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Ferryhill Parish Church, Aberdeen Letter from Jerusalem
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Circular Letter No 41 God bless. Joan and Clarence. |
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| Circular Letter No 40 6th May 2001 Not long after we arrived in San Anselmo, California, in September 1964, we became aware of a campaign by Mexican farm workers, asking people to boycott California farm produce, in particular, grapes, in an attempt to force the employers to pay acceptable wages to the labourers. It had mixed effect then in terms of affecting wages, but it had a major effect in making people aware of employment conditions. Years later, when we were working in Africa, in Zambia, the formal policy of the government was not to trade with South Africa. However, there was also as part of the government’s policy the recognition that it needed to care for its people. This led to anomalous situations where South African goods were sometimes shipped in by air, in emergency measures to alleviate shortages. Necessity led to some uncomfortable decisions having to be made. Both of these situations seem light years away, but the twin pressures of having to care for people, and trying to achieve justice, are well illustrated. Over the years since, there have been many instances where economic pressure has been brought to bear to try to change government policy, or for that matter, policy of companies. To cite but one example, Shell changed its mind for the disposal of its Brent Spar oil platform, apparently under pressure of consumer boycott. The reason for these reflections comes from two sources. The first one is an e-mail that I received from a group of Jewish people – some Israeli citizens, some other nationalities. They are appealing to people to exert pressure on Israel in 3 ways: a) by practicing an economic boycott, including a tourism boycott on leisure travel to Israel; b) by signing their Appeal; c) by organising activities to put pressure on governments to cut economic links with Israel. Information on the e-mail can be found on www.matzpun.com/original.html The second source was an e-mail asking if I had any comment on this Matzpun Appeal. As you will be only too aware by now, Ha’aretz is never far away when I am reflecting on what is happening here, and trying to give you some information about it all. Quite co-incidentally, by the keyboard of my computer are some back numbers of the paper, with information that I was going to put down on paper this week - it is now a wee bit earlier than I had intended. Hotel occupancy drops to 47% is the headline. “Incoming tourism declined by 62% during March 2001, compared to the same month last year, when the Pope’s visit brought tourism figures to peak levels, when occupancy rate was 66%. Hotel occupancy was down 80% in Tiberias, 71% in Jerusalem, 69% at kibbutz guest facilities, and so on. . . . If government aid is not provided, the entire branch of (the tourist) industry could collapse within a few months.” This is what is happening, and it is pretty dramatic. It is a blunt instrument in that it is hitting Palestinian facilities as well, but as with the call of the Californian farm workers, and the blacks in South Africa, Palestinian people to whom I have spoken accept that this is part of the price on the way to achieving justice. 2 articles below it is “El Al clips wings by 20%” Details are given of a plan to try to help El Al recover from its present financial predicament. The predicament is not solely the result of the downturn in tourism, but it is certainly influenced by it. Passengers passing through Ben Gurion airport during the first 3 weeks of April are down 7.4% on the same period last year. “Hotel man fires off complaint to Powell (US Secretary of State)” A US State Department’s Advisory warning US citizens not to travel to Israel issued on April 18th was the harshest ever released by the State Department with regard to Israel. Occupancy in hotels in Jerusalem in May and June were expected to drop to 15% – 20%. These are just three snippets from papers in the past few days, about the economic effects on Israel of the decline in tourism. It would seem that the Matzpun Appeal to refrain from leisure tourism is one that is encouraging people to support what is already happening. To continue, and if possible, to increase, the level of non-tourism will most certainly have an economic effect. While that will hit the whole economy, the Palestinians seem resigned to this, as their economy is pretty much in tatters already. An added dimension to such a “boycott” is the psychological effect on the society here. It will reinforce the resolve of some to persevere with the present policies of the government, and not give in to outside pressure. It will reinforce the feeling of others, that the price they are being asked to pay for such things as the Settlements, and the control of the West Bank, is too high. Since I was asked for my opinion, it would be to support a boycott. But it would also be to try to arrange a different sort of support for the people here, whether Palestinian or Israeli. There are those who are struggling for change, but whose voice is not yet heard as clearly and loudly as those who are wanting to maintain as much as possible of a domination of Palestine by Israel. These people need supported and encouraged. There are many ways to do this. Writing letters, sending round e-mails and all that sort of thing. Another would be to come here, on special visits, to meet with these sorts of people. Careful targetting of such visits would ensure that