News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 184 - Saturday, 21 December 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
As we are at
three days away from Christmas, I don’t want to disturb you too much because
you have the right to enjoy your time in good things not on bad news like what
we usually send you, therefore, I send you only the following articles and
stories hoping that you will have the time to read it.
If you want to
know what normally goes on in Bethlehem at Christmas I invite you to visit the following
link (http://www.lpj.org/Nonviolence/Raed/Olive/Branch221201.htm
) of last year’s schedule which normally should be the same, but I don’t know
exactly if the circumstances in Bethlehem area will allow it to happen, since
the whole area is still under curfew as you see hereby, and since it seems that
they will not withdraw completely during Christmas but they speech about “minimum
of visibility and maximum of security”, which means that this will be the first
Christmas under such a difficult and strange situation.
Many voices,
even in Bethlehem, are rising and asking the Patriarch not to go to Bethlehem
if they don’t withdraw completely and open it, but I think that he will still
go, because he insist on the right to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem even if
it is under curfew, this is part of our religious freedom and right, and part
of the Status Quo. But, it seems that the mood in Bethlehem among the people is
different, they don’t have even the appetite to go out from their houses to
celebrate because they don’t have joy in and peace in their hearts.
But, I also insist
that we have the right to pray and celebrate Christmas, especially the children
have the right to enjoy a happy time with a small gift from Santa Claus…
Therefore, in my parish Taybeh, we will have Monday a special Christmas mass
for the children which will be followed by a small party with gift distribution
for 400 children from the village. Next Tuesday evening we will have the
midnight Christmas mass with all the parish as usual, and we will read the
prayers of many of our parishioners who wrote it on a small doves of paper and
which are actually hanged all around the inside of the church… Every single
prayer from the 500 prayers I received it full of invocation for peace, which
means that everybody is dreaming to have peace, because peace it the best gift that
we can ask for and hope to obtain from the Prince of Peace our Lord Jesus
Christ.
You will find
hereby the following documents:
1)
Letter from
Bethlehem (42) by Toine van Teeffelen in which he describes the situation in
the town during the last days.
2) Provisional list of non-violent
activities in the
3)
George
Ghattas also tells us more about “Bethlehem lives”
4) “The culture of peace” By Issa Kassissieh.
5) Voices in the Wilderness” are the voices
of Martheme and Elizabeth Sandars.
6) The fact that under the guise of Security
Israel gets away with every thing inspired Samia Khoury to write an “Ode to
Security”.
And we say that
the real security comes from the secure harts only.
I extend to
all of you my best wishes of a blesses Christmas and a peaceful new year Fr. Raed
Letter from Bethlehem
(42)
Toine van Teeffelen
December 19, 2002
This last week
Bethlehem had a period of three "half-open" days, from Saturday 12
till Tuesday 15 with opening hours from eight in the morning till four in the
afternoon, then three successive days with a 24-hour curfew, and now Friday and
Saturday again opening hours from eight till four. To make things more
complicate, it has become customary to all the time face rumours and changes in
the opening announcements. For instance, Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning
gave us no less than three changes: first an announcement that next day would
have opening hours, then a change into full curfew, then a new announcement of
opening hours, and then a change once again into curfew. After expressing regret
for the changes, the Palestinian liaison committee declared, according to the
local TV subtitling: "You may choose yourself whether you want to go out
during the curfew or not." In fact, Beit Sahouris went early morning to
town assuming that the town was open. That was not the case, and the army
started to collect them in the market. All over the area, administrators went
crazy. School buses went out to come back without the kids. Today it happened
that military jeeps – always with their ugly creaky sounds, sirens and honking
- announced that the closing hour would not be at four but at one-thirty. But
at one-thirty everybody stayed on the street and the military turned out not to
enforce the curfew that was supposed to take place. Obviously, it's all a play
with people's nerves. Welcome to the land where you cannot plan, even not for
the next hour.
