“I don’t know the answer to the Middle East. What I do know is that my father would be for the support of all humanity, whatever that looks like. And today, it does not look like humanity exists in an appropriate way in the Middle East.”

~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we seek to unravel the ongoing feud between Israel and Palestine, an inconvenient truth remains hidden in plain view. Thanks to two historical women, Sarah and Hagar, Israelis and Palestinians are natural brothers and sisters.

“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.”

~ Genesis 17:17-19

Not cousins, not neighbors; Ishmael and Isaac are biological siblings. Abraham is the natural father of Ishmael and Isaac. To add to the lineage, there are his sons with Ketura; Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And to go beyond, there are his heirs numbered more than the sands; engrafted in Christ.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, Peace be within you. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.”

~ Psalm 122:6

On this earth, as the one blood and one human race of Acts 17:26, we must support a reconciliation of Abraham’s seed in the Middle East.

Today, an urgent question must be: Is there hope for Israel? As we ponder this issue, let us remember that it was during this month, in the year 1945, that the deeply respected German theologian, pastor, and anti-Nazi objector, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was killed at the hands of the Nazi regime.

What a legacy he shared as he displayed the true cost of discipleship. Let us remember his words today, as he spoke under the oppressive conditions of the Nazi culture: “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”

We honor Bonhoeffer for his heroic sacrifice, devotion to God, and refusal to bow the knee to a murderous regime.

During his lifetime, my uncle, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also spoke of an ultimate test: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

MLK and his wife Coretta also traveled to Israel. He considered anti- Semitism tandem to suicide and encouraged support for Israel. “Peace for Israel means security. The world and all people of good will must respect the territorial integrity of Israel.”

~ MLK on ABC’s “Issues and Answers” show in June 1967

Prayers and love for Israel is part of my “King Family Legacy.” Months before her death on March 7, 2024, my beloved mother, Dr. Naomi Ruth Barber King traveled to Israel on a mission of peace. There, in the face of death, including the murder of a member of her delegation, Mother prayed for peace.