I’m not going to lie, my heart has been troubled. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard of the terrible situation going down with Israel and Palestine. Sure, now there’s a ceasefire, however, a true solution to the chaos and oppression has not yet been found. If I’m being completely honest, at first, this issue didn’t really mean anything to me. In my ignorant head, the Middle East was a place where war happened every week, and there wasn’t really any need for me, an American, to care about anything going on over there. But over the past couple of years, the problem has grown closer and closer to home and now stalks my consciousness almost on a daily basis.

Looking back, I could remember times I would be walking to class at UCLA and see people on Bruin Walk holding up signs that had “Free Palestine” written on them. I couldn’t care less, because there were a million people on Bruin Walk holding up signs saying many things.

However, as the situation gained more popularity and global coverage, ignoring the reality of what’s going on across the world is simply no longer a valid option in my opinion.

And before I continue, let me say for the record, I know the history of this issue is not black and white, and I simply cannot include every facet of it in this editorial. I’m aware that many people make an argument in support of Israel by drawing on history; many also make an argument in support of Palestine with history. And on top of all that, there are contrasting narratives about this situation everywhere. I’m still learning and simply am not at a place where I can confidently recite the history of this issue. However, I’ve been grieved at the sight of a particular facet of this issue and would like to address that in this editorial.

Now, if you’re a Christian, you know about the history of the Israelites in the Bible: the Jews, God’s chosen people in the Old Testament. These are the people that we believe God gave this land to, the same land the Israelis and Palestinians are fighting on today. When I look at news stations and popular media platforms, I see many Christians using this fact as justification for their unquenchable, irrevocable support for the Zionists. On the other hand, I see many young Christians reposting #FreePalestine infographics on their social media profiles. Some Christians support Israel and others support Palestine.

For some people, the decision on who to support was a no-brainer. To be completely honest, it wasn’t for me. I had to ask myself, “What is a Christian supposed to do?” I prayed, I studied, and now I have an answer.

To be honest, my first reaction was to say nothing, act like I had no opinion, and just mind my business because what was going on in the Middle East wasn’t any of my business (so I thought). In the next phase, I was still silent, but for a different reason. This time I thought that if I were to condemn ANY action of the Israeli army, then I would be rebelling against God. But things started to change for me when I saw the videos of Palestinians getting beat by the police. Then I saw a mosque get lit up. Then I saw things catching on fire. Then I saw people being displaced from their homes. I saw people bloody, and I saw people crying. Then I thought to myself – how in the world can someone who read in the Bible to “love thy neighbor” look at any of this and turn a deaf ear to it? How can someone who has love (as it is a fruit of the Spirit) look at what’s going on and praise God about it?

I’ve heard people say that these things need to happen so Jesus can come back, so they send money and other forms of aid to help the Israeli army do the things that they do. Quick reminder: God doesn’t need your help to make Jesus come back – but I digress.

I’m afraid some of these people have gotten things a bit mixed up. You see, God came here in the flesh and died for each and every one of us: Israeli, Palestinian, Black, White, Mexican, Chinese, etc. Then, He told us to love our neighbors as we do ourselves. If there is anything He instructed us to do before Jesus came back, it was to spread the gospel around the world – not harm some Palestinians. Now don’t get me wrong, I still believe the Israelites have a place in God’s heart, and places in scripture like Romans 11 discuss plans God has for these people receiving salvation in the future. However, another point I had to remember is that as Christians, we are God’s people as well. We are seeds of Abraham by our faith in Jesus Christ, and we are ambassadors of Christ here on Earth. What does this mean? This means that we are, in fact, an agency in which God moves through on this planet, and when we see or hear of something ungodly we would be remiss to leave it unrebuked.

The indifference and unquestioning support for Israel I’ve seen from some Christians because of end-time prophecy and other ideals reminds me of how my dad would preach on the Good Samaritan parable that Jesus told:

If you don’t know about this parable, then I’ll give a quick review. A man gets mugged and is left on the street to die. A priest passes by and does nothing. Then a Levite passes by and also does nothing. The person that did do something was a Samaritan. The Samaritan picked the man up, took him to a hospital, and paid for his medical bills. The significance of this passage lies in the identity of the helper – a Samaritan. These were unholy people, separate from the Jewish community for their disobedience towards God in the Old Testament days. A Samaritan wasn’t supposed to be a righteous person doing righteous things. But in this parable, he was fulfilling the commandment of God to love your neighbor. When my dad would preach from this passage, he would lay emphasis on the indifference of the people who passed by and did nothing. He imagined what the priest took from the situation. Who says, ‘Maybe the priest turned around and went to preach a sermon on how evil the days were.’ And I can’t help but think that many of us are acting like the priest and Levite in this situation. We look at the half-dead guy on the street and do nothing because the days are evil. Or because it’s a prophecy. We come up with some type of justification to do nothing or even support violence – but this is simply not what we are called to do.

The point I’m trying to make is this: when a Christian sees suffering, their heart should be moved with compassion and be quickened to rebuke any oppression while praying for peace. This is our lane; this is our duty to the neighbors God has placed beside us here on Earth.

Today that neighbor can be beside you, tomorrow, across the world. Today that neighbor can be a Palestinian, and tomorrow, a Jew. Today that neighbor can be a fellow Christian, and tomorrow, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or an Atheist.

Look around you. Look at what you’re doing, then ask yourself… which character are you in the parable of the Good Samaritan? We all would love to say we’re the Good Samaritan, but for a second, let’s be honest so we can grow.

Pray for peace to touch this region of the Earth. Pray for the end of the oppression of Palestinians. Pray for the end of death, eviction, bombings. Pray for and love your neighbors in Palestine. Pray for and love your neighbors in Israel. And if God has given you the resources to do more physically – then do more.

I hope that if you’ve read this far, the message that has stuck with you is love.

Remember, God is love (1 John 4:16), and He is light, and there is no darkness in Him (1 John 1:5). We are reflections of that Light here on Earth, so He can use us to draw men and women unto Him. Show others who Jesus is – love.

***Some great verses to read:

• Luke 10:25-37
• 2 Timothy 3:16
• Proverbs 8:13

If you want to take action and feel convicted to help, here are a couple non-profits that have amazing missions:
Playgrounds for Palestine
Medical Aid for Palestinians