News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 168 - Saturday, 17 August 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
As you maybe know I was nominated a parish priest to Taybeh and I am no more the Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate. Therefore, since my successor Fr. Shawki Baterian arrived and took over this job, he will be the responsible of answering your letters and requests concerning the Patriarch and the Latin Patriarchate at the e-mail address: latinpat@actcom.co.il , but if will remain responsible of the press office of the Latin Patriarchate which is under establishment and my personal e-mail from now on is nonviolence@writeme.com Therefore, if you want anything from the Latin Patriarchate, please write to the Chancellor, and if you need any information you can write me or visit my Nonviolence Homepage http://go.to/nonviolence .
I will be moving to the new parish within the end of
this month, but before I am traveling with the Patriarch next 22nd to
Rimini where he has a conference next 23td at the Rimini Meetings, and he has
another conference in Assisi next 24th .
You maybe noticed that His Holiness the Pope John Paul II dedicated this speech
of the Angelus last Sunday about the situation in the Holy Land, and he was
very clear and showed his personal concern and solidarity about the Christian
presence and said: “The Pope and the whole Church are
with you, and they renew their sentiments of profound solidarity and spiritual
closeness”. And called the International community to play a role to help both
sides to return to the way of dialogue. I think that these words deserve to be
read again and taken in consideration, It seems that, the world is deaf because
of the loud voices calling for a war against the so-called terrorism and therefore,
nobody is hearing the prophetic voice of the Pope and those who call for peace.
You will find in today’s Olive Branch the
following documents:
1) The full text of the speech of the Pope during the ANGELUS
of last Sunday.
2) An urgent appeal to His Holiness the Pope John Paul II From the LAITY COMMITTEE IN THE HOLY LAND.
3)
The challenges of
indigenous Christianity By Issa Kassissieh who is the Orient
House International Office Director. This article was published also in The
Jerusalem Times.
4)
“A Call to Corporate Responsibility: A statement from Pax Christi USA Israel-Palestine
Conflict.
5)
A very beautiful Islamic prayer for peace.
6)
“A Phone call fro, Hell” is the strange title of the
last article of the courageous peace activist Uri Avnery who is speaking about
the campaign against Gush Shalom in Israel.
If the Israelis are saying now that the life in Israel is hell what should
the Palestinians say?! This means that the situation is killing us both and
that both of us are tired and need to take a rest… The will be nor rest unless
we hear the voice of the Pope who said:
“When will it be understood that the coexistence of
the Israeli and Palestinian peoples cannot be brought about by arms?”
“No one can remain indifferent” at least
you can pray for us! Fr.
Raed Abusahlia
The speech of the Pope during the ANGELUS
Sunday,
11 August 2002
1. During this time of summer relaxation, when
many are enjoying a deserved rest, I cannot stop thinking with great concern
about the Holy Land. There, unfortunately, the almost daily episodes of
reprehensible violence do not cease, taking the lives of so many of our
brothers and sisters, victims of a deadly unending spiral of retaliation.
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. The Pope suffers with
all those who weep because of bereavement and destruction; above all he is
close to the numerous innocent victims who pay the price of this violence. He
wishes to repeat to everyone, regardless of the ethnic group to which they
belong, that there is no justification for those who kill defenseless
civilians indiscriminately.
2. 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.
To this we must add the violation of a fundamental
right, that of freedom of worship. In effect, because of a strict curfew, believers
no longer have access to their places of worship on the day of weekly
prayer.
I think of you, beloved Christians: although not
involved in terrorist activity and yet sharing the great affliction of your
fellow citizens, you are now tempted to leave the Holy Land. The Pope
and the whole Church are with you, and they renew their sentiments of profound
solidarity and spiritual closeness.
3. 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. I call on Christians of every part of the world to join in my fervent and trusting prayer. Mary, Queen of Peace, grant that the cries of those who suffer and die in the Holy Land will finally be heard.
URGENT APPEAL TO
HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II
12.AUG.02
Your Holiness,
Greetings from
Jerusalem,
First let us start by thanking your
holiness for your very considerate Sunday message on August 11, 2002 in which
your Holiness addressed directly the Christians of the Holy Land, their
problems, needs, and aspirations.
It is really the most difficult time ever
on this land and the cause is very well known. It is the continued occupation.
We believe it will take more time than anybody is anticipating, and we fear
things will get worse.
Your Holiness concern for the Christian
emigration is justified and we are afraid to tell you that people are fleeing
their homes, land, and communities because they have no bread here. We know,
our Lord once told us “Man shall not live by bread alone” but also people are
unable to go to their churches or schools because of the permanent closures and
daily curfews.
