The city of Bethlehem is one of a handful of main flashpoints in the intractable conflict between Israel and Palestinians. The conference I am attending has the express purpose of giving voice to a Christian Palestinian view of the conflict, which I admire and respect.

I also applaud the organizers of the conference for attempting to honor the other side (an Israeli Jewish perspective as well as a pro-Israel Christian view). They have sought to be Kingdom-focused and to bring Jesus into the center of this mess of a conflict.

The discussion has primarily been about the social and political issues regarding the holy land, and “whose land is it, anyway?” The predominant view of most of the speakers is that this is a political and social issue rather than a theological one. While I do not agree with this assumption (that will wait for another post), I wish the conference attendees could hear a Jewish perspective that is not staunchly Zionist in orientation and addresses the social and personal.

Here are some perspectives that I believe many Jewish people hold to when considering this conflict:

1. Because the Jewish people have been persecuted so many times by different peoples we are instinctively driven by the fear of history repeating itself. This is especially true of the Jewish worldview after Auschwitz;
2. Consequently, almost every Jew experiences an existential threat to our existence as a people. It is not helpful for non-Jews to challenge this claim, although it may not be a rational belief;
3. We build walls (and security fences) because of our inherent fear of being annihilated. To put it another way, if we do not build a wall then a wall will be built around us;
4. Most of us (Jews) have a deep pride that we are “God’s chosen people,” even though the vast majority of us are secularized and are not even sure if we believe in God anymore. This pride translates into wielding power seemingly indiscriminately;
5. As a culture we are not premeditated in opposing any people, including the Palestinians. We take great offense at the accusation that we are motivated to eliminate the Palestinians just as the Nazis were set on eliminating the Jews. We have no concept of a “final solution” as Hitler did;
6. We are humane people and hate to see people suffer. We do not know how to even begin to process the possibility that we have anything to do with such great suffering among the Palestinians. Thus, we tend to place blame on the Palestinians for their plight over the past generations;
7. With this final point I am not trying to represent Jewish people in general, but rather to make a personal comment about this one Jew’s view and hope: I believe the Jewish people want to reclaim their calling to show the nations to the God of the universe. Deep down in the often misguided soul of the Jewish person is a yearning to be right with God again (just as David sought after being confronted by Nathan), but we are lost and wandering in a spiritual wilderness.

I do not represent all Jews, or even a huge majority. However, if one of the goals of the Christ at the Checkpoint conference is to gain a better understanding of the “others” narrative, it could benefit those who are advocating passionately for the Palestinians to get inside the heart and heart of a Jew.

Surely the Palestinian community does not want generalizations plastered on them with assumptions that may not be true. The Jewish community is just like the Palestinians in this way. Please do not draw conclusions without asking for clarifications from Jews themselves. We do well to learn to actively listen to the others’ narrative, as has been so well articulated by Salim Munayer.