Understanding Conflict in the Middle East–Part Two
Why do the Israelis and Palestinians place so much attention on having a homeland in the geographic region called Palestine? Will there ever be an end to the conflicts and political tensions between the Israelis and the Arab world? Israelis see the city of Hebron as being the symbolic bedrock of their national conscience and identity in the region of Palestine, which is reasonably understood because the area of Hebron was an historical settlement of the patriarchs and also the familial burial place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hebron was also one of the five Amorite cities overthrown by Joshua during Israel’s conquest of the land of Canaan beginning in the late 15th century BCE. Noting that Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem marshaled the assistance of Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, to fight against the tribes of Israel who were at that time expanding their conquest in the ancient land of Canaan. Also, David was crowned king of Judah in Hebron, and he ruled from this city until he was able to overthrow the Jebusites at Jerusalem, which later became the capital city of the powerful regional empire that was the Commonwealth of Israel. Beginning then a long history of the commonwealth’s interactions with neighboring kingdoms and successively rising Eurasian-based empires that lasted for more than 1000 years, and these political interactions are notably evident in the histories of the former ancient empires of Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Which allows us to reasonably conclude that ancient Israel’s place in history and its national identity is largely associated with the land of Canaan—understood to be the general region of Palestine today. Consequently, it should not seem surprising to discover that the biblical narrative and the commonwealth’s geopolitical history in the region of Palestine were influential on the political thinking of the great powers who sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine following World War II. Leading of course to the mandates issued by the United Nations—promoted by the United States and the then Soviet Union—that proposed a two-state solution to the national movements of the Israelis and the Palestinian Arabs. However, because of the diverse historical, religious and political views that have long existed between the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs, and among those nations and peoples that have a vested interest in the region of Palestine, we see that the United Nations has not been able to completely implement the mandates that called for two separate sovereign states—one for the Israelis and one for the Palestinian Arabs. (Some consider Zionism to be the catalyst for a more cohesive national movement that developed among the Palestinian Arabs.) A political situation that is quite apparent in the modern-day city of Hebron. For in the area of Hebron we find an interesting political and religious tapestry where the symbolic heart of Israel’s legacy in Palestine falls under the jurisdiction of Muslim authorities, and where a Palestinian enclave is formed by “occupying” Israeli forces that are precariously situated within the bounds of Palestinian territory in the West Bank. Creating a situation that brings us to examine the underlying common thread that runs through this tapestry that forms a geopolitically unsustainable paradox that undeniably represents the proverbial “powder keg” that exists not only in Hebron, but also in the city of Jerusalem. So what then is the underlying common thread that weaves through this political and religious paradox in Hebron? Simply, it is the mutual belief held by both the Israelis and the Palestinian Arabs that each has a “right” in Abraham to claim a landed inheritance in Palestine. Now, from the biblical perspective the covenant by promise made with Abraham is understood to be the solution to the conflicts that exist in the Middle East, because this promise is foundational to the gospel of the coming kingdom of God (Mk. 1:14-15). However, because this promise also included a landed inheritance in Palestine for the descendants of Abraham—a promise claimed by both the Israelis and the Palestinian Arabs—we have a political conflict that is far more than just a territorial dispute in Palestine. And because the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs assume this “right” to have a landed inheritance in Palestine, they have also had to shoulder the burden and political mantle of the promise given to Abraham. Creating then a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to a two-state solution in Palestine as the weight of this historical tradition and religious interpretation is brought to bear on the current political issues that now affect the Middle East. Thus, it should be expected that the proposition of nation-building in the region of Palestine will be fraught with problems that are founded upon centuries-old ancestral beliefs that are embraced by two peoples, each claiming a right in Abraham to inherit the land of Palestine. Beliefs that are of course embellished in some measure by the diverse and influential religious views that exist among those who confess Judaism, and among those who are of the faith of Islam, and also among those who profess Christianity who believe they have a right to weigh in on the issue of landed rights respective to Palestine. (Palestine holds many places deemed sacred to the world’s foremost monotheistic religions—Judaism, Islam and Christianity.) Consequently, we should also expect that any political right to the land of Palestine as established by the United Nations mandates would continue to be trumped by the common historical and religious views held by many Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. Bringing us then to consider the proposed two-state solution in the light of the Apostle Paul’s allegory that associated two covenants with the lives of Sarah and Hagar. Now, it is assumed within some Christian perspectives that Paul’s allegory regarding Sarah and Hagar, and the familial conflict between Isaac and Ishmael, are representative of the current conflicts that now exist between the Israelis and the Arab world, particularly the Palestinian Arabs. However, this is an erroneous