President Obama talked recently with his former aides about complex issues with Israel and the Gaza conflict. During his presidency, trying to resolve the ongoing conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians resulted in disagreements and mistrust between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and himself. The result was a stalemate over the Iran nuclear deal and Obama’s demands that Israel stop new West Bank settlements.
Reflecting what more he might have done to avert this current horrific killing by Hamas and Israel’s retaliation, Obama asserts that the widespread bloodshed, amplified by social media, have entrenched the divisions. There will be no breakthrough without each “side” empathizing with the other.
Needed now, Obama says, “is to take in the whole truth,” finding a balance between the killings on both sides. Knowing that Hamas had no justification for killing innocent Israelis, should be balanced by Israel’s long history of control in Gaza and the West Bank and what’s now happening to innocent Palestinians. Obama acknowledges the difficulty of seeing a “whole truth,” especially when both sides are “dug in.” But a critical challenge is how to prevent children and other civilians being killed today.
A negative consequence of one-sided truth-telling is entrenched anger that erupts in violence, not only in the Middle East, but spilling out in countries such as ours. I believe each of us has a responsibility to contribute a more balanced understanding to this conflict in our families, churches, and communities. May we take up the challenge!
I’m Connie Seraphine, inviting us to look for the “whole truth.”
