Serious times in Jerusalem

Each time I've been asked in the last five months if I'm having a good time living in Jerusalem, I've struggled to answer. Living in the land of the Bible, walking the streets that Jesus supposedly walked, how can I not be enjoying myself?

But the answer occurred to me this morning. I didn't come here to be a tourist. I didn't come here for fun. I came because there is a crisis of justice here, and I was told I could help. I can only hope and pray that what I do does help or that, at the very least, it doesn't make things worse.

I haven’t used the blog, as I had anticipated, to explain the situation in Israel-Palestine as I see it, mainly because I just didn't know where to begin. But with the current situation in Gaza, it seems callous to blog about anything but.

What a tragedy. Two peoples are held captive by fear, and more fear is the solution their leaders offer. Violence never begets peace, only more violence.

But at the risk of seeming to minimize the violence from the Palestinian side, I’ll state right up front that my sympathies lie with them. Israel is a superpower compared to Palestine. And, like a true superpower, Israel is using its disproportionate might disproportionately. It seems callous to compare the deaths on both sides like so many poker chips. But the asymmetry of the situation necessitates it. Further, Israel has said their bombardment is in response to rockets fired from Gaza. On the Israeli side there have been 13 deaths. It is estimated that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. And the bombing goes on.

I am far too new to this subject to offer an in-depth discussion of the situation. But let me offer a few observations. Surely both sides use propaganda to support their cause. But Israeli spokespeople are telling some whoppers. Yes it’s true that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. But Gazans are hardly a “free” people. Israel controls all access to Gaza by land, sea and air. It destroyed its airport. It positions its navy in the Mediterranean, keeping out ships that try to bring in humanitarian aid. Except for one on the Egypt-Gaza border, Israel controls all border crossings. Yes, it has allowed in truckloads of supplies. But is a fraction of the goods needed for the 1.5 million who live there. Yes, Israel discontinues operations for three hours each afternoon. But aid workers say much more time is needed.

Even before this incursion, Israel controlled who went in and out of Gaza. I live on the campus of the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. It is the only place in the country where Palestinians can get certain kinds of medical treatment. Those Palestinians who live in the West Bank or Gaza must get permits to travel to the hospital, which Israel routinely denies even to seriously ill people.

No, I don’t condone Hamas’s firing of rockets into Israel. But neither do I condone the violence Israel has done to Gaza -- turning it into a virtual prison, allowing little more than starvation rations to enter and now, rolling their tanks into cities by day and dropping bombs on it by night. A complex situation is made more complex; precarious times are made desperate. It’s a good thing I didn’t come here looking for fun.