Not Everything Is Black Or White

Two elementary-school classmates got into an arguement at school, and both insisted that they were right. During recess the teacher made them stay inside until they could work out their differences. She had each of them sit on opposite sides of her desk, and in the middle of the desk she set a ball. “What color is the ball?” she asked.

“White,” said one student.

“Black,” said the other.

They got into another arguement over what color the ball was, each thinking that the other was profoundly stupid. After a few minutes of bickering, the teacher had them trade seats.

“Oh, now I get it!” they both said. One side of the ball was black, and the other side was white. Neither one of them had seen it the same way, because they were both sitting in different places and therefore had different perspectives.

I have spoken to many people who feel that the Palestine-Israeli conflict is black and white. Just a few nights ago I had dinner with a very pleasant gentleman, and I was telling him of how I want to work with the United Nations to help bring peace to Palestine and Israel. His response was, “You probably don’t want to hear this, but I am pro-Israel.”

Being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine does not mean that you are necessarily anti-peace. Both Palestine and Israel want to live in peace and safety, and the simple fact is that because they inhabit the same land, what is best for Palestine must also be best for Israel, and vice-versa. If a move favors Israel but is harmful to Palestine, in the long run it is harmful for both. And if a move favors Palestine but is detrimental to Israel, eventually it will prove to be detrimental to Palestine as well.

Many people assume that because I am pro-Palestine, I must also be anti-Israel. That is simply not true. Yes, I have many close friends who are Palestinian. Yes, my passport was illegally confiscated and I was detained in the Tel Aviv airport for 3 hours for the crime of speaking Arabic. But at the end of the day, more than being pro-Palestine, I am pro-peace. That means being both pro-Palestine AND pro-Israel. I try to see both the black and the white sides of the ball, and I want to help others do the same.

Here is my challenge: Try to look at and understand different perspectives on the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Learn why the majority of Western Christians insist on unilateral support of Israel, why the US government was opposed to granting Palestine nonmember status in the United Nations, why Israel is so hostile to Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world, why Israel feels that it has a right to the land, and why some Palestinians have resorted to terrorism.

In order for peace to come to this troubled region, the solution must favor both Palestine and Israel, not one or the other. The questions we ask should not be, “Who is right and who is wrong? Who has the right to live here and who doesn’t?” The questions should be along the lines of, “What will it look like for Palestinians and Israelis to peacefully share the land and what will it take for that to happen?”

About the author

I grew up in conservative Christian circles in the American South, and majored in theology at an Alabama Southern Baptist college. Without really understanding why, I believed that Muslims were to be avoided at all costs, and we have to unilaterally support Israel. Like many young adults, after college I wasn't sure at all of what I wanted to do with my life, so I traveled to the Middle East for a year and a half. Most of the people I met were descendants of the Palestinian refugees forced out of their homeland in 1948, when Israel was recreated. I fell in love with Arab culture, and realized that on the world scene, Arabs have no voice. Living in the Middle East gave me fresh new eyes to read the Bible, and interacting with Arab Christians, especially Palestinian Christians who live in Jordan, caused me to question all the dogmas regarding Israel with which I had grown up.

Living in the Middle East also gave me the courage I needed to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. My first book, A Theology of Chaos, will come out this next spring. I plan to use the profits from it to support organizations in the Middle East that are fighting for justice. I have written some short stories as well, which you can find on smashwords.com under my full name, Margaret Elysia McColley.

I now live in New York City, where emergency procedures for a potential terrorist attack are constantly updated, and where the sharp divide between Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be clearly seen on posters in the subways. My goal in life is simple: to end terrorism in my lifetime, by giving a voice to social injustices that compel terrorists to violence.

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