The war in the Holy Land saw a major escalation this week as Israeli forces took the Rafah crossing and began a ground incursion into the city where an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians have taken refuge. Meanwhile, protests against the war on university campuses have led to more than 2,000 arrests, as the movement spreads to universities abroad.
In the midst of all this, Pope Francis has urged a ceasefire and peace negotiations. But is it really possible? Where can peace begin?
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” David Neuhaus, S.J., an Israeli priest who teaches Scripture in Israel and Palestine, joins hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell for a conversation on what he believes can bring peace in the Holy Land war. He reflects on how Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs can engage in dialogue without dismissing each other’s painful histories, and emphasizes the need for sensitive language when addressing each other’s traumatic histories.
“Antisemitism is real. There’s a history to it; people feel threatened,” David says. “But there’s also a lot of manipulation. And not every expression of support for the Palestinian people can be then condemned as antisemitism,” he adds. “This is a very dangerous game.”
Links from the show
- The campus protests for Gaza aren’t perfect. But their goal is just—and urgent.
- Anti-semitism and Palestine, David Neuhaus, S.J., in Vatican News
- UCLA’s Catholic chaplain: The world saw scenes of violence at campus protests. Here’s what they didn’t see.
- Gaza protests reached Jesuit colleges—schools with a history of student activism
- There is a right and wrong way for Catholics to criticize Israel
- An Israeli Jesuit priest on the war in Gaza, Jewish-Catholic relations and the future of the two-state solution
