General consensus, especially that portrayed on social media, is that you may not support Israel and the Palestinian people simultaneously. If you have not been told this literally at any point, you almost certainly have been made to feel this way at minimum. This benighted mindset breeds divisiveness and hostility which ultimately, sustains the complex long-term conflict. Some may ask, is that the point of this accusation? On the contrary, support for the State of Israel is the path to peace in the region and among the peoples, based off of morality alone. After the horrific acts on October 7th, this question has become increasingly more difficult. One should never be made to feel uncomfortable with the idea of supporting and advocating for peace while concurrently condemning evil and terror. Embroiling “tevunah” into the question of these divergences allows for a more perspicuous integration of the two concepts. Matthew 5:9
