repentance and turning; Repairing the world; and justice? It is time to re-read and live these values!
© copyright Jagessar February 12, 2009
