Palestine?

Column by Gilbert Lammerts van Bueren 

According to some politicians, it won't be long until the state of Palestine will be proclaimed. For the Arab World this won't change much. They never ceased to speak of Palestine. In those countries maps that mention Israel are not available. It's all Palestine. Palestine inhabited by Palestinians or Palestine under Zionist occupation. Some Christians in our nation can't wait either. Finally there will be justice for the Palestinians. Many churches pray for the deliverance of Palestine. This solidarity has even led an (evangelical!) Bible teacher to write about Palestine when discussing the land at the time of Christ. As if that name existed in those days!
And then there are Christians on the other side of the spectrum. Palestine already exists: It's Jordan. And there is no such thing as a Palestinian. They are Arabs who deliberately take that name in order to lay claim to land they have no right to. No wonder that some Palestinian Christians carefully assess who they are talking to before calling themselves Arabs or Palestinians.
The problem with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that it's not just about truth and justice. New borders won't solve the conflict. Every 'solution' immediately creates new conflict. It's enough to keep you up at night! The realisation that peace will never come through our weapons and negotiation strategies is very humbling indeed. For it is not merely about reaching agreements that everyone can live with, but also about restoration and healing. As long as there are still traces of unprocessed emotional pain, as long as there is no trust, real peace cannot be achieved.
And then we read at the end of the Bible in Revelation 22:2 about the leaves of the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem that will bring healing to the nations. We will continue to testify to this hope. In word and in deed.