News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 178 - Saturday, 9 November 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
You will find in today’s Olive Branch
several news and documents about the Vatican involvement in the situation in
the Holy Land. First of all, the speech of Archbishop Renato Martino the permanent
observer of the Vatican at the United Nation concerning the work with the Palestinian
refugees. Then the visit Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the
Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," to the Holy Land in order to donate
the collection of the fasting called for by the Pope. We highly appreciate
these steps which show the concern of the Holy See in general and the Holy
Father in particular on the situation in the Holy Land, but we think that all
this material and moral support will not resolve the problem if there will not
be a complete and comprehensive political solution and settlement of the
conflict which continues since almost more than one century, therefore, we
think that more pressure should be exercised on both sides in order to stop
violence and go back soon to the table of negotiation which should lead to the
end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state which should
live side by side with Israel.
We hosted in Taybeh last Tuesday and
Friday a workshop for 30 young people from several parishes in order to discuss
with them the role of Christians in the fields of political and national
issues, in a step to educate and prepare young people to become leaders in
their society and be more involved on the public affairs. This new experience which
will have a continuation on a regular basis was very interesting, because we
felt the need of encouraging and preserving the Christian presence in the Holy
Land. We didn’t want to form any political movement or body, but to discover together
the ways of living our faith on our daily life even in the political field.
You will find the following documents:
1)
Plea Made at United
Nations: “International Help Needed to Halt Mideast
Violence, Says Vatican”.
2)
Vatican's Address on
Relief for Mideast Refugees.
3)
HOLY FATHER DONATES
$400,000 TO HOLY LAND.
4)
Announcement of the Campaign
in support of Palestinian education “LET OUR CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL”.
5)
Dr Harry Hagopian is
sharing with us the story of “his Family in Palestine!”, it is a very
interesting and meaningful story even if it is a familial one!
I hope that you find what I send you useful and
interesting, even if it is not always up to date.
Best wishes from Taybeh and have a wonderful weekend! Fr.
Raed Abusahlia
International Help Needed to Halt Mideast Violence, Says
Vatican
Plea Made at United Nations
NEW YORK, NOV. 8, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The international community must
help Palestinians and Israelis to put an end to the spiral of Middle East
violence, the Vatican said in an address at the United Nations.
The appeal was made Tuesday by Archbishop Renato Martino, until recently
permanent observer of the Vatican at the United Nations. He addressed the
Special Political and Decolonization Committee of the 57th Session of the
General Assembly.
"It is incumbent upon both parties assisted by the international community
to set out anew on the path of sincere negotiation so that this issue is
properly addressed and accords with resolutions" already made, said the
archbishop, who was recently appointed president of the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace.
Archbishop Martino emphasized that the "massive application of violence
has failed and failed miserably. It has increased the sufferings of both
Israelis and Palestinians."
The Vatican representative then quoted John Paul II's words from last Aug. 11,
when he said: "For it is neither attacks, nor walls that separate, nor
even retaliation that will ever lead to a just solution of the continuing
conflict."
"My delegation wishes to take this opportunity to recall that in another
time in the region there was a voice for fundamental reconciliation and
peace," the archbishop said. "Speaking on the occasion of the signing
of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, the late Prime Minister
of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, stated to the Palestinians: 'We are destined to live
together, on the same soil in the same land.'"
The Vatican representative also pointed out the Holy See's efforts, through the
Pontifical Mission for Palestine, to relieve the suffering of people in refugee
camps.
The mission's annual budget of $10.7 million has been supported by the U.S.-based
Catholic Near East Welfare Association, the U.S.-based Mercy Corps
International, Switzerland-based Kinderhilfe Bethlehem, Spain-based Fundación
Social de la Cultura, Germany-based Bischofliches Hilfswerk Misereor, the
Archdiocese of Cologne, and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of
Jerusalem, the archbishop revealed.
"These funds are used for the labor intensive program, basically for the
employment of Palestinians working on municipal projects; village restoration;
preschool through university educational programs; and the various health
projects and clinics often forced to deal with the injuries sustained as a
result of violence and armed conflict," he added.
Lastly, Archbishop Martino addressed the question of Jerusalem: "The Holy
See renews its consistent call for internationally guaranteed provisions to
ensure the freedom of religion and conscience of its inhabitants, in order to
safeguard the special character of the City and of the sites sacred to Jews,
Christians and Muslims."
