|
Other Letters:
Index
No 25-30
No 31-36
No
37-41
No
42-48
No 49-60
No 61-69
No 70-79
No 80-89
No 90-100
No 101-109
No 110-119
No 120-129
No 130-139
No 140-149
No 150-159
No 160-169
No 170-179
No 180-189
No 190-199
No 200-209
No 210-219
No 220-229
No 230-239
No 240-249
No 250-259
No 260-270
|
Circular Letter No 30
3rd March 2001
A life in the day of ….Sunday 25th February.
Your sins find you out. The evening of 24th, I realised that with one thing and another, -
visitors, Sabeel Conference Meetings, work etc. I had not in fact arranged for the
printing of the Sunday Service Sheet! So, an early start on Sunday morning, and down to
the Hospice. As I parked the car, there was a red half-orb rising over the hills of
Jordan, into a clear blue sky. A wonderful sight, and not one I imagine that I will see
all that often. It once again forcibly reminded me of how small this area of the world
actually is – Amman, - a world away in terms of land access – is just a few
miles down the road.
Anyway, I digress. Service at 1000 hours. A few more in the congregation than usual –
15 students from Jerusalem University College. They are young Americans, and come from
fairly conservative theological church backgrounds. St Andrew’s will be quite
different for them, in theology, in worship, in prayer, in singing. They are not able to
come every Sunday, as they have field trips in connection with their studies about the
Land of the Bible. It is good that they come at all! We celebrated Communion – as is
the practice on the last Sunday of the month. Three Elders distributed the Elements –
Heather, who is a teacher at Tabeetha School, English and has been here for 20 years;
Jenifer, who teaches at the YWCA in East Jerusalem, and whose husband’s contract is
expiring in mid-year, English married to a Scot and an excellent teacher for the Country
Dancing Class (dances with Molly Sturrock’s son) and has been here 4 years; Layne,
who shortly will be ordained by the Presbyterian Church of the USA, and currently is the
PCUSA’s Co-ordinator of its volunteers in the West Bank, and has been here for about
5 years.
Before the service, Rizek Abusharr (The Session Clerk) told me of the death of Lucien
Harris, the husband of one of my colleagues on the Board of the Jerusalem International
YMCA. Ruth Harris originated in New York, but has been in Israel for 40 years. She was the
first person whom I met on the Board, and was very gracious to me. Her husband had not
been well for a while, and when I saw her on Tuesday last week she was a bit worried about
him. Hearing that the funeral was Sunday afternoon, I thought I would go. As Rizek was
going, I went with him. Alice, his wife, also was going, so Joan came along with me.
The traffic was horrendous, and it took us over an hour to do less than 3 miles. However,
we got there before Ruth, so all was well. There is a short of covered rectangular hall,
with a low catafalque at one end, and a podium behind it. A row of bench seats is along
the side wall. Otherwise, people stand. There are some black-coated, hatted, officials of
the Cemetry Company, who are responsible for the “routine” prayers and
organisation. A eulogy was given by Rizek. In the present situation, where Jew fights
Arab, it was one of the more remarkable aspects of the funeral that it was an Arab
Christian who was invited to speak at the funeral of an English Jew who had come to live
in this land over 40 years ago, and whose presence in the land is one of the reasons for
the current conflict.
The body is laid on a stretcher, it is wrapped in a shroud, and covered with a black and
white prayer shawl. At the conclusion of the rather rapid prayers, it is carried out by
the staff and friends and placed in the back of a Transit van to be taken to the grave, 2
or 3 minutes’ drive away. We follow in cars, park and then follow the bearers of the
body to the grave. The cemetery is on the top of a hill, from which you look down on the
Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road. Graves which have been used are covered over with a stone
rectangular “box” – about 65 cms high. On the top is usually written the
name and date of death of the person buried there, but little else. I have never seen, for
instance, a picture on a grave stone. The family and the mourners gather round the grave.
With the Attendant reciting prayers, the body is gently lowered off the stretcher and
placed in a concrete box already prepared at the bottom of the grave. Once it is in place,
small slabs are placed over the top of the box to protect the body, and then the soil is
filled in, by cemetery staff, then by members of the family and by friends. Final prayers
were said by the sons of Lucien, and the formal part of the burial came to an end. Ruth
said a few words, one of the family spoke, a grandchild also spoke, and then we started to
leave. I found it a very simple, but moving, experience.
From there, we drove the 35 kms to Lod – not to far from the Airport. Samuel Fanous
lives there with his family. Samuel is the Episcopal priest in Lod, is the Chaplain of
Tabeetha School, and serves on the School Board. He has also been involved with the work
of the Church of Scotland through the Partnership Committee which brings together CofS
staff and Episcopal staff.
Last Friday afternoon I had driven down to Lod to attend the funeral of his wife, Lily. A
vibrant young woman in her late 30’s, she had been found dead in her home when Samuel
brought the older children home from school. The youngest one, who was at home with Lily,
was becoming agitated and wondering why Mummy would not wake up. As you can imagine, the
church was packed, and people were standing outside. It was a service in Arabic, following
what I imagine was the Liturgy of the Anglican Church, and was moving in its simplicity
and in the restrained but sincere way in which the congregation joined in the prayers,
responses, and hymns. As I looked round the congregation – in the church it was
mostly women – I could not help but recall the refrain repeated so often by
representatives of the Israeli government in the early days of the Intifada, that
Palestinian women sent their children out to be killed in the demonstrations. Here were
those same Palestinian women, whose grief was so palpable, and as you grieved with them,
you also grieved that human beings can be so evil as to try to make political propaganda
out of the bereavements of others.
On Sunday evening, when we arrived at the house where Samuel and his family lived, which
is adjacent to the church, we found that people were sitting in the hall of the church
– a sort of crypt. Men were in one room, women in another, but Samuel welcomed the
four of us into the one room, and invited us to sit together. Little was said by anyone.
Coffee was offered – Arabic coffee – and then things began to happen. There was
to be a Communion Service, led by one of the senior ministers of the Diocese, and we were
invited to share in it. Again it was in Arabic, and by now the congregation had grown to
approx 150. They were all familiar with the Liturgy, and it was very comforting to be
surrounded by the sound of people worshipping in the way that they did normally. As you
can imagine, there was no exuberance, but there was enormous feeling. The Bread used in
the service was Pitta bread. When we went up to receive the Elements, Father Kemal, the
priest in charge, looked Joan and I in the face and spoke to us in English – a
beautiful gesture or welcome and inclusiveness.
