Kim Iversen’s reassessment on Tulsi Gabbard, and my personal position on the Israel-Palestine conflict [Video]

Kim Iversen is one of the journalists I have a lot of respect for. Whether right or wrong, she is interested in the truth, and that search often takes her out of her own rather left-winged comfort zone, at least as I see it. She produced tremendous work during both COVID and the early stages of the Russian-Ukraine conflict that showed that her own biases could be placed aside when information showed a different story.

This latest video appears to continue in that tradition and I am thankful for it. It also shows how broken the American people are as a whole because the understanding most of us have held about Israel since at least my childhood (1970s) is guided by a very well-established set of propaganda lines that fall apart under scrutiny. I was compelled to comment on her video, and it seemed a good idea to offer that comment here. It is by no means the “absolute right” position; I cannot claim that because I am still watching and evaluating what is going on. However, I will say that my efforts to understand the “Israel is right in all things because… Israel is right in all things” as anything other than a tautology are not working.

As a churchman, and as a minor-order cleric (not that that particularly matters), the only effect the study and practice of Orthodox CHristianity has had is to make my present set of convictions more sure. However, like I said, I may be wrong on some or all of it. This is for you all to read and consider, but please, do not copycat my way of thinking. I am making an effort to be true, personally, using everything I see and hear to do so. This is meant for you, Dear Readers, to do the same for yourselves.

Enjoy!

The problem with Israel is so pervasive that trying to call it out for what it is brings instant knee-jerk reactions of “pro-Hamas conspiracy!!!”

We as Americans are basically molded by a mixture of our Protestant Christian “superculture” to believe that somehow, being on Israel’s side is identical with being with “the good guys” and even more to the point, “being on God’s side, since the Israeli people are descendants of God’s chosen people.”

Even though Israel itself has an astoundingly secular – anti Jewish AND anti Christian moral compass, this is masked because there is still a lot of power to be had in Israeli authorities putting forth the “Remember what happened to us in the Holocaust!”, which even for seculars, and ESPECIALLY for seculars, reinforces the idea that “Supporting Israel is the ONLY choice”.

I don’t hold with this. I am an Orthodox Christian, a subdeacon, so not a major clerical figure, but still, I serve God in His Church as best I can. I am still trying to find the most truthful point of view on this Israel – Palestine conflict.

For what it is worth, here it is:

First, to assume that Israelis are “the people of God” is a mistake. They aren’t. The place that taught us sodomy is bad (Sodom and Gomorrah lie at the bottom of the Dead Sea), is the leading LGBTQrstuvwxyzetc… place in the middle East, and one of the most actively pro-homosex in the world. This isn’t what God taught them to be!! This alone for me says that any possible religious and moral justification for Israel’s behavior is nonexistent. The people of God should be serving God and doing things HIS way. Period. Full stop.

Second: The Palestinians are largely Muslim, but some are Christian. The Christians are commanded to love their enemies and do good for them that persecute them. Some Palestinian Christians I know seem to think that this does not apply to Jews. Sorry. That is wrong. It applies to everyone. Muslims have a harder time of this, since the Koran goes both ways, but there is a place in the Koran that says that the Jew and the Christian are brothers in kith and kin, and should be treated kindly. So, there are two more fails in evidence.

Third: Therefore, there is no moral “right side” here in this conflict. It would seem that both the Palestinians and the Israeli leaderships are set in eternal and career level deadly opposition to one another. While the people of Israel and of Palestine are often friendly with one another, their states aren’t and there is a lot of hostility at the level of the populace as well.

Fourth: Palestine has been cheated over and over by the Israelis, though the Israelis feel themselves justified by their religious / nationalist idea that reclaiming the Holy Land for themselves is basically Manifest Destiny, Israeli style. That is a religious conviction, not an historical one, although sacred history does point out that this is supposed to happen.  However, both sides each treat the other as “subhuman” and this treatment goes against the sacred teachings of both religious groups – actually all THREE, since Christianity is among the Palestinians as well as Islam and Judaism on the Israeli side.

However, I would put money on the idea that if we got these people together to lay out their positions. they would NOT use religious bases for their arguments, but would rather use nationalistic ones.

Here again, the Palestinians get the short shrift. While they have supposedly their own land, it keeps getting settled by more and more Israeli settlers. Slow invasion. Kind of like our southern border, but far more hostile.

I am not against Israel’s existence. It exists. But I don’t support them and their present actions because I think they are energized by rage and hatred and essentially bigotry against the Palestinians.

The Palestinians have not done a good job proving the Israelis wrong, and this anger breeds more and more anger and will of each side to wipe the other out. So, I don’t support the Palestinian side in this conflict, either.

What does one do with such people?

I DO support the following: Israel may have its state. Palestine may have its state. They may share Jerusalem as a capital. To credit, the Israeli capital is now being called “West Jerusalem”, allowing for Palestinians to hold “East Jerusalem.” That was an odd step that seems to have taken place during this conflict, at least to my eyes.

Each state is sovereign, with clear borders and no incursions of settlers on either side. I also think the Palestinians should have better land to farm on, so Israel should give some of its territory up.

That is as far as I can go. It is probably not correct, but these two sides appear incorrigible.

The BEST solution might be for a third power, like Russia perhaps (not the United States, that country’s views are partly to blame for all this present death) to take over both sides and force everyone to live together in peace for several centuries and then maybe try a two-state effort again when everyone gets along.

But like everyone else, I have the absolute right to be wrong. What do you think?