"Current levels of violence have caused pilgrims to stay away from the
Holy Land thus imposing severe economic penalties on all the people of the
region," the archbishop lamented. "Local believers no longer have
access to their places of worship in the weekly days of prayer."
Vatican's Address on Relief for Mideast Refugees
Praises Work of U.N. Agency
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 8, 2002 (Zenit.org).-
Here is the text of an address given Tuesday by Archbishop Renato Martino, head
of the Vatican's observer delegation to the United Nations, before the Special
Political and Decolonization Committee the 57th Session of the General
Assembly, on Item 76: "U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East."
* * *
Mr. Chairman,
After reading the Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, my Delegation
once again voices its praise and appreciation for the work of the Agency. This
Delegation also offers words of condolence for those members of the UNRWA staff
killed or injured in carrying out their duties.
My Delegation notes that previous speakers have clearly identified many of the
critical issues festering in the region served by UNRWA. They have spoken about
settlements, curfews, closures, assassinations, suicide bombers as well as the
effects upon the Palestinian people regarding employment, education and access
to medical services.
The Holy See understands precisely how the current situation has impacted the
lives of so many with such adversity. The Pontifical Mission for Palestine and
its numerous collaborators worldwide report daily on the trials of those people
served.
The work of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine relies heavily on its collaborators,
in order to provide financial support for its work among the Palestinian
people, especially those living in refugee camps. The annual budget of
US$10,720,203 has been supported by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association
(U.S.A), Mercy Corps International (U.S.A), Kinderhilfe Bethlehem
(Switzerland), Fundación Social de la Cultura (Spain), Bischofliches Hilfswerk
Misereor (Germany) the Archdiocese of Cologne (Germany) and the Equestrian
Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (Worldwide). These funds are used for
the labor intensive programme, basically for the employment of Palestinians
working on municipal projects; village restoration; pre-school through
university educational programmes and the various health projects and clinics
often forced to deal with the injuries sustained as a result of violence and
armed conflict.
Pope John Paul II, in his Angelus message of Sunday, 11 August 2002, spoke of
the futility of violence as a solution to the fundamental Israeli-Palestinian
problem:
"When will it be understood that the coexistence of the Israeli and
Palestinian peoples cannot be brought about by arms? For it is neither attacks,
nor walls that separate, nor even retaliation that will ever lead to a just
solution of the continuing conflict. ... From 1967 till today, unspeakable
sufferings have followed one upon another in a frightening manner: the
suffering of the Palestinians, driven out of their land and forced, in recent
times, into a state of permanent siege, becoming as it were the object of a
collective punishment; the suffering of the Israeli population, who live in the
daily terror of being targets of anonymous assailants. Faced with this
humanitarian tragedy, which does not seem to show any signs of hope, no one can
remain indifferent. That is why, once again, I appeal to the Israeli and
Palestinian political leadership to set out anew on the path of sincere
negotiation. I ask the international community to work with greater resolve in
being present in the area, offering its mediation in order to create the
conditions for a fruitful dialogue that will speed the process towards
peace." (Angelus message, 11 August 2002)
Mr. Chairman,
My Delegation proposes that the international community must assist the
Palestinians and the Israelis to realize that the fundamental injustice causing
the continuous unending spiral of retaliations must come to an end. Also, the
findings of the Mitchell Report, of 6 May 2001, clearly identified the
occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel as the root cause of the sufferings
which plague both Israelis and Palestinians. It is incumbent upon both parties
assisted by the international community to set out anew on the path of sincere
negotiation so that this issue is properly addressed and accords of resolution
produced. The massive application of violence has failed and failed miserably.
It has increased the sufferings of both Israelis and Palestinians.
My Delegation wishes to take this opportunity to recall that in another time in
the region there was a voice for fundamental reconciliation and peace. Speaking
on the occasion of the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of
Principles, the late Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, stated:
"Let me say to you, the Palestinians: We are destined to live together, on
the same soil in the same land. We the soldiers who have returned from battle
stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before
our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of
their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children,
we who have fought against you, the Palestinians C we say to you today in a
loud and clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough." (13 September
1993)
Has the bullet which ended his life also ended the vision he saw of
reconciliation and peace?