We take this opportunity to knock on your
door for a specific request. We ask your Holiness for a call to all Catholic
communities and organizations in the world to arrange for an emergency fund
for our School and University students who are now on the doors of their
new academic year. We know that some of our Christian schools offer some aid
for families in need, but we can tell your Holiness that nobody can afford it
anymore to have their children in appropriate schools. They can barely earn
their bread.
If this initiative is considered we are
very much concerned and anxious that this aid does reach the students with
respect and dignity through the proper reliable and committed channels
We pray your Holiness will hear our voice
as we see the Vatican as our safe haven and last resort in the most difficult
times.
Faithfully yours
From the LAITY COMMITTEE IN THE HOLY LAND
( cc. H.E.
Patriarch Michael Sabbah- Jerusalem )
( cc. H.E.
The Apostolic Delegate – Jerusalem )
The challenges of indigenous
Christianity
8/15/2002
By Issa
Kassissieh
The
meeting held between Patriarch Sabbah, Bishop Riah Abu El-Asal and Bishop Munib
Yunan with the Islamic leadership headed by the spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad
Yassin, was a constructive step within the context of internal dialogue among
Palestinians. The voice of the local church should be heard with regard to the
current developments in the region and in specific to the local church's vision
on the future arrangements of the Holy Land. In return, the Islamic movement is
expected to endorse and recognize in practical terms the role of local
Christianity in the national struggle towards liberty and independence. It is
no longer acceptable for the Imams to marginalize or ignore this important
element of the equation. After all, the local Christianity was spread in the
Holy Land prior to Islam and flourished during that period. In the beginning of
the last century, Palestinian and Arab Christians were inspired by the norms of
nationalism, patriotism, liberty and independence after being influenced by the
Western civilization. In fact, the Christian clubs and associations in
Palestine became the starting point of resisting the Jewish immigration, which
was settling at the expense of the indigenous people, and mobilized the
grassroots against the British colonization.
Moreover,
and during the modern revolutionary movement, the Christian personalities were
pillars in the establishment and formulization of the Palestine Liberation Organization's
strategies and policies. Despite the sharp decline in the number of Palestinian
Christians following the Israeli military occupation and its barbaric and
oppressive policies and measures especially during the current Intifada, the
living stones have contributed in all aspects of Palestinian life including
resisting the occupation. Also, resentment and frustration have reached levels
where Palestinians consider any method to oust the occupation as legitimate,
thus bypassing in certain positions the peaceful and forgiving philosophy of
Christianity in dealing with the conflicts.
Actually
the Christian young generation is looking into a more active role to play to
strengthen their identity and contribute towards building a Palestinian society
based on pluralism, democracy and transparency. Coming to this point does not
negate the fact that the overwhelming number of Palestinians belong to the
monotheistic religion of Islam, thus the Palestinian constitution should
consider the official religion of the future Palestinian state as Islam, but
must in parallel, protect the rights of others, so that harmony in Palestinian
society would be strengthened and Christians would not feel as second class
citizens in their homeland.
Lately,
I have participated in many round table meetings with various Palestinian
Christian new guards. The common ground between them can be summarized by the
necessity of the local Christians to intensify their role in the national
struggle in the hope to influence the course of events towards a just and
peaceful coexistence between the two people and the three monotheistic
religions as a final target, while lobbying for their political status and
their active representation within the PLO structure. Actually, one of the main
issues discussed thoroughly is the Christian immigration from Palestine with
all the destructive consequences it holds in dissolving the mosaic status quo
of the Holy Land to the point that the stones of the churches would be left in
few years without its living stones unless serious steps are taken by the
Palestinian leadership and the spiritual leadership as well.
At
this point, I allow myself to appeal to all concerned circles and mainly to
church leaders to seriously tackle the issue, thus adopt an open-door policy
and initiate a serious dialogue with their congregations who feel alienated. Of
course, the dialogue with the Islamic movement is essential, but also the
affairs of their own congregations are equally important such as listening to
the Protestant church congregation's different complaints. Someone who needs to
talk to any member of the Orthodox Church discovers quickly the deep rift
between the community and the Patriarchate, someone who talks to any
Evangelical member discovers the difficulty he faces to meet with the heads as
the latter are most of the time abroad. Someone who passes by the Armenian
Quarter finds out the community's resentment for the Patriarchate's refusal to
rent at a reasonable price, the many vacant apartments inside the convent to
newly married couples. Someone
just needs to visit a few houses in the Christian Quarter of the Old City to
discover the socio-economic problems of the families and their poor living
conditions, while rumors are circulated that the church lands are confiscated
at times and sold at others.
