Return to Gaza – Again
How to understand the Middle East
The Sayings of Abu Francis
To borrow from St. Francis of Assisi, I say if you just don't understand someone, you haven't listened hard enough.
We humans seem to fight about everything, including what's worth fighting about. Politics and religion seem to generate the most violence – somehow we manage heated debates over the Kansas City Chiefs, Kendrick Lamar and the Oscars without fistfights. Politics and religion raise a different level of emotional investment and I'd love for someone to enlighten me as to why.
My hometown in Northern California has gone to blows recently about Israel and Palestine – a global nexus for politics and religion. Students occupied the administration building at Cal-Poly Humboldt last year when the Gaza War escalated toward ethnic cleansing. This year, a pro-Zionist billboard along the freeway in Arcata became the target of two petition drives before it was eventually torn down by unnamed vandals. A different, pro-Israel version (pictured above) was recently treated to spray paint.
As I have written previously, I spent almost a year in the Middle East once upon a time, observing the conflicts from many different angles, visiting Egypt and Lebanon as well. I volunteered on an Israeli kibbutz, worked at two Jerusalem youth hostels and lived 10 minutes from the Old City with two Israeli roommates. I also met the student body president of Birzeit University in Ramallah, interviewed the (Arab) Anglican bishop of Nazareth and toured the West Bank and Gaza with a Palestinian aid worker – the inspiration for an article about the political perils of foreign aid titled, “Silence the West Bank.”
Nick Flores recently invited me onto his “Growing Pains” podcast to discuss Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. My hope is always to foster better understanding and build bridges. If you don't understand things over there better after listening to this podcast, make a few Jewish, Muslim and/or Palestinian friends and listen to them.
