Here’s a few comments arising from this excellent webinar.

David Gray, head of Brummana Quaker School in Lebanon (founded 1873 just 4 years after Ramallah Quaker School), described the Lebanese people as having warmth, courage and good humour, and simply getting on with their lives.  He told a story about a little girl who, maybe when the bombers were flying over, said to her grandfather, ”I am scared.”  He said, “It’s all right.  Don’t be scared.”  Later he asked her, ”Are you scared?”  And she said, “No but my heart is trembling.”   

A Quaker from Brummana, Rhea, said,” That’s what it’s like here.  Our hearts are trembling.”  The war in Lebanon is just another disaster, after the Port explosion which killed (according to Wikipedia) “218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless.” 

The banks collapsed and people lost all their savings, their pension funds. Many people emigrated.  There was a massive influx of refugees from Syria and more.  The economy collapsed; where she lives – Broummana – the average family income per month is currently US$167.  (I wonder how and what they can afford to eat??  For a future webinar: a day in the life of a Brummana Quaker family).

David Gray said that the school teaches respect, tolerance, peaceful resolution of conflicts, freedom of thought, speech and action.  It serves all 18 religious communities in Lebanon (how can anyone afford to send their children there?) The school has a model UN program, a game really, very popular, where children represent different countries and research them, they break down problems into conversations.

School is a haven; and an act of defiance against the war.

Sami gave a good background to Zionism.  He contrasted early 20^th century Jewish refugees into the Levant, with Armenian refugees.  Both were persecuted communities.  But they were not persecuted in Lebanon.  The Armenians have become part of the society, they are music teachers, mechanics etc.  Zionism is a reaction to European persecution and post-WW2 Britain, instead of making reparations, or accepting large numbers of refugees, “gave” Palestine to Jewish refugees.  This fed into some Jewish people’s understanding of history and scripture (they believe in versions of Zionism), and some evangelical Christian churches interpreted Revelation to mean that the Jews must return to the Holy Land before Christ’s second coming.  Now that’s a good reason for rejecting so-called “literal” interpretations of the Bible.  I don’t recall who said, “Text without context is a con.”

I would add some things.  Some Jews settled in China during the Tang dynasty, a thousand years ago, and were eventually cut off from Jews in the West.  Over the centuries they gradually became fully assimilated into Chinese life: but then, they were not persecuted.  And note that many Israelis, and many diaspora Jews, are appalled at the actions both of Hamas and of the Netanyahu government.

There’s a saying, hurt people hurt people.  Unless people are able to recover from trauma, they pass it on.  When you’ve been (mal)-treated as ‘the other’ the common human tendency is to ‘other’ other people and treat them badly.  Jesus had it right.  Love your enemies.  And Judge not – because the way you judge others is actually a judgment on you and deep down, it’s how you judge yourself.

Enough already.