Finally,
someone does not need to see the penetration of the so-called suspicious
Christian groups in the minds and hearts of the indigenous local Christianity
as well as the increasingly negative influence of the Christian Zionists groups
in the USA and Europe to realize the tremendous responsibility lying on the
shoulders of the local church in specific, and on the Middle East churches in
general. Such responsibilities would not lead to fruitful results without a
strong coordination among the heads of churches from one side, and a real
support from their congregations and the majority of the Palestinian society
from another, in the aim of meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow guided
by the inspiration of the Holy Bible.
Issa
Kassissieh is the
Orient House International Office Director
A Call to Corporate Responsibility
A statement from Pax Christi USA Israel-Palestine
Conflict
Below you will find a
news statement, A
Call to Corporate Responsibility, written by Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA's former National Council
Chair and issued August 7 during a SUSTAIN news conference at the Press Club in
Washington, DC. which was covered by CNN TV and Voice of America TV as well as
other print media:
“Pax Christi USA, a
national Catholic peace movement of over 14,000 members including over 140
bishops and over 500 religious communities continues to be devastated by the
endless cycle of violent retribution and retaliation that has taken the lives
of so many innocent people on both sides of the current crisis in the Middle
East.
Pax Christi rejects the
path of violence as a means of achieving peace, understanding that genuine
peace will only be possible when the root causes of the conflict are addressed
through the application of international law. We echo the words of Pope John Paul, who urged, “It is time to
return to the principles of international legality: the banning of the
acquisition of territory by force, the rights of peoples to self-determination,
respect for the resolution of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions. For there to be a true and lasting
peace in the region we believe that negotiations should ultimately lead to a
sovereign, viable Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as the capital of two
states, accessible to followers of the three monotheistic religions.”
While Pax Christi USA condemns
the violence of suicide bombers who hold both the Israeli and Palestinian
people hostage to this unending cycle of violent retribution, we believe that
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem is the
fundamental dynamic that fuels the conflict.
One of the more odious
aspects of life under Israel occupation is the policy of home destruction. Since the occupation began in 1967
Israel has destroyed 7,000 homes leaving 30,000 Palestinians homeless. Currently, 7,300 Palestinian family
homes in East Jerusalem have been designated as “illegal” by the Israeli
authorities and are in danger of being destroyed. The vast majority of homes destroyed is conducted for
administrative reasons and cannot be justified under international law. In addition, the Israeli military will
often destroy the homes of families of suspected terrorists as a form of
collective punishment.
The Israeli policy of
home destruction is met out to all Palestinians with no regard to class or
religion. We are especially
concerned with the small and struggling Catholic Palestinian Church, which also
suffers under the occupation. In
his Lenten letter, Bishop Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the
President of Pax Christi International pleaded with the Israeli authorities,
“Destroy our churches but spare the homes of our faithful. If you must impose, at any price,
collective punishment and if their needs to be a ransom in order to procure the
tranquillity of innocent children and families, we offer our churches. Destroy them; we will find other places
in which to pray and we will continue to pray for ourselves and you.”
The Israeli military,
which carries out the policy of home destruction, is very proud of its
relationship with the U.S. based Caterpillar Corporation. On their web page they extol the
virtues of the Caterpillar D-9 Bulldozer which is used to destroy Palestinian
homes. In the military operation
which destroyed nearly 100 homes in the Jenin refugee camp this Spring, Time
Magazine pointed out, “But the Israeli’s most effective weapon was
unconventional: the huge armoured D-9 bulldozer.”
For months now, our
members and others have joined the call, first issued by the Israeli peace
groups Gush Shalom and the Israeli Committee Against the House
Demolitions, to write to Mr. Glen Barton, Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar
Corporation, to end its business relationship with the Israeli military as long
as the policy of home destruction continues and Palestinian people suffer under
occupation.
Mr. Barton and the
Caterpillar Corporation can no longer claim that they are ignorant of what is
being done with the bulldozers they sell to the Israeli military. They claim they are not violating any
U.S. laws, but as the U.S. Catholic Bishops stated in their pastoral
reflection, Everyday Christianity, owners of businesses must be aware
that, “Ethical responsibility is not just avoiding evil, but doing right,
especially for the weak and the vulnerable.” Corporate responsibility is not limited to obedience to the
law.
As
Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed out, “We should never forget that everything
Adolph Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’.” And the Nuremberg Principles, which arose out of the trials
of German war criminals, makes clear that those who knowingly provide material
support for acts in violation of international codes of conduct cannot hide
behind the cover of legality.
