With Palestine at the UN

The halls of the United Nations today are buzzing as the Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas asks the world to recognize his people as a nation. Some are excited by the prospect and others are incensed at the audacity of what they consider a publicity stunt.

I don’t know if this request is an effective diplomatic move, but my sympathies are certainly with a people who have been denied a homeland for far too long.

Both the Old and New Testaments echo an ancient wisdom that says
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
Proverbs 25:21 and Romans 12:20

And make no mistake, the Palestinian people are thirsty.

A joint study by thirty leading Israeli and Palestinian water scientists* (see below) agree that Israel’s past and present water policies have left Palestinians with inadequate water resources. Per capita water consumption in the Palestinian West Bank is only one third of the World Health Organization minimum value, and in Gaza it is less than one tenth of this standard. As the Palestinian peace process bogs down perennially, water remains a critical political, environmental and human rights issue.

Here’s a specific case that illustrates part of the problem: on the east side of the Israeli-Gaza border a series of wells provide Israeli settlers with water drawn from the shallow Gaza aquifer that everyone knows is dreadfully over-taxed by the demands of 1.7 million Palestinians locked into an area half the size of Toronto. These settlers have access to other sources of water, but the residents of Gaza do not. When the Israeli government allows its citizens to exploit their hard-pressed neighbors in such a way, it feeds a breeding ground of resentment. It’s easy to understand why people in Gaza feel threatened.

In contrast Israel’s book of wisdom counsels deep neighborliness even towards one’s enemies. Many today – and through the ages – would disagree. They say this sends a message of weakness to your opponents. You have to show your strength; you have to confront violence with violence – it’s the only language hostile people understand.

St. Paul begs to differ.  He agrees with Solomon that vengeance only escalates the spiral of hatred. It’s counter-intuitive, but Paul urges us to combat hostility with undeserved kindness, which actually under-cuts hostility at its root. Humane initiatives break the cycle of anger and counter-attack. They overcome evil with good. They mimic the generous way nature and God both operate, sending rain and sunshine on both nasty and nice people equally.

Powerful and principled voices will vigorously oppose the Palestinian plea for recognition. I can only hope that in their opposition they will work just as vigorously to break the political log-jams that ignore the cry of thirsty refugees for humane conditions in which to live. Imagine some unprecedented gesture of good-will that might say Yes! for a change instead of a never-ending No.

* Water Wisdom is a balanced and hopeful collection of essays with invaluable insights into the roots of the water management challenges in the Middle East, co-edited by Alon Tal, from Ben Gurion University in Negev and Alfred Abed Rabbo from Bethlehem University in Palestine, published in 2010 by Rutgers University Press.

Image Sources:
Mahmud Abbas - International Middle East Media Center
Gaza City - OneArmedMan - Wikipedia Commons