Jesus is Not a Zionist: Reflections on Evil
Zionism is a relatively young concept in the grand genealogy of ideas. Postulated by Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century, Zionism is a nationalistic ideology that pushed for the founding of a homeland for Jewish people in Palestine. Upon the resultant founding of the nation of Israel, Zionism is a means of ideologically pushing for the continued development of the nation of Israel. Of course, Zionism has never considered the people who already existed in Palestine before the founding of the nation of Israel, they were never part of the plan. When you dream of founding something on the land of another and actively work to take that land away from the population that is already there, it is called colonialism and it is inherently racist. Make no mistake, it is always evil to seek the destruction of a people, regardless of who the destroyer might be or what might have been done to the destroyed in the past. Such truths are important to point out before engaging the horrors of the present moment.
The horrors that played out in Israel in recent days should shake any moral person to their core. Young people slaughtered while dancing. Bloodied children pulled from their homes. Elderly people lying dead in the street. The images are endless. The pain is unimaginable. The group that perpetuated such evil is a group known as Hamas, a militant Palestinian group determined to destroy the Nation of Israel. Simply put, they are an organization that seems to exist to perpetuate the horrors that have been inflicted on the Palestinian people on to the Israeli people. However, such motivation will never excuse the horror that they perpetuate.
The Israeli Government’s response has been to try to destroy a place that over 2 million Palestinians call home, Gaza. The horrors that are playing out should also shake any moral person to their core. Families blown to bits. Entire neighborhoods destroyed. No basic services. Bomb after bomb after bomb. The images are endless. The pain is unimaginable. However, the response so far is just the beginning. The Israeli Government is determined to destroy Gaza. Simply put, the Israeli Government is putting all its’ present energy into perpetuating the horrors that they have recently endured.
There seems to be no real difference between Hamas and the Israeli Government at this point. Both are determined to perpetuate horror upon each other’s populations. Both are evil. It almost seems as if they are in a race to see who can perpetuate the most evil in the shortest amount of time.
Jesus exists outside of such paradigms. God is incarnate with the people who are suffering the most. The hungry. The thirsty. The isolated. The naked. The sick. The imprisoned. The marginalized. The oppressed. In fact, Jesus says, “What you have done to the least of these you have done to me.”
While there is no doubt that Jesus was with those Israelis who were slaughtered in recent days, there is also no doubt that Jesus has been with the Palestinian population who have been actively slaughtered by various manifestations of Zionism for decades.
You see, the events of recent days did not happen in a vacuum. They are the result of a long evil ideology that has assumed that one group of people matters more than another. The merciless bombing of Gaza is not about punishing Hamas…if it was…schools, homes, and critical infrastructure wouldn’t be getting bombed. The bombing is about maintaining dominance that was secured through Zionism many years ago.
Jesus is not a Zionist. Jesus is always where the suffering is. Presently, Palestinians are hungry…thirsty…isolated…naked…sick…imprisoned…marginalized…and oppressed, as bombs explode around their homes. The horrors of the moment leave me with no doubt, Jesus presently resides in Gaza.
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