wfn.org | Episcopalians in ecumenical delegation seek understanding of Mideast conflict

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2000-240

Episcopalians in ecumenical delegation seek understanding of Mideast conflict 

by James Solheim

 (ENS) Episcopalians who joined a high-level ecumenical delegation to the Middle 
East in mid-December returned sobered by increased violence in the wake of the 
collapse of the peace process.

 "It was the most discouraging trip that I can remember," said Bishop Edmond 
Browning, who, with his wife Patti, was asked by Presiding Bishop Frank T. 
Griswold to represent the Episcopal Church on the delegation. In an interview 
Browning said he was "haunted by the sense of hopelessness in every face and 
in every place." Yet he was also struck, he said, by the deep sense of gratitude 
mixed with sadness among those who met with the delegation. "People were 
genuinely glad and grateful for our reaching out, especially in places like Bethlehem," 
where, Browning noted, city streets were empty at a time when they are usually filled 
with tourists. 

In conversation with a group of rabbis and Israeli peace activists on the last day 
of the visit, Browning expressed the frustrations of all who have supported peace 
efforts in the area-including members of the delegation.
 
"This is the most troubled I have ever been in my visits here," he said, adding that
it was "the most pastoral-and the most discouraging. My fear is that Jews cannot 
hear the fear of the Palestinians and vice versa. They compete in suffering rather 
than share in compassion." He said that it was obvious that Jews in Israel suffer 
under "an occupation of terror" and that it was crucial that each side "get in touch 
with the suffering of the other" to create links of "mutual awareness."	

In a meeting with Sheikh Muhammed Hussein in his offices near the Dome of the 
Rock, Browning explained that one purpose of the visit was "to build solidarity 
between us," one that includes all who are working for peace. 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 around the world. "It is our 
intention to continue the vigil until violent acts cease and peace is achieved," he said.

Violence erupted in the wake of a September 28 visit by Likud leader Ariel Sharon 
to what the Israelis call the Temple Mount and the Muslims call Noble Sanctuary, the 
site of two of Islam's holiest sites. This new intifada (Arabic for "shaking off"), unlike 
the one that emerged from the Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza in 1987, exploded 
largely because of deep-seated frustration by Palestinians, according to conversations 
with Palestinian religious and political leaders. 

Long Episcopal involvement

The Episcopal Church has long and deep involvement in the area, according to 
the Rev. Brian Grieves, director of the office of Peace and Justice Ministries, who 
helped put together the delegation and served as staff during the visit. 

"Since the first intifada in 1987, we have been led to look more deeply into the 
issues. We began with a series of General Convention resolutions dealing with 
human rights abuses by the Israelis and the illegal Israeli settlements in the West 
Bank and Gaza that have been an obstacle to peace efforts," he said. "And we 
looked at linkages with our foreign aid, and a companion resolution asking Israel 
to account for all foreign aid and seeking a reduction of military arms in the region."

Grieves said that the Episcopal Church has been "consistent in its support for 
a two-state solution and an open status for Jerusalem. In 1997, for example, 
a resolution called for the city to be the capital of two sovereign and independent 
states, Israel and Palestine," he said. "And last summer's General Convention 
addressed the issue of the right of return for Palestinian refugees."

In expressing its strong support for the peace process, Grieves explained,  the 
church has "addressed almost every major area related to the peace process. 
Also, from the outset, we have supported the right of Israel to live in peace. 
That support has never been in doubt, it has always been our position. At the 
same time we have sought to make sure that Palestinians get a fair shake in the 
peace process-including efforts to address their grievances going back to the 
creation of Israel in 1948 and the 1967 war when Israel seized the West Bank, 
including east Jerusalem."

He added, "We are talking about a real balance-overwhelming support for a 
solution that respects the rights of both sides, holding them both accountable. 
When we try to hold Israel accountable, however, some see that as anti-Israel 
and sometimes even anti-Semitic. But we have long distinguished between our 
deep concern about anti-Semitism and our criticism of Israeli policy. The two 
are not the same."

Untold stories

The Brownings have been deeply involved in the Mideast since they first visited 
in the early 1960s on their way to missionary service in Okinawa. Staying near the 
border that divided Jerusalem, they heard for the first time stories of the suffering 
of Palestinians. "Why haven't we heard these stories before?" wondered Patti 
Browning. Her encounters "stuck in my heart," and it was the beginning of her 
passionate concern for the people in the region.

During his tenure as presiding bishop, the Brownings visited the area again 
and concluded that the church had a role to play in the search for peace. 
"We realized it had to be a grassroots understanding, so we went to the 
provinces and asked them to get involved," said Patti Browning.

