elusive peace

Well, I was hoping for a peaceful start to 2009, but with the Israeli assault on Gaza and the riots in Oakland over a shooting of an unarmed man, I guess that I'm not going to get that wish.

gaza
I wonder why America seemingly supports Israel with hardly any conditions. I confess that I don't know everything that is going on with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I know the big picture, but not when Gaza was given back to the Palestinians, under what conditions, who was opposed to it, who supported it, etc. Nor do I know the ins and outs of Israeli laws. I have heard that Palestinians are disenfranchised and marginalized under Israeli law. And bombing UN schools, as well as killing a driver delivering humanitarian aid isn't typically going to win you friends.

I affirm Israel's right to exist and defend itself. They are surrounded by enemies, by nations who have nuclear weapons pointed at them, as well as suicide bombers crossing into their borders (and within their own country). I can understand their paranoia. Can you imagine how different our country would be if Canada and Mexico were hostile to us and were armed with nuclear weapons?

However, I have a hard time understanding why American Christians in particular give Israel a complete blank check. Is it because it's a seemingly Jewish/Muslim conflict and we root for the Jews in that case? I would posit that it's not that simple, that there are Palestinian Christians who are caught up in this as well. I remember reading an article in Christianity Today a long time ago by a Palestinian Christian asking us not to forget them.

This conflict will not be solved until Jesus returns, I'm afraid.

oakland
I hate hearing about these sorts of things. Black man killed by white man. Cop kills unarmed civilian. While I don't condone the violence taking place, I do understand it. You can only handle so much injustice before you finally cave and say "enough!"

I could never be a police officer. It's a high-stress job and it's very difficult not to become hardened and prejudiced. I understand that. But, I have heard of numerous examples in my neighborhood of cops acting out their prejudices through words and actions. Racial profiling is real. Unfortunately, the abuse of power is real too.

I am inclined to think that if the men involved in the altercation on public transit in Oakland were white, there wouldn't be rioting right now because someone probably wouldn't have been shot and killed. It most likely would have been handled differently. Maybe I'm wrong about that. I hope I am, but I fear that I'm not.