the maximum economic benefit would go to the people who are trying to bring about change. Careful programming of a visit would mean that the accent could be on people, rather than on places. This is very much a personal opinion, and is not to be understood in any way as a particular point of view which has the official support of any part of the Church of Scotland. The official bodies of the Church of Scotland are able to make their views known in their own ways, and I could not presume to speak for any of them. While all of this may seem very detached, it is written in a situation where we personally are not in any real danger. But some of those with whom we work in St Andrew’s congregation, and who attend our services, are not necessarily as safe. This morning, about 0940, there was a phone call from an Elder who lives in Bethlehem – John Gang, about whom I wrote last letter, - and who was supposed to be on duty today, that he would not be able to get in to church today, as there was activity. What the activity was became a bit clearer when a group of people arrived just as I was going into the church to start the service. They came from Hope School, at the top of the hill in Beit Jala. Along the road from them, on an area supposedly controlled by Palestine, tanks had appeared and had started shelling a group of houses belong to Christian families, just beside Talitha Cumi School. They said that heavy shooting from the IDF had started about 0800 hours – they had also had two hours of it last night – and in a phone call just now (1500 hours) to Al Shurooq School I have been told that the shooting lasted until 1300 hours. It is crazy of the Palestinians to engage in such shoot-outs with the IDF, ( I do not happen to believe in any sort of armed struggle like this at all) but it is also amazing that the IDF gets away with this sort of massive over-kill. The house of one of the teachers at Al Shurooq has been damaged – I do not know how badly. I will visit the school later – not today - and perhaps be able to see some of the damage. After the service I talked with the group of people – one of whom is on the staff there. She had brought with her Khalil, a youngster whom she could not leave alone at the school while she came to church. They had been on the phone to people in the school vicinity – they had been told that in the shooting one person had been killed and at least one seriously injured – and they did not know of what else had happened. The son of one of the families connected to the school community had been wakened in the night with glass showering all over him from a window in his bedroom shattered by a bullet. This, of course, is not violence – it is an attempt to stop others using violence! It is hard to start a service when you have had that sort of news. We are no different here from folk elsewhere – whether in the Middle East, in Macedonia, in N Ireland – and so on. And so, we cannot claim any special consideration. But what perhaps makes it a bit more poignant is the fact that the shooting and killing is taking place round the home areas of Jesus. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? And there are more ways than one of being in a foreign land. Anyway, with a depleted congregation, we did sing the Lord’s song – strange that the hymn with which we commenced worship was “The Lord is King . . . “ I am sure that there are many who wonder about the truth of that statement of faith, including perhaps people in our own congregation this morning. I had not intended to write a letter like this, but it sort of wrote itself! I see that there is a bit of room at the end of the page – why not fill it up! Yesterday afternoon we were at an Engagement Party for the daughter of one of the cleaning staff of the Hospice. It was not a huge affair, with about 100 people there – his family sat on one side of the hall (there were more of them!) and her family sat on the other side (we were with them). Eventually the young man and woman arrived – she was in a sort of evening dress gown, and looking very smart. At a prearranged moment, his family stood up on one side of the room, and her family stood up to face them. There was a short speech from one of his male relatives, in which he asked permission from her family for their son to marry her. A sort of chorus reply obviously gave the right answer, and the proceedings continued. Both families are Latin Catholic (as opposed to Greek Catholic) and there were 3 priests there. So we started in to a sort of service, with prayers and readings, and a wee bit of singing. During this, the couple exchanged rings, and she was given a gold necklace, a gold watch and a gold bracelet by him! Then after a few more prayers, the priest was finished and the deed was done. There was some champagne, and a 4-tier cake, iced with decorations. We all had something to drink, and some cake to eat. It was all a bit reminiscent of a wedding. Whether or not this is the sort of thing that might have existed in the time of Jesus, it certainly adds a bit of an extra dimension to the story which tells us that Joseph and Mary were betrothed. Last night’s party, which we left after about an hour and a half, was very serious indeed, and I imagine not the sort of thing to be broken lightly. In this part of the world, there is always the down side. Last night it was that, having taken one of the Hospice staff back home to Beit Sahour (beside Bethlehem) after the party, we had to queue up to leave Bethlehem. Almost half an hour was spent inching up to the check point, where I had to show some form of ID. At least one car ahead of us was refused permission to go into Jerusalem. Such is life. Clarence |
