wfn.org | Christians Will Not Desert Holy Land, Delegation Hears

[JerusalemRelOrgs@aol.com]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Ecumenical Delegation to Jerusalem
December 7-12, 2000]

Contact:  Jim Solheim, press officer
Notre Dame Center
Jerusalem
Tel: (973-2)627-9111

Episcopal News Service 
New York City, NY USA
Tel: 800-334-7626

Website: www.loga.org or www.loga.org/delegationhome.htm

Christian leaders are determined to continue 
their witness in Jerusalem, despite dwindling numbers

Sheikh Asks Outside Support as Protection from "Ethnic Cleansing"

By James Solheim

JERUSALEM, December 9, 2000--- "The number of Christians in Palestine is 
dwindling so much that the situation is becoming dangerous," Armenian 
Patriarch Torkom II told a visiting delegation of church leaders from the 
United States during a conversation today. 

"But we are here, and we will be here in the future," he said, "because the 
holy places are not museums."  

Yet he admitted that "it is a miracle that we have survived."  Christians are 
determined to "make our presence strong—and to make it heard and seen."
   
The Armenian Patriarch and other church leaders said that the churches are 
living in some difficult times.  "As Christian communities we have our 
problems.  So far we have not succeeded in stopping the violence—and this is 
not a local concern but one for the whole world."  The situation is 
complicated by "the presence of extremists on both sides."
   
Sometimes the difficulties are very direct.  The Armenians are one of the 
guardians of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the traditional 
site for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  During the procession to 
the church every other week, "We meet Jews who spit on us," occasionally 
provoking fights.  "These are realities," he said.
   
"Yet we have been here with a history of 1500 years and our tradition should 
be accepted," he added.
   
"Palestinians and Israelis must live together, whether we want it or not," 
the patriarch said.  The goal is for both peoples to live on their own lands 
in peace and brotherhood, he said.  "We want no one to suffer but to live in 
peace.  We have to learn, if we don't know already, how to live with each 
other and pray together."

Seeing both sides

"What we need is not people who take sides but those who can see both 
sides—and will help seek and work for justice," the Latin Patriarch Michel 
Sabbah told his visitors.
   
"The Palestinian people are under Israeli military occupation and they want 
to be given back their freedom, they want the occupation to end," he said, 
adding that their patience has worn very thin and there is great 
disappointment in the peace negotiations over the last seven years.
   
That frustration has fueled the recent eruption of violence, the patriarch 
contended.  The Intifada that erupted after the visit of Likud Party leader 
Ariel Sharon to the Haram al-Sharif  ("the Noble Sanctuary") where the Dome 
of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque are located was "very spontaneous, it 
surprised everyone."
  
In conversations with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and with 
Israeli leaders, Sabbah argues that the Palestinians returned to violence in 
order to be heard.  He urges Israelis to look at Palestinians "not only as 
troublemakers," because "Palestinians don't want to kill Israelis, they are 
asking only to be free—and that freedom is in the hands of the Israelis." 

The Israelis "may have won wars but they have not won the peace."  And that 
peace won't be won through violence.  He is calling for "another vision," one 
beyond the increasing cycle of violence.  Yet he warns Israelis that the 
Palestinians are determined to continue the struggle until they gain 
freedom—"and that could take many years."
   
"The peace of the region is in the hands of Israel alone," he said.  He is 
trying to convince the Israelis that they have the power to make peace.  "If 
we have peace, it will be thanks to the Israelis.  If we have no peace, it 
will be because of the Israelis."

Sabbah is convinced that Palestinians "could be good neighbors," citing the 
peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians within the State of Israel 
for the last 50 years.  Peace would also make the Israelis better neighbors 
with Arab nations in the region, he said.  "Until there is justice for the 
Palestinians, they will face continued opposition from the Arabs."
   
In response, the Rev. John McCullough of the National Council of Churches 
(NCCC) said, "We are aware that the rocks of this country are scarred, the 
soil is stained by blood.  We join you in grief but also in hope, believing 
that our God is all-powerful.  In time, peace will be established," he said.

Visitors bring encouragement

"I am sorry to tell you how difficult our situation is in Palestine with many 
villages and towns closed so that people can't come to Jerusalem to celebrate 
Christmas," said Metropolitan Vassilios in welcoming the delegation to the 
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. 

He added a grim note to the conversation by noting that "yesterday eight were 
killed."  He asked his visitors to do what they could to stop the violence 
"so that peace may prevail."  He added, "Violence is not good for the Holy 
Land, for both peoples," Israeli and Palestinian. 
  
"This is the first place that peace was proclaimed," added Metropolitan 
Vassilios, "but now there is no peace.  Either God does not hear us, or we 
are not deserving."  He said that it is not the role of the churches to 
propose political solutions but rather "to identify with those who have a 
just claim."  He is afraid that people are so filled with bitterness that 
they are not in a mood to listen to their leaders.
   
