News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 182 - Friday, 6 December 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
Since I am traveling
tomorrow with the Patriarch to Monaco for a short period of time upon an
invitation from the Bishop which will include a visit to the Prince, I send you
the Olive Branch today instead of Saturday as usual. It will contain the following
documents and articles about the situation:
1) An Advent Appeal for Peace in the Middle
East from Churches for Middle East Peace.
2) Letter from Bethlehem (41) by Toine van
Teeffelen describing the life in Bethlehem area under the curfew (house arrest)
which is going on for the third week.
3) Advent Newsletter from Bethlehem by Rev.
Dr. Mitri Raheb, which will lead you to further important documents from http://www.annadwa.org/
4) After writing “Equality in Humiliation”,
Samia Khoury is writing now “EQUALITY IN MARTYRDOM”. It is extremely interesting!
5) Dr. Harry Hagopian is writing about “Muslim
Action Toward Equality?” especially in England.
The situation as
you will note from the following documents is going from bad to worst and we
don’t really know what will come next, nobody knows, even Sharon, Arafat and
Bush don’t know what will happen, everybody and everything is in the hand of an
unknown future unless a miracle happens. We hare helpless but never hopeless,
because we trust on the God of the surprises.
Please, pray for
a wonderful surprise of a happy end of this situation.
Maybe God will
her voices and will have mercy on us all.
Best wishes from Taybeh Fr. Raed Abusahlia
Churches for Middle East Peace
An Advent Appeal for Peace in the Middle East
December 2002
Christians the world over are engaged in a holy season of preparation and reflection -- a time of hope and of expectation for the Prince of Peace. Advent also focuses our awareness on areas of our lives in which violence and injustice continue to prevent the birth of real peace and reconciliation.
We acknowledge that Advent this year is not a time in which God's peace and justice prevail. However, it is a time when God's spirit can lead us to the paths that turn away from war and toward the vision of peace we see in Jesus of Nazareth.
We confess our complicity in those things that have worked to prevent peace and reconciliation from becoming a reality in our world and particularly in the Middle East. We appeal to others -- governments and individuals -- to take a fresh look at the ways in which their policies, perceptions, and actions harm the people of the Middle East and make impossible the fulfillment of justice and true peace for Palestinians and Israelis, for Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
We call upon the people of the United States and the government to take actions to prevent war with Iraq, to work with the United Nations and other international bodies to ensure Iraq's compliance with UN Security Council resolutions, to take steps to help bring about Palestinian self-determination and the formation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel, and to be cautious in the "war on terrorism," making certain that our actions promote peace and security and do not instead intensify hatred, violence, injustice, and poverty among citizens of our world.
We call upon the people and the government of Israel to begin immediate preparations to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, to cease military operations in these territories, to withdraw from settlements developed in the territories, and to implement peaceful steps that will allow the realization of the vision of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
We call upon the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority to take the necessary steps to end immediately the violence against citizens of Israel and others, whether it occur in the state of Israel itself or in the occupied territories, to undertake measures that will ensure the long-term security of Israel and will allow the full development of a new Palestinian state alongside Israel.
We call upon the Iraqi government to work openly and truthfully with the United Nations weapons inspectors to reveal any research and development of weapons of mass destruction, to end violent and oppressive practices against any of its own people, and to work with other nations to develop the means for becoming again a fully cooperative and participating member of the community of nations.
We call upon people of faith from these disparate places to embrace a vision of peace and justice in their own lives, to exhort their governments to avoid the easy but destructive rhetoric and conduct of war, to maintain patience and to struggle nonviolently in the face of violence and suffering, and to renew their commitment to work for peace and justice for the diverse and interconnected peoples of the Middle East.