Briefly after
closing time, Mary, together with Jara, at one point found herself on the
street facing a military jeep. She had a couple of plastic bags in the arm and
told one of the soldiers that she just went out of the house to throw away the
garbage. When that story didn't look credible because the bags were full of
food, she improvised once again and told the other soldier that she went out to
buy medicines for Jara. "Go and buy your things and turn immediately back
home," was the response. Mary: "Yes, tomorrow." Jara, half
anxious, half proud, went to relate the happenings to her aunt and grandmother.
Next day I was
working at home when the bell rang. Two men and a child were standing in the
porch of our house to hide themselves for the military who were making checks
opposite 'Azza camp. I invited the passers by to come in but there was no need.
Later on Mary told me not to invite strangers to come in, never. "They may
be political activists and in case soldiers would find them in our house, our
house would be destroyed." Just a few days ago it happened to a well-known
peace activist in Beit Jala involved in Palestinian-Israeli exchanges that
without his knowledge a tenant in his house had given refuge to Tanzim
militants. His five-storey house was on the verge of being completely destroyed
(in fact, the walls of his garden already were, as various pieces of furniture
inside) when, according to Haaretz, at the very last moment the American
consulate paid a frantic phone call to the army who then stopped the
demolition. This peace activist fortunately maintained relations with many
people abroad including Hillary Clinton.
A few days ago,
during curfew time, I noticed outside two cars parked in the middle of the
street. Apparently their drivers were arrested, the car keys confiscated, and
the cars left exactly at the place where they were forced to stop. The present
curfew is, I feel, a little different from the previous ones in spring and
summer. More people go out, don't always take the curfew seriously, but the
army also reacts stronger with arrests, beatings, teargas and – in case of cars
being stopped – the confiscation of car keys. Or the car keys are thrown in the
bushes or in another inaccessible place. Also, more shops open their doors than
during the previous curfew periods. In reaction soldiers enter shops, fire
teargas or throw things on the ground. This happened for instance a week ago in
a supermarket on the way to Beit Jala after the owner dismissed a remark of the
soldiers to "only sell to Christians."
All in all, it
is no surprise that few people are in the mood for the Christmas celebrations.
The main feelings are sadness and anger. For the coming week various civil
society organizations have in fact made announcements for non-violent prayers,
demonstrations and marches on December 24 (the entry of the Patriarch into
Bethlehem), December 25 (the candlelight demonstration from Beit Sahour to the
Jerusalem-Bethlehem checkpoint), December 28 (march of the Innocent Children)
and December 31 (Justice and Peace march inside Bethlehem).
Provisional list of non-violent
activities in the Bethlehem
December 24 –
Tuesday December 24:
From
The organizers of this event are the
following Bethlehem-based organizations: Holy Land Trust, Arab Educational
Institute,
Wednesday December 25:
This traditional candle light march will
start from the Greek Orthodox Shepherds Field's site in Beit Sahour at
Saturday December 28:
March of the Innocent Children. The 28th
of December is historically recognized as the Day of Innocents, the day that
King Herod slaughtered the children of
Tuesday December 31:
Like last year, official and civil
organizations will make an appeal to join a Justice and Peace march on the last
day of the year. The silent march will offer a channel for the
Bethlehem
lives
George Ghattas
It is almost a
month now...On November 22nd they declared Bethlehem a military closed area.
The curfew was imposed on more than 140000 inhabitants for reason that are
still vague up to this very moment. For 28 days our lives have been switched
off and on to the amplified announcement of an Israeli Jeep arrogantly
patrolling the empty street of Bethlehem and announcing to the People of
Bethlehem "The curfew is on" more often than the "curfew is
off", actually it seldom announces it off...
28 days have passed and we are still arguing if they will lift up the curfew
during Christmas or not... It is Bethlehem we say, we comfort ourselves, It is
Christmas celebrated all around, the Israeli would not want to be seen as those
who curfew Bethlehem, we argue, the Pope will intervene, the heads of churches
will complain, we explain, the curfew will be lifted don the 22nd, 23rd and
24th, we wish, they will pull out and lift up the curfew during Christmas and
the will come back after orthodox Christmas, we dream, they will not allow our
president to participate, they confirm. It is amazing how we actively
participate and the discussion level, the thinking and the argument but we
actually cannot decide on anything that involves our life but to sleep! I say
sleep because we are sometimes denied even the basic food to eat and the water
to drink. Even that became a Luxury.