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| top | Circular Letter No 39 5th May 2001 I have spoken before of the use of the word “violence” and how it seems to have been hi-jacked to apply only to the activities of the Palestinians. Yet the casualties they have suffered have been something like four times the casualties they have inflicted – and no President speaks of the IDF using violence. There is also another side to violence, and that is the way in which the press and media are used. In a recent attack on a settlement in Gaza, there was extensive coverage of the damage caused, and reporting of the injuries sustained. Government spokesmen were on the TV and radio condemning this act of violence, with emphasis on the indiscriminate nature of the attack, and in particular the way that it had endangered the lives of young people. . Shortly after, there were two explosions in Palestinian areas – one in Gaza and the other in Ramallah. In both, there were fatalities – in the one in Ramallah, two children were killed along with a man. The press in Jerusalem reported them, as did the TV, as “work-related” explosions, giving the very clear implications that they were the result of car-bombs being prepared by Palestinians going off prematurely. To suggest that, and to suggest that a Palestinian would take children in a car with a bomb in it, is in line with the oft-repeated assertion of the Israeli publicity machine that Palestinians deliberately put their children in the firing line. However, few people here that I meet gave much credence to the official line on these two explosions. Many saw them as the work of Israeli agents. Yet, such is the way in which news is reported, that little coverage was given to this sort of Israeli violence. One of the families in our congregation is a Korean Presbyterian family, living and working in Bethlehem. John and Cang-Lim have been there for some years, running a Kindergarten and demonstrating a Christian presence in their community. Last Sunday, they were rather agitated. In the vestry, at the time of the service, John showed me two small plastic containers in which were two bullets. They had been fired in the direction of his house, had come in through two windows, and ended up across the room in the walls. Fortunately, he and his family were away when this happened. It is quite possible that they were fired by Palestinian gunmen, who had turned their guns in that direction, with a view of creating some bad publicity for the IDF. More likely is that they came from the IDF forces shooting at Bethlehem from the direction of Gilo. How John’s house came to be a target, when it is near no place where gunmen could fire from, is a mystery. It also belies the claims made by IDF spokesmen about the accuracy of IDF responses to shooting at them. Sunday evening we had a sort of a musical event in the church with the “choir” singing a few items. In the mid-afternoon there was a phone call from Helen Shehadeh, telling me not to come and pick her up. There had been too much shooting in the past few days, and she was apprehensive, both for her own sake and for mine. Such are the realities of congregational life here – and much worse for the congregations on the West Bank and in Gaza. The selective nature of reporting means that this sort of news is minor and so does not get reported. Just as worrying as the selectivity of the media is the way in which language is used. Not so long ago there was the huge outcry against the IDF move into Gaza – an invasion, claimed the Palestinians, a preventive operation replied the IDF. Such was the international pressure that the forces were pulled out within a day. However, since then there have been several smaller incursions, where IDF troops with tanks and bulldozers have gone in, houses have been demolished, orchards have been uprooted, some casualties have occurred, but within hours, the IDF is back out of Gaza. Little has been heard of opposition to these sorts of actions. Thursday’s paper carried the following headline on Page 2. “ IDF ‘engineering’ leaves 24 Gaza families homeless.” It starts : The IDF called it an “engineering” job It would clear an area from which Palestinians fired on patrolling soldiers. For some 24 Palestinian families, - some 150 people – it was an “eviction” job from their homes, and it left a 17-year old dead and 16 wounded, including four members of one family. Needless to say, there are two versions of the story recounted, both very different. The one will be accepted by one community, the other by the other community. But what is it doing to perceptions, language, truth, when the word “engineering” is used in this way? So, another week has passed – more deaths, more destruction – overhead as I write this early on Saturday morning, I hear the sound of the military helicopters. I have yet to hear or see a civilian helicopter over the city. You always wonder where it is going to, or where it is coming from, and what use it has made of the arsenal of weapons that it carries. We had an interesting talk on Wednesday evening from a Muslim Headmaster of a school in Ramallah. He spoke of the meaning of the world Islam – meaning “submission” (to the will of God) and based on the word Salam = peace. In the Paper he distributed, he listed the 5 pillars of Islam as Al - Shahadah :To confess that there is no God but Allah and that the prophet Mohammad is God’s prophet. Al – Salat : To pray 5 times a day Al – Zakat : To give alms for the poor and needy Al – Saum : to fast during the month of Ramadan Al – Hajj : to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a