Before you feel obliged to pick a side, consider that killing people is not okay, regardless of who is doing it. Get above the spin, and smartly believe for the strengths of each people to shine and for compassion, humility, and vision to let love lead.

My friend Ana wrote this as she gave the link to the article below:

It sounds a little hypocritical and ironic to say, “Don’t believe everything you read,” before posting something for you to read. But I find it disconcerting to see how many posts are going up in defense of one people group over another…about how one group is being underservedly tortured by the villain on the other side of the wall.

Rockets and murder and hate are not games. That’s for sure. But spreading fear and or hatred does not bring peace. The truth is, there are massive wrongs being committed on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. There are mourning mothers and ridged corpses of boys and girls whose futures were stolen from them. On both sides. And it’s been going on for years.

No story you hear from this conflict and current war will be unbiased. Whether it’s from a local Palestinian, Israeli, or foreigner (who might assure you of his/her keen insight into the matter). That’s not a bad thing, but it’s a fact we must grapple with as we sift through the emotional stories and news coming from this terrible, growing tragedy.

As one of those foreigners who, self-admittedly, has a bit of a chip on my shoulder about Middle Eastern topics and current events, I urge you to remember that where there is pain on one side of the wall, there is undoubtedly a well-matched grief on the other side.

Pray for peace. For Jerusalem. For Gaza. For mankind. We sure do need a fresh dose of it.

Here’s the article.