"MS. NULAND: Well, let me take the question, Said, because frankly, I don't have anything one way or the other. I don't know if we have a comment on it.
"QUESTION: Because, lastly, I mean, it -- if something happens to these prisoners, it could be a flashpoint between Israelis and the Palestinians.
"MS. NULAND: No, I understand the question. Let me take it, okay?
"QUESTION: Thank you."
If, or when, a hunger striker dies in an Israeli prison, the US State Department will have an answer ready to go. It will express regret at the death and urge "all parties involved" to resolve their differences.
One "party" involved is the IDF, shown in action at the pictures above and below. In this picture, smoke makes it difficult to determine if the IDF vehicle is a Caterpillar product. Perhaps not, since it is smaller than the Caterpillar tractors that built the Wall, and continues to demolish Palestinian homes.
But there is no question that the battle between the rock-throwing
teen-aged Palestinians and their IDF enemy serves as a metaphor for a US
and church supported occupation force and a defiant civilian
population.
Karl-John N. Stone and Thomas A. Prinz have just written an article for The Christian Century magazine, "Invest, Not Divest" which argues just what the title suggests it would argue, a misguided solution which embraces a market faith rather than a religious faith.
Stone is assistant to the bishop in the Upper Susquehanna Synod (ELCA) in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Prinz is pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Leesburg, Virginia. They ask:
"What better way for the church to act as peacemakers than to engage in actual investment, building up Palestinian society and infrastructure, thereby helping to ensure a sound and viable sovereign state when a political solution is found and potentially hastening that political solution?"
Stone and Prinz close their argument for "hastening that political solution" with this bit of capitalist stock market cheer leading:
"The New York Times reported in February that the Palestinian Stock Exchange has been one of the best-performing markets in the Arab world in recent years. In 2011, a year marked by great political upheaval in the region, the Palestinian exchange was second only to that of Qatar, falling only 2.58 percent over the course of the year.
"The Times quoted Fayez Husseini, manager of Abraaj Capital's $50 million Palestine Growth Capital Fund, as saying: 'Strong stock market performance proves that these Palestinian companies are well managed, resilient and adaptive.'"
They conclude their market-driven argument:
"Investment moves churches beyond a black-and-white concept of justice and a conflict model of advocacy toward a model of empowerment and reconciliation. This move represents the best hope for churches to contribute to long-term peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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