"We believe very strongly that this place is one where Christians, Muslims 
and Jews should be able to stand together and have freedom of expression," 
responded McCullough, executive director of the NCCC's Church World Service 
and Witness.

"We are sad when we hear about the migration of Palestinian Christians."
   
Both church leaders stressed how important visitors are for the churches 
because "they encourage us to bear the burden when it often seems that we are 
alone."  They urged delegation members to send other visitors to reinforce 
relationships.    

Prayer undergirds visit

"Our churches are bound together in prayer," said Bishop Herbert Chilstrom in 
his opening comments at an ecumenical discussion at the Greek Patriarchate. 

He described how the ecumenical movement in the U.S. "has been a miracle," 
and "as a result of the spirit of God walls are coming down.  We bring that 
as part of our witness to you."
   
The Rev. Peter Vasko of the Franciscans raised the issue of Christian 
emigration again, pointing out that there are only 160-170,000 Christians in 
a population of seven million in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. "Christians 
need to continue to remain here."
   
Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and 
Palestine) issued an urgent plea, "You must not allow the Christian witness 
to cease."  He said that the Christian churches here are "the local 
expression of Christianity worldwide."

Some members of the delegation felt embarrassment and expressed anger with 
the American role in providing military support for Israel.  "It is chilling 
to see the label of our country on the shells used to destory homes," said 
Donella Clemens of the Mennonite Central Executive Committee.
   
The delegation has been strengthened by the faithfulness and courage of the 
Christian communities in Jerusalem, and nurtured by its own spiritual life 
along the way.  Serving as chaplain, the Rev. Said Ailabouni led and 
encouraged prayer at traditional pilgrimage sites, such as the Church of the 
Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and also with families who 
have been forced to flee their homes because of Israeli shelling.

Same pain, same hope

"We Muslims and Christians live in this town as family, with the same pains 
and the same hopes," said Sheikh Muhammed Hussein in his opening comments to 
the delegation crammed into his offices near the Dome of the Rock.   "We have 
full respect for each other."
   
He echoed comments expressed by the Christian leaders about difficulties of 
expressing religion in a climate that lacks freedom.  To make his point, he 
pointed to the hassle by Israeli security in trying to prevent the delegation 
from entering the area—and an attempt to prevent delivery of some 
construction blocks.  He said that the delegation was "carrying for us hope" 
that would help overcome obstacles.
   
"As Palestinians we deserve to live in peace, just as other nations.  We have 
hopes that your churches will carry the message to government officials," he 
said.
   
Bishop Edmond Browning of the Episcopal Church said that one purpose of the 
visit was "to build solidarity between us."  He said that the churches 
represented in the delegation were committed to the peace process—and to 
concern for the victims of suffering, mentioning the Prayer Vigil for Middle 
East Peace that began December 3 in many churches across the nation (see 
www.loga.org). "It is our intention to continue the vigil until violent acts 
cease and peace is achieved," he said.
   
In response, the sheikh said, "It is well-known that we want international 
legitimacy."  That would include full implementation of the U.N. resolutions 
that say Jerusalem is occupied territory.  "We want full implementation, 
based on justice and truth."  Yet it is not clear, he said, what kind of 
solution the Israelis want.  "Sometimes it seems hopeless."
   
He said, "Our people will live side by side with the Israelis—but only with 
dignity."  He asked for help in pressuring the American Administration "to 
allow us to live with dignity as Palestinians."
   
As the conversation ended, he took the group through Dome of the Rock and Al 
Aqsa Mosque, offering historical and theological commentary.  He took the 
delegation on a dramatic walk, showing the path where Sharon and Israeli 
troops had crossed through the area, arguing that "only Prime Minister Barak 
could have stopped this provocation."  Only outside support would prevent 
what he called "an ethnic cleansing."
   
The delegation presented a crystal plate in the form of a dove, a symbol of 
peace in both religions. The sheikh expressed his gratitude for the visit and 
pointed to a large print on the wall of his office, expressing his hope that 
the dove and the peace that it represents would fly over the city of 
Jerusalem.
   
Schedule

The delegation will scatter Sunday morning to a variety of worship services 
in the area, including indigenous Palestinian parishes.  In the afternoon a 
meeting is scheduled with Faisal Husseini, representative of the Palestine 
Liberation Organization in Jerusalem, and later Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert 
and the apostolic delegate for the Vatican in the Holy Land.  

The day will conclude with a candle-light procession in Bethlehem.

* * *

--Jim Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and 
Information and is serving as press officer for the peace delegation. To 
follow the stories and photos check the Web site of the Lutheran Office for 
Governmental Affairs (LOGA): www.loga.org. 
    
For photos check:  United Methodist Photos - Delegation to Jerusalem