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Michael Cianchette is a Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan. He is in-house counsel to a number of businesses in southern Maine and was a chief counsel to former Gov. Paul LePage.
I sat down to write this on Christmas night.
When I opened up my internet browser, I saw the Bangor Daily News’ opinion editors had published the Christmas passage from the Gospel of Luke. The next story over was about the University of Maine’s Board of Trustees declining to divest from Israel.
I attended an Easter Vigil service, where the Christmas gospel came from the Book of Matthew. That is the one with a bevy of “begats,” emphasizing Jesus’ Jewish bloodline.
And, lest we not forget, Hanukkah began Wednesday evening as well.
The intersection between the Jewish and Christian faiths is especially evident this time of year. And, while Israel does not encompass the totality of Jewish faith, I think there is sometimes a degree of overlap between criticism of the modern Israeli state and antisemitism.
For those who express hate, anger, or other emotions toward Jewish people generally, be careful claiming Christ. Joseph, a devout Jew, was going to quietly divorce Mary for conceiving a child outside their marriage.
Until he received a vision, where an angel told him:
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Misguided souls who fall into antisemitism oftentimes simultaneously try to show their Christian bona fides. The two can’t be reconciled. The essence of the Christian faith is worship of a Jewish carpenter.
That doesn’t mean people of faith are incapable of criticizing Israel. Jesus himself launched a scathing critique of Israeli leadership in antiquity. It is now known as the “cleansing of the Temple,” when he cast out merchants and money changers from the holiest Jewish site.
I’d guess those who continue to advocate for government divestment from modern Israel likely see themselves in a similar role. If that advocacy is wrapped in an ethos of unequivocal non-violence, then it is easier to say they are living their faith.
But, all too often, calls for divestiture from Israel are not followed by calls for divestiture from Palestinian territories. Hamas is the governing party for Gaza. By any measure, they are also belligerents in the ongoing war. Their surprise terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 was the largest single-day slaughter of Jews since the holocaust.
That is why the University of Maine Board of Trustees got it right.
Seeking one-sided divestiture when two groups are warring is tantamount to assigning blame. Sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine are in that category. Rightly so. But blaming Israel exclusively for the ongoing war is a gross oversimplification of a complex situation.
In a statement to the groups calling for divestiture, Chairwoman Trish Riley said, “to take a position on your demands would effectively shut down opportunities for conversation — including about the horrors of the conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere — and in doing so, undermine our educational mission.”
She is right.
Over the next week, as Jewish Mainers light their menorahs, Christians should remember that Jesus himself celebrated Hanukkah. It is an opportunity to educate ourselves on how the Jewish faith still informs the Christian faith today.
And, without the stain of antisemitism, it offers an opportunity to have a more nuanced and informed conversation about the ongoing war in Gaza.
Debate is worthwhile. Divestiture is not. Cheers to the University of Maine Board for getting it right.
