Issues of Jewish Identity on the Evergreen State College Campus in relationship to Israel, The Middle East and Palestine

      What does it mean to be Jewish? This is a question that has become a hot button point of controversy on campus. It began long before the current conflict with Jews who were Pro-Israel not feeling safe on campus, and who ended up leaving in the process and students and Palestinians who have felt that their voice has not been heard except only in the Evergreen Community. In both instances people have been made into an "Other" and personhood denied in some way. I will explain in what ways later in the blog. First the events that occurred today on February 23rd 2011 and how they came about. 

   The latest issue was an art project an Jewish Evergreen Student made that was taken in Palestine and labeled, "Hebrew is the language of abuse." It was meant in the context of most Palestinians experience with Hebrew when she was over there. The language of soldiers, war and checkpoints. But it understandably set off a spark. Labeling any language the language of abuse, even in a given context, labeling a people, in this case some Jewish students on campus felt that it was an attack on them, one student even writing a letter to the campus newspaper the Cooper Point Journal mentioning the other students who have left because Anti-Israeli sentiment and that she would be one of them:

http://cooperpointjournal.com/opinion/letter-editor
. Out of this came the event "Shir l'Shalom: Hebrew Songs of Peace." Which was to counter Anti-Israeli sentiment and focus on the common wish for peace by all sides and how the language of Hebrew had peace within it's language. It was hosted by Evergreen Hillel whose goal seemed to be for the intention of unity among all Jews and celebration of Jewish songs of peace. On the program for the songs it quotes the Talmud saying,

    "The entire Torah is for the sake of the ways of peace." -Talmud, Gittin 59b.

    Sadly the event did come out of a reaction the the art and in the process a few Jews campus felt that their perspective and the point the art was trying to make about how disempowered the Palestinians feel with Israeli military checkpoints through their territories and having Israeli settlers settling where their homes once were located in Gaza and the West Bank. Due to the inequality between Israeli and Palestinian power that the art was trying to illuminate was being drowned out by a call for unity, Jewish students hosted their own event called "From Songs of Peace to Peaceful Action."

    The event had three speakers who spoke about what Hebrew meant to them. There were three speakers. One was a woman who is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace:

http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

   The other was a man who has both Israeli and American citizenship, and the third was an older woman who grew up in a Jewish Ghetto in Chicago in the 30's and 40's. 

       I went to both events and caught the beginning of Shir l'Shalom and the end of "From Songs of Peace to Peaceful Action." The songs sung at Shir l'Shalom are songs of peace and God's love for all people. It was great being there for a while before heading off to my Philosophy of Religion Contract. After I headed to the second event.

       I caught the last half hour of the second event when the member of Jewish voice for peace was talking about their needs to be more awareness about what our language means to others. Then questions began. It was a quite for a while and the male speaker spoke saying he saw the "Shir l'Shalom" event as poison since it was ignoring the plight of Palestinians in relationship to Israel.

       My thought on that was he was missing something that could be a great way to bring about change...the God of Abraham of Islam and Judaism calls on the people for peace and to "treat others as they wish to be treated" and to "Not raise a sword again." I think these are things can be good for getting rid of the jingoism and militarism being used by certain Imans and Nations causing for Israel's destruction, and for the militarists within the Israeli government  and certain Rabbi's who see war as the only way. In both cases personhood of the other is denied. They are somehow less and not a victim, only the one claiming to be a victim can be a victim...it's impossible for the victim to bully and victimizer (which both sides deny being but certain members are or end up being).

   At the event I experienced white noise from this. The IDF soldier and his father and those they talked to mostly did Ad hominem attacks on one another. They gave some good knowledge as well, but most of it was ad hominem before actual discussion. There was a member of the IDF and his father who were at the event and brought up the issue of Israeli's security and denied the Palestinians as people, just as the people at the event were denying the fact that in the past Nations and individuals have called for Israel to be "Wiped off the map."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080300629.html

   This goes both ways. Members in Israel or who are sympathetic with the Israeli government refuse to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and continue to create settlements on their land, ignoring past peace treaties they made that respected Gaza and the West Bank as belonging to the Palestinian People.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestinians-threaten-to-quit-talks-over-settlements-1920121.html

      In the end the lack of virtue being practiced by both sides is ignored. Both sides "other" their opponent and different ways, rather then dealing with how they or their allies are practicing unethical actions. You have desperation to live being practiced by both as no one listens, and those with power choose not to respect those without power. What can be done? First off the settlements need to stop and the Palestinian Territories allowed to develop and not cut off from the rest of the world, and leaders outside of Israel need to respect Israel's right to nationhood, just as Israel should respect and honor the Palestinians right to Nationhood.