life time. In questions at the end, when one of the Jewish people present asked about the suicide bombers, he was very explicit in his reply. Such bombing, and such suicide, is against Islam. He also acknowledged that other “denominations” within Islam differ from his interpretation. One has to acknowledge that within the Christian family also, there are differing beliefs about the use of force and war. I remember a relative coming back from London not long after the War, and telling how humiliated he had felt when looking for accommodation, and had seen notices in windows saying “No Irish”! The memory came back to me this week when reading an article about a Russian woman. Her husband had left home to go to work, and had been murdered during the day. His body had been found in the boot of his car, in the Ramallah area. It was yet another instance of this hideous circle of violence with which people have to content. In the article, the widow speaks with bitterness of the difficulties that she and her husband had faced, and the sense of being on the outside of society. Although a University graduate in psychology, she found that she had a hard time obtaining work in her profession, and so she took a nursing course. She found a job in Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus – one of the major hospitals in the city and country. However, even there life was tense. Doctors and administration treated her with condescension, and the Palestinian patients and visitors treated them with scorn. It is one of the great problems facing Israeli society – how to cope with the enormous range of people who have come here in response to the policy of the country, offering a home to Jewish people of whatever nationality. It is a problem that the UK has had to face with all the people who have come to live there since the War, and it has changed the face of society there. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the policy of encouraging Jewish people to come and live in Israel, it certainly has produced mixed results. It is worth remembering this, in all our thinking about what is happening here. When is smuggling not smuggling? Or when is being economical with the truth acceptable? One answer might be – when governments do it. This was prompted by listening to a young woman this week describe her job. Born to American parents who were part of the State Department, she lived in a variety of countries in and around the Middle East and North Africa. Fluent in Arabic, and currently living in Ramallah, she is involved in activities to do with human rights. One of the particular ways that she in involved is in lobbying the European Community about imports from Israel. The EU has agreements with Israel governing duties charged, or not charged, on goods manufactured in Israel and exported to the EU. But is a Settlement, on the West Bank, on Palestinian land, part of Israel, and thus eligible to receive the same tax breaks, or is it not? Few people would say that the Settlements are in fact “Israel” – and if not, then why are goods from Settlements allowed into the EU? For the Settlements, it is a crucial question, as their ability to export to Europe gives them the opportunity to earn money and gives them economic resources. If the EU were to implement its rules, then Settlements would not have this market for their goods – and this would have an adverse effect on their viability. Apparently EU bureaucrats recognise that they are allowing trade in breach of their regulations, yet nothing so far has been done about it. Perhaps a new meaning for the word “violence” when applied to the rule of trading law? Violating it?. It is interesting to note how one is conditioned by one’s environment. It has become quite commonplace to hear the sound of tanks shooting at the Bethlehem area. So, if it is night, and if there is a booming sound, it is gunfire! Wrong – at least last Tuesday night. I was just about to remark to Joan about the shooting having started again, when the noise occurred again, rather closer – it was thunder. It went on sporadically for most of the night, but about 0400 hours, I woke up to hear it going in real earnest. At one time, there was continuous rumbling for 25 minutes. There was also rain – 71 mms fell in Jerusalem during the storm. There was widespread flooding, traffic chaos, and in other parts of the country, roads were blocked and bridges washed away. This all followed Monday afternoon, when there was a sort of sandstorm, and the light was a weird yellowy colour. It was so “dark” that the street lights came on automatically about 1700 hours. When there was some rain overnight on Monday, it was so dirty, that on Tuesday cars were covered with a layer of dust! Domesticity struck this week – I was inside a grocery store for the first time for a wee while! Two of the items on the list were : Baked Beans and Red Kidney Beans. Quite staggering to see the prices – NIS 6.50 for each tin. ($1 = NIS 4: 1 pound sterling = NIS 6) Chili comes expensive when it costs that much to put the beans in it! Joan continues to produce paintings like there is no tomorrow. Yellow lilies, a pen and ink drawing of the Old City by the Dormition Abbey, and several “information” sketches of wild flowers. To a Philistine like myself who asks what is going to be done with them all, comes the reply –I don’t know! We could hold a blind auction at a distance – put number on pictures and ask you to submit your bids in a sealed envelope! Somehow I don’t think that idea would meet with much approval, certainly not here. Sitting at this desk a couple of days ago, I was distracted by a great