Formed in 1984, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a Washington-based program of the American Friends Service Committee, Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, Church World Service, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Franciscan Mission Service, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Mennonite Central Committee, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church. For more information, see www.cmep.org
Holly Byker, Office Manager
Churches for Middle East Peace
100 Maryland Ave NE, #313
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone (202) 488-5600 x7139 or (202) 488-5613
Fax: 202-554-8223
www.cmep.org
Churches for
Middle East Peace is a Washington based program of the American Friends Service
Committee, Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes,
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, Church World
Service, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Franciscan
Mission Service, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Maryknoll
Missioners, Mennonite Central Committee, National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America,
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, United Church of Christ
and the United Methodist Church.
Letter from Bethlehem (41)
Toine van Teeffelen
December 5, 2002
Yesterday, in
summer-like weather, I go out for a walk with Jara to observe the Bethlehem
streets during the Moslem Eid al-Fitr feast. It is curfew. Just before leaving,
we hear two shots. "Wat a minute," Mary says, "that might be
teargas." After a while we go out, and pass by the children's graveyard at
the beginning of the university road. It is open - during Eid al-Fitr it is
customary to visit the graves of deceased loved ones – but nobody is inside.
The roads are also empty except for some children. Near the university Fuad and
his wife Sylvana pass by. I suddenly remember that Sylvana once had a pregnancy
interrupted due to the inhaling of teargas. They tresspass the curfew to say kul
sane inte salem (may you have peace each year) to their Moslem friends.
Further down into the center we enter Madbasseh street, where a grocery owner
peeps outside from behind his half-closed door. His shop is nearly always open
but he is on the watch-out to see any possible military jeep approaching.
The other day
Mary went there to do shopping and while she was inside a jeep passed by and
threw teargas towards the kids roaming on the street. A soldier told
municipality cleaners to move aside of the street and the grocery quickly
closed the door. Mary stayed for half an hour indoors waiting until the smell
of teargas outside had disappeared. While waiting, she listened to teargas
stories of the shopkeeper. That day in Beit Sahour, he told, it happened that a
shopkeeper twice ignored an order of the army to close his doors, each time
waiting until the jeep had left, then opening the door. The second time the
army went into the shop, swept things from the shelves onto the ground, threw
teargas into the shop with several people inside, and closed the doors. The
grocery owner also related a happening he witnessed himself. A few days ago a
car bringing Tnuva (Israeli) milk products was stopped by the military. They
requested the driver to open the window, threw teargas inside and forced him to
close the window. Mary comments that the army, who is not very present on the
streets these days, in some way challenges the people to go out of the house
but then punishes them for doing so. Also at the central Bethlehem market
salesmen sometimes start their business early in the morning, are allowed to
stay there for a while but then again soldiers come to throw vegetables and fruits
on the ground and chase the vendors away. After leaving the grocery Mary
decided not to buy bread in Madbasseh street; as it could smell of teargas.
With the garbage
piles untouched for ten days, Bethlehem's main street is not a pleasant place
for walking. After a few minutes we reach the Nativity Square which is empty
except for a group of boys standing near the church complex. When we approach
them, they throw a stone. (During this Intifada I have learned to distinguish
between different kinds of stone-throwing; either challenging, friendly, or
fast and dangerous. This one was friendly, it was thrown a little off-target
and with a rather high curve). I congratulate each of the boys, all
well-dressed. Jara watches at a safe distance. "Was the army here," I
ask the boys and yes, they were there half an hour ago, "throwing
chocolate and perfume," the kids laughingly explain. We continue our walk,
meeting another foreigner on the street whose eyes betray bewilderment. Uphill
we pass along one of the oldest houses of Bethlehem, covered with graffiti
celebrating the Brasilians in the 2002 world soccer championships. Jara becomes
tired. Should I take her on my shoulders or would that be out-of-place under
curfew conditions? But the walk made her really too tired after sitting home
for such a long time. Somewhat embarrassed, I greet half-smiling passers by.