    I probably haven't covered everything, but the core issue of "othering" and with it ignoring a person or peoples right to exist needs to stop. I think religion can be the greatest move forward on that. Both Holy Books respect the other and at the core are about God's love for all his people. All his people are the world, which includes, Arabs and Jews. It's from that love that the sons of Abraham need to come together and end this. If they don't...one side is going to wipe out the other, or they will wipe out each other.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church - Olympia, WA - Febuary 20th 2011

     Since the creation of this blog this has been my second visit to a Lutheran Church. My how I've changed in that time. I've found myself going between Agnostic Theist, to all out Theist, and even considering Christianity. Before I go into where I am now though, I should tell about the Church since Gloria Dei actually made me all the more conflicted on what being a Christian means and if I could do it.

        Gloria Dei is a beautiful Church. The sanctuary stretches up like a dome is made with wood pillars around the cross that is on the altar in the center. Which I've found to be a common Lutheranism. Protestantism in general is more concerned with "Christ is Risen" and the empty tomb, versus the Orthodox and Catholics whose focus lies on artistic interpretation of Jesus on the cross.

      The community is involved with Interfaith and is active helping the homeless, Alcoholics and Narcotics anonymous, education in Africa and peace between religions. The music is also powerful too, with a pipe organ and the sound of old church hymns to the sound of bells.  

    The sermon proper was about Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and "Loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you." During the sermon he used this line to make sense of the barbaric laws in Leviticus in that the spirit of what God intended for his people was harmony and love between individuals. The laws should have never been necessary but it was people trying their best to understand what loving each other meant in their very limited way...in a way that in practice harmed many people (being stoned to death, sold into slavery, ect).

   The spirit of the law interpretation makes sense to me. Much like the United States Constitution, it's when the spirit of the Constitution is followed that Gay, Women and all the rights of those who weren't Anglo-Saxon land owners were advanced. It was the spirit of the law that changed African Americans being seen as 3/5 of a person to full people deserving of rights they and all people deserve.

    So can I believe in the Spirit of the Bible? The Spirit of Jesus? Rather then His words and actions that contradict love, justice and mercy(and his own message on these things)? I don't know. But I'm much more open to it and find it to be truer then the contradicting messages in the words and actions in the Bible.  In the end, I guess I'm where I started. I am a seeker of truth wherever it may lead. Much more open to Christianity, and certainly a believer in the Spirit the faith is built on. For now, the most I can do is remain open to God and the Universe and see what happens in my journey.

Christian Science Reading Room - Olympia, WA - Febuary 12th 2011

     Church of Christ, Scientist. That is the name of the faith. Who are the Christian Scientists? The Christian Scientists came from the religion founded by Mary Baker Eddy. She was injured and after reading a Biblical passage about Jesus healing found her injury healed. She then founded the religion in 1866. From there she wrote "Science and Health with Keys to the Scripture." This book's commentary on the Bible are the basis to this faith I discovered in my visit to their reading room.

      The people who work there are volunteers. I talked to an older woman and an older man. They were both very sweet and gave me a card for visiting their Church, and where it was located. 

    The Christian Science reading room is a great resource for a lot of information in regards to information about the Faith and the Christian Science Monitor, which is actually a magazine of pretty good quality. The other magazine called The Christian Science Sentinel on the other hand...not so much. The miracle faith healings don't seem to be that much of miracles and are not based in science. Someone felt pain on a certain part of their body...and it went away, it seems like time and focus could have easily healed it then divine intervention (especially when compared to the miracles in the Bible proper). The high mortality rate among Christian Scientists also doesn't give me much credence to it actually working. Of course there is always the possibility it does. Here is a good article on them and their rejection of modern medicine:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/nyregion/24heal.html

What made me most uncomfortable about the reading though was it's focus on Mary Baker Eddy. Everytime the Bible is quoted it is quoted on "Mary Baker Eddy says in Science and Health with Keys to the Scripture..." It seemed less about the Bible proper and more about Mary Baker Eddy and what she revealed...

       This is something I've noticed with a lot of new movements in regards to Christianity though. Mormonism at times is more about Joseph Smith then Jesus, Mars Hill is all about what Mark Driscoll says about the Bible, just like Christian Science is about Mary Baker Eddy and what she says about the Bible...when do religions become more about the founders of the sects then the message of the faith? Throughout the Awakenings in Europe and America this ended up becoming a great factor I found. I think every religion has this danger though. Catholicism can do this with the Pope, and depending on the charisma of a Father the Orthodox Church can be just as guilty. It becomes more about the individual doing commentary on the message then the message itself.

       It's this I think that turns me away from me any religion as well, and why I tend to find more connection with my friends who are followers of the faiths, then many of the leaders (with the exception of smaller more local leaders). Because of a religion becoming more about the founder of the sect or current leader, what then becomes the question is: Are people just reinventing God in their own image?