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It’s possible that Hezbollah was inviting a sharp Israeli response when it decided to cross into Israel, ambush an Israeli patrol and kidnap two soldiers. In any case, the Israelis’ decision to launch land and air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds and on Lebanon’s infrastructure has only burnished Hezbollah’s credentials.Far from turning the Lebanese against the “Party of God," Israel’s military response has bolstered Hezbollah’s self-appointed role as defender of the nation. In fact, it has made Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a hero throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds.

After weeks of Israeli-Hezbollah fighting, waves of people from southern Lebanon holding white flags continued to travel toward Beirut as major relief and church agencies warned that the country faces a humanitarian disaster because of severe difficulties in providing assistance.

“The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” said Aline Papazian of the Middle East Council of Churches, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International. “We have almost 1 million people living as refugees in makeshift buildings, such as churches, parks or schools.”

It is a measure of my anguish and my desperation as a Jew and an American that I write now in this magazine. While death stalks the skies of Haifa, while bombs and missiles rain down on Beirut and what is left of southern Lebanese cities, my country gives Israel a green light—and expedited weapons shipments—to create a “new Middle East” out of blood and rubble. Condoleezza Rice has the nerve to use the term “birth pangs” to characterize the destruction of Lebanon and the killing of civilians.

Christian leaders representing millions of Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and Catholic faithful, along with councils of churches, are calling for an end to the large-scale violence in Lebanon and Israel.

“The escalating violence and regional dimension of the conflict is alarming,” said the coalition Churches for Middle East Peace in a July 20 letter to President Bush. “It is urgent that you call on all the parties to restrain from using force and, rather, to trust a diplomatic process.”