Today at 6 am the jeep came back once again, "the curfew is still on, o
people of Bethlehem" ... "the curfew is on till further notice
"... He chose to sound the siren on, as if his amplified voice was not
enough. In your face, o people of Bethlehem the curfew is still on.
A month ago we worked 24/7. Too many new ideas, new programs. Projects that
better our education structure, others that provide roads to villages, some
that educate our community more that create employment to the unemployed. We
closed up 23 project and planned for another 17. Soon after Christmas, we said,
In January we will start the housing project in Bethlehem, the school
rehabilitation in Jifna Ein Arik Aboud, Taybeh, and Ramallah, the community
center in Beit Sahour, the one in Beit Jala, the craft program in Bethlehem
area, soon after Christmas we said, we will have one beautiful year.
A week before the 22 nd of November we actually acted as normal human beings.
WE ARE ENTITLED TO. We remembered yesterday, lived the day and We could plan
for tomorrow; dream of a better future, think of our schools, our community of
our city, enjoy moments of achievement and success, have a working lunch,
invite friends over to dinner, play with the kids, romance with our loved ones,
do some shopping, pray and attend mass in preparation for Christmas. A week
before the 22nd of November Bethlehem lived.
Now we are a week before Christmas, we are curfewed to our homes and concrete
walls. Our wishes dreams and positive thoughts are narrowed down to 4 hours
every week. We spread out in all directions, we zoom into shops and zoom out of
traffic to get the shopping done. We divide up lists and locations. The mobiles
are on just in case Milk is announced somewhere else, just in case the bakery
is full, the line is too long, or the Jeep is back!
Bethlehem lives and dies by an amplified voice of an 18 year old. I say it
dies, for any city whose streets are not lived to the choice of its inhabitants
is morally dead!
We will have their hair done a week before Christmas, Nahida said a month ago,
Nadeem and Kameel agreed. They lifted up the curfew three times now, and we
still could not have their hair done. They still look cute, but they see and
hear less nowadays!. Nadeem has a tooth problem, too many sweets I think....
That will have to wait too.
On December 24th Nadeem will put on the new two piece you bought him and Kameel
will put on the Danish jumper, we smiled. We will go down to my father shop in
the old city and watch his beatitude as he passes by. Kameel loves the scouts
and he was only a year last Christmas he will enjoy it even better this time.
Nadeem can go with his cousin, we said, he can go an play at the neighboring
Assyrian club, they have great Christmas games for kids, we remembered. Who
will dress up as Santa this time, we dreamed. Will we gather up at my parents
house and have all them 17 sons, nephews and nieces, we thought, or better if
we all go to the Catholic Action club, they are having a big Christmas
gathering for more than 1500 kids, we planned.
Shall they allow us to celebrate we argue, will they let us pray, we wish, will
they have a tank at the square during midnight mass, we fear. Every body is
speculating on our behalf, they will lift up they curfew on the 24th
and 25 the, they must. They will look bad, they just cannot, they will at least
lift up the curfew during the day and on the night of the 24th, surely they
will. Well ... they should have withdrawn ten months ago. They should have
reduced their measures against the whole population 26 moths ago. They should
have withdrawn to 67 borders 35 years ago too!
It is only a week to Christmas, and we only prayed once, they allowed us one
Sunday, seven hours this time. The church was full, kids all over, families,
mothers and fathers. Our Parish Priest at St. Catherine spoke of the pain we go
through, the ordeals we have to endure, but also the blessings we have, the
show of endurance we have to portray, the steadfastness we have to keep. That
day Bethlehem lived, not because we were given seven hours, but because it is
from this very place, the promise of life was given to the world, from this
very place, a new testament with God began, where we all became sons and
daughters of god. This very same place that is under curfew now lives in the
celebration of all the people around the world. this cannot be stooped nor
changed by any jeep, any microphone or any political statement by any wise or
fool. Bethlehem lives in the hymns, songs thoughts, prayers, and dedications of
millions. Bethlehem lives in the hearts of our kids who still wish for a happy
Christmas, in the hearts of those who love, those who care, those who dare and
say the truth.
