Peter Gomes’ chapter is entitled “The Bible and Anti-Semitism.”  Gomes was a homosexual pastor of Harvard’s Memorial Church where he served from 1974 to 2011.  Harvard was struggling with recognizing the LGBTQ+ community on their campus at the time that Gomes ministered at Memorial and he grabbed national headlines by announcing his sexual preference and also his celibacy.

His book entitled The Good Book is his argument for the acceptance of gay people by the church and so far he has built his case that the Bible does not have it “right” 100% of the time.  When it comes to the prohibition of hard drink, that was not really based on actual Biblical prohibition; it was human interpretation.  When it comes to justifying slavery in the antebellum South, the slave-owners’ justification of slavery as Biblical falls flat on its face.  Now he turns to the topic of Anti-Semitism.  This would be hard to comment on in ordinary times but in November of 2023 we are living in extraordinary times.  We are living through another war being conducted by Israel against Palestinian terrorists. 

Before we get into the main idea that Gomes discusses, we have to try to provide some perspective on this issue today.  Perspective for many is something that is sorely lacking.  There is too much grandstanding for or against Israel based on extremely shallow information.  I won’t be able to provide “expert” commentary but maybe I can attempt to shed some light. 

Let’s provide examples.  Many Americans of younger generations have been very concerned by horror stories of the suffering of the people of Gaza.  That is understandable.  This is a densely populated urban strip of land next to Israel [between Israel and the Mediterranean].  It is located right above the country of Egypt [a border crossing that has not been always open].  When missile strikes slam into buildings there, it is inevitable that civilian casualties will occur.  Many citizens of Gaza are too poor to leave their homes and it has been difficult to get aid from the world into the area.  Hamas is a Palestinian terrorist organization that launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing many innocent Israeli citizens [men, women and children].  That action began the current conflict.  The citizens of Gaza are Palestinian but they are not all members of Hamas.  They are caught in the crossfire of a hot war.

“The attacks began in the early morning of October 7, 2023 with a rocket barrage of at least 3,000 rockets launched against Israel and vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into its territory.  Hamas fighters breached the Gaza–Israel barrier, killing civilians in neighboring Israeli communities and attacking Israeli military bases. In a single day, 859 Israeli civilians and at least 345 Israeli soldiers and policemen were killed in nearby towns, kibbutzim, military bases and at a music festival near Re’im.  Around 200 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, of which the number of kidnapped children is about 30.” *

Pictures of dead people will cause viewers to react, especially if those dead are women and children.  There has been real concern for the amount of negative news about Israel that has been generated on a daily basis because Israel has retaliated,  but let’s not forget who started this: Hamas.  The first dead women and children we saw were Israeli; Hamas has 30 Israeli children captive.  Forty-four nations have condemned Hamas for conducting a terrorist act against Israel. 

But to provide more context, not all nations have condemned this attack on Israel as terrorism.   Arab and Muslim countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iran and Iraq have blamed Israel for the attack.  Since the United Nations created the Jewish homeland in 1948, the country has been in several wars with its surrounding neighbors [eleven to be exact].  The Jewish homeland was given to the Jews with Palestine paying a territorial price and this has never been accepted by many in the middle-eastern Arab-Muslim world.

Let’s provide some more history to understanding this tense part of the world.  Since the 1960’s the United States has been a strong supporter of Israel.  According to Wikipedia, Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid [the U.S. providing $150 billion dollars in assistance since the 60’s, an average of around 3.5 billion dollars per year].  To avoid going into too much detail, let’s say the U.S. has provided financial aid, military aid and political support for the Jewish state for many years. **

One must ask why? 

The short and very inadequate answer to this question is that support for Israel is in the best interest of the U.S.  The middle-east is a tinder box and Israel is a stabilizing force, even though it may not appear that way right now.  Russia is very interested in its ties to middle-eastern countries and is actively trying to support terrorist actions in the area.  Will Israel ever be truly stable?  This will always be a hard situation, a Jewish country surrounded by Muslim countries that don’t like the Jewish state, hounded by terrorist groups that try to kill its citizens and viewed as a people who have stolen territory from Palestine.  These factors don’t lead to stability, much less long-lasting peace.

Why is the situation in the Gaza strip so hard to understand?  It takes study, cultural appreciation, knowledge of history and practical experience with the region to understand this part of the world. 

Sadly, many don’t have any of this but they do have the ability to react. 

As I considered what to write on this first post about Anti-Semitism, I knew I had to address recent news.  Only people who are living “off the grid” are unaware of the current scary world situation.  I also know that many in our world today don’t have any interest in attempting to understand anything that is complex.  They just react.  A political commentator commenting on recent events and the extreme reactions among younger people said “younger people today see some TikTok video and they have a visceral response.  They don’t employ research skills in order to understand what they are watching.  They don’t employ critical thinking skills to understand what they are watching.  They just react in the moment.”  This can lead to some outrageous comments that are really based on almost nothing, yet we are shocked and concerned.

Should we be?

No.

People should study a situation before they comment; they should listen to and read experts who know about the complexity of this area, but they don’t. 

Gomes is not addressing the situation in Gaza in his book, but he is trying to apply his faith to the attitude that many have against the Jew in this world.  His discussion is complex and it requires thoughtfulness.  As I have written, the U.S. has provided financial aid, military aid and political support for the Jewish state for many years.  What has the Christian community done?

Very little…

And that’s a problem…

*from Wikipedia  “2023 Attacks on Israel” accessed on 11/17/2023.

**from Wikipedia “Israel-United States Relations”  accessed on 11/17/2023.