Shortly after his investiture, Frank and Phoebe Griswold made a pastoral visit 
to the area to underscore the church's continuing commitment to peace efforts. 
<A href=" http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens/98-2161.htm";> (ENS, May 8, 1998) </A>  
"At this point of transition in leadership, it is important to remind them of our consistent 
concern as a church," he said at the beginning of his visit. While the visit placed the 
issues in "sharper relief," he expressed dismay with the "hopelessness expressed 
over the stymied peace process-and the growing fear that, if the process doesn't 
move in a positive direction, there will be violence and destructive rage, further 
polarizing the population."

Griswold said that he was encouraged that there are Jewish leaders, both in 
the United States and the Middle East, who strongly support the peace 
process. "There are some heroic efforts to bridge the gap and make Israel 
a place of justice," he said in an interview at the end of his visit.

Hope in a hopeless time

Bishop Riah Abu el-Assal of the diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle 
East warmly welcomed members of the delegation to services at St. 
George's Cathedral December 10. Earlier he described the current impasse 
as "very, very serious" but quickly added, "The church continues to share 
hope in this hopeless time."

In his sermon at the cathedral, Bishop Vincent Warner of the diocese of 
Olympia said that "everyone we have met asks us to tell the truth and stop 
the suffering." He described encounters with an Orthodox Christian grandmother 
whose family home had been destroyed by Israeli rockets. "She told the truth 
for me, the reality that bombs or bullets wouldn't be able to destroy what she 
has-her faith in Jesus," Warner said.

The bishop and his wife Janice, the other Episcopal members of the delegation 
appointed by Griswold, have also been very active in supporting the peace process. 
Olympia shares a companion relationship with Jerusalem and the Middle East.
 
The Warners also noted the estrangement among the different sides of the conflict. 
During one conversation the bishop said, "We yearn for peace and justice but we 
seem cut off from each other. It is difficult to maintain direct communication, so 
the distortions, fears, stereotypes just increase. We have seen suffering but 
we need a balanced understanding."

The Warners said that their encounter with a nine-year-old girl in the area 
south of Gaza City where the Israelis had bulldozed an orchard and some 
homes put a "human face on the suffering." And that is why, he said, the delegation's 
final statement is "passionate and urgent." 

The December 13 statement said that the delegation had "heard the voices of people…seen 
the impact of Israeli settlements that strangulate and isolate the Palestinian people 
from one another…heard the terror in the voices of Israeli Jews and Palestinian 
Christians and Muslims alike…We believe that our faith calls us to tell the truth of 
what we have seen and that, unless we share with the world what we have seen, 
the stones will cry out. We are persuaded that the peace which must come for all-Israeli 
and Palestinian alike-can only be achieved on a firm foundation of justice."

During a stop at the diocesan-supported Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, Bishop 
Warner prayed for the hospital "where brokenness is made whole. Heal Palestine, 
heal Israel and heal us. What we have seen here is breaking our hearts and all we 
can do is turn to God."
A state of war
Warner issued a letter to his diocese on his return in which he said that the situation 
in the area is "almost indescribably horrible," with persecution of Christians, Muslims
"and others in the Arab community. What currently exists is a state of war." He asked 
all parishes in the diocese "to maintain a vigil for peace until this war in the Holy Land 
ceases, as a part of a nationwide and worldwide Vigil for Peace in the Middle East." 

He specifically asked parishes to remember companion parishes and institutions "in 
your weekly cycle of public intercessory prayer," and that prayers also be offered 
"for the leaders of Palestine, Israel, the United States, and the United Nations for 
a just and lasting resolution to this conflict."

He also urged the diocese's congregations "to engage in conversation with leadership 
of your nearby synagogues about the need for a united effort to come to a just resolution 
of this conflict in the Holy Land, which includes a sharing of religious freedom in Jerusalem." 
He also asked them to light a candle that would be "prominently present during worship 
services until peace is achieved to symbolize our ongoing prayer for peace with justice 
in the Holy Land."

Warner also invited congregations to consider financing projects in the area 
through Episcopal Relief and Development (formerly the Presiding Bishop's 
Fund for World Relief).

A good settlement for all

Members of the delegation agreed that peace would continue to elude the best efforts 
of everyone unless people backed away from their stereotypes and moved beyond the 
anger to what one participant called "a different vision," such as the one articulated by 
one of the Christian patriarchs in a conversation with the delegation.

 "What we need is not people who take sides but those who can see both sides-and 
will help seek and work for justice," Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah told his visitors. 

"We are near an abyss of further catastrophe," warned Rabbi Ron Kronish during a 
meeting with the delegation. "We need a good settlement for all. We must end occupation, 
not necessarily through force, but we must get out of this together."

His sentiments were echoed by Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church of Jordan and Palestine, who said, "We must see God in the other. Our
children are learning to fear and to hate. We must go for the deep reality, dealing with
 real problems with honest talk. We must act out of our faith to reach the hearts of each 
other, offering a different message than either bullets or mass media." And, he concluded, 
"We must pray unceasingly until the end of this travail." 

-James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and Information 
and served as press officer for the delegation.