Holy Christmas.
George
The
culture of peace
By Issa Kassissieh
For
over two years, the ongoing violence and the resulting human suffering have
eroded support for peace to alarmingly low levels. Hatred and mistrust have
prevailed and the word “them“ and “us” replaced one of the main basic elements
of the
Such
common conceptions take us back to the era of the zero-sum game, specifically
pre-Madrid peace conference built in culmination of a deep historic conflict.
The present misperceptions and negative stereotype images between the two
peoples have resulted in deepening the psychological barriers further.
At
this point, and among the peace activists from both sides there is utter
conviction that images dominating their public opinion are prime obstacles to
political change, which is thus dysfunctional to the peace process. As there is
an understanding among the brave people that it is imperative to recognize that
occupation is the main source of instability morally corrupting the occupier
while oppressing the occupied.
The
parameters of a durable peace -peace making- have become well known from the
grass-root level up to the gates of the White House. The vision of a two states
solution, based on equity, parity and total recognition of rights is the only
recipe for peace and good neighborly future relations. In other words, the culture
of peace to be cultivated, should address first the political differences and
the economic disparity between both sides, or else the vision we aspire for
will be swallowed by the vicious circle of bloodshed. As I understand it, a
culture of peace respects the rights of everyone, economic as well as
political. Hence, this cannot be assessed in isolation of the level of
democratization within society. The mission of the culture of peace is to grow
a body of shared values, attitudes, behaviors and ways of life based on
non-violence, respect for fundamental rights, freedom, understanding, tolerance
and solidarity with the full participation and empowerment of women.
Within
this context, and in tackling the fundamental rights of both sides, Israelis
and Palestinians can overcome the psychological barriers of fear and mistrust,
through the process of advocating dialogue, peace education and cooperation.
But
again, Palestinian grievances must be addressed first in an equitable manner,
so that justice, and only that, will constitute the solid foundation for the
kind of peace and security, which future generations would be willing to defend
profoundly.
Within
this context, it is high time Palestinian and Israeli peace activists tackle
seriously the real roots of the current intifada, which resulted in the present
serious rift between the two societies. Added to this, it is essential during
this time to lay the groundwork through an acceptable peace with justice, so
that it will constitute the foundation for a new and lasting paradigm in
Arab-Israeli relations. Moreover,
tremendous and serious efforts are needed to intensify the campaign in public
diplomacy. Mentioning this leads us to the idea of employing a professional
Public Relations firm as well media professionals to assist the peace activists
to better sell the message across their societies. In particular, it is
essential to tackle the human dimension of the conflict in a consistent effort
to rebuild confidence-building measures in the hope of creating a conducive
environment for political reengagement towards mutual trust.
It is also the responsibility of the
Quartet and other world capitals to assist both parties to deescalate the
current crisis and facilitate the return to the negotiating table to conclude
the final status issues and to end the conflict. The international community
has a role in assisting both sides to overcome the psychology of fear and
mistrust and extend a hand to disseminate peace education, a culture of peace,
and strengthen civil society linkages on both sides. It remains to be said that
donors should work with the Palestinian civic society institutions in an honest
manner and not just with a number of heads of institutions in the hope of
encouraging an alternative Palestinian leadership. Respecting the will of
others, honesty and transparency are all part of the culture of peace that the
third party should adopt as well.
Laity
Committee in the Holy Land ( LCHL ) is an interest group of Palestinian
laity Christians from all denominations seeking to activate the Christian
role in the general aspects of the Palestinian life. Jerusalem - P O Box 19055,
Ph. 050 545 179, Fax 6271574 . Website - http://www.HolyLandChristians.com
Voices in the Wilderness
http://come.to/zababdeh
December 19, 2002
Hadassah
Hospital sits atop a hill to the west of Jerusalem. From its vantage we can see
the Jerusalem forest, covering nearby hilltops with familiar deep-green pine.