We
therefore call on Mr. Barton and the Board of Directors of Caterpillar Corporation
to live by its own Code of Conduct which commits Caterpillar to accept the
responsibility of global citizenship and conduct business in a way that takes
into account social, economic, political and environmental priorities and
contributes to the quality of life of communities where their products are
used. It is time to stop business
as usual as long as the occupation continues.”
Islamic
prayer for peace
Dear Friends:
I just want to share with all of you
the Islamic prayers that I have been using at interfaith gatherings from the
last one-year. It contains the basic principles and verses from the Quran which
are full of universal wisdom which is also contained in the other scriptures.
O’ People We have made you from a
single soul, male and female and have made you into nations and tribes so that
you may come to know one another, (not to despise each other) and the best among
you are those who are most God conscious. 49:13
With this revelation in my mind we have
made a prayer to God for the welfare of all humanity. Oh God, our Creator,
our Sustainer, our Maintainer, who possesses Love, Compassion and Mercy bring
peace to your people by upholding the scales of Justice. Do not lay on us a
burden greater than our capacity to bear. Open our hearts and minds so that all
humanity strives to develop your attributes that we so much cherish. Teach us
how to Love and cherish each other in times of pain, suffering and
illness. Teach us to embrace our enemies and forgive each other.
Let patience, perseverance and prayer be our means of reaching your highest
ideals.
Forgive all those who have erred
unintentionally and unknowingly. Give us the wisdom and compassion to undo the
damage that we have done to our fellow human beings and to our mother earth
that sustains all humanity. Create in us a sense of family – of brotherhood and
sisterhood with those people whom we have never met or known. Let not the
unknown to us be the cause of distrust or injustice to anyone.
Create in us bonds of genuine
friendship, where we can uphold each other’s rights and stand up for justice,
even if we are to be witnesses against ourselves, our children and against our
parents. Let not nationalism of any nation be the cause of injustice to
any nation. Give us the courage to stand up for righteousness against people
who are rich and powerful and steeped in vested interest. Give the rich
and powerful people of this country a compassionate and loving heart to work
for the poor, destitute, hungry and the homeless of not only this country but
of any people living in any part of this world. Give us family values and
a sense of responsibility to fight the crime and drug use that is rampaging our
youths and neighborhoods.
Give spiritual guidance to the people
who have assembled here together as Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus Buddhists
and people of other faith to work for our common goals and good for all the
people of this great country. Amen.
Allah you are peace,
through you flows Peace. Give All of us Peace Not only in this life but also in
the hereafter.
A Phone Call from Hell
Uri
Avnery 10.8.02
There is a
direct telephone connection between heaven and hell. I can prove it.
The idea crossed my mind last Sunday, when I was climbing to a
snow-covered peak in the alpine region of Italy, where I was the guest at a
political conference. The sun was shining, the
temperature hovered around zero centigrade, around me was a
breathtaking landscape of white peaks. Far away below, calm
cowherds led their animals to their green pasture. Heaven on
earth.
And then the cellular phone rang. The call came from Tel-Aviv,
where the barometer was climbing to 32 degrees and above. The
radio news from Israel, which I managed to receive from time to time, told
of people killed and wounded, attacks and retaliation, bombs and bombardments, demolition
of homes and deportations, and, on top of that, factory
closures, mass dismissals, economic disaster. A real hell.
My colleagues at home called to tell me
about an exciting development: that morning, "Haaretz"
had published on its front- page a hair-raising
sensation: "Gush Shalom has threatened officers:
We collect material against you for The Hague". (This is the
original headline in Hebrew. In the English edition of Haaretz,
it was slightly toned down.)
Following the news item, I was told, the Prime
Minister has ordered his obedient servant, the Attorney
General, to start criminal proceedings against us. The Minister
of Justice, Me'ir Shitreet, a third-rate politician, declared that
we were a "fifth column". The Minister for Communication, Rubi
Rivlin, considered by many to be a clown, solemnly asserted that
"This is Treason!"
Any number of politicians and commentators
started a lynch campaign. Expressions like "traitors",
"informers", "Capo" (the Jewish "camp
police", which served the Nazis in the concentration camps),
"Judenrat" (the Jewish committees appointed by the Nazis in the
ghettos) were freely bandied about.
There was, indeed, good reason for all this commotion.
At the beginning of the year, the Gush Shalom peace
movement, like many people in Israel and abroad, decided that it
could no longer ignore the fact that in the course of the IDF
operations in the occupied territories terrible acts, violating both Israeli
and international law, were being committed. Some
of these appeared to be war crimes. We in the Gush decided that it was our
duty, as Israeli citizens who bear responsibility for the acts of our
government and our army, to raise our voice and deliver a
stringent warning.
