Episode 5- Why Is It So Hard to Learn About What is Happening?

In this candid conversation, hosts Erna Kim Hackett and Barnabas Lin unpack the blocks that Erna encountered while trying to understand Gaza and the broader Israel/Palestine context after October 7. Together they trace how biases, limited U.S. frameworks, and deeply embedded evangelical formation can hinder our learning. Erna names the specific narratives she had to push through—about the Middle East being too complex, about who is marginalized, and about biblical claims to land—while Barnabas offers tools for lowering “learning anxiety,” holding grief without dehumanizing anyone, and moving toward peacemaking. This is the first of three “pick-your-own-adventure” episodes: today’s on blocks, next on biblical frameworks, and then on history.

What We Cover

• Why learning stalls: “It’s too complicated,” Islamophobia, and fatalism about the Middle East
• When U.S. frameworks don’t fit: Power analysis, marginalization, and why Gaza didn’t match Erna’s default lenses
• Reframing the players: Distinguishing Jewish identity, Israeli state policy, and Palestinian experience
• History that shifted things: Nakba (1948), Right of Return, and Israel’s Law of Return (1950)
• Indigeneity & settler-colonial language: What fits, what doesn’t, and why weaponizing indigeneity isn’t Indigenous
• Christian formation blocks: “God gave the land,” how Joshua is used, and evangelical tolerance for violence
• Learning vs. survival anxiety: Creating space to learn without abandoning urgency or people’s safety
• Global church perspective: Meeting historic Christian traditions in Jerusalem and decentering a “cowboy” evangelical lens
• Owning responsibility: How evangelicals can steward their influence toward justice for Palestinians and Israelis

Key Terms & Ideas 

• Nakba (The Catastrophe) — 1948 displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
• Right of Return — The international-law principle that displaced people can return to their homes.
• Law of Return (Israel, 1950) — Grants Jewish people (and certain family members) the right to immigrate and obtain citizenship in Israel.
• Christian Zionism — A theological/political movement that ties biblical promises to modern state policy; often shapes U.S. evangelical views.
• Learning Anxiety vs. Survival Anxiety — Change theory lenses: we change when survival pressure outweighs the fear/vulnerability of learning.

Stay Connected

• Ask Us Anything: Send questions for our upcoming AMA: rethinkingpalestine@gmail.com
• Instagram: @RethinkingPalestine
• Interest List for Future Witnessing Trips: rethinkingpalestine.com
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