by Nate Van Duzer

Earlier this summer I spent four weeks in the West Bank. During my time there I worked at a local orphanage, studied Arabic at the Bethlehem Bible College, lived with a Palestinian Christian family, stumbled through Palestinian dance lessons, saw the holy sites, and met with Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations.

To tell of my experience, I could give numbers: the area of the West Bank is about 2,300 square miles (the same as King County); half the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are under 17 years old; the Israeli separation barrier is twice as long as the border and, in populous areas, twice as high as the Berlin Wall; Israeli settlers are allotted 1450 cubic meters of water per year – Palestinians use 83.

I could also share images: the shining condominiums of a hilltop Israeli settlement that took the only green space in Bethlehem; the gnarled, 2000-year-old olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane; the multi-colored sign that says “Peace be upon you” as one negotiates armed guards and electronic gates at the Bethlehem checkpoint; the beauty of the sunrise over the Mount of Olives.

Most helpful, though, I believe would be to give stories of people:

• my host brother, who had to use the false pretense of a check-up for eye surgery to get Israeli permission to travel 30 minutes to Jerusalem to see a movie on a big screen
• Muhammad, the leader of a non-violent resistance committee who on Good Friday was raised on a cross in front of an Israeli army bulldozer
• the Palestinian family that built its house four times only to see it demolished by Israel each time
• the schoolchildren in Hebron that need a Christian Peacemaker Team to escort them daily past aggressive ideological Israeli settlers
• the Israeli checkpoint guard, no older than 18, whose pants sagged and whose rifle hung awkwardly on her back.

I have now had several weeks to think about what a Christian response should be to this place of heartwarming beauty and heartbreaking hopelessness.

As I ponder and pray, I find myself returning to two main points. First, we need to focus where Jesus did. Also born subject to an occupying power, Jesus spent his time with children, refugees, and the oppressed – today, often the Palestinians. Second, Jesus always connected with individuals. We must re-humanize this conflict. The Ethiopian immigrant in the IDF, the masked gunman of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, the self-aggrandizing politician, the father held in an Israeli prison without charges, the suicide bomber and his victim – each of them is made in God’s image and is loved by Him.

Most of us have heard the Israeli side of the story. As American Christians we must learn to listen (and urge our government to listen) to the Palestinian story as well. For a readable history of both perspectives, I recommend The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan, a book Dan mentioned last month. For a glimpse into the daily pains of occupation, I recommend the website of the Palestine News Network ( www.pnn.ps ).

Finally, if you get a chance to visit this amazing land, do not let yourself be convinced that the other side of the wall is too dangerous. It’s not. Go and hear the Palestinian story.

Nate will be a senior this year at Georgetown University in
Washington DC.