So, at the conclusion of the service, we greeted a few people, and took our leave of
Samuel.
I could not help reflecting that within the space of a couple of hours, I had had the
opportunity of embracing a Jewish woman, grieving for the loss of her husband, and an Arab
man, grieving for the loss of his wife. When will they be able to embrace each other?
Last week was a conference organised by Sabeel. Sabeel is a Palestinian Christian
Organisation, led by Canon Naim Ateek, the aim of which is to try to work out an
interpretation of Liberation Theology that meets the needs of the Palestinian situation.
The conference originally had been scheduled to be held in Bethlehem, and there were hopes
that up to 1,000 people might come from different parts of the world to share in it. In
the end of the day, there were over 200 who came from outside Israel, and it was held here
in Jerusalem, at the Catholic Conference Centre – Notre Dame. The Theme was
“Speaking Truth, seeking Justice”. There were lectures by people from different
parts of the world; there was worship organised, for the most part, by people from within
the church community here; there were visits to Ramallah and Bethlehem. I suppose of the
most striking things for me was to hear speaker after speaker say that the Peace Process
which had been in operation last year, is now dead. The Oslo Accords, which were designed
to achieve better relationships between Israel and Palestine on a step-by-step basis, had
failed, and really now were part of history. At least one speaker said they were doomed
from the very start, due to the fact that, in the end of the day, what Israel wanted would
be what was done. There was quite open and trenchant criticism of the Palestinian
leadership, one speaker saying that no progress could be made until the old leadership had
moved on, and new people were in place. There was discussion as to whether the future lay
down the road of “Two States” – Israel and Palestine – or down the
road of “One State” with Jew and Arab living together in one state.
The visits to Ramallah and Bethlehem allowed the overseas participants to experience the
reality of the road blocks. 7 coaches pulled up at the check point to Ramallah. About 1 ¼
hours later, we got through the block. At first, the soldiers would not let us in, as they
were afraid the Palestinians might kill us! Then when they had realised that this was
unlikely, they had to get special permission for the drivers! What a waste of time. At the
check point into Bethlehem, the buses were refused entry. So others were arranged for the
Palestinian side of the check point. Then one Israeli Arab from Nazareth was refused entry
by the soldiers, and her Permit was confiscated. So more confrontation. In the end she got
her Permit back, went back towards Jerusalem, and walked through the gardens of the Tantur
Institute, which skirt round the check point! Again, what a waste of time. Yet, it was a
very good demonstration of what Palestinian people have to go through on a regular basis.
While the Sabeel Conference was on, there was another conference in a different part of
Jerusalem. It was organised by Christian Biblical Zionists, who would generally be much
more supportive of the Israeli position. One of the people invited to be a speaker at that
conference was Mr Sharon. I have no doubt that the participants there also felt that God
was on their side, and that he would answer their prayers. How the Almighty would
reconcile the very different prayers coming from two such divergent groups of people, all
in the name of Jesus Christ, is a mystery.
It is also a sadness, that the two groups exist side by side, with virtually no
communication at all.
Greetings from a confused correspondent!
God bless. Love from Joan and Clarence.
A propos of nothing : The first man to go round the world was the man in the moon.
P. S. Having now reached 30 of these Epistles, it is a good time to pause and reflect.
They were started to let the family at home know what was going on, and then they sort of
changed when trouble started in October. Also, the number of people to whom they were sent
sort of mushroomed.
It is my hope to go on writing them, but it is also my intention to revise the mailing
list, and make up a new one. It may be that you now feel you would rather not receive
future letters. It may be that you would like to continue to have them sent to you.
I have therefore decided that I will only put on the revised Mailing List those people who
actually want to be there. If you would like to have your name on the list, please let me
know. If I do not hear from you, then I will not trouble you with further letters after
Letter No 31.
P.P.S. No 28 is still being written. Hopefully some day I will finish it!
[top]
Circular Letter No 29
22th February 2001
The eagle eyed - or the organised may notice that this is Letter No 29 and
wonder what has happened to Letter No 28. It is still being written, but this is a quick
letter about today!
It has been one of those bitter sweet mornings.
First of all, thanks to all who sent donations by whatever means to the Appeal that I made
before Christmas for emergency relief for Palestinian people.
According to the figures that I have, we received from overseas, the sum of £9,090.67 ,
and US$4,168.96. This comes to ( approx) NIS 70,500. Some of this came before Christmas
the rest, for one reason and another, arrived last week. Though delayed, there is still a
need, and it is not going to get any better for a long time. So, a very big thank you to
all who helped.
What made today a sort of bitter sweet day is this.
I went to the bank and got NIS 10,000 in cash got a cheque for NIS 10,000 from the church
treasurer, and headed off to Bethlehem and Beit Jala. I also had in the boot of the car,
two suitcases that had come from Scotland on Wednesday, in the care of the Church of
Scotland official representatives to the Sabeel Palestinian Liberation Theology Conference
Speaking Truth, seeking Justice. The suitcases contained hand-knit woollen clothes from a
Sunday School at Kemnay near Aberdeen. So I set off, feeling like Santa Claus.
First stop was at the military check point. There were perhaps 7 or 8 vehicles in front of
me. It took me at least 15 minutes to get to the head of the queue, and then I was waved
through, without any paper being asked for or shown. What an enormous waste of energy and
time, to have the young Israeli soldiers having to go through all this, which in a sense
degrades them, and the people moving in and out of Bethlehem mostly Palestinians to have
to spend hours each week just waiting to get through a check point.
