In recent days the three interreligious studies chairs in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at John Carroll University have issued the following statements on the violence in Israel and Gaza:
Dr. Zeki Saritoprak, the Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies, stated: “Like everyone, I have been deeply shocked and horrified by the images coming from Israel and Gaza. Islam clearly teaches that even in war the killing of women, children, and other innocent people is strictly prohibited. As we learn more about what happened and see the evidence of the callous and wanton murders of innocents, women, children, and the elderly carried out by Hamas on Saturday, as a Muslim, I cannot fathom these actions and think how far from our religious ideals we are straying. The only way forward is to come together as brothers and sisters in peace. The Qur'an and the Prophet (PBUH) both remind us often of the need for peace and that peace is better.”
Dr. Noah Bickart, the Mandel Chair in Jewish Studies, offered his own reflection: “There is a famous midrash (ancient Jewish biblical interpretation) of Genesis 32:8 which encapsulates my feelings about the war between Israel and Hamas. When Jacob hears that his Brother Esau is coming to greet him with a small army, the text says that “Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed." The Rabbis of the Midrash wondered why the text needed to state both that Jacob was "afraid" and "distressed." Surely one verb is sufficient to explain Jacob's emotional state. The Midrash explains that while Jacob was "afraid" of the violence his brother and his men might inflict on him and his family, he was also "distressed" about the violence he, Jacob, might inflict on his brother when he would be forced to defend himself. The Torah is trying to teach us that violence is always a terrible thing. Even when one must defend oneself, as Israel has no choice but to do in the face of unimaginable murder of civilians, violence changes human beings, enabling them to dehumanize those who are also made in the divine image. I pray that the One who prevented Jacob and Esau from fighting also ends the fighting between the children of Sarah and Hagar.
Dr. Edward Hahnenberg, Breen Chair in Catholic Theology and Director of the Tuohy Center, expressed his sorrow: “I am deeply, deeply saddened by the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel over the weekend and the deaths of so many innocent people. My heart breaks for my students, colleagues, and friends at John Carroll whose own family and friends are directly impacted by the escalating violence in Israel and Gaza—suffering so greatly in a land that, as a Christian, I have always known as holy.”