Nakba

On May 15th, 1948, Israel declared independence as a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine, supported by the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Settlers had already been pouring into the area since the First Aliyah ("Return to Israel") of 1882-1903, encouraged by European Zionistic beliefs that originate in the attempt to "solve the Jewish problem" and reserve Europe for Christianity. In the name of settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and blatant racism, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 8 million have been displaced, with conflicts increasing since the Hamas attack in 2023. Those attacks apparently justified the increased intensity in settler-colonialism, while the occupational conditions that baked such radicalization has been largely ignored or worse, biblically justified. 

Palestinians call May 15th, 1948, the Nakba or Catastrophe, because the laws of the world approved of their destruction and no one has dared help lest they be accused of opposing Israel, God's chosen people, and they are denied their right to return while another right to return is supported because of its religious connotations. 

Many genocide scholars did not believe that a group targeted by a genocide could themselves turn around and commit one, but it is happening, has been happening, and continues to happen. Many others observe the cycles of violence playing out endlessly over the centuries. 

But what do we expect? When we question the genocide of Native Americans, we're told "well that's just the way it is. We won." When we question the genocide of Jews, we're told it's because the people who killed them were evil. When we question the genocide of the Canaanites, we're told they deserved to die because God said so. Confusing double standards, for adults let alone children. We quickly forget how America's own genocidal practices informed Nazi ideals, because they looked across the sea, saw Manifest Destiny, and said "if they can do it, why can't we?" 

This is not a modern phenomenon. The Bible flat out tells us of and justifies the conquest of Canaan, the slaughter of towns and cities and nations because they did not follow the right god, and because the land is promised to a man who came from Ur in Mesopotamia because he had a vision (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc...). The same blood libel, child sacrifice, sexual violence allegations that have been hurled at the Jews for hundreds of years were used by ancient Israel to justify the conquest of the promised land. Don't even get me started on the gods, their amalgamation and assimilation that produced a bloodthirsty storm-warrior-shepherd deity tied to a specific land and a specific people, while all the other gods tied to every other land and people were labeled evil or non-existent. 

Waves of immigration into the "promised land" are thought to have occurred around 1850, 1600, and 1200 BCE, and the vision of "Greater Israel" is still being acted upon, with conflicts now in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria intensifying. 

We use biblical text to justify conquest and war, mourn the Holocaust ("Sacrifice") but turn a blind eye to the suffering of certain peoples because our religions tell us they are lesser. Jesus himself said, when asked by a Canaanite/Syrian-Phoenician/Gentile (depending on translation) woman to heal her demon possessed child: "I was sent only to help God's lost sheep - the people or Israel." 

 'But she came and worshipped him, pleading again, "Lord help me!"

Jesus responded: "It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs."

She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates."

"Good answer!" He said. "Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter!" (Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-29). 

Jesus also tells us to ignore wars because they are but birthing pains (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17), but that seems to lose meaning when you observe how the United States has only had about 15-20 years without conflict since 1776, meaning we've been at war for 93% of our nation's history. Interesting. But let's all continue to ignore it because Jesus is coming! 

Richland County was itself referred to as "a western Canaan" in an 1884 history. The parallels should not be lost on us. Violence breeds violence, hatred breeds hatred. When does it end? Why do we mourn some losses but ignore others? Why do we believe in things simply because we are told to? Why are we ridiculed and told to get over it or called antisemitic or anti-american when we say "this is objectively wrong" when we look at the world and everything that makes it what it is today, the way it has trickled into our communities, our selves? It's okay to be bothered when things are bothersome. Thanks for reading. 

(Also, highly recommend the books "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong and "The Origins of Satan" by Elaine Pagels.)