Support for Israel’s war must end: Terrorism does not excuse genocide

Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.

One of the great blessings of my life has been the opportunity to make a few different visits to the Holy Land, both to study and participate in archeological work during my undergraduate and graduate studies, and also in the context of a spiritual pilgrimage as a parish priest.

Last year, as my daughter is now old enough to go with us, I began laying plans for another pilgrimage to the Holy Land with members and friends of my parish, St. John’s Episcopal Church. Wanting to plan far enough in advance, we set a date in 2025 and began collecting names of those interested. Within weeks of registration opening, though, Hamas led a terrorist attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the current conflict which has consumed the region and tremendous cost of human life.

The attacks by Hamas in October of last year were by far the worst and deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the modern nation of Israel. A significant motivator for the attack, according to research done by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank, found that Hamas invaded as revenge for what it saw as past attacks by Israel; the continued occupation of the West Bank; the arrest of Hamas leaders; and the isolation and bombing of Gaza.

Just a few years ago, in 2017, Hamas had taken a more moderating turn, even releasing an updated charter that signaled acceptance of a two-state solution as an appropriate temporary measure. It still included some hateful language, but it was a tremendous approvement from their 1988 founding statement. Hamas had even begun to publicly punish anyone who instigated attacks within Gaza that might break the fragile ceasefires in place.

This moderation did not, however, produce any substantive changes from the nation of Israel or the larger global community. Instead, in 2021 and 2022, we saw some of the deadliest years for Palestinians as the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, allowed for an increase in Israeli settlements in the West Bank (contrary to established international law). The settlers themselves increased their attacks on Palestinians in their attempts to gain more land for themselves.

A common refrain from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights problem was to say, “Certain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. And in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?”

While he regularly condemned violence and advocated for nonviolent resistance, King also knew that when people feel unheard and in danger, when it feels like nonviolent resistance produces no survivable solution, that explosions of violence are often the result. And while we can condemn the violence of riots and terrorist attacks like last October, we must ask if there is something the rest of the world is not hearing that has resulted in this violence.

This was clearly a part of what led to the attacks last October. When Hamas official Basem Naim was interviewed after the attack, he said, “We knew there was going to be a violent reaction … But we didn’t choose this road while having other options. We have no options.”

Over the past 16 years, the Gaza strip has become a large prison encampment and not an actual functioning place to live, with 97 percent of the water in Gaza is unfit for human consumption. Over 70 percent of families depend on international aid for their basic needs. Given competition from other terrorist groups, and the increasing right-ward swing of the Israeli government, Hamas has sought to increase its own public image as an Islamist resistance group. It continually seeks to undermine the Palestinian Authority which controls the West Bank (and favors negotiation and cooperation with Israel).

Ironically, both the right-wing forces in the Israeli government and the terrorists at work in Hamas need the other to continue the fight. The terrorism of Hamas has become cover for increased Israeli settlements and horrific attacks on civilians by Israeli soldiers. To wit, the violence of Hamas continues the rightward tilt of Israeli politics. And, of course, the barbarity of the Israeli response fuels the anger and sense of helplessness in the Palestinian people, increasing the view that terrorism is the only way left.

Earlier this week, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees accused Israel of detaining and torturing their staffers in a ploy to get them to make false confessions about the agency’s ties to Hamas. This is not the first time that Israel has sought to discredit United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), but this latest action is perhaps the most brazen. This action follows what we have seen in documentations of abuse of other Palestinian detainees.

On Feb. 29, over 100 people were killed when trying to access humanitarian aid from a truck, with another 760 injured. While Israel claims it was firing into the area in response to looting, witnesses say there is ample evidence that the Israeli soldiers were firing directly into the crowd. The United Nations Security Council met and debated a draft statement which would have blamed Israeli forces for “opening fire” on Palestinian civilians. The motion was supported by all members of the Security Council except one – the United States. The rest of the world sees the horror and genocide in the West Bank and increasingly expresses condemnation, but our country continues to maintain an utterly untenable middle ground.

In response, the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem (which includes Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the leader of my own church in Jerusalem) has published a statement describing the Feb. 29 incident as a “wanton attack,” calling for an immediate ceasefire to enable humanitarian relief, and condemning violence against civilians.

I still hope that I will be able to lead that pilgrimage next summer. (If you might be interested in coming, you can see more details online at http://sjegh.com/pilgrim). If we do go, we will spend time with the Anglican Cathedral and its mission of peacemaking in the region. The current state is wholly untenable, and I cannot imagine it continuing. Something must change. I hope to see that change.

Unfortunately, nothing will change until you and I speak up – no matter our political allegiances – and speak up, insisting that we can no longer support the actions of Israel in response to terrorism. Terrorism is wrong, absolutely, but to answer it with genocide and settlement expansion only escalates the wrong and does nothing to promote healing and a future for all those who call this land holy.

The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.