Mr. Chairman,
Beyond addressing the root issues which have for over two years led to an
unending cycle of violence, it is the hope of my Delegation that any solution
found for the multifaceted problems of the region will include the Holy City of
Jerusalem. The Holy See renews its consistent call for internationally
guaranteed provisions to ensure the freedom of religion and conscience of its
inhabitants, in order to safeguard the special character of the City and of the
sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Current levels of violence have
caused pilgrims to stay away from the Holy Land thus imposing severe economic
penalties on all the people of the region.
The Holy See appeals for greater international solidarity and the political
will to eliminate the root cause of the reprehensible violence affecting the
people of the region especially the civilian population and children who should
be exempt from such hostilities.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
HOLY FATHER DONATES $400,000 TO HOLY LAND
VATICAN CITY, NOV 6, 2002 (VIS) - Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," will be in the Holy Land from November 7 to 10 where he will visit Catholic leaders and institutions and will donate $400,000 to the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, the Franciscan custos, Caritas and several Catholic communities.
A communique released today about his trip states: "With the occupation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which lasted 39 days, there was further proof of how necessary the presence of Christians in the Holy Land is. The continuous acts of violence between Palestinians and Israelis represents unfortunately a persistent threat to the lives of all the inhabitants of the region. Hospitality homes for pilgrims are empty, while in Bethlehem about 80 percent of the population is unemployed. The desire of many people to leave the country is well understood. The safekeeping of the Holy Places would be in serious danger if Christians were to abandon them.
"Following the terrible
attacks on the World Trade Center, the Holy Father John Paul II appealed for
material and spiritual aid for those suffering the consequences of war and
terrorism. His Holiness, among other things, has designated $400,000 of the
funds gathered for this purpose to the Holy Land.
"The aim of this trip is not
just to turn over this money. Through various meetings, the Holy Father's envoy
hopes above all to encourage Christians to remain in these battered places, as
so many missionaries are already doing in such a heroic fashion. The support is
offered to improve living and working conditions in their land so they might be
a fertile seed of humanity and peace."
Campaign in support of Palestinian
education
LET OUR CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL
Announcement
demonstrative walks:
When: weekly during the month of Ramadan and
in preparation for Christmas
Where: in
Bethlehem area and beyond
Why: Claiming
the right of education for Palestinian children
Who invites:
The Governorate of Bethlehem in coordination with the local councils and the
Directorate of Education, and in cooperation with local civil society
institutions
You are
welcome on:
November
11.2002 at 2:00 pm Manger Square, Bethlehem
November
15.2002 at 2:00 pm Taybeh-Ramallah
November
22.2002 at 1:00 pm Doha
December 01.þ2002 at 10:00 am Beit-Sahour
December
08.2002 at 10:00 am Beit-Jala
December
13.2002 at 1:00 pm Al-Khader
You can inquire
at the address below for the exact meeting places. During the walks passages
from the Bible and Koran will be read which reflect upon the needs of children
and youth.
Background
At present tens
of thousands of Palestinian school children cannot go to school or come too late
due to curfews, checkpoints and roadblocks. A great many more suffer from lack
of concentration, anxieties and traumas. Facing a financial crisis, many
parents are unable to pay for basic school amenities like a uniform. It is a
situation unique in the present-day world which is detrimental to the overall
quality of education in Palestine and which cries out for international
attention.
Recently,
concerned Palestinian citizens and authorities took initiatives to address this
situation. In cities under curfew, they started forms of "underground
education." Elsewhere, there were public actions in support of the right
to education. For instance, on October 2 in Bethlehem, authorities, religious
leaders and NGOs took to the street and, together with many hundreds of
children, publicly claimed their right to go to school.
Walks
In Bethlehem,
citizens now wish to follow-up this action and have decided to organize, during
Ramadan and the Advent period, weekly demonstrative walks in the Bethlehem area
and beyond under the banner "LET OUR CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL." Our
single demand is the right of education for all Palestinian children and youths
in accordance with basic standards of international law. In other words, we
demand that all Palestinian children have the chance to go to school and
receive a decent education without facing all kinds of inappropriate pressures.
This social demand is inextricably linked to the political demand to end the
Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.
For information
please contact:
Arab Educational
Institute
Fax: 02-2777554
Tel. 02-2744030
My
Family in Palestine!