Next stop was at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Beit Jala. Andrew McLellan and Alan
Macdonald will remember this place, where we met the Pastor and the Social Worker Heyam
Abu-Dayyeh . From the money that was sent to us, we had already given the church NIS5,000
for Food Parcels. Today, we had NIS 10,000. I had arranged to meet Heyam at the church,
though she told me that she is not at all well. She feel a couple of weeks ago,
aggravating an old injury, and has been told to rest. How can I rest, she says, my people
need me and the pastor is away on business. Need her they do. On Tuesday night, when I was
sitting here at home at the desk, I could hear the bombardment of Beit Jala. That is well
over 5 miles away. I fully agree that it is wrong for the Palestinians to shoot at a
Jewish neighbourhood. I am prepared to allow that the IDF has the right to reply, like for
like. What I find unacceptable is the scale of the IDF reply. In our newspaper today is a
photograph of the front of a bedroom of a house, blown completely open. In the bedroom a
youngster was killed.
Does small arms fire justify that sort of response? When the rockets hit the house, in
which I was told by Heyam that up to 25 people were staying, some were hurt and so they
went to the hospital when they could get out of the house. In the trauma, they forgot a
youngster upstairs in bed it was only later when they were at the hospital that they asked
where he was. (Remember another story of a boy getting lost but being found alive?) They
went back to the house, and found the youngster dead body in one place and head in
another. That requires some force to inflict injuries like that.
Anyway, says Heyem, also on that night, the house of the Church nurse was hit how can I
leave my people and be sick?
It was sad to see her when we saw her in December and again in January she was lively now
she is worn down, and unwell. Since the bus incident in Tel Aviv, the Israeli authorities
have refused permission for Palestinians to fly out of Ben Gurion airport Heyem is hoping
that she will get permission to go to Germany where there are supporters of her church,
for rest and treatment for her back injury.
She is 36 years old single will marry, if at all, when she finds someone whom she can love
not like the old days of arranged marriages graduated from Bethlehem University with a BA
in Social Work and Sociology. She worked at her church as a volunteer from 1992 1994, and
since then has been employed as its Social Worker. She still recalls the first salary that
she got from the church. She had set up a small craft-selling shop, and took over to the
Pastor the profits from that. From those profits she got her first cheque! Now she ets NIS
2,000 per month (NIS 6 = 1 pound sterling; NIS 4 = US$ 1). Not too many people liken me to
an angel! but in the sense of being a messenger, why not. Today I was the messenger who
brought your gifts to one place where they are greatly appreciated and desperately needed.
Thank you for the privilege.
From there, it was along the road to the Al Shurooq School, to see Helen Shehadeh. We sat
down and had a bit of a chat, and then out of the car came the two suitcases. Christmas
come late thanks to the congregation of Kemnay church in Aberdeenshire. They had sent a
card, and a letter, and lots of handknitted sweaters etc. They will be more than useful
for the next while, as we are still in winter. Then, they can get put away till next year.
We talked a bit about the school, its financial situation, etc. Difficult times for Helen
and the school, to find enough to pay the rent, to feed the kids and provide a secure
environment for them. Helen, as those of you who have visited her will know, is quite
remarkable. Speaking about the shooting, she said that the other night some gunmen were
shooting from her area at the Israeli areas. Next morning she got on the phone to the
local commander, and told him that there should be no more shooting. She had blind
children. What was she to do with them if shelling started in retaliation? No shooting
since then! We hope to have a meeting of the Kirk Session on Monday next week to meet the
Board of World Mission people here from Scotland at 1730 hours. Said Helen, I would love
to come, but shooting often starts in the early evening. I would not want to put you at
risk in coming to get me. I wonder how many other Elders of the Church of Scotland miss a
Kirk Session meeting because they would have to run the gauntlet of possible shooting? So,
she will not be there, and her voice will not be heard.
Lastly it was along to the Bethlehem Bible College where they have the Shepherd’s
Society. We had given NIS 10,000 to it already for its work in providing Food Vouchers.
Now it is also paying school fees for people who have nothing with which to pay them. They
are paying electricity bills for those who have nothing to use to pay them. So, our
donation will help a bit but there is such a need. The President of the Bible College is a
Palestinian, with an American passport. Yet he lives in Bethlehem. His son came from USA
to visit him, and was trapped by this refusal of the Israeli authorities to allow
Palestinians to fly out of Ben Gurion. Said Bisharra, the College President) we had to get
a lawyer and go to the High Court to get an order allowing our son to go back to his home
and his work in the USA.
It is hard to convey to you the appreciation that there is for your generosity, and for
your remembering this country and its peoples in your thoughts and prayers. For me, it is
an enormous privilege to be able to go and bring some assistance to people who are really
under the hammer. You can appreciate how it is a bitter sweet sort of day.
Last time I was at Al Shurooq, a wee figure crept along the edge of the sofa on which I
was sitting beside Helen Shehadeh, and climbed up on my knee. Helen spoke to her, and from
the smallest of mouths came the soft notes of Old MacDonald had a farm! It was Lara, who
is 3 years and something old. What fun, what a joy, and also what a sadness, as you think
what sort of world she will face when she grows up.
We had similar situations in Africa, and wondered about the fate of the children there. I
think there is one major difference between our situation in Zambia, or latterly in Ghana,
and here in Israel/Palestine. In Africa, there was the pressure of the world economy and
how it would or would not treat a developing countries. That too is the case here, with
the need for the development of Palestine. In Africa, there was pressure on the government
from its people for integrity, for development, and for all sorts of freedoms. That too is
the case here, with the pressure of the people on the Palestinian Authority. What is
different is the third ingredient the overwhelming force of the Israeli state, government,
army, and its publicity machine.
Anyway, back to Lara, what a joy to be able to sit with her even for a short time. And to
think that I get paid to do that!!
Just a few "nothings"
In Bethlehem at a shop we got a box of oranges, about 90 oranges, for NIS 13 - just over 2
pounds, or $3. At Bethlehem we got the same quantity for NIS 10. In Gaza, they are for
sale at NIS 5 and many trees still have their fruit on them, as there is little point in
people picking them, since they cannot get them to market.
Buying some mince steak - the butcher goes over to a side of beef, cuts off the meat,
trims it, and then puts it into the mincer, along with a bunch of parsley, an onion and
some garlic. Don’t even have to do prepare it when we get it home!
Going to the airport on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, to pick people up at 0130 hours
on Wednesday. Left early, as the forecast had been for 3 cms of snow in Jerusalem! It was
bitterly cold, and raining a lot, but fortunately it stopped with hail, and we did not get
snow.
