Local faith leaders must condemn the attack on Israel
In the wake of the despicable terrorist attacks against innocent Israelis, some faith leaders are neglecting basic moral facts. This has led to a sad series of tepid and confusing statements from dozens of senior Western religious leaders.
The basic fact is this: Hamas terrorists savagely and deliberately attacked innocent Israelis, killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children. Many dozens of innocent victims were taunted and mocked before being killed execution-style. The world hasn’t seen public killing on this scale since ISIS.
If this barbaric attack happened in any other sovereign nation than Israel, nobody would question the country’s right to defend itself and pursue the aggressors. But due to the long and complicated history between Israel and Palestine, many Western faith leaders have been unable to acknowledge their political and Palestinian bias, leading to official statements that have offered only rhetorical solidarity and sanctimony.
Sure, there are two sides to every argument, but this isn’t a dispute – it’s terrorism. Some religious leaders have even blamed Israel for the attacks! This is morally reprehensible. There will come a time to call on both sides to sit down together and forge new and lasting peace. It is sorely needed. And both sides will have to own that work collectively.
This is not that time.
Thankfully, the vast majority of Jews, Christians and Muslims the world over – together with the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land – know that terrorism is never justifiable.
Therefore, I call on religious leaders of all faiths in Sarasota to stand united against terrorism – period. Anything less than unequivocal condemnation of terrorist attacks against Israel is a grave moral error that will only result in a more violent and divided world. God forbid.
The Rev. Charleston D. Wilson is the 11th rector of Church of the Redeemer, a growing 3,000-member church in downtown Sarasota.