commotion outside. There was a pair of bulbuls making a great noise, and then I saw why. A Jay had come down, found their nest, and helped itself to one of the chicks. When I saw it, it was sitting on a branch, dismembering the wee fledgling and having breakfast. Joan threw a glass of water at it, and off it went – the dead chick fell to the ground, and it returned to finish its meal. Strange how so often we say prayers of thanks for the wonder of nature, and sort of forget this sort of scene. I wonder what the bulbuls felt, and what sort of prayers they would be saying? The Church of the Holy Sepulchre sometimes seems little more than a tourist attraction. However, turn up at 1725 hours on a Friday, and it is very much the home of worshipping communities. There is a procession of Roman Catholics completing their tour of the church, chanting their prayers, carrying their candles. Waiting to start is a procession of Armenians (whom we followed yesterday) As soon as the Latins went up to the Chapel of Calvary, the Armenians burst into song and started off. When they came back to the Tomb, just before they ended their procession, readings and prayers, there was a Latin Mass being said in an adjacent chapel, and it was accompanied by the organ! Despite it all, there was s certain air of worship and reverence – and they all seemed to get along together – greeting each other at the end of their respective services. See how these Christians love another, to quote from some book somewhere. Bye for now. God bless. Love, Joan and Clarence. |
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| top | Circular Letter No 38 28th April, 2001 Last week Holocaust Day was remembered – it is hard to say “celebrated” about such a day, but equally “remembered” is perhaps too bland. So much of what is happening here now is a continual remembrance of Holocaust Day, and the determination that never again will Jewish people be as vulnerable as they were in Europe during the Nazi period in Germany. This week, Wednesday was Memorial Day, the day to remember those who have been killed in the wars fought by Israel, and Thursday was Independence Day. So, inevitably, there has been a lot of reflection on the past, and contemplation of the future. Before we get to that, however, some details of the past few days. As you know, a “day” runs from one evening to the next, so on Tuesday evening, I was driving home and at 2000 hours turned into the street where we live. It is narrow, with cars parked on both sides, and someone parked in the middle of the road, standing at the side of his car. A polite hoot on my horn inviting him to move did not produce any result, and then I heard the siren! I had not realised that there would be a siren, at the sound of which all traffic stopped and many drivers got out to stand beside their cars, pedestrians stopped where they were, and all was silent apart from the wailing of the siren. When it was over, everything started to move again. As you can imagine, I did not feel very smart at what I had done! The same thing happened at 1100 hours on Wednesday morning, when we were leaving the city. At a busy intersection, everything stopped. It recalled to my mind the campaign by the British Legion, among others, to have November 11th observed in a similar way. To avoid clashing with Memorial Day here, ANZAC Day was marked the day before – Tuesday. I had been asked to participate in the service at Mount Scopus War Cemetery, where Armistice Day had been observed. This was a more “formal” occasion, with chairs for people, loudspeakers, speech from the Ambassador, readings from the Bible, and then a Rabbi reading passages from letters of a Jewish serviceman in the Australian forces, and finally a part of a letter from one of the Australian Generals, who happened to be Jewish. There was some comment on the emphasis on the Jewish aspect of the day, which was really to remember all ANZAC forces, but there is always the difficulty of speaking about such a feeling, given the history of anti-Semitism, and the readiness of people here to suggest that anyone who criticises Israel is being anti-Semitic. As at the Remembrance Day Service in November, the Turkish Government was represented, which was yet another illustration of how, in the course of a century, nations can move from killing each other to remembering each other’s dead. Independence Day was, of course, a holiday. There was very little traffic – at least in the early part of the day – and parks were full of people picnicing. It really was a happy occasion. It had not started like that, the evening before. Joan and I were able to listen to fireworks with one ear, and to hear the sound of the gunfire at Beit Jala and Bethlehem with the other. In the afternoon, President Katsav hosted a reception for the Diplomatic Corps, and for the leaders of churches. It was a large affair, with everyone first of all lining up to greet the President and his wife, and also Shimon Peres, who was there as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Then a drink and something to eat, speeches, and if you had time, more food and drink. I imagine that it was similar to such receptions wherever they are held. Among the guests I met was a Major General of the Ghanaian Army, commanding the UNIFIL force here. He is about to return to Ghana and become Chief of the Armed Forces. “Call and see me” he said – so Murrayfield folk, perhaps you could call on my behalf. Running through much of the reflection in the media here has been a sort of “bitter sweetness”. At the Reception of the President, Mr Peres spoke about the way in which he had shared in the first