What do you do with 90 oranges when you get them? Drink orange juice. I was passing a shop
in East Jerusalem and went in. I came out with a small Moulinex orange juicer - so now I
don’t even have to expend any energy juicing the oranges. So tasty that we had one
glass each, then a second one each - and you can guess the outcome of that!!
Enough of this domesticity.
Bye for now. God bless.
Love Joan and Clarence.
"An adult is a man that has stopped growing at both ends but not in the middle."
[top]
Circular Letter No 28
17 February 2001.
One of the songs that we used to sing occasionally in church in Scotland included the
lines – “Where have all the young men gone? …. When will they ever learn,
when will they ever learn?” It has a haunting refrain, and came to mind this past
week when one had to try to comprehend the way in which things were degenerating here.
From “demonstrations”, to an “uprising”; to the “Al Aqsa
Intifada”, and this week in the papers, to “war” Helicopter gun ships are
designed to kill – they are instruments of war, and so one is not surprised that they
are used to kill. One can totally disagree with their use, but at least they are being
used for the purpose for which they were made. A bus is not an instrument of war –
used to take people to work, to hospital, to visit friends, to cement relationships, to
reduce pollution – to enhance life. Yet this week, near Tel Aviv, it was used to kill
8 young folk in the blink of an eye. As is the way, the papers that we read give lengthy
obituaries about the youngsters who were killed, and what a waste of life. When will they
ever learn - but what is it that they, ( whoever “they” are) – have to
learn? For the Israelis - Harsher ways to impose the Closure on the Arab population? More
exhaustive ways of security checking those who are allowed to work in Israel? Tighter
security measures, to make life safer for the Israeli population? For the Palestinians
– new ways to circumvent the closure? New ways of trying to get revenge for all that
has been inflicted on them? Ways to show their determination not to be kept down for yet
longer? For both sides - Better ways to kill others? More intrusive ways of controlling
their populations?
There has not been much talk this week of learning any new ways to try to reach a solution
to the steadily growing tragedy, but rather more and more of the same.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem – there seems little more that can be done at this
moment.
Headlines from Friday’s paper –
Ramon ( a member of Knesset and a Minister in the outgoing government of Mr Barak) attacks
Barak for practicing ‘one-man rule’.
Netanyahu : Arafat saw Oslo as a way to destroy Israel (speaking before conservatives who
are considered close to the Bush Administration)
High Court (of Israel) okays sleep deprivation for Shin Bet (Security Police) probes.
“The High Court issued a ground breaking ruling yesterday, saying that it was legal
for Shin Bet interrogators to deprive a suspect of sleep as long as the intention is to
advance an investigation and not to exhaust the suspect or break his or her spirit.”
Shin Bet waits to question Azur attacker (the bus driver who is described as a terrorist)
Israel brushes off criticism of its ‘liquidation policy” –
‘Israel’s isolation in the international arena is intensifying as a result of
the derailment of the peace process and the escalation of violence in the
territories.’
Shabbat Times : Jerusalem : 1648 hrs Friday - 1805 hrs Saturday : Tel Aviv 1706 hrs Friday
– 1806 hrs Saturday
Five victims of Azur bus attack laid to rest
Netzarim (Settlement in the Gaza Strip) residents take to shelters as settlement comes
under fire again.
PA (Palestinian Authority) cheque to family of boy shot by IDF bounces.
Israel’s Naval chief to visit India next week,
Sunday afternoon 4th March.
A long way from the beginning of this letter, and perhaps it should be consigned to the
waste basket. But, as we were starting the service this morning, one of the Elders came up
to me to ask if I had heard of the bombing at Netanya – then 2, now 3, people killed
and scores injured. We had just said a prayer to commence worship = This is the day that
the Lord has made. Kind of hard to continue with that sort of thought when others had been
using the day for such a different purpose. So, once more the ratchet is turned, and
another level of violence reached.
We get paper delivered to the house now – Ha’aretz. Our “Sunday” is
Saturday, with no deliveries or papers. So, it was there this morning to have a quick look
at it before going off to church.
From the front page of the paper this morning one learns :
That the IDF, in an attempt to curb gunmen shooting at traffic on the road from Hebron to
Jerusalem, has set up new “posts” to keep surveillance on the road – 10 of
them have been put on the roofs of Palestinian houses. Can you imagine what that does to
the life of the family? To the dignity of the family? To the security of the family? Given
the fact that the military is in control of these areas, there is little anyone can do to
challenge this, or to make the military move elsewhere.
The first non-Jewish Israeli minister has been nominated to the government of Mr Sharon.
He is Salah Tarif, a Druze from Northern Israel – will be the first non-Jewish
minister if this history of the State of Israel. Not unnaturally there are conflicting
reactions to the news from within the Arab community .
Three Palestinians shot dead, including a 9-year old boy shot in his home. He was watching
his father paint the wall of a brother’s bedroom when a bullet hit him in the chest.
Again, take your pick as to why the shot was fired in the first place. A mentally disabled
man was shot dead in Gaza, the IDF thinking that he was setting up a road-side bomb.
2 East Jerusalem residents – Arabs – were wounded by shooting on Friday night,
shots fired at their car by Palestinian gunmen.
Add to all this the news of the bomb at the BBC in London, and it is sure a peaceful
world.
Courtesy of a former colleague, who had the responsibility of equipping what is called the
Resource Room in the Hospice, I have been reading my way through 1,000 pages of the
History of Israel – by Howard M Sachar. I must confess at the outset that I started
in the middle, skipped to near the end, and will then go back to the beginning! One is
struck by many ironies – who sought deals from whom, and when. Interesting too that
so many of the Israeli players of the 70’s and 80’s are still in place.
Interesting too, that at one time Israel was insisting that the Arabs accept UN Resolution
242 – a thing that the Arabs are now trying to ensure that Israel accepts.
Interesting again, that people decades ago were remarking on the influence of ex-generals
on the political process, and that this is one of the things that is still talked about
– with the IDF being so vocal about security.
For all the talk of security, are we any nearer to it than was the case 10 years ago? Or
20 years ago? One doubts it.