Hillsides facing the hospital are striated with gray stone walls, etching out
old terraces and property boundaries for the olive groves within. Down below,
the old mosque tower and church steeples rise above the village of Ein Kerem,
celebrated as the birthplace of John the Baptist. We had made the trip to
Hadassah for some medical tests for Elizabeth. Though the recurring
headaches have subsided, her history gave us enough pause to be cautious. The
prayers and well wishes of friends and family have sustained us, and Fr.
Aktham, the school principal in Zababdeh, has been gracious with our absence.
Once at Hadassah, we had a full day to kill, with one test early in the morning
and the other late at night. We had brought papers to grade, books to
read, and knitting to knit, so that was no problem. But we also wanted to
explore a bit, so late that morning we made the half-hour walk from the
hospital's perch down to the village of Ein Kerem.
The name means "generous spring" in Arabic, and until 1948, it was an
Arab village. Its story is like the stories of the hundreds of
de-populated towns in what is now Israel. In 1948, during the Israeli War
of Independence/Palestinian Catastrophe, most Palestinian civilians hoped to
wait out the war. Many of them changed their minds on April 9th, when
Zionist paramilitary fighters attacked the village of Deir Yassin.
Official reports recorded great cruelty: the killing of whole families, piles
of bodies, parading male villagers through streets of a nearby Jewish town
before killing them, and possible rape and subsequent murder of village
girls. These reports paled in comparison to how the story grew in
gruesomeness in the Arab press and spread among Palestinians like
wildfire. The Deir Yassin Massacre was a major factor in the mass exodus
of two-thirds of a million Palestinians from their homes, unknowingly destined
to be refugees still, half a century later. Vocally condemned by
mainstream Zionist leaders, the cruelty of Deir Yassin didn't repeat itself
during the war. Arguably, it didn't have to, as the goal of its
perpetrators was largely achieved: cleansing the land of its Palestinian
population. At the time in Ein Kerem, the men of the village kept
vigilant watch. As Zionist forces approached the village in the middle of
one night, the alarm call was sounded and nearly everyone fled, taking what
they could. Most went to Beit Jala initially, near Bethlehem, but are now
scattered, like the rest of the Palestinian diaspora, all over the world,
denied the right to return to their ancestral homes. One Arab family in
Ein Kerem decided not to flee. They, and people like them, are the
"Arab Israelis," Palestinian by ethnicity, Israeli by
nationality. The rest of the town's homes were classified as
"abandoned" by the new Israeli government, and new immigrants flooded
into the properties.
A walk through the modern village, now something of an artists' colony, reveals
some of what the town must once have been. The narrow streets and
haphazard building betray its origins, as do the architectural features of most
of the homes: thick walls made of large honey-colored stones, domed roofs,
stone arches over narrow passageways to courtyards. Israeli flags and
Jewish surnames decorate the mailboxes now, and large Soviet-style cement
housing complexes loom over the town, on land which no doubt once produced
olives harvested by Ein Kerem's families. The mosque still stands,
recently restored, though the daily prayer doesn't sound. The two Franciscan
monasteries - one marking the place of John the Baptist's birth, the other
marking the site that Mary and Elizabeth met - are still functioning, as are
the French and Russian monasteries. The Rosary Sisters' orphanage is
still there, as is the Greek Orthodox Church. The latter, once a parish
church, stands repaired but locked and silent. There is no need of parish
ministry here, save the one remaining Catholic family. The place is what
the rest of this land threatens to become, a museum dedicated to the distant
memory of a thriving Christian population. Walking through this town,
knowing little of its history at the time, we still felt a great weight of
sadness for what once was and what will never be again. We pictured in
our minds the families as they must've fled, fearing for their children's
safety, expecting to return quickly, but having to start all over again; the
Palestinian civilian population paying the price of Europe's brutal
anti-Semitism, generations of family heritage wiped out in a single night.
