At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus. G.S.
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The latest development related to the ongoing crisis / war in what is called "The Holy Land" is pitting the IDF vs Hamas, which in October 2023 attacked Israel, killed many civilians, and took hostages.
We have all doubtless read and heard many commentaries and analyses, and perhaps even done our own research in the Internet. We are brought back to waves of Intifadas on the one hand, and to Israeli settlements on Palestinian land on the other. Further back in time, we are brought to the 1948 establishment of the independent State of Israel and the associated clearing out of Palestinian villages, called Nakba or Catastrophe in the Arab world. Digging a little more, we are brought back to WW I, which ended the dominance of the Ottoman Empire in this land, succeeded by the "partition" of the land into two separate states: one Jewish and the other Arab.
What about the historical record?
Before the Ottoman Empire and rule (15th to 20th c. CE), there were the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (13th to 15th c. CE), the Crusader period (11th to 13th c. CE), the Fatimid Caliphate (10th to 11th c. CE), the Abbasid Caliphate (8th to 10th c. CE), the Umayyad Caliphate (7th to 8th c. CE), the Early Muslim period (6th to 7th c. CE), the Byzantine period (4th to 6th c. CE), the Roman Province of Syria Palaestina (2nd to 3rd c. CE), Religious developments and Jewish-Roman wars (1st to 2nd c. CE), the Herodian dynasty and Roman Judea (1st c. BCE to 1st c. CE), the Roman period (1st c. BCE), the (2nd c. to 1st c. BCE), the Ptolemaic and Seleucid eras (3rd c. to 1st c. BCE), the Hellenistic period (4th c. to 3rd c. BCE), the Persian (Achaemenid) period (6th c. to 4th c. BCE), the Babylonian period (7th c. to 6th c. BCE), the Assyrian invasions (8th c. to 7th c. BCE), the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (10th c. to 8th c. BCE), the Early Israelites and Philistines (13th c. to 10th c. BCE), the Late Bronze Age collapse & the migration of Israelites from Egypt to Canaan (13th c. BCE), the Egyptian dominance (16th c. to 13th c. BCE), the Early and Middle Bronze Ages (38th c. to 16th c. BCE), which included the emergence of Abraham and his descendents: both Isaac (father of Jewish tribes) and Ishmael (father of Arab tribes) (20th c. to 19th c. BCE).
A preliminary analysis of the historical record
As you can plainly see, this particular and relatively small spot on Planet Earth has been from time immemorial a crossroads of conflicting interests and political maneuvers. We can see the origins of present day conflicts in two ways: internally and externally. From an "external" point of view, the land has been coveted by every successive empire ever to arise in the entire region. This means that whoever lived in the land, at any time, were at risk to be conquered and ruled by those powerful interests.
From an "internal" point of view, dissension was most definitely sown by the Patriarch Abraham and his wife Sara. Frustrated in their inability to bear a child, Sara drove her slave girl Hagar into her husband's arms and bed. They were glad when Abraham had a son by Hagar, Ishmael, who was better than no son at all. However, when angels visited them and Sara conceived and bore Isaac, she no longer wanted to have anything to do with Ishmael or his mother Hagar. Abraham was forced to send them out into the wilderness. There, she cried out to God and He rescued their lives.
Where conclusions meet observations
One can understand how this rejection grew into an intergenerational dissension and conflict whenever the two lines come into contact with one another. To this day, both Jews and Muslims look to Abraham as their Patriarch and father of their people, and to his two sons as the progenitors of their respective peoples, Jewish and Arab.
We could dig even deeper and go all the way back to the dawn of humanity and find Cain murdering his brother Abel out of jealousy and insecurity before God. Able was pure in his intentions when offering sacrifice to God; whereas Cain was deemed by God not to be pure of intention; perhaps only making sacrifice out of a sense of obligation.
