Thank you for “In Pennsylvania or Palestine, Peacemaking Isn’t Passive” (June 18). My wife and I are relatively new to the Mennonite experience. We are not new, however, to the Middle East experience. We assisted at Christian schools and summer camps in Gaza and the West Bank between 2005 and 2018.
Peacemaking in Pennsylvania and in the Palestinian territories is an interesting comparison. I don’t think minorities in Pennsylvania are required to purchase a license plate identifying their ethnicity, see their homes destroyed, water shut off and farms confiscated, or jump through hoops to be accepted in a Pennsylvania hospital — or be subject to about 200 other laws limiting their human and civil rights.
There are 167 Islands of Palestinian land in the West Bank, most not connected to each other. Israeli settlers have made inroads into the West Bank and have taken over about 30% of the area. A country of Palestine seems improbable now.
Peacemakers are rare among evangelicals, who are often so enamored with Israel that they consider Palestinians obstacles to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
We met a Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron. They were amazing. Little steps toward peace can add up.
Stan George, Reedley, Calif.
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