I am not a politician. I am not schooled in strategy. I do not enjoy power struggles. I have no desire to govern the affairs of others. And I am not a military strategist. I am not a soldier. I have never gone to war. I know the stories of others, but my perspective is limited. I would not be a good advisor to a leader on the topic of strategy.

So it probably doesn’t surprise anyone that I can’t figure out the latest round of violence in the Middle East. But I REALLY don’t understand the events in Israel and Palestine in the past few days. I don’t get it.

I don’t understand the thinking of the militants in the Gaza Strip who have gotten their hands on relatively sophisticated rockets and are lobbing them into Israel. I don’t understand why they would fire rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They know that the rockets are unlikely to hit significant military targets. They know that innocent civilian casualties are the likely result. They know that retaliation is inevitable. The last time Israel took the war to the Gaza Strip about four years ago the casualty rate was more than 100 to one. For every Israeli killed, more than 100 Palestinians were killed. The overwhelming military superiority of the Israeli defense is obvious. What can possibly be gained by firing the rockets into Israel?

I don’t understand the thinking of the Israeli leaders. They have ordered over 300 air strikes against the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours alone. They know how tightly military and civilian targets are packed in that tiny area. They know that they are ordering the execution of innocents with every weapon they send into Gaza. They are amassing troops on the border of Gaza and a ground invasion is likely. There is no question of the outcome. Israel has already conquered Gaza. They have already won the war. They control access, water, They control access to food. They have defeated the Palestinian people over and over again. The violence that comes from Gaza is not because Israel has failed to win military victories. It is because they have failed to govern when the shooting stops.

If you kill enough children, you virtually guarantee another generation of militants with nothing to lose. If you maim enough innocents, you hand your neighbors reasons to continue to send arms into your backyard. Generations of military history has proved that while you can win wars with weapons, governing with weapons rarely succeeds.

But they continue to let the weapons fly. And the children continue to die. And the hatred and terror become so deeply ingrained that neither sides can recognize the humanity of their opponents.

I don’t understand it, but I grieve the pain and suffering. I don’t understand it and I keep asking, “Why?”

After the horrors of the 20th century is it wrong to believe that Israel has a right to its own nation and the means to defend its citizens from attack? Is it wrong to condemn those voices that claim that Israel has no right to exist? Is it wrong to believe in the principles of democracy that are inherent in the government of Israel? Because I cannot see a solution for the Middle East that does not involve a free, strong, safe and democratic Israel.

But is it wrong for Palestinians to aspire to be able to feed their families and work without degradation? Is it wrong for them to resist the bulldozing of their homes to make way for Israeli expansionists? Is it wrong for them to oppose the building of a wall that separates them from their historic lands and their means of earning a living? Is it wrong for them to want health care and education for their families? Because I cannot see a future for the region that doesn’t defend the rights of the historic residents of the region to the pursuit of their lives and self governance for those who live beyond the borders of Israel as well as those who are citizens.

When I was a child I learned that John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the King James Version of the Bible. I memorized it. “Jesus wept.” It may be grammatically simple, but the scene is amazingly complex. Jesus wept out of grief for the death of Lazarus. Jesus wept out of compassion for the sisters. Jesus wept because of the lack of faith of his followers. Jesus wept because he did not take suffering lightly. It isn’t the only time that the Gospels report Jesus’ tears. Jesus wept as he approached Jerusalem in Luke 19:41.

Jerusalem is the city whose name contains the word “Shalom.” It has been the vision of thousands of years of generations of our people that the city might be a place of peace. It was founded with the vision of peace and justice that would be an example for the entire world. Its very name speaks the aspirations of the whole of our history: “Peace!”

Yet still there is no peace in Jerusalem. Jesus is still weeping.

The rocket fell short of the city proper yesterday. But the air raid sirens rang throughout the city. Parents and children playing in the parks were uncertain whether it was the normal Sabbath siren at the beginning. They slowly came to the realization that the air raid sirens were screaming and they should take cover, but they were unclear about which way to go. The fear was palpable. There are plenty of frayed nerves and shaken people in Jerusalem this morning. That is the way that terror works. It spreads fear far beyond the range of its weapons.

This morning Jerusalem wakes to the reality of modern warfare. Innocents die. Civilians are at risk as surely as those who take up the uniform to fight. When war rages no one is safe.

Jesus is still weeping over Jerusalem.

Jesus is still weeping at the grief of those whose brothers have died.

Jesus is still weeping over the death of his friends.

And I don’t get it.

Jesus isn’t the only one weeping.

The photos accompanying this blog are by Mahmud Hams/REUTERS. The text is opyright © 2012 by Ted Huffman. I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.