Obviously, then, the roots of the present conflict between these two peoples run so deep as to have become ingrained almost into their respective strands of DNA. From a human point of view, there may never be any definitive resolution until one or both of them are entirely wiped out. Since both of them seem to have legitimate claim to God's favour and blessing, their annihilation is unlikely to happen.
Hamas and some Muslim people seem dedicated to seek the entire destruction of the State of Israel and every last Jewish person living there; while Zionists and some Jewish people seem equally dedicated to seek the entire destruction of Palestine and every last Palestinian living there, whether Muslim or Christian. It now seems that the IDF is bent on the radical destruction of Gaza and its population.
A perplexing and distressing question
As we look at the historical record, there is a question that rises to the surface, and it is this one. Has God abandoned his Chosen People, or at least the Promised Land? The first Temple built by Solomon was destroyed some four centuries later when the people were conquered and deported on two occasions, in the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. The second Temple was still under construction during the time of Jesus of Nazareth, but it too was destroyed, this time by the Romans in 70 CE. Now there are rumours of plans to build a third Temple, but that would seem nothing more than a fantasy with the situation being as it is now. There are no doubt some fervent Jews who feel that the State of Israel is God's answer to the Shoah of the 1940's under the Nazis, and they may be right. However, it is unlikely that God would intend for them to "take over" the land as their ancestors did under the leadership of Joshua after their 40-year sojourn in the wildnerness after their "Exodus" from Egypt and their slavery under Pharaoh.
What about the Christians?
Whether or not the Jewish people recognize Jesus of Nazareth as their true Messiah, the fact remains that he truly existed, lived, preached, was unjustly condemned, tortured, and executed by the Romans at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders. Christians believe that He rose from the dead, appeared to them and gave them final instructions, and ascended into Heaven at the right hand of his Father, and that shortly thereafter, He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and disciples to give them power from on high. They spread out over the Mediterranean world and did as Jesus had commanded them. They proclaimed the Good News and made disciples for Jesus.
This is now two millennia later, and the Christian faith has spread to a large portion of humanity, even as the human population has geometrically expanded to over 8 billion. It would appear that Jesus even now is proposing the only workable solution to the never-ending conflict in the Holy Land: mutual forgiveness. The time has come for Isaac and Ishmael to be reconciled to one another, and for Abel to forgive his brother Cain. Both of them in many ways are Abel and approach God with a pure heart; whereas both of them in other ways are also as Cain and are stained with the blood of their brother.
This conflict is not unique
This conflict in the Middle East is not unique, but it could be seen to be symbolic of every human conflict. All parties see themselves as innocent victims of the actions and policies of others. Their fears, insecurities, ambitions, greed, and drive to survive bring them to make war on those they see as enemies. To every wound, hurt, and destructive act there arises an equal and opposite reaction, and a spiral arises without a hint of ending.... Russia's war on Ukraine is a fratricidal war pitting against one another people with common origins. Both of them are Orthodox Christians. Like the conflict in the Middle East, here too there have been external forces at work. The U.S.A. never recovered from its fear of the U.S.S.R. and pushed European nations to join NATO to the very border of Russia. Hypocritically, when Russia sent missiles to Cuba, the U.S.A. was prepared to wage all out war. They don't like Russia to get too close, but hypocritically, they think it's fine for them to knock on the very door of Russia and its federation allies.
Mutual forgiveness. Fraternal love and respect. Justice for everyone. This is the only road to peace. Our mortal human condition precludes any possibility of walking such a road, which is why we human beings are in need of a Saviour who is God our Creator. Only He can lift us up to a higher level of being, where alone we can look upon one another and see brothers and sisters of the same family, occupying and living in our common home, Planet Earth.
"Lord, have mercy on us. Christ is risen, alleluia!"
LINKS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Palestine
At this website by various means we seek to defend life, to encourage Christian faith, to promote Catholic tradition, to edify Marriage in its link to the Creator, to encourage families and individuals, and to support missionary disciples of Jesus. G.S.
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© 2004-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2004-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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