However, life goes on. There are still few tourists. Letters come to me, and to others, of
trips being cancelled or re-scheduled for later in the year, or next year. The one
“constituency” that is still coming is represented by the Jewish community from
the States. The day that I got an e-mail from Scotland telling of the change of date for a
group, I passed a line of buses outside the hotel at the bottom of the road – 9 of
them, with a poster in front of each one – Solidarity Mission. Tour Number 9. That
represented about 450 people.
How about one group of people coming out to show some solidarity with the local Christian
community? Good accommodation, no pressure from other tourists, good guides, good food,
good weather, good air fares. Any takers?
Have been summoned to go for a walk. Will end here, and this is a bonus this week. –
perhaps bonus is a bit of a misnomer.
Anyway, on a lighter note, a series of definitions from Gavin Faulkner in the States
brings a chuckle.
Polarise – what penguins see with
Eyedropper – as clumsy ophthalmologist
Baloney – where some hemlines fall.
Misty – how golfers create divots.
Relief – what trees do in the spring.
TTFN Ta Ta for now = bye bye
Joan tells me to say that the flowers are still blooming, the trees are re-leafing, the
birds singing, and the bees buzzing.
God bless and love.
Joan and Clarence.
[top]
Circular Letter No 27
10th February 2001
It seems terribly presumptuous for me to write reflections on the current situation in
Israel, when there are so many people already doing it, and doing it so much more
professionally. So, if you are full up with comments on the Israeli elections and what it
will have done to the Peace Process – perhaps you had better consign this letter to
the WPB.
How the mighty are fallen, or Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make great.
The epitaph has been written for Mr Barak, and many are speaking of the tragedy that
befell him. Israel’s most decorated soldier, officer in charge of brilliant, daring
– and successful – military operations, elected Prime Minister in a stunning
change of power when he defeated Mr Netanyahu, - and within two campaign seasons (in terms
of history when you could only fight when the weather was good and the ground firm)
subjected to the greatest defeat in Israel’s short political history. What went
wrong?
Mr Sharon – Israel’s most vilified politician in the Arab world which surrounds
Israel, and one of the most divisive here in Israel. When we arrived in July last year, Mr
Sharon was a sort of avuncular figure, in physical terms not unlike the image of Ted Heath
in latter years, and in political terms someone with no future at all. Now, Prime Minister
elect, despite the fact that he was forced to resign from Ministerial Office following the
inquiry into the massacres in the refugee camps in Beirut in 1982.
A word about the “elect” business. In terms of the Israeli constitution, as I
understand it from the press, Mr Sharon now has to put together a Government. To do this
he has 45 days, by the end of which he has to present his Government to the Knesset and
had it ratified. If he should fail to do that, then there will be a General Election. This
is one of the reasons why he is calling for a Government of National Unity – he needs
the votes of other parties in the Knesset. His own party has only 19 members, out of 125
(?) members in the Knesset. So, Coalition building is the order of the day. This will mean
all sorts of compromises, and it is as you try to please one group that you will offend
another. It was, partly, the fact that Mr Barak was unable to please all of the members of
his coalition that support started to drift away from him in the summer.
An observation. Israel is very small. One of the things that I learned on my first trip
here in 1998 was just how small it is. From the Jordan river to the sea is not much more
than a 2- hour drive – less if the traffic in Jerusalem is light – and well
within a day you can go from the Lebanon border in the north to Eilat in the South. This
has a significant impact on the psyche of the people of Israel – they feel extremely
vulnerable, surrounded by Arab states. In the event of a war, they do not have much
territory to lose, before they would be over-run.
A second observation. One of the consequences of this is the pre-eminent position given in
public life to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). The IDF is, in a sense which it is hard
for folk in the UK to appreciate, the guardian of the land and the nation. It is the
guarantor that there will not be another Holocaust here in this part of the world. Given
this role to play, and given that every young Jewish person will be called up to do
National Service, (unless specially exempted), it is not difficult to see that those who
make it to the top of the command structure in the Army will have great influence on the
life of the country. The Chief of Staff, the Chief of Intelligence, the officer-commanding
such and such a district, - they are all regularly in the public eye as they go to the
Knesset to brief a Committee. They acquire an aura of power, and a stature that is not so
easily acquired by people in civilian life. And so, there is a great temptation for them
to enter political life – Barak and Sharon were both successful generals.
But, are the gifts which make a person a successful general necessarily those which will
make him a successful Prime Minister? Having watched Mr Barak in the last few months, one
has to say that they are not. In his post-election address, when he announced his
concession to Mr Sharon and his imminent resignation from political life, he said that he
believed he had followed the right course. Many folk agree with him, but whereas a General
is able to command forces to do his will, a politician has to persuade people that he is
right and thus deserves to be followed. One of the criticisms of Mr Barak was his lack of
sensitivity to carry people along with him by listening to them and by dealing with their
doubts and fears. “I am right. Follow me,” was his approach.
Given the role that the IDF plays in national life, is Israel condemned to having a
succession of military leaders turned politicians?
A third observation. Israel has a majority of Jewish citizens, and a significant minority
of Arab citizens. Is a Jewish Israeli citizen – an Israeli first? A Jew first? A
“religious” Jew first? A secular Jew first? Is an Arab Israeli – an Israeli
first? an Arab first? A Muslim first? A secular person first? How does a citizen relate to
the political process?
A digression – whether rightly or wrongly, many Scots saw the Poll Tax as something
which a foreign government imposed on Scotland. So, there was considerable opposition to
it in the form of non-payment etc. and in the end it was a contributory factor to the
Tories’ demise in Scotland in the mid – 1990’s. Rightly or wrongly, people
felt alienated from that part of the political process and that government, and exercised
their right to vote and change things.
If you are an Israeli Arab – those Arab people who ended up on the Israeli side of
the cease fire lines in 1948 – how do you see yourself relating to the government? It
is Jewish (with some minimal Arab participation in it). It pursues policies with which you
find it hard to identify. You see it as based on a racial / religious basis which excludes
you from being accepted as a full member of society. And so one could go on – with
reference to land, to development, to government expenditure etc etc. Jewish teenagers are
automatically called up to serve in the IDF. Arab youngsters are not called up. Thus they
are, in one sense, disenfranchised. They are excluded from being part of one of the most
significant institutions of the life of the state of which they are citizens. They are
also disadvantaged in later life, as there are significant financial perks available to
former IDF personnel when they return to civilian life. It was interesting to hear Shimon
Peres justify the exclusion of any Arab politicians from the Cabinet on the grounds that
the Cabinet has to take security decisions. Are Arab Israelis not capable of taking such
decisions?
