Village Schools of the Bible

THE ROOTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT
By Max Frazier, Jr.

We have celebrated an anniversary in our country no one wanted to celebrate. For unlike December 7, 1941 - "a day that would live in infamy" and that ended forty-two months later with jubilant celebrations of victory, few believe that the 21st century 'day of infamy' - September 11, 2001 - will have a quick ending, if it will end at all. Why did it happen? is the question we have asked ourselves over and over again. We have listened to the answers provided by politicians, editorialists, news reporters, and theologians. But the root of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, is centered in a narrow strip of land that links together three continents. It has been the world's battle zone for centuries with historians telling us more blood has been shed upon its soil than upon any other place on the face of the earth. It is a region that has rarely known peace. And at the heart of its conflicts is the struggle of three religions that claim holy places within its narrow borders.

In his book titled, War without End, Anton La Guardia, a reporter for the London Daily Telegraph and stationed in Jerusalem for several years, writes: The Israeli-Arab conflict is a struggle of two minorities. Israel is regarded as a foreign body within the bosom of the Arab world, while Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories are treated as a hostile presence in the body of Jewish Israel (page 112). It is a conflict that really is an extension of the history of both people groups going back to the days of the patriarchs. To better understand the nature of this conflict one must focus upon both the biblical and the prophetic roots.