After a while, the empty streets look like in an old sleepy French village on a
Sunday morning – except for the garbage piles. Jara and I make a game out of listening
to the sounds of silence: the footsteps far away, the songs of the birds, our
neighbour Ibrahim's voice. At one point I approach a man standing in front of
his shop. Like others, he takes his place to see what is going on, ready to go
inside when jeeps or tanks approach. He says that one should be careful to
tread the streets during curfew, and always listen well: "Last week a
woman from Ramallah of 95 years old was shot dead when the van she was in did
not stop at a soldier's notice," His main point is that the Christians of
Bethlehem suffer economically, and that the Christian world has all but
forgotten them. He insists on speaking in English and doesn't want to let me
go, desperate to tell his story.
Back at my
family in law, I tell Jara her fantasy stories, including one about the Box of
Pandora, from which all the smelly winds of disasters flow out to bring death
to mankind. Pandora closed the box in time before the last and only fresh wind
could leave: Hope. But Jara is too young for the story, bored and doesn't wait
until the end. Rather we go hill biking. While I push her up, she comfortably
sitting in the chair, Mary appears to call us for lunch but suddenly says
"Stop, turn around and look at the grapeleaves at your right." Indeed,
the leaves show all their beautiful autumn-like colours. At home Tamer
pronounces his first words: mama, kaka, baba. His first teeth can be felt,
another milestone!.Mary decides to watch Liberty TV, a French-language channel
with programs of beautiful holiday sites, and with romantic Santa Clauses or
Saint Nicholases treading West-European streets. "Ahhh, that will not be
for us," she says. Jara disagrees, "Don't be afraid" - a phrase
she has learned from us and which she now herself uses to show her independence
and authority - and mysteriously says that we should wait and see how beautiful
Christmas in Bethlehem will be.
During the
afternoon, I watch through my window Fr Louis striding into Azza camp to visit
his Moslem friends. With his long white beard he is planning to play for a
public St Nicholas/Santa Claus; if not on December 5, then on December 19 when
St Nicholas is celebrated in Beit Jala, and if not on December 25, then on one
of the two other Christmas days in January celebrated by the Greek-Orthodox or
Armenian communities.
In the evening
we all put our shoes under the Christmas tree. Next morning St Nicholas turns
out to have found his way through the curfew zone and has put presents given by
friends from Holland. Tamer is excited by the lights in the Christmas tree – in
fact by any kind of light - and is determined to take the balls down.
Today, Friday,
opening hours are announced early morning. Somebody says that he feels like a
chained dog released in the open air. As always during opening hours, it is
more than busy on the streets. Last Monday it was almost impossible to proceed
on Madbasseh Street. Everybody has to do everything at the same time: going to
work, visiting relatives, shopping, bringing medicines, meeting colleagues, and
– in the schools – laboring on the mid-term exams. Shall we be released at
Christmas?
Advent Newsletter from Bethlehem
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
General Director
Tel: ++972 2 276 4696
Fax: ++972 2 277 0048
Web: http://www.annadwa.org/
Dear Friends
Salaam from Bethlehem. For the
past two weeks, we have been living under a strict 24-hours curfew imposed by
the Israeli army that has reentered Bethlehem. Yet, many of our staff members
have been trying to come to the office to do all that they can to keep hope
alive, living up to our motto: "Destruction may be, Continuity shall
be".
In this Advent
newsletter, we would like to share with you our own experience of what life is
like under curfew. So please visit our website to read the following:
1. A reflection on celebrating the First Advent under curfew in the article:
"As Advent Begins in Bethlehem”
by Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
2. A day-by-day diary on life under curfew in the article: "Reflection
Under House Arrest" by Rev. Sandra Olewine
3. The meaning of curfew for the ICB in the article: "Wholesale
Imprisonment" by Dr. Nuha Khoury
4. A report on the media consultation that was moved to Jerusalem,
entitled" Bethlehem Intercultural Media Consultation” by Ms. Carol
Michel
5. Reflections
on a recent visit by an ecumenical group from the USA entitled: “Come and See:
Experiences of an authentic tour”.