(To an outsider, it was with incredulity that I heard the accusations made by black people
in Florida, that they were prevented from voting in the recent American Presidential
Elections. Whether such accusations are substantiated or not is one thing, but the fact
that they were made obviously shows the perceptions of black people as to how they are
regarded and treated. That this should happen so long after the Civil Rights Marches etc
of the mid-1960’s, shows how difficult it is to incorporate people into the political
process. If it is that difficult in America, is it any wonder that it is seemingly
impossible to integrate the Arab citizens of Israel into its political life.)
If you are an Israeli Jew, where does your first loyalty lie, and what implication will
this then have for the sort of state which you will be trying to build? Is it to Israel
– a state for Jewish people first, and for any others who happen to live there
second? Is it to Israel – a state for all who happen to live there? Your answer to
this question will influence the way in which 1.2 million of the citizens of Israel –
the Israeli Arabs - see their future, and wonder if they can ever fully participate in the
life of their country. Will it be a secular state, or will it be a religious state? Within
the Jewish community this is the subject of a vigorous debate. One of the interesting ways
in which this debate affects life concerns the role of girls in the IDF. In many places
there is an active debate about whether or not women should serve in front-line fighting
forces. Here the debate also is raging, with the added ingredient that there are those
who, on religious grounds, say they cannot be part of a unit which has women members. At
the moment, their religious beliefs are being respected, while a final decision is being
worked out.
Some headlines from Ha’aretz newspaper on the day after the election :
Page 1 : Sharon crushes Barak 60% - 40% . Seeks unity government; Barak resigns: Arabs
boycott election.
Page 2 : The Arab boycott – a resounding blow to the Labour Party. (20% of Arabs
voters voted, with 25% of them voting for Sharon)
Page 3 “Once again, the Russians vote against a sitting PM.” (The Russians are
the immigrants from Russia, and there is a market research firm that specialises in
gathering information about the Russian community, now over 1 million.)
“Sharon as de Gaulle?”
With all these conflicting pressures, is it any wonder that the situation is complex and
confused?
The past week has given me opportunities to listen!!
On Friday 2nd Feb, there was a phone call. Are you doing anything at 5 o’clock? The
tone of the voice was a wee bit desperate, and so I went to the meeting at which an author
was presenting the thesis of his new book – THE TEMPLES JERUSALEM FORGOT. (The
desperation lay in the fact that there were only 10 people present!) Ignoramus that I am,
I had never heard of it, but then I cheered up a bit when I heard that it had not long
been published. Whether he is a crank or a genius has yet to be established. As you will
know, one of the most contentious areas of conflict in Jerusalem is the Temple Mount.
Sacred to Jews as the site of the Temple; sacred to Muslims for its association with
Muhammad. The thesis of this new book, based on interpretations of historical texts is
that the Temple was in fact on a different site! – some 500 metres to the south,
beside the Gihon Spring. Should this be correct, then it would solve the religious
conflict about the Temple Mount at one stroke – The Jewish people would have their
own site, the Muslim folk would have theirs, and all could be happy! What an ingenious
solution to a seemingly intractable problem.
On Wednesday 7th Feb there was a meeting of the Rainbow Group – this
“unusual” group of Christians and Jews. The speaker was a Muslim academic,
speaking about Religious Education within the Muslim community. He was disturbing,
informative, challenging, optimistic, pessimistic – take your pick. Some of the
situations that he described :
The problem of teaching in an Arab school in Israel, where you have both Christian and
Muslim Arab children.
In History, what do you say about the Crusades, that will respect the perceptions of two
very different communities?
In Religious Education, what do you say about the Koran and the Bible? When there is so
much by way of confrontation between Muslim and Christian in different parts of the world,
what is your approach in a school in Israel?
How does the Israeli (largely Jewish) Ministry of Education see its responsibilities for
Religious Education for Muslims and Christians within the state school system of Israel?
Cross the border into the areas administered by the Palestinian Authority, and there you
find in the West Bank a Curriculum that was largely established when the Area was under
Jordanian control. In Gaza the Curriculum was largely established by the Egyptians. How do
you reconcile these two? Broadly speaking, the Muslim voices that are listened to on the
West Bank are more religiously extreme than those in Israel. This will affect the way of
teaching Religious Education, History, Geography and so on.
M. spoke movingly of his own personal experience at Bir Zeit University – an Arab
University close to Ramallah. He was teaching there many years ago, The first two years he
had no problems, but then there came to the University a group of more fundamentalist
students. They eventually went to the authorities of the University and said that if they
did not dispense with the services of M. the students would do it for them. So, he left.
Yet, he also spoke of meetings that are currently taking place between groups of Muslim
and Jewish academics, trying to work out some forms of “consensual” approaches
to the whole question of the relationships between Judaism and Islam.
On Thursday 8th, we had the third in our series of meetings of the Church
Discussion Group with Michel our speaker. He is a Palestinian Christian, a member of the
Syrian Orthodox Church, which uses Aramaic as the language of its Liturgy and worship
Michel has featured in my letters before – he it was whose impassioned contribution
to a meeting in October let to the invitation to the Moderator to come here. What a
delightful way to be able to start a discussion – “as my ancestor said to
Jesus!” Jesus used Aramaic, and the Syrian Church claims to trace its roots back to
the original Christian community here in Jerusalem. So he has a certain self-confidence
about making his claim to be a part of the land and its people. He has no problem living
with anyone, as long as no-one claims to have sole rights to anything around here. Not a
bad position to adopt. Like many others, his family had their house in the Old City
confiscated from them, without compensation. Like many others, he has had to make several
new starts in life, and the most recent was to invest heavily in a Restaurant in the Old
City. It was up and running in time for the year 2000 – and then came the Intifada
– and the disappearance of tourists. He still has the loans to pay, with little by
way of income. A familiar story here, from both sides of the community, where people
invested in the expectation that tourists would be a permanent feature of the scene.
