I am so confused...

I am watching a CNN special on Israel/Judiasm and settlements on Palestinian land. They show Christians and Jews meeting for worship. Jews are our brothers, they say, because they are our religious roots. For every two Jews you support in building settlements, we send you a prayer book. "God is calling me to help Israel take back its' homeland."

This is all touchy and a bit confusing to me. There are two problems. The first problem is that (against international law), Jews invaded Palestinian land. And now Palestines are trying to kick them out. Via bombs. And in the US, Jews and Evangelical Christians are uniting as brothers: "We are going to win in Israel!" A pastor says. This calls on the idea of some Christians that if we rebuild Jerusalem literally, Jesus will come back.

But Jews don't believe that Jesus is Messiah. Right?

(I just heard a Christian commentator saying that Jews and Christians embrace life while Muslims embrace death. How's that for a dangerous anti-tolerant kind of iffy statement??)

So, basically, if you are a Christian and from the US, you support Jews settling on Palestinian land. If you say that what the Jews are doing is wrong, you are labeled "anti-semitic".

And so I am very confused. I am a Christian from the US. I do not believe that I can say "if we help the Jews rebuild Jerusalem, Christ will return." Because I truly believe that no one can say how or when Christ will return. And if the Jews are settling on Palestinian land, against international law, why would I support them? This doesn't mean that I justify Palestinian suicide bombings. I don't have an answer for this.

And I am pretty open-minded as far as religion goes. I hold nothing against the Jews or Muslims. The Old Testament is part of the foundation of my faith. Where is the line drawn, between affirming my faith that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and loving those of other religions. Is it right to say "I support the Jewish cause of tearing down the dome of the rock in Jerusalem because we are so closely connected to Judaism"? Is it un-Christian to feel bad for the Palestinians, who are kind of demonized? (Their retaliation is certainly terrifying! But the Jews retaliate too! My God! This is so wrong on both sides!!) (Just as we hear all the time of Muslims and Jihad, this program also points out Rabbis who invoke similar war cries. Both sides are for peace and both sides would kill for what they believe in.)

I'm so confused.

But I've decided that Christiane Amanpour is brave for exploring this. She is doing a weekly series explaining the negative/extremists of all religions (including Christianity).