To read the above and to know more about our work and how you can be directly
involved please visit our site at http://www.annadwa.org
<http://www.annadwa.org>/
Wishing you all a blessed Advent Season
EQUALITY IN MARTYRDOM
Samia Khoury
December
5, 2002
Last year I wrote a reflection on Equality in Humiliation inspired by my crossing at the Qalandia check point and which reminded me of the rhyme we used to chant as children “tinker tailor soldier sailor rich man poor man beggar man thief, doctor lawyer merchant chief.” Everybody was equally humiliated at that horrific check point. Of course by now the Israeli Occupying Forces are getting more and more innovative in their humiliating procedures. Stripping a man naked on a wet and cold day in Nablus was the latest of these measures. Over and above he was forced to crawl in the mud like an animal and bark like a dog while the soldiers were amused. Many of you have seen this photo which was widely circulated on the internet and in our local papers. If it reflects anything; it is how sick and dehumanized these soldiers have become in the process of oppressing and humiliating the Palestinians for the last thirty five years.
Last night a 95 year old woman, Fatimah Sarahneh was shot dead by the Israeli Occupying Forces inside a van at the JAWWAL crossing near El-Bireh. This came shortly after a deaf man Ashur Salem was killed under the rubble of his home which the Israeli Occupation Forces demolished in Beit Lahya in the Gaza Strip. He did not hear the alert, and the Israeli army refused to allow members of the family to check him out on the sixth floor of the building. The first thing that came to my mind is another form of equality; equality in “ Shihadah” ( martyrdom). Activists, policemen, school children, laborers and farmers; passivists, elderly people, men, women, and babies. All have joined the long list of “ Shuhada” (martyrs). A martyr is somebody who is willing to suffer or die for his faith or principle. But all those people have earned their “shihadah” for being victims of a brutal occupation which very often considers these victims as a “collateral damage”. Even at the age of 95, Fatimah was deprived of the privilege of dying in peace in her own bed. As the Muslim world celebrates Eid Al-Fitr today, the breaking of the Fast after the Holy month of Ramadan, so many Palestinian families will be missing their loved ones. I know my granddaughter Zeina will be missing her maternal grandmother Shaden Abu Hijleh who was shot in her own home in Nablus almost two months ago. And I know Malak Hammouri will be missing her husband Haytham, a YMCA staff member who is still in jail with thousands of other young men and women.
In this Holy Land, holy to the three monotheistice faiths this is also the Advent season for the Christians and Chanukah for the Jews. But how will the Christians be receiving Christmas when Bethlehem, the city of the birth of Christ is under curfew, and the memory of those dear ones who were shot dead by the Israeli Occupying forces is still fresh and very painful. At the same time many Israeli families will be missing dear ones as they light the Chanukah candles. My only hope is that those families will remember that their dear ones and our dear ones would have been spared had Israel not chosen to be an occupying military machine for the last thirty five years. All being against the wishes of the occupied Palestinian population and in defiance of United Nations resolutions.
Let us hope Jews, Christians and Muslims of this Holy Land, will soon be able to celebrate their feasts in peaceful times where both Palestinians and Israelis are liberated from this brutal occupation which is “killing us all.” Happy Eid, Merry Christmas, and Hag Sameach.
Muslim Action Toward
Equality?
Dr Harry Hagopian, LL.D, KOG-KSL
A timely panel debate took place at the House of Lords in London on 27 November 2002. It was organised by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) and entitled ‘Muslims in Britain: Action Towards Equality’. The idea of holding the debate had come about as a result of a Report on Muslims in Britain that was authored by Humayun Ansari, Director of the Centre for Ethnic Minority Studies in London, and published by MRG in August 2002.
In
the preface of the Report, the MRG Director Mark Lattimer wrote about the ‘huge
rise in the number of attacks on Muslims in Britain, increasing threats to
civil liberties in the name of security measures, a resurgence in the
activities of the far-right in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, and a crackdown
on refugees fleeing persecution, all serious questions over Britain’s
commitment to minority rights’. The preface further added that the ‘purpose of
this report is to explore Muslim experience in Britain in this climate, and to
call for legislative and policy change’.