Independence Day. He said there has been parties, dancing, music, celebrations – but one of the leaders of the time had said, “laugh today, because you will cry tomorrow. Dance today, you will fight tomorrow.” He continued by saying how small and weak the Jewish people were at that time, but they had survived, and the State was celebrating its 53rd birthday. However, the poignancy in his remarks came with two phrases that he re-iterated – the Jewish people must never give up, and never give in. “We did not give up or give in then, and we will not give up, nor give in, now.” Today’s struggle is just a continuation of that struggle of 53 years ago. Mr Sharon made a remark in a similar vein when he was speaking earlier in the week. “Little did I think,” he said. “when I shared in the lifting of the siege of Jerusalem in 1948 that I would be fighting to preserve the independence of Jerusalem 53 years later.” In his short speech, at one time the President spoke of Israel as a Jewish State, and at another time he spoke of the “Israeli State.” His apparent linguistic confusion reflects an on-going debate here as to the nature of the State. If the State is Jewish, what is its policy towards the 20% of its citizens who are Arab and predominantly Muslim, but remembering that there are also Arab Christians and Jewish Christians? Have they any real “citizenship” at all, or are they indeed, as many would say today, second or even third class citizens, with significantly less rights that their Jewish fellow citizens. What are their rights to land, to work, to social benefits etc etc. On the other hand, if the State is regarded as “Israeli,” there would be many in the Jewish community who would feel that they had lost a major part of their identity, and that the State has lost its real raison d’etre, to provide a homeland for Jewish people. Commentators, writers, broadcasters, all are addressing this dilemma. (As you will know, the newspaper which we buy is Ha’aretz – the sort of Guardian or Independent of Israel. So, what one reads in it are not necessarily the views of the majority of the population.) The following is a quotation from the leader column of Ha’aretz on Wednesday – “It is not impossible that sometime in the future there will be a change in the view that Israel is primarily a nation state. However, this change is not imminent. The citizens of Israel cannot see their country as a mere historical episode, given the way in which it was founded and structured.” Even in the Leader Column of such a paper as Ha’aretz one finds the use of a the phrase “citizens of Israel” being used to refer to the Jewish citizens who are some 80% of the population, but not mentioning the views or the “rights” of the other 20%. Trying to look at the world through Jewish eyes, it is hard that there is still a struggle, and that there is still the feeling that Israel has not been accepted by the international community. The Belgian Foreign Minister was here this week, who has been a strong and vocal critic of the policies of Israel, and he continued with his criticisms while here. He was not the most popular visitor that there has been in the past few weeks. But then, what is the view, or what are the views, of Jewish eyes? Wednesday’s Ha’aretz Comment Page carried some very interesting articles. Our independence is theirs, was the heading of one. “Independence Day once again finds the country with the same heavy burden on its freedom – our domination of a nation that lacks national liberty is damaging Israel’s interest.” Discussing the problem of having to come to terms with the Palestinians, the writer argues that you cannot have peace for the one – Israel – without justice for the other – Palestine. Yet, he recognises that there is a huge gap between the aspirations of the Religious Parties, and the moderates – and at the moment the moderates are not all that numerous. However, he does see the influence of Shimon Peres at work in moderating some of the views of the government. He concludes : “In order to achieve true independence there is no escaping their independence. Our national might will be realised only if under new leadership we will be wise enough to know how to force an agreement upon ourselves, and to sweep our problematic next-door neighbours up in it.” Moving the goal posts for Israel’s Arabs, is the heading of the next article. “The attitude of most Jews in Israel toward the Arabs in Israel has traditionally been hostility, avoidance, or indifference. But since the Al Aqsa Intifada and the tragic deaths of 12 Arab citizens, the level of interest in the subject has risen.” …”The true discussion on the Arabs in Israel has ceased to be a sectoral matter dealing only with the minority, or whether the majority has to give the minority a little more, and in what areas. It is becoming increasingly clear the subject is now nothing less that the image of the state, and its chances of survival.” The writer outlines two directions of the debate : Israel is the state of the Jewish people, which leaves no room for any other group, only for some individuals at most. The other is that the only chance that Israel has to live in stability and at peace with its neighbours is by becoming an inclusive, all-encompassing state. It has to offer the Arab minority complete and true equality, including reparation for past injustices. What we are fighting for, reflects on the struggle for land – and whether what was seen as an acceptable, and even necessary, policy in 1967, is now a valid and realistic option. “Even the most respected of the intelligence assessors in the IDF believe the war is over the settlements, not Tel Aviv, nor even the Jewish Quarter in the Old city of Jerusalem. It’s about liberation from Israeli colonialism. There must be a way to find convergence of interests. If you don’t believe in miracles, you’re not a realist. “The future of this state will ultimately be decided not by the sword, but by the economy.” The writer notes the changes that are taking place in political structures all over the world, driven often by economic reforms. He goes on to argue that the same sort of economic pressures will force Israel to live together with Palestine. The reason
