Last month, in early October, a new conflict between Israel and Palestine began. Israel and Palestine have been in conflict for years over land rights, but this is a new conflict. The Hamas terrorist group from Palestine launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people.
- What facts have you heard about this conflict? (Invite students to respond, encouraging them to be objective and factual rather than political.)
Let’s take a look at how this conflict began unfolding.
Invite students to watch the following video [4:59; stop at 3:37]:
What’s happening at the Israel-Gaza border?
As this conflict developed, every country, individual, and news source seemed to have an opinion about what was going on. As some people have talked about protecting the people of Israel—a good thing—they’ve suggested retaliation that would harm many Palestinian people who aren’t part of the Hamas terrorist group.
- When you put politics aside, why is it complicated to suggest a solution to a war that favors the safety of some people while putting other people in harm’s way? (Accept all reasonable, non-political responses.)
The complicated truth is that there are countless innocent people on both sides of the war—people made in God’s image. While it’s a good thing to seek an end to conflict and violence, it’s important to consider options that don’t play favorites or harm innocent people.
Not all examples of favoring some people over others is this extreme, but playing favorites in real life is still a bad idea. All of us are created in the image of God, which means all human beings are equal at the deepest level.
When we act like some individuals are better than others, the results are never good. That truth was recognized thousands of years ago by the authors of the Bible. Let’s see what they wrote about playing favorites.
