Do Unto Others

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip seems, from my comfortable home in Maryland, like a small movement toward peace. But I am trying to put myself in the place of those people who are being made to leave their homes and communities and to relocate.

What if my government told me and my whole town to pack up because they had decided to give this land to a Native American tribe? After all, their ancestors were here first. Perhaps I could accept it on a philosophical level, but the reality is that I now have to find somewhere else to live, I have to start over in a new community.

Maybe the Gaza Strip is more affordable because of the frequent conflicts there. Perhaps it was the only place where some Israelis could afford to own their own homes. I don't know if this is the case. Were the Israelis able to sell those homes? Have they been compensated in some way? If so, by whom? Israel or Palestine? Were the compensated fairly? Can money compensate for the loss of community, for the years spent in building friendships with neighbors. Were these people compensated for time lost from work or for the possible loss of jobs?

What if I was being forced to go against deeply held convictions to make this move? I can only conclude that this is the case for those who have holed themselves up in synagogues or gone on shooting rampages. Israel is more than just a country to some; it is the fulfillment of a promise from God. What must it feel like to give it up?