In his June 17 interview with Tucker Carlson, Sen. Ted Cruz noted his Christian faith as a major reason for his support of the modern nation of Israel. On this question, Cruz referred to his religious education and to Genesis 12:3:
“I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Carlson, pushing back on Cruz’s statement, asked, “We’re commanded as Christians to support the government of Israel?”—indicating his belief that the ancient Israelites are not the same entity as the modern Israeli state, which was established in 1948.
The debate between Cruz and Carlson reinforced for me certain thoughts and, frankly, some concerns I continue to have regarding the crisis in the Middle East and the reaction of many towards Jews and Palestinians. While the outrage against the terrorists responsible for the attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is warranted, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza due to Israel’s constant attacks should not be brushed aside.
Media coverage of the ongoing hostage crisis and the war between Israel and Hamas is heart-wrenching to watch. However, there seems to be a pro-Israeli media bias in covering the effects of the Oct. 7 attacks compared to the relentless attacks on Gaza and the subsequent suffering of the Gazan people. It was only very recently that any in-depth mainstream focus was placed on Palestinian civilian casualties or the blatant prevention of essential aid to those in need.
This imbalance leads me to ask the question: Does supporting Israel mean that you must also have to support its deeply flawed government? I am not the only person who has had this on their mind.
Before going any further, please allow me to make it clear that I fully support the Israeli people and the right of the State of Israel to exist. But the actions of some within the Israeli government, and particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are not worthy of support.
With the backing of far-right Israeli officials, Netanyahu’s deployment of the Israeli Defense Force in Gaza has been so extreme that even Israeli military officers are refusing to serve in an “unnecessary, eternal war” against the Palestinians in Gaza. Objectively, one can see why there has been such widespread opposition to this military action, but most notably on college campuses in America.
The protestors have legitimate concerns about the bombings of Gaza, along with the Israeli government’s blockage of humanitarian aid in the region. 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, cutting off access to shelter, food, medicine, water, education, and employment, according to the United Nations.
Even when the Israeli military allows aid to be distributed, Gazans run the risk of injury or death at the hands of the Israeli occupying force. According to the Red Cross, mass casualty events at aid distribution sites continue to overwhelm Gaza’s severely damaged hospitals and humanitarian aid workers.
With such suffering, good people have valid reasons to protest, but with protest comes the danger of bad actors infiltrating the cause. In the case of the pro-Palestinian campus protests, such persons not only created immediate dangers for everyone involved but also muddied the waters of the debate for the pro-Palestinian cause. With phrases such as “long live the intifada”, they contributed to an environment where many Jewish Americans not only fear antisemitic violence, but have fallen victim to those who’ve taken such phrases to an extreme.
There is every reason to decry the recent rise in antisemitic incidents, especially in the wake of deadly attacks this year in Colorado and Washington. But as with the pro-Palestinian cause, extremist views exist within the Jewish community as well.
Violence against Palestinians by Jewish settlers in the West Bank has been well documented, but extremism exists even among those seeking to fight antisemitism. The Muslim Public Affairs Council has even called on the Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblatt to apologize for comparing pro-Palestinian student protesters to “members of ISIS and al-Qaeda.”
Indeed, the one-sided media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has helped to cause a distorted image of both parties in the realm of public opinion. As an African American, I am particularly dismayed when I hear rude comments, especially from other African Americans, referring to Muslims as “terrorists” or insinuating that the Jewish community “controls everything.”
So, in the interest of helping to bring about justice for all, the answer to the question I posed earlier would be to remember that the actions of governments and the actions of individuals can be vastly different. As I keep that difference in mind, I must accept the challenge of taking a Christ-centered approach to the problem at hand.
At times when reading the Scriptures, I wonder about exactly who the “children of Israel” are. As I understand it, scholars of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths all have varying views on this. While discussing God’s testing of Abraham at Mount Moriah, a Muslim friend of mine remarked that his religion teaches that it was Abraham’s son Ishmael, not Isaac, whom Abraham was commanded to sacrifice. Further, there are Muslims who state that they “were chosen by Allah,” just like many believe the ancient Israelites were.
Taking our cue from St. Paul, Christians generally believe that our faith in Jesus makes us adopted children of Israel. But Jesus also teaches us that all of God’s children, including all of the sons and daughters of Abraham, are our neighbors. That being the case, addressing the Israeli-Palestinian question should consist of more than merely defending a partisan point of view.
One positive way to be a good neighbor would be to keep an open mind when examining the actions of everyone involved in the conflict, and to be a source of help and healing—to Israeli hostages, Palestinians in Gaza, and anyone in need, regardless of faith or background. This could include lending your support to Bring Them Home Now, Caritas Jerusalem, the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, or the United Nations Children's Fund.
In telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus agreed that it was the Samaritan who was the true neighbor, because he showed mercy to a man attacked by robbers and left to die. Today, we need to heed Jesus’ call to “Go and do likewise.”
Douglas M. Stringer, JD, is a business, political, and government relations consultant at Session Law Firm, P.C. in the Washington metropolitan area and is a proud member of St. Augustine Catholic Church. A native of Kentucky and the Archdiocese of Louisville, he’s an avid fan of the Louisville Cardinals and still follows his alma mater, Trinity High School.
