Words of the Week
“’Divided by politics, Israelis and Palestinians are united by a love for the same land with its rich indivisible history, and now even shared saints,’ the Pope could have declared, addressing Abbas and Rivlin in Rome, in a speech broadest simultaneously on Israeli and Palestinian television. He could have gone on to challenge members of both nations to consider what else unites them, and to suggest that shared saints is just one manifestation of how the Church could be a constructive bridge to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Pope could have deployed his moral authority in recent days to bring Palestinians and Israelis together, and send out a very real call for conciliation between them. Instead, he lent out this moral authority, and even the solemn rite of canonization, for diplomatic point-scoring.”
Source: Nathan Jeffay, “Pope No Saint On Palestinian Saints? Missed opportunity to stress unity on both sides of the Green Line.” (The Jewish Week)
This made me think a lot. As an African American what I read about the treatment of Palestinians by Israelis disturbing. The discussion about making Palestinians sit in a particular spot on buses because they supposedly harass Israeli women shocked and disheartened me. But I know black and white southeners and black and white Americans share a lot without perhaps realizing it. I never felt American until I went abroad. I agree that stressing unity would have been perhaps more productive. Then I think of the bus idea and the ever growing settlements and wonder who would have listened to that softer message.