Dr Harry Hagopian, KSL-KOG
A fortnight ago, a two-day meeting between Jews, Christians and Muslims from the Holy Land took place at Lambeth Palace in London. I write ‘Jews, Christians and Muslims’ rather than ‘Israelis and Palestinians’ since this meeting was largely religious in nature. It was part of an ongoing process of dialogue within the framework of the Alexandria Declaration between representatives of the three monotheistic faiths. Held under the auspices of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim participants held challenging and at times tense discussions. They concluded their deliberations with a two-tier communiqué. On the one hand, it re-committed the Palestinian position for an end to occupation and the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel. On the other, it focused equally forcefully on the Israeli position for an immediate end to violence and suicide bombings.
During the same week, my mother also visited me in London. So my Chinese partner and I invited her on Sunday to join us for a pub-grub in Richmond. Sitting by the fireplace in a quaint country-like pub, I related to mum the proceedings of the Alexandria meeting. I also told her that the twin central issues of the discussions focused upon the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and the unceasing violence between the two peoples.
Mum enquired whether the issue of the 1948 refugees had also been discussed at the conference. I was somewhat baffled by the query since mum had never raised this issue with me before! Besides, I have also learnt from my own political experience that the mere mention of this ‘contentious’ issue has often led to the torpedoing of many a meeting between Israelis and Palestinians. It is true that there is a UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948 on the matter of Palestinian refugees that affirms the United Nations Charter as well as article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In fact, article 11 of the UNGA Resolution grants Palestinian refugees the right of return as well as compensation. However, realpolitik between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has meant that the Oslo process for peace had not seriously tackled this issue. Whatever realistic convergence there might well have been on the matter was kept at bay by the forceful emotions that the issue releases on both sides.
So I encouraged mum to tell her own story! In 1948, my maternal grandparents were living in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods of Mandatory Palestine. Indeed, Talbieh housed many Armenian and Christian Palestinian families. In 1948, following the UN Resolution on the Partition of Palestine and the subsequent pan-Arab rejection of its terms, the first Arab-Israeli war took place. The Jewish fighters (terrorists for some, but freedom fighters for others) advanced on different parts of Jerusalem. Once in Talbieh, they started broadcasting by loudspeaker to all the non-Jewish residents of the neighbourhood that they had forty-eight hours to pack their bags and leave their homes. Many residents, panicking about the advancing Jewish fighters, fled their homes - in the hope of returning once the situation had calmed down. My grandfather, who lived in a beautiful house (with its symbolic lemon tree in the garden) and had a thriving business as a merchant of Persian carpets, refused to forsake his home - even temporarily. However, two days later, a Colonel in the British Army - who was both a family friend and customer - admonished my grandfather that the situation was worsening by the hour and that his family was facing grave danger. He had to go - and now!
So my grandfather hastily packed some essentials, covered the furniture in the house with white sheets in order to avoid dust, and drove his family to Beirut and the safety of his relatives there. However, he felt that he did not belong in Lebanon! One month later, he came back to Jerusalem! But he already knew that the borders had changed and that he was unable to go back to Talbieh - which had now become part of the newly-created Israel. So he contacted some of his UN friends to check whether he could at least be allowed to check on his old shop - situated now in the part of Jerusalem (not far from the New Gate) that straddled the buffer zone between Israel and Jordan. UN and Jordanian officers accompanied him to his shop where he ascertained that all the goods were still intact! Relieved, he returned once more a couple of days later in order to empty the shop and retrieve his carpets and goods to another shop he had opened in Souk el-Dabbaghah, near the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem. However, once he got there, he discovered that the whole shop had been plundered and looted!
The years passed, and my grandparents and their three daughters re-constituted their lives. After the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied the Jordanian-held eastern sector of the city, my family went to their old house in Talbieh to see ‘whether the lemon tree was still there’. They even had the old key to the main door let alone the deeds to the house! They rang the doorbell, and an Israeli Jew opened the door for them. They told him their story, and he invited them in for a cup of tea. He listened to their story and expressed regret that they had ‘fled’ and left the house behind! This is life, he added, and then let them out. My grandfather could never go back to Talbieh again!
I come from a family whose grandparents lost both their house and business in Ottoman Turkey during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. They then lost their property all over again in 1948. I cannot casually disregard their story, or that of so many other children, women and men. Regardless of legal subtleties or political niceties, their past stories constantly coalesce into their present lives and colour their future hopes. Can anyone perhaps spot the positive moral of this story?
© harry-bvH @ 4 November 2002
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Thank you for your understanding & with best wishes from Jerusalem Fr. Raed Abusahlia |