Apart
from the Director of MRG and the author of its Report, the panellists at the
debate included representatives from the Race Equality Council, the Home Office
Community Cohesion Review Team and the Muslim Council of Britain. Their short
presentations touched upon discrimination against Muslims as well as Muslim
access to education, employment and housing. They dealt with economic
exclusion, political participation as much as Muslim women’s identities and
lives. Existing legislation affecting Muslims, including the criminal justice
system, was also discussed from an international human rights’ perspective. The
participants in the debate dealt with the issue of Islamophobia as it affects
British society and media - particularly in the wake of 11 September 2001.
I
found the presentations quite motivating and attention-grabbing insofar as they
placed the Muslim community within Britain in its proper context. Tracing the
historical growth of this community, and its gradual enmeshing with other
communities, a lot was said about the perceived Western attitudes toward Islam
in general - and quite a bit about women in particular. But what was a pivotal
focus of attention for me during the whole event was the debate over the
‘loyalty’ of the Muslim British community, and whether Islamic
‘fundamentalists’ could export their Islamist beliefs without constraint. The
question over Islamophobia also roused my interest since I believe that at
times it is as much a product of Western biases and fears as it is of Muslim
inability to project faithfully the true face of Islam in its media-spun battle
with groups of radicals who project an ad hominen - and at times
incorrect - interpretation of their faith.
The
stated purpose of the MRG Report is to address ‘the differences of perception
between many British Muslims and other people living in Britain, in the context
of the circumstances and experiences of Britain’s Muslim communities. It aims
to highlight the main areas where increased understanding and changes in
policies and legislation would be of benefit to the whole of British society’.
However, those issues, grievances and policy changes are not solely axiomatic
of a Muslim ‘minority’ and certainly not solely in Britain either. However,
they are serious ones that need to be addressed by Her Majesty’s Governments in
order to help manage misunderstanding and establish harmony.
The
debate took a significant turn when someone in the audience suggested that the
Muslim community in Britain ought to engage in a process of introspection and
self-examination too. And indeed, it is through this internal process, when
coupled with a much broader external one, that this community could address -
and perhaps redress - some of the problems it is facing in this country or
elsewhere in the West. Looking at the other for one’s solutions cannot
work if it is not associated with an equally probing look at oneself. I
have learnt this lesson as someone who has been engaged over many years with
organisations such as the World Conference on Religion and Peace in New York,
Majlis al-Hassan in Amman and other multi-faith dialogical fora in both the
Middle East and Europe. Although my experiences have not been associated with
South Asian Muslims in particular (Pakistanis constitute the largest Muslim
community of some 650,000 in Britain), I tend to believe that such a process
could be helpful for everyone in the long run.
MRG
is a leading and proactive non-governmental organisation that works to secure
the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous people
worldwide. The recommendations of its Report on issues beleaguering the Muslim
community in Britain today are both relevant and incisive. One I would
highlight is the introduction of new legislation to tackle religious
discrimination, or the extension of existing statutory laws such as the Race
Relations Act of 1976 in order to cover religion as well. Another posits a
radical reform of the outdated blasphemy law of 1838 that restricts itself to
the Church of England. Or its replacement even by a criminal offence of
incitement to racial hatred that would cover all beliefs and be synchronous
with the Framework Convention on National Minorities of 1995.
Despite some thematic weaknesses,
the Report is a solid reference point for Government, lobbyists, activists,
grassroots organisations and the public at large. It points the way, and then
suggests options. But were a revised reprint to come out in the years ahead, it
might perhaps be apt to replace the cover picture of a Muslim family in
Halifax, depicting a woman hanging the washing in the back-garden, with one
that is less stereotypical in its image of Islam!
harry-bvH @ 5 December 2002
|
Important
note to our dear readers We really hope that you enjoy what we send you and find it
useful. If you need further information, please feel free to contact us at: nonviolence@writeme.com
Thank
you for your understanding & with best wishes from Jerusalem Fr. Raed Abusahlia |