On January 9 we convened a conference on war crimes in a big hall in Tel-Aviv.
Several professors of international law and two
senior (retired) army officers were on the panel. One
of the speakers was a war hero, air force Colonel Yig'al Shohat, who had
been shot down over Egypt and lost a leg. In a voice
trembling with emotion, he called upon his comrades, the combat pilots,
to refuse to obey illegal orders, such as
bombarding civilian neighborhoods.
All the TV and radio stations and the two major newspapers
ignored the conference, to which they were invited. It was clear that all
of the enlisted media had decided to suppress the issue of war crimes.
That became quite clear when we submitted to Kol
Israel, the state-run radio network, a paid ad,
informing soldiers about their duty to refuse
"manifestly illegal orders" - literally
repeating the wording of the judgment of the
military court following the Kafr Kassem massacre of 1956. Kol Israel
refused to broadcast it. We asked the
Supreme Court to order the
Broadcasting Authority to air the ad, but the court decided that it was
unable to do so.
So we decided to take direct action. We distributed among
the soldiers a pocket manual, setting out the prohibitions
of the Geneva Convention, which was signed
by Israel. Among them: Executions without trial (called
"liquidations"), shooting of unarmed civilians,
torture, prevention of medical treatment, killing the
wounded (called "verification of death"), starvation, deportation.
"Protect yourself against indictment abroad!" the manual said,
"As a soldier in an occupation army, you are particularly exposed to
indictment for war crimes. Strict adherence to this manual will
protect you from arrest and indictment abroad!"
The manual concluded: "Soldier, remember! During your military
service, whether on regular or reserve duty, you must refuse
manifestly illegal orders. If you have witnessed a war crime, you are
duty-bound to report it!"
At the same time we sent individual letters to certain commanders and warned
them that their actions might lead in future to their indictment in an Israeli
or international court. (There is no statute of limitation on war crimes.)
In the letters, we relied solely on material published in the media, especially
on boasts made by the officers themselves, who practically
incriminated themselves.
Copies were sent to the media, all of
whom suppressed the
information, as well as to the chief legal officer of the army,
who did not take any action.
We warned these senior officers that the material collected by us would be put
at the disposal of an Israeli court, if, at any time in the future, the courts
start to fulfill their duty, or - as a last resort - to the International
Criminal Court in The Hague.
One may assume that it was one of these officers who
gave the sensational news to the military correspondent of
Haaretz. The liberal newspaper, which, until that day, had
ignored all the information about our action (as, indeed,
about almost all the activities of the peace movements) did
publish this story as the main sensation on its front page.
The result was a deluge of defamation. The telephone
lines of Gush Shalom activists were inundated
with curses and death threats. The radio talk shows competed
with each other over who would bring the most fanatical extremists to the
microphone, with the hosts egging them on and openly supporting them.
Gush activists were suddenly invited to TV and radio interviews, where they
were faced with interviewers who behaved like interrogators of prisoners in
some Shin-Beth cellar.
Of all the curses thrown at us, the most
instructive was "informers". It belongs to the ghetto
vocabulary. When Jews were a defenseless community, helplessly exposed to
the cruelty of Gentile authorities, a Jew who denounced another Jew
to the Goyim was considered the vilest of the vile. The fact that this word is
used today, after 54 years of having our state, when we have one of the
most powerful armies in the world, shows that many in our country still
live in the world of the ghetto. Verily, it seems that it is easier to get the
Jews out of the ghetto than to get the ghetto out of some Jews.
The judges of the International Criminal Court look to them like
a mob of drunken Cossacks intention carrying out a pogrom.
Our aim is, of course, prevention. We wanted to raise awareness of this
subject among the officers and soldiers. We hoped they and
their colleagues would take the war
crimes issue into consideration while making their
plans, supplying perhaps the feather that would turn the scales at the
moment of decision. We were resolved to turn this subject into a public
issue, so as to put pressure on the political and military leadership.
Actually, the campaign of incitement unleashed against us did
serve this very purpose. For a week now, war crimes have become a central
subject of the public discourse in Israel. No officer or soldier could
avoid giving serious consideration to his deeds or defaults in the occupied
territories. Many of them for the first time became aware of what
war crimes are and how they might affect their own lives.
From now on, this subject will not disappear from the agenda.
|
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Thank you for your understanding & with best wishes from Jerusalem Fr. Raed Abusahlia |