- Pathfinder

Reply To: Have you ever been told that supporting Israel prevents you from supporting Palestinians? After taking this course, how would you go about responding to false accusations like this?

#3644
Michael Lucchese
Participant

Yes, I have been told this before. I think there are four steps I learned from this course:

1. Own my bias — explain that I am a pro-Israel, American Christian and all three parts of this identity undoubtedly influence my views.

2. Affirm the morality of the Jewish state — according to my principles as a Western liberal and a Christian, I believe it is fundamentally just to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in the Middle East.

3. See the big picture — I have to admit the complexity of these questions, and recognize that many people have many reasons for supporting various policies. It is not a simple question of good versus evil, it is something more complex.

4. Build tangible friendships — only by learning about and knowing other people can I hope to be a useful participant in a peace-building, Kingdom-expanding process.