It was interesting to listen to Michel, tracing his roots back to Biblical times, and
recall the story last week of Rosalind, the daughter of Jewish parents who moved from
Lithuania to South Africa, and who came here in 1965. This is her home, and she has
nowhere else to go. It is Michel’s home, and he has nowhere else to go.
Friday 9th. Nuha is a member of staff of the International Centre in
Bethlehem, largely but not exclusively supported by Lutheran Churches from different parts
of Europe. Joan and I were visiting her in the company of Paul Renshaw, a member of staff
of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, who arrived here this week to make
arrangements for a visit in March by leaders of various Churches in the UK and Ireland.
She is Palestinian, a Christian, a graduate with a string of degrees from American
Universities, culminating in a Ph.D from Michigan. She is extremely articulate, full of
enthusiasm and vision for the future. About 5 years ago, after 15 years in the States she
came back to Palestine, and feels that this is most definitely the right place for her to
be. The Closure of the West Bank has prevented her from leaving Bethlehem since October.
It is hard to imagine someone being forcibly confined to whatever small Scottish town for
over 4 months and yet retaining such a vitality, and such an infectious enthusiasm about
the future. Among the programmes at the Centre is one to train Tour Guides, to work with
groups coming to the Holy Land. Wryly she says it is difficult now, as the students cannot
get out of Bethlehem to go to the places they are learning about!
Saturday 10th. Joan is well known to most who receive this. Having read
it, she says to tell you that :
The birds are busy with their normal activities for spring – like building nests
etc!
The flowers are blooming
The days are getting longer, and that not everything is obsessed with the political
situation.
So, apologies for the length this week – promise that it will be shorter next week.
God bless.
Love from Joan and Clarence.
From the States :
Floods on the Mississippi may be prevented by putting big dames in the river.
Wanted Ads : Large mahogany table, by lady with sturdy legs.
The best of luck reading this!! (Should this have been at the beginning?)
For our Jamaican Readers – breakfast today was pitta bread with salt fish – but
no ackees.
|
| Top |
Circular Letter No 25 29th January 2001
The Good News : The Computer Doctor has been to see both my machines -
the one in the office and the one at home. Both have had an Anti-Virus device installed,
so that there should be no recurrence of the Virus that accompanied some of my e-mails.
The Bad News There was a Virus, that seemed to attach itself to messages, so that a
duplicate message was received by the recipient. The second one was in the form of a
separate message with an attachment. If you get two messages at the same time, delete them
and and let me know.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This week’s offering starts
as a sort of aide-memoire for me, to help me recall the different services that we are
able to attend during this week in Jerusalem.
When the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity came round in Murrayfield, it was a question
of sharing in services with the congregations of The Church of The Good Shepherd (Scottish
Episcopal Church – part of the Anglican Communion) and Saughtonhall Congregational
Church (now united to form part of the United Reformed Church.), which were located in
Murrayfield Parish.
So, this week has been a bit of a learning experience, going from church to church to
share in the services for this week here in Jerusalem. The diversity, or the division, of
the church, can be gauged from the timetable:
Sunday 21st Cathedral of St George – Anglican
Monday 22nd Cathedral of St James – Armenian
Tuesday 23rd Church of the Redeemer – Lutheran
Wednesday 24th Church of St Saviour – Latin Catholic
Thursday 25th The Cenacle- Upper Room
Friday 26th The Cathedral of St Mark, the Syrian Orthodox Church
Saturday 27th The Cathedral of the Ethiopian Coptic Church
Sunday 28th The Cathedral of the Greek Catholic Church
Some impressions that stayed with me through the week :
the way that we were always addressed as “sisters and brothers in Christ” –
no matter where we were, and who was doing the addressing. Perhaps there is nothing
remarkable in that in the year 2001 – but going back to the time I grew up in
Ireland, the thought that I would be regarded by Catholics as a brother in Christ would
have been virtually unthinkable. The Archbishop of Dublin was writing in his Lenten
Pastoral Letter, in 1958, forbidding Catholics to go to study in Trinity College without
express permission from their Bishops. A sort of Anathema. Yet, within part of a lifetime,
we have moved to being exhorted by the Papal Nuncio in Jerusalem to get our act together
and get on with Unity.
The absence of the Greek Orthodox Church – in any sort of official
capacity. This may be due to the fact that we are in a period of mourning for the death of
the Greek Orthodox Patriarch here in Jerusalem, or that we are in a time of transition and
no one has been able to come and represent the Greek Orthodox Church, or . . .
The absence of members of the evangelical wing of the Christian community. This
is a strong and active part of the church, working among both Israelis and Palestinians,
having strong contacts with the Messianic Jewish believers – and yet they have been
absent from the services of this week.
The friendliness of the people who have been there. I think that the
majority have come from Christian communities with their roots in Europe.
Sunday. A full church here is about 200 – 250 people. St
George’s was full. The sermon was preached by the Papal Nuncio – via a tape
recording as he had had to go to Rome urgently. He spoke of the necessity for the Church
to display that unity which it already has in Christ; for the need to offer help where it
is needed; for the need of the Church world-wide to support the Christian community in the
Holy Land. There was nothing that was revolutionary, but just the context in which it was
said was what helped to make it special.
Monday. There are no seats in the Armenian church, just a few folding
stools. Joan brought her own stool with her, and we found one for Alice Abusharr who was
with us. Then later one for me! As someone said to me, it was standing room only. Church
was full. There is no electric light, so we depended on the light of some oil lamps -
–he church is festooned with these lamps, hanging in garlands from the ceiling. Not
all of them were lit for this service. The worshippers were given candles to hold, so it
was a real candle-light service. There was the usual chanting from the Seminarians, which
ended with two Christmas Carols in English – the Armenians are the last ones to
celebrate Christmas! Hark the herald angels sing and Silent night. The sermon included a
historical tour of the origins of the Armenian Church – 301 being the date when the
Armenian King become Christian. They are thus celebrating their 1700 anniversary this
year. It was very moving to hear their history, and in particular the events of this
century, including the time of the Armenian Genocide by the Turks in 1915, to the present
day. The light in the church was fantastic. We started with what little daylight there was
coming in through the windows at the top of the church, and gradually as it got darker and
darker, we were dependent on the candles. The Armenian Clergy – and indeed most of
the clergy – are all in black, and by the end of the service, all that you could see
were the faces of the priests. Their gowns merged completely into the dark background. The
Blessing was given at the end by several church leaders, in 5 different languages! This
was repeated most evenings during the week – with the notable exception of the Latin
Catholic Church.
