Visiting
Zimbabwe can be a heart-wrenching experience. It is a beautiful land of
warm and soft-spoken people. But hovering over the landscape at all
times is the specter of extreme poverty and political oppression. The
poverty is merely tragic. But the political oppression is brutal,
murderous, and criminal. Most of the people I met went quiet with fear
on the subject of Robert Mugabe, afraid that a stranger may be a
government agent and any criticism can make you the next target of his
thugs.

One innocent victim was Ben Freeth, a sunny Christian
farmer who, after publishing an article in the Western press about the
illegal and murderous farm seizures being carried out by Mugabe’s Zanu
(PF) party, was savagely beaten and later watched as his farm was burnt
to the ground. When I met Freeth in Harare last week he described to me
and my friends from the Christian relief organization ROCK of Africa
who were hosting us how, in the midst of the assault that fractured his
skull, he suddenly reached out and touched the feet of his assailants
and said, “Bless you, bless you.” My Christian counterparts were deeply
moved by this quintessential story of Christian love for one’s enemy.
I, however, was aghast.

Ben is a hero who, at the risk of his life continues to serve as a
spokesman for the thousands of white families who have been brutally
dispossessed of their land and many of whom have been killed. But I
could not help but challenge this aspect of the story. “Every ounce of
blessing we have in our hearts has to be reserved for the all the AIDS
orphans that I saw dotting this once-proud land. These wretched thugs
deserve not our blessing but our contempt, not our love but out
hatred.” A debate broke out in the room. I alone maintained my
position. My dear friend Glen Megill, a saint who founded ROCK of
Africa, said, “Shmuley, Jesus told us to love our enemies.” Yes, I
said. But your enemy is the guy who steals your parking space. G-d’s
enemies are those who murder His children. And Jesus never said to love
G-d’s enemies. To the contrary, the book of Proverbs is clear, “The
fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” Psalms reinforces the point.  “Those
who love G-d hate evil.”

This is something that has always puzzled me. My Christian
colleagues at ROCK of Africa are angels. In ten days we distributed
corn seed to the poorest villages, gave out mosquito nets, hugged and
prayed with AIDS victims, and put on large feasts for hundreds of
hungry villagers and children who dwell in mud huts. We colored
pictures with orphans in Harare and gave them toys and presents. The
hearts of evangelical Christians are enormous repositories of
loving-kindness. But why must the heart be so wide as to extend to
Mugabe’s killer henchmen? What place have murderers earned in our
hearts? The same is true of my many Christian brothers who have told me
that their faith commands them to love Osama bin Laden.

My fear is that such distortions of Christian teaching undermine our
resolve to confront evil regimes. When Jesus enjoined to ‘Turn the
other cheek,’ he meant to petty slights and humiliations. Does any sane
person really imagine that he meant to ignore and overlook mass murder?

Mugabe has brought a reign of terror to Zimbabwe, making its name
synonymous with wholesale slaughter, political intimidation,
brutalization of opposition elements, and illegal land grabs. The
country is now the poorest nation on earth, with an annual per capita
GDP of just $200. Donor agencies estimate that more than 5 million
Zimbabweans, representing almost half the population, currently rely on
food handouts. The stores are half empty and last year they were
completely empty. The ATMs often have no cash. Many of the gas stations
have run out for the day. Even Victoria Falls is nearly bereft of
tourists.

The black population is noble, extremely welcoming, and exhibit the
nobility of spirit of those who have suffered much but complain little.
A white population of approximately 4000, down from about 250,000,
still remains. They seem to love Zimbabwe, consider it their home, and
insist on staying.

They are, of course, hopeful signs, especially the new unity
government which has brought Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara
into shared power with Mugabe. I interviewed Mutambara, a 43-year-old
former Rhodes scholar whom I knew from Oxford and is now the country’s
deputy Prime Minister (the full interview is available on my website).
A compelling man of vision, eloquence, and academic brilliance, he is
convinced that within two years Zimbabwe will be completely ready for
free and fair elections. I hope he is right.

But farm confiscations continue and Mugabe’s gangsters still
terrorize political opponents. And the only hope for Mugabe to be
completely and utterly marginalized is if the international community
comes together to push him off the scene. This will not come if the man
does not chill our bones. We must not bless but curse his rule.

I don’t do well with tyranny. I have undisguised contempt for
tyrants and knowing that I was staying just a few miles from Mugabe’s
house spooked me throughout my stay in Harare. As you drive by his home
you are told that you are not allowed to look for fear of attracting
suspicion and being arrested. Highly-educated locals told me there is a
law that says that you cannot stare at his motorcade either and that
his guards have been known to fire on those who do. Is this a man whom
my Christian friends tell me I must love?

No, I refuse. I will go further. Anyone who loves the wicked is
complicit in their wickedness. Anyone who blesses the cruel is an
accomplice to their cruelty.

I choose to bless the courageous people of Zimbabwe rather than the
tyrant who has slaughtered and impoverished them. I choose to bless a
country like America which fights to liberate the weak in Iraq and the
oppressed in Afghanistan rather than the Saddams and the Taliban who
have brutalized them. Most of all, I choose to bless people like Ben
Freeth that one day the long arm of justice will catch up to his
tormentors and they will discover that while G-d is indeed a
long-suffering G-d, for those who continue to slaughter innocents He is
also a G-d of justice.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, founder of This World: The Values Network was
on a relief mission to Zimbabwe with Rock of Africa. To read his blogs
and see videos of the visit, go to http://www.shmuley.com.