It's not hard to imagine, in the mingled bloodline that makes up Palestinian
heritage, that among the ancestors of Ein Kerem's 1948 refugees were some who
knew young John. It seemed fitting to walk these streets during the
Advent season, because Ein Kerem's native son was, in the words imprinted in
the grotto at the Franciscan Church, the precursor of Christ. He was
preparing the way of the Lord. The picture in our minds of this New
Testament prophet is that of the Byzantine icons, the young man with wild hair
and rough clothes, eating strange foods and saying strange things. His
was that voice in the wilderness, that lone word of true repentance facing a
tide of Pharisaic self-righteousness. His charge to the people of God was
one of self-reflection, of self-critique, of self-awareness. His baptism
was not a cleansing of the body - anyone who has seen the Jordan River knows
that - so much as a cleansing of the heart. Our purity comes from our
repentance, our welcome of the Prince of Peace comes from removing the speck in
our own eye.
As these words take form back in Zababdeh, the pre-dawn call to prayer sounds
from the mosque, breaking the quiet that has fallen over the village in the
last hour or so. It has been a stressful morning, a neighbor's house
surrounded by soldiers and lit up with flashlights and snipers' lasers like a
Christmas tree. We can only guess at what is happening, but the sounds of
Israeli gunfire, jeeps, tanks, and helicopters have woken us earlier than we
would like. Quiet has retaken the village, but the soldiers have not yet
left. The mosque's call breaks through the silence - somehow different
this morning. Its words are the same ones we've heard five times a day
since we've been here, but gone is the distortion of a primitive sound
system. It's not a familiar tune, either. Rather, it sounds a
yearning, as if calling out to God for an end to this madness - an end to
death, an end to bloodshed, an end to enmity.
Or perhaps that's just interfaith projection on our parts. We are weary of this
world and its violence. And we are angry with our growing tribalism, our
circling of the wagons against the world which is our enemy. There is a need,
among Western nations and Eastern, among all of the religions of the world, to accept
John's invitation to repentance. We need a chorus of Muslim voices crying that
the intentional slaughter of civilians, in any and all circumstances, is evil.
We need a chorus of Christian voices to silence the beating of the war drums,
to stem the tide of pretense that war is only a game, that the only blood that
is precious is Western blood. We need a chorus of Jewish voices who are willing
to speak out against the country perpetrating racism, colonialism, and
slaughter in their name. Maybe then, maybe, we can prepare ourselves for the
coming of the Prince of Peace. Prepare the way of the Lord.
Salaam al-Masiih (the peace of Christ),
Elizabeth and Marthame
ODE TO SECURITY
By Samia Khoury
December 20, 2002
In
thy name O Security
Israel
violates human rights with impunity
And
turns the UN to an absolute mockery
Who
dares challenge Israel’s “democracy”
In
the midst of an Arab World “autocracy”
No
matter how just our cause is for our inalienable rights
Israel
has all the power and money to manipulate the tides
In
thy name O Security
Israel
resorts to arbitrary arrrests and
extra judicial killing
To
confiscating land, razing groves and house demolishing
It
determines who comes and goes for
the Christmas celebration
Even
Bethlehem like the day Christ was born is under occupation
As
victims of racism, Israelis do as they
please
Neither
East nor West, do they need to appease
In
thy name O Security
Israel’s
judicial system has become absolutely impotent
Since
all Palestinians are guilty unless proven innocent
For
family reunification requests Israel’s
security has secret files
Nowhere
in the world lawyers can’t see them and refute the lies
That
is why the Israeli Judge has really nothing to say
But
to reject every application with an absolute nay
In
thy name O Security
We
are all victims because you continue to be a priority
Occupation
breeds hatred and is no guarantee for security
Enough
is enough. Please Israelis go back home to your own borders
Implement
UN resolutions, and live peacefully with us as neighbors
Maybe
it is time for your leaders and our leaders to step aside
And have us Women run the region and let justice and peace abide
|
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