God Promises a House in Bethesda
On an evening not too long ago, police brought someone in their custody to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The person, an elderly woman, had gone up to a stranger’s home, knocked on the door, and alerted the homeowners that God had told her the house belonged to her. The homeowners called the police, who came and quickly determined that the old lady did not belong there and needed professional, medical attention.
It just so happened that the two nurses in charge that night were Palestinian, and the on-duty doctor, Jewish. “Doesn’t this sound familiar?” One nurse said to the other as the doctor smiled and walked away.
Imagine for a moment that this was your house. Imagine, then what would it be like to call for help, only for the authorities to turn around and insist that you are not the victim, but the problem. Instead of taking the trespasser away, the police tell you to vacate the premises and hand your keys over to this stranger.
Imagine, instead of indulging just one person’s delusions, a state legitimized that of an entire society. Imagine, instead of dissuading the thieves, the police encourage and arm them. Imagine, instead of just one house, you watched as one by one, your neighbors were displaced from their homes until the entire neighborhood, and soon the city, were taken from its original inhabitants. Imagine you, the rightful and lawful owner of this home, is expelled and forced to live as a homeless refugee, reliant on the charity of others.
To most people, this scenario seems almost too absurd to entertain seriously. To anyone remotely involved in the politics of Palestine, this scenario is a daily reality they’ve been forced to exist in for nearly 100 years. The process of annexation continues, as more and more Palestinians are displaced or erased, living in concentration camps and ghettos, without rights or protection. And those who speak out against this blatant violation of international law are smeared as anti-semites or even supporters of terrorism.
Zionism asks us to compound absurdities, while forcing Palestinians to carry the weight of these injustices. If someone came to your house today and told you to leave because God said it belonged to them, would you give it to them? Why then, are we so comfortable demanding this of the Palestinians?
