wfn.org | Pilgrims find peace tenuous in Holy Land

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Feb. 26, 1999        Contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-71BP{105}

NOTE: This story is accompanied by photographs and two sidebars, UMNS #106
and #107.  

By Shanta M. Bryant*

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (UMNS) - United Methodists on a two-week pilgrimage to
the Holy Land not only touched the sacred stones of  biblical times but also
heard cries for peace from the "living stones" of today, the Palestinians
and Israelis who co-exist in the tense region.

The tenuous peace in the Middle East was apparent as the world community
grieved the death of King Hussein of Jordan, a peacemaker and key figure in
negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. 

"With the instability of the countries, we don't know what will happen in
Jordan with the (leadership) change and in Israel with our government. You
never know," said Ann Katz, an American-born Israeli. Katz directs tours of
Old Gesher, one of the first Jewish settlements in Israel, located on the
border with Jordan.

Twenty-seven pilgrims met with Katz and others during a visit to Jordan,
Israel "proper" and Palestinian-controlled areas in early February. The
group consisted primarily of United Methodists. They participated in an
11-day biblical and conflict resolution studies program and heard different
perspectives on the region's problems. The trip ended with a three-day
mission project option. The pilgrimage was sponsored by the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society's United Methodist Seminars on National and
International Affairs and the Society for Biblical Studies. 

Uncertain peace has marred the region for centuries with land claims from
the Philistines, the Israelites, the Romans, the Persians, the Crusaders,
the Turkish empire, the British. "Here, history is not part of the past;
it's wedded into the present," said Peter Miano, executive director
of the Society for Biblical Studies and a United Methodist clergyman, who
led the pilgrimage. "Events that occurred 1,000 years ago are about today.
For the people of the Near East, 1,000 years is one day. History is alive,
history is present."

King Hussein's funeral gathered rival Middle East leaders, who otherwise
would have most likely refused to be together in the same place. 

"The only hope was in the death of King Hussein" bringing people together,
said Cedar Duaybis, an executive at Sabeel, a Palestinian Liberation
Theology Center in Jerusalem. "Long-time enemies were meeting, and people
spoke together. Maybe peace with Syria will start again. Maybe peace talks
(between the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority) will
start again." 

The impasse of peace talks is partially rooted in the contemporary land
claims of Palestinians and Jewish settlers, stemming from the British
Mandate in 1984 to establish the state of Israel, a homeland for Jews. That
resulted in the forced displacement of more than 800,000 Palestinians. 

"If those who left 2,000 years ago have the right to come back after 2,000
years, what about those who left 50 years ago? Are they denied the same
right?" asked the Rev. Kamal Farah, a Palestinian Episcopal bishop and head
of the Theodor Schneller School in Amman, Jordan. 
 
Jews have the right to their own homeland, said Farah, who holds Israeli
citizenship. "What the Jews have, Palestinians should have as well, he
insisted. "We are for peace, as well. We have nothing against Jews or Arabs.
We speak out in faith for justice, peace and reconciliation."

The bishop sees Christians as a bridge among Muslims and Jews. The Middle
East Council of Churches, a regional Christian organization that includes
Catholics, speaks out against Israeli government policies that adversely
affect "those under oppression and under injustice," Farah said. "My role as
a Christian is to speak out and remind (people) that all human beings are
equal and that the only solution is peace and justice."

Elias Jabbour, Palestinian founder and director of the House of Hope, an
international peace center in Shefar'Am, Israel, said the Israeli military
confiscated his family's home and forced them to flee their ancestral
village.

In the 1940s, after hearing news that Jews, who were persecuted in Europe,
were settling in Palestine, Jabbour said he told the newcomers: "Welcome
back. But, sir, I want to live with you." In response, he explained: "We
were told, 'You have to get out, this is a Jewish state. This land belongs
to us, not you, Elias Jabbour.'

"I had no problem that the Jews had come to live with me," said Jabbour, a
Christian and peace activist, who also believes in Israel's right to exist.
"The problem came when they came to live without me. The Middle East issue
is to live with and to live without." 

The House of Hope was created 20 years ago "out of pain and suffering" to
foster cooperation between Arabs and Jews, he said. In addition, the center
has started a "peace kindergarten" for children to learn the principles of
peace and conflict resolution.

"We are still exclusive," said Rabbi Jeremy Milgrom, an Israeli and member
of a group called Rabbis for Human Rights. "It's an ethnic democracy. The
democracy functions fairly well, but it's not for everyone. It's designed
for one group, the Jews. Palestinians are marginalized. They get the
crumbs."

Milgrom has worked for peace in Israel and forged alliances with the
Palestinian people. "Since we (Jews) are holding most of the cards, we have
an obligation to share most of the cards."

Not all Israeli Jews agree. Among them is Jack Kern, an American-born
computer sales representative and Israeli settler living on the West Bank.

Arabs in Israel have the same rights as Jews because they can hold municipal
elections and have representatives to the Knesset, the country's legislative
body, Kern said.
 
As for Palestinians living in poor, substandard conditions in refugee camps,
he said: "Nobody is stopping them from leaving. They have the same
opportunities for jobs, the same opportunities for education."

The process of change in Israel won't be smooth, Milgrom said. However, he
sees a peaceful settlement in the near future. The change will have to begin
with a redistribution of land, he said, conceding: "A lot of what we have is
not ours."

"In general, the Palestinian entity will become a Palestine state. I think
everybody knows that," said Arnie Sasportas, an Israeli and the reception
desk manager for Ein Gev kibbutz in the Golan area.

Both Israelis and Palestinians hope negotiations will be revived so that
long-term peace can be achieved in the region. 

"I hope it will start back with the next election" for Israeli prime
minister in May, Sasportas said. "Extremists are running the country. Peace
is possible. Peace is the best thing for the economy."  

"We have to have peace and live together in the Middle East," said Bishop
Farah. "There's room for everybody."

# # #

*Bryant is program director of communications and associate editor of
Christian Social Action magazine for the United Methodist Board of Church
and Society.

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