Credo ↔ Oratio

Actually, I’m pretty sure I know. I think it’s probably based on three things 1) a misguided and irresponsible zionism found in many forms of evangelical Christianity (which are influential in the religious right), 2) a built-in, left-over guilt from WWII, and 3) a near-psychotic obsession with anything that can be called “terrorism.”

Even with those three, I simply cannot believe our government is so ignorant. Surely they have better access to media than I do! I only get TV “through the air,” so the news I see on TV is almost exclusively on the major networks which are incurably pro-Israel, but the government doesn’t have that excuse (indeed, even I have learned not to trust the major networks for an accurate view of just about anything!)

Here’s the numbers (from media sources that cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be called “liberal”):
According to the Associated Press:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Palestinian children are dying at a heavy rate in the Israeli-Hamas fighting — about one of every three persons killed, according to Gaza statistics.

As of Thursday, 257 children were among the approximately 760 reported dead in Gaza. There were another 1,080 children among the 3,100 injured in the conflict, according to statistics from Gaza’s health ministry.

According to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs there have been 542 people killed in 142 terror attacks since 2000 (3 of whom were American diplomats).

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to compare those numbers: 760 Palestinians killed by Israel during this incursion (many of whom were civilians and children) compared to 542 people killed in the past 8 years (many of whom were soldiers) – only 3 during this incursion, last I heard (but that number may have changed by 1 or 2.)

So how do we choose? Do we condemn the “terrorism” from a community who has been under near-consistent political and social embargo and support “genocide” by a country with immense power and political influence in the world or the other way around.

I don’t like to put things this way, but honestly, what do you suppose Jesus would have expected?

To me it seems obvious.

On side has been consistently treated unjustly, been practically ignored by the “western” world, and experienced immense political, social and military overractions from the other. In other words, Palestine has been beaten bloody (literally!) by a powerfully, bullying (and oft-supported-by-big-bully-friends-like-the-US) neighbor – Israel.

This isn’t liberal drivel (as some would suggest, and I have even heard from people in my own community) – look at the numbers. This is simply obvious.

Something must change. History will look at this and, without hesitation, judge us for our inaction.

Agitation be upon you,
`tim