My Experiences With Palestinians

And how they’ve shaped my worldview

When I recently told the reworded parable of the Good Palestinian Muslim, someone told me that if I knew about Muslims and that they really just hate you, I wouldn’t tell that parable.

I told this person that that wasn’t my experience from the many Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, I’ve spoken to. I then asked how many Palestinians she has spoken to. As yet she hasn’t replied.

I have zero respect for anyone who demonizes Palestinians and their situation but hasn’t even bothered to get to know any of them personally.

When I first visited the Holy Land in 2016, I prayed that I would meet a Palestinian Christian. Then I went to go up the Mount of Olives. If you haven’t been there, the Mount of Olives is very steep. It’s a hard walk. On the day I wanted to go up there, I wasn’t feeling too well physically, and there were taxis at the bottom waiting to take people up. So, I jumped into a taxi and, lo and behold, the driver was a Palestinian Christian.

I spent the next few hours with him as he showed me the traditional spots where some of the gospel stories took place. At the top of the Mount of Olives, he told me that, if I had a bit of extra money, he could take me to Jericho. My first response was, “nah, it’s ok”. Then I thought, “no, hang on! I might not come here again, and I can afford it”. So he took me to Jericho where he knew a guy in one of the shops who brought out some tea for me.

On the way back to my hotel, he told me that he knew where we could get the best falafel in Jerusalem. We stopped at a place and he went in while I waited in the car. He came out with a bag for each of us and we drove back to my hotel. As I was about to get out, he gave me both bags and asked if that was enough for me. He was going to offer me his own dinner just to make sure I had enough. This is a guy who has 11 kids.

A typical story

This sort of hospitality is typical of Palestinians. It’s just what they do. They would actually be offended if you knocked back their invitation to dinner.

Speaking of dinner, when I was back there in 2018, I caught up with my taxi driver friend. This time he did invite me to dinner where I met his wife and family. We had a beautiful dinner on his balcony overlooking the Kidron Valley as he casually pointed to places like Hezekiah’s tomb, the Mount of Olives, and other biblical landmarks.

A few months later, I was in Gaza on a work trip with a colleague. I distinctly remember one day walking down the street and a complete stranger walked past us and just said “Welcome to Gaza”. Of course, being two white guys, we stood out like a beacon, but that short, little greeting still sticks in my mind.

N.T. Wright says that on the night before Jesus died, when he wanted to explain to his disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them a theory, he gave them a meal. There’s something about eating together that binds you to people. One of the things I love about the church community I’m a part of is that we have lunch together every week. I still remember going to a Bible study about 40 years ago where we would have dinner each time before we studied the Scriptures. It’s that human intimacy that sticks in your mind.

Getting to know people bridges our divides and dissolves our fear. Listening to people’s stories humanises them and changes impersonal and faraway “issues” into personal relationships that touch our hearts and remind us about what makes us human.

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