Tuesday. Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. It is home for people who
worship in Arabic, English, German, and Swedish. 10 clergy up front, mostly robed in
white. One had a Ghanaian stole on – but I did not get a chance to talk with him.
Sang some Taize chants, a couple of “ordinary” hymns, and a sermon. Interesting
that it was a woman who was preaching – on an e-mail in from one of the Catholic
clergy, he has sent us a copy of the sermon, as he says it is the first time that he has
been in a service with a woman preaching. History was made. She spoke of Christians as
being “little Christs”, and, among other things, said it is our responsibility
to allow his word to be heard today. She is American, and made reference to the fact that
the portrayal of the situation in Israel/Palestine in the American press is so one-sided,
even among the Christian press. There is need for the other side of the message to be
heard. Prayers were in 5 languages! A subdued Babel of sound, as we recited the
Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer in our own languages.
Wednesday. The Latin Catholic Church of St Saviour. (Known to us as Roman
Catholic) Of all the services and the church buildings during the week, this was the one
that “spoke” least to me. The building could have come out of any European city
– red and green marble walls and mock pillars, gilded ceiling etc. The service was
partly in Arabic, partly in Italian, and was taken entirely by the clergy and community of
the Catholic Church. The Order of Service didn’t even have anything that I could read
to let me know what was happening. At the end, we were blessed out by the Catholic priest,
without any acknowledgment that there were other church leaders in the building.
Disappointing.
Thursday. Joan and I were not able to be there. We had a prior
appointment with the Choir Leader who was holding the first practice of a potential choir.
She had gone round the city putting up notices about a choir starting, and inviting people
to come along. 3 from St Andrew’s, 1 Lutheran, 1 West Indian from London, 1 Indian
from Kerala, 1 French woman (who had not sung for 25 years), 1 English woman, - some could
read music, some not. We made quite a joyful sound – at least we enjoyed it! Next
installment next week.
Friday. Syrian Orthodox Church. I was up front, in uniform, as I had to
lead a prayer. Got to my bit about an hour into the service, as people were wondering when
we would be finished! It was a small church building, used only on Feast Days –
obviously not able to be maintained as well as, for instance, the Catholic Church. No
seats, so the congregation had to stand – I got a seat! Music was supplied by the
Syrian Choir and the Coptic Church. It was a learning experience to listen to them –
so completely different from our music, that it makes one wonder what these people make of
“our” music at ecumenical events. Again, the service largely in non-English
– mixture of languages, including Syriac, Coptic, Armenian and English. Towards the
end, several of the Church leaders were invited to give their thoughts about the new
Millennium – which some did at length!
Saturday. Ethiopian Church. A circular church, with a multitude of Icons
all around it, painted on the walls and on the dome of the ceiling. In the centre is a
closed Sanctuary area, into which the priests disappear from time to time, and from which
they bring out the Gospel, enclosed in a gold cover. It is very much a priestly service,
with rituals that are strange to a Presbyterian like myself. Again, the church leaders are
all present, and they share in readings, in prayers, and in the Blessing.Sunday.
The Greek Catholic Church. This is quite a large building close to the Jaffa Gate. I
suppose that from a visual point of view, the most striking things were the Screen
separating the sanctuary from the rest of the church, and the fact that there was not a
single square inch of wall that I could see that had not been painted with icons, and
pictures of events from the Gospels. The art style was very formal and static, and using
bright, and even gaudy, colours. The service was a sort of Responsive dialogue
between the priests and deacons on the one hand, and the choir on the other. At one point,
the gold-encase copy of the Gospel was paraded through the congregation, preceded by
incense. For someone as informal as myself, it was a valuable insight into how others
venerate a written Book, containing as it does the Word of God.
Again, at the conclusion of the service, the Greek Catholic bishop, the Greek Orthodox
Archimandrake, the Armenian Bishop, the Catholic Bishop, the Anglican Dean, the Syrian
Orthodox priest, the Ethiopian Patriarch – all were there to share in the Blessing.
A refrain of the week was that we can be united without having to be one organisation
– I have some doubts about that. But I understand more now the complexities of trying
to combine such vastly different traditions as those to which I am accustomed, and those
which I encountered for the first time this week, - and I have a preference for our
singing!
The weather has been clear, crisp and wintry. The sky has been bright,
and today, one could see quite clearly down to the Jordan Valley, and beyond into Jordan
itself. There has been a clarity in the air that I had not seen before. Yesterday we took
advantage of it, and went out to the outskirts of the city to visit the Kennedy Memorial.
Erected within 3 years of the death of President Kennedy, it is quite an impressive
modernistic monument sitting on a hill top. Looking round the hills, there are the large
new areas of Jewish housing, there are smaller Palestinian villages, but I think the most
overwhelming visual impact is that of the rock structures. The strata of rock are clearly
visible, now running horizontally, now twisted and heaving like waves in the sea. One can
only guess at the forces that were present in the shaping of the rocks and the hills, and
marvel at the change that there has been from something sufficiently fluid to be moulded
into exotic shapes, to something that is adamantine and seemingly unchangeable. Maybe
there is something there to help us realise that even seemingly entrenched positions of
today’s politics may be susceptible to change.
World Holocaust Day has been celebrated. As you can imagine, much has
been made of it here, with accounts of ceremonies in many different countries being
recorded in the papers. Yet there is this strange unease about what is happening now. In
Ha’aretz paper for Sunday, on page 3 there is a report about the service in London
attended by the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister. On the reverse, on page 4, there
is a long article about the ghetto-isation of the Palestinian villages on the West Bank.
How ironic. On Israeli TV news tonight, pictures of a field hospital with full medical
staff being sent off to India to help with the aftermath of the terrible earthquake in
Gujarat, while there are stories of soldiers not letting people through check-points to
get to hospital. It is difficult to hold the pictures all together, and to make sense of
it all.
Bye for this week. God bless.
Love from Joan and Clarence.
|
