The Washington Post has a long and heartrending story about the fate of an extended Palestinian family in Gaza during the ferocious onslaught of the Israeli military. The family of about 40 huddled together in one small house after the Israelis sequentially destroyed the houses where the others lived, killing anybody not fast enough to escape (and shooting an unarmed civilian running out the back door). Over two weeks, 29 members of the family died, 16 when the Israelis aimed their shells at the house. They were the lucky ones. Others died slow and agonizing deaths as the Israelis refused to allow humanitarian aid into the area. Some family members went out to plead with the Israeli military. One was told to “go back to your death” and another was detained for a full day for having the audacity to complain to an Israeli soldier about those dying in the house. The Red Cross accused the Israelis of deliberately preventing humanitarian aid from accessing the area. This was a war crime. And it is only one example.
We must see the face of Christ in every Palestinian who died in Gaza, especially the innocent children. And yet, many American Christians defend the right to Israel to do as it pleases. Some will blame the victims, saying the Palestinians brought it on themselves by supporting Hamas. Some will say that Israel’s actions were justified because Hamas was operating in the are. They will make consequentialist arguments to the effect that these deaths are a “necessary price” to protect Israel. And they will happily support the formal cooperation in evil by the US government’s princely sums of military aid granted to Israel– their own tax dollars.
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