Recent articles in the Jesuit Review, America, include an interview by Gerard O’Connell of Father Neuhaus, a lifelong Israeli citizen, and a response article by Dr. Karma Ben Johanan, a student of Jewish-Catholic relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Dr. Karma Ben Johanan teaches at the department of comparative religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is an Israeli Jew who has studied Jewish-Catholic relations for many years. Through this work, he has had the opportunity to engage with many thoughtful Christians, including David Neuhaus, S.J., whom he considers a personal and even close friend.
Father Neuhaus is an astute political observer and a man committed to peace. Born into a Jewish family in South Africa, he became an Israeli citizen at the age of 17 and has lived most of his life in Israel. After obtaining his Ph.D. in political science from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he decided to become a Catholic and entered the Society of Jesus in 1992.
Gerard O’Connell, on January 05, 2024, posed this question to Father Neuhaus.
As the Israeli forces bomb Gaza and destroy homes, they are at the same time carrying out raids on towns and refugee camps in the West Bank and have killed more than 300 Palestinians and arrested almost 5,000. Furthermore, many Arab Israeli citizens of the State of Israel feel seriously intimidated. What does this strategy of collective punishment mean? How do you read it? (O'Connell & Wooden, 2024)
Father Neuhaus responded.
The Netanyahu government is even more opposed than its predecessors to compromise with the Palestinians. Even before Oct. 7, clashes between Palestinians and the army and/or bands of settler vigilantes in the West Bank had reached unprecedented proportions. The war in Gaza provides a smokescreen for military incursions and vigilante activities seeking to impose full Israeli control on the West Bank. While international attention is focused on Gaza, the Israeli government is determined to make the West Bank Israeli territory through land confiscation, expulsions of the population and the policing of Palestinian civil life, hand-in-hand with strengthening the Jewish presence there and enthusiastically arming them. (O'Connell & Wooden, 2024)
Dr. Karma Ben Johanan begins his article in harmony with some of the comments of Father Neuhaus, particularly his critical stance toward the Israeli government.
The unease I felt while reading the interview had nothing to do with the legitimacy of criticizing Israel, a right that Father Neuhaus justly exercises. I share much of Father Neuhaus’s critical stance toward the Israeli government. Like most Israelis, especially after Oct. 7, I feel that the current Israeli government does not represent me, and I feel a responsibility to limit its authority both domestically and on the battlefield. This aim is shared by many institutions in Israel, from the Supreme Court to the police to the heads of the Israeli army. (Johanan & Davenport, 2024)
The two articles diverge on many other aspects of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The aspirations for peace expressed by both articles would be facilitated in a political environment where Benjamin Netanyahu was no longer the Prime Minister of Israel.
References
Johanan, B., & Davenport, J. (2024, January 18). There is a right and wrong way for Catholics to criticize Israel. America Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2024, from https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2024/01/18/israel-gaza-war-neuhaus-246974?
O'Connell, G., & Wooden, C. (2024, January 5). An Israeli Jesuit priest on the war in Gaza, Jewish-Catholic relations and the future of the two-state solution. America Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2024, from https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2024/01/05/israel-gaza-war-jesuit-neuhaus-246822
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