Israel-Palestine Conflict & Boycott, Diverstment, Sanctions

[JJose12]

Hi everyone.

I was just wondering what the church’s stance is on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the BDS movement. It seems as if not a lot of Catholics talk about this.

I support the state of Israel and its right to exist. I do not agree with the BDS movement since it has ties to terrorist organizations. I also believe in Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas and Hezbollah. It seems that the Catholic NGO “Caritas International” has donated to groups that support BDS (do not know if it was intentional or not)

It seems to me that the Pope has taken a neutral view, calling for a two-state solution. But if there is a two-state solution, where would the people in the settlments go? They don’t want to be governed by Palestine.

I used to be a lot more critical of Israel. My mind began to change as I delved further into conservative politics and started to see how corrupt the PA and Hamas are, and how they abuse their own people. It’s sad to see people criticize Israel, when they should be criticizing the terrorist groups that call for the systematic genocide of Jews in Israel. I’m also dating a Jewish man and we have conversations about this a lot and it has opened my eyes to realize that attaining peace may be much more complicated than we realize.

 

[BartholomewB]

Please bear in mind that the pope is required to handle the Israel-Palestine issue with all the diplomatic skills at his disposal. As somebody said a few years back, on the occasion of Benedict XVI’s address in Regensburg, whenever the pope says something critical of Islam or of the Palestinians, the result is that, in the Middle East and further afield, a number of churches get burned down and a number of priests get murdered. When he says something critical of Judaism or of Israel, the result is that he receives a strongly worded letter from the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See.