20070806

Pro Israeli Hypocrisy

Recently I listened in on Jan Markell's "Understanding the Times" radio show that airs in several radio markets as well as on Sirius Satellite Radio's Christian Talk channel on the weekends.

On July 28th, Jan aired an interview with Elwood McQuaid as he hawked his new book "For the Love of Zion". I was waiting until the interview appeared in Jan's archives of her broadcasts, which normally show up on her Olive Tree Ministries website. However for some reason the segment of her broadcast that includes the interview with Elwood does not appear and has been replaced with a "Web Bonus Special". I was going to lift a few quotes from the segment for this piece, alas I guess I am going to have to rely more on my memory of the interview without the aid of exact quotes.

Anyway, Jan and Elwood were discussing the Israeli - Palestinian conflict from a very one sided point of view. Elwood, with Jan chiming in with agreement, pointed out how right wing Palestinians (such as Hamas) are unwilling to settle for sharing the land with Israel, that they have as their ultimate goal the reclaiming all the land including those portions of Israel that lie within the "green line". There was also much other criticism of the Palestinians.

What amazed me is how all the criticisms of right wing Palestinians could be turned around and used as justified criticism of right wing Israelis and those other members of the right wing (such as conservative Christians) that support them. An example? Right wing Israelis are unwilling to share the land with Palestinians. The areas that would be surrendered to the Palestinians for their own state are "Judea and Samaria" and are part of the "Promised Land". Read the description for Elwood's new book that is contained in the above link and note how it states "Israel should not give away any more land in an effort to broker peace".

To me it is extreme hypocrisy for the Jewish and Christian right wing to engage in criticism of the Islamic right wing while they hold positions and engage in actions that are almost mirror images of that which they criticize.

Is the criticism of the Palestinian side warranted? Yes, I do believe that it is. However people like Jan and Elwood need to stand in front of a mirror, examine their own motivations and actions (and of those whom they support) and hold themselves accountable to the same standards they hold their opponents.

As a side note, I will also note that Jan and Elwood also engaged in criticism of left leaning Christians (which, according to Jan, includes most if not all the mainstream Protestant denominations and all the Catholics) who seek to hold Israel accountable for indefensible actions and positions.

Personally, I would encourage Jan (and Elwood) to remember that most Christians think of Jesus as the "Prince of Peace" and encourage her to pray and meditate on the subject of what leads her to stand in the way of a peaceful settlement of the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. Perhaps she is correct that a peaceful settlement is not possible. However if she is correct, this will become obviously apparent if the Palestinians prove unwilling to settle for a reasonable solution. However if she is not outrageously biased in favor of the Israeli side, she will then have to accept that it would also become obviously apparent as to which side is the obstacle to peace if the Israeli side failed to offer such a "reasonable" solution. Such a "reasonable" solution has yet to be offered to the Palestinians and the Jewish (and Christian) right wing continues to throw up road blocks and serve as an impediment to such an offering.