In Which Faith becomes Political

It happened, I’m sure, predictably. Walking with a Palestinian social worker through a refugee camp then along the separation barrier, I suddenly realized – “You know? There are a lot of things I would do to see this situation fixed.” The barrier, erected ostensibly to protect Israelis, has more or less succeeded in that goal. It has also succeeded in taking the daily problems Palestinians already faced and increasing them several-fold. The wall destroys village economies, separates families, cuts people off from needed resources, excruciatingly prolongs daily acts of transportation. A recent addition to the crimes committed in this conflict (construction began about ten years ago), it has become among the most notorious. It draws on other images in our common history of such walls, frequently despised as symbols of oppression and inhumanity.

Generally mellow, evenhanded, cynical, or distant when it comes to politics, I’m starting to catch on to the fire I sometimes uncomprehendingly glimpse in activists. I explained to a friend the other day: If a person came up to me and said “You! Do you have an opinion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?” I would now be able to say “Yes! In fact – I am very opinionated. Maybe even passionate.”