for this lengthy reference to these articles is to try to show how Jewish opinion here is
not monolithic, and that Jewish Israelis are engaged in a very real debate as to the
future of the country. While this is happening, there is still the “war” and
people are being killed. It is sad, but perhaps inevitable, to note the way in which
violence has become “routine”. The nightly English language TV news from the
Israel Broadcasting Authority still gives details of violence – more details if it
involves Jewish deaths, it has to be acknowledged – but sometimes items that have
surprisingly critical undertones of IDF actions. Yet, whereas in October, it was virtually
the only news, now it competes with other matters for air-time. |
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| Top | Circular Letter No 37 The apartment in which we live is on the first floor of a 4 -floor building. On 2 sides there are some trees – givers of shade in the heat, but also obstructors of light, so that even at mid-day, we have to use artificial light. It can be depressing, but we have got more or less used to it. However, one of the good things with regards to the trees is that attract many birds – sun birds, palm doves, bulbuls, woodpeckers, blackbirds, sparrows. Sitting at my desk, I can often watch them as they fly to and fro outside. The drawback of the birds is that they waken rather earlier than we usually do – now that we are on summer time, it is well before 0500 hours that they begin to sing. Such is their exuberance at being awake, that they sing loudly. Then by 0530 or so, they settle down to chirping and a more normal pattern or noise – but by this time I am often wide awake! What a life. Anyway, awake at that time, I sometimes get up and do a bit of letters such as this one. This will be a sort of hotch potch this week, with bits written at different times. Easter Sunday. What could be more awe-inspiring than seeing the sun rise over Jerusalem on Easter Sunday morning. It was cool when we got down to the Hospice about 0530 hours, and still a bit dark. We set out about 30 chairs, facing east, looking past the Dormition Abbey to the Mount of Olives. We are now looking past a large crane that has been erected on the Begin Centre building site, but fortunately it did not intrude in our view. We had the usual readings, the familiar hymns, and a short “meditation” – as many of you will have had. What made it special for us was, about 0610 hours, the sun came through the low clouds that I had been afraid would hide it. It rose up above the Mount of Olives – and one would feel that surely around that time also on the first Easter Sunday morning – Jesus would have looked over to the Mount of Olives, the place where he had been just a week before coming in to the city. Perhaps it is romanticism, perhaps it is wishful thinking, but it made a difference to our day. 0700 hours was breakfast in the Hospice, and then folk went home to come back for the 1000 hours service. We had a story about Easter Eggs, we had a celebration of Holy Communion, we had many of the things that you would have had – with just that something extra, of being in the vicinity of where it all started. To conclude our service, we were all invited to say “Christ is risen” and to share it in as many languages as possible – Amharic from Ethiopia, Japanese, German, Arabic, Hebrew, English, Greek. It was more than fun – it was moving in its own way that we came from so many different places and represented so many different cultures, yet with one common faith and purpose at that particular time. Depending upon your Tour Guide, or the book you read, or the Biblical Manuscript that you think is genuine, will be how you vote in the stakes to decide which of the competing places is actually Emmaus. The Bible we now use in St Andrew’s has a footnote to say that some Manuscripts say it is 60 stadia from Jerusalem, while others say it is 160 stadia away. Accepting the 60 stadia version of events, Joan and I went with two others from the church to Abu Ghosh, a village about that distance from Jerusalem, which is said to be Emmaus. There was a service of Vespers in the Catholic Church there, and we attended it. The congregation was about 30 – half of it being from the American Consulate in Jerusalem! We listened to the priests and nuns singing, in French, their special evening service for Easter Sunday. As any who have been to the church will recall, it has marvellous acoustics, and the music that evening was ethereal. It would have been a marvellous way to bring to an end Easter Sunday – but there was the journey home, up the dual carriage way, with the horns, the drivers in a hurry, and the consequent aggressive driving. After every “mountain-top” experience there is the inevitable coming down to earth again – the essence of the Incarnation. Monday We have arranged to meet Nuha from the village of Idna in Bethlehem. She is bringing the completed first section of the Communion Cloth commissioned by Murrayfield to give to the Vrsovice congregation in Prague, with which they have been linked since about 1985. Nuha will come by taxi – the 7-seater ones that are the accepted form of public transport. She is well over an hour late – as it is Easter Monday, not too many taxis are operating, and so she has trouble getting to Bethlehem. The work that has been done is marvellous, and the young Japanese lady who designed it is thrilled at the way that it has turned out. I hope to get it on digital camera, so if anyone would like to see it, and even better if anyone would like to commission something like it, all you have to do is ask, and it would keep someone in the village co-operative going for the best part of a month. We hope to get the finished article next Monday. Tuesday Lunch time There is the regular meeting of the Board of the International YMCA in West Jerusalem – opposite the King David Hotel. The Board has 21 members in 3 parts – (like Caesar’s Gaul!) 7 Jewish, 7 Arab, 7 expatriate. For many years, the Chairman of the Board has been drawn from the expatriates – for fairly obvious reasons. At this meeting, I was nominated to be the Chairman with effect from June 21 – and the Board accepted the nomination. Time will tell whether they were wise to appoint me, and whether I was wise to accept! Wednesday morning. As those of you who know her will be aware, Joan is a reasonably peaceful, non-belligerent sort of person. It is therefore of some interest to me to sit with her and watch the TV news – last night was a good example. The news was of the incursion of the Israeli armed forces into parts of Gaza – a new occupation of Palestinian territory as demarcated in the Oslo Accords – justified by the Israeli government as necessary for the security of their people, and to prevent mortar attacks on their settlements. This peaceful, normally quiet person that Joan is, became more and more agitated, and more and more vocal in her comments about the Israeli government spokesmen, justifying their action. If this is how Joan has been politicised, or polarised, by what we see and hear and experience here, how much more so must it be for the people who are involved, be they Palestinian or Jewish. Oslo Accords : for most of us Oslo is the capital of Norway. For folk here it is associated with what might have developed into some sort of peaceful co-existence. The fact that it did not will exercise the minds of plenty of people for years to come. But at Oslo, the Palestinian area of the country – the West Bank – was divided into 3. Area A – full Palestinian control for everything. Area B – Palestinian control for civil government, Israeli control for security matters; Area C – Israeli civil and security control. So, the incursion referred to above was into Area A – Israel decided it needed to invade in order to try to get rid of places from which people could mount mortar attacks at Israel proper. Never mind it is, under an agreement signed by Israel, the territory of the other guy! Beit Jala, next door to Bethlehem, starts life at the bottom of the hill as Area A. Mid way up it changes somewhere to Area B, and by the time you get to the top, you are in Area C. Easy, isn’t it? We had arranged to have lunch with Helen Shehadeh, who wanted to talk a bit about the future of the school. Not far from her, as the crow flies, is a restaurant called Everest – it is near the top of a hill. Unfortunately, it sits just outside the barricade that the IDF has put up on the road that leads out of Beit Jala. So, we have a choice – drive back through the Rachel’s Tomb area, by the tunnel road, and then up the hill to the restaurant. This would take anything up to 20 minutes. The other is to drive up to the “border”, park the car, and walk through the barrier – that would take 3 minutes to drive, in the heat we will saunter and it will take a bit longer. One wonders at the rationale that allows anyone who wants to walk past the check point, but not to drive past it. The hotel can seat over 300 – and does not expect to seat that at lunch time mid-week. However, it probably expected to do better than 5 people. It is just one of the casualties of the current situation – and there are many, more on the Palestinian side of the line, but also significant numbers of the Israeli side of the line. While the politicians maintain their positions, and blame each other; while the military on both sides often appear to do their own thing and hold each other responsible for everything; ordinary folk are hurting in their pockets – certainly more so among the Palestinians, but also among the sector of the economy of Israel that depends on tourism. Thursday. Today, at 1000 hours, the siren went to mark the beginning of a period of silence to mark Holocaust Day. It is hard to contemplate the full scale of what happened. Imagine Scotland being completely emptied, with not a soul in it. This would not even reach the total of those exterminated in the Holocaust. With this in their relatively recent past, it is easy to see what drives the Israelis to try to obtain security for themselves. What saddens folk like us is that all our contact with the Palestinian people tells us that they are getting further and further from their goal of being able to live peacefully here, with every house demolition, every person killed, every individual humiliated and harassed. You must be tired of hearing us say this. We are tired of hearing it, of seeing it, and of feeling that there is not the slightest concern on the part of the world outside. It is an upside-down world where those who kill 5 or 6 times as many as the other side are only acting to secure peace, while those who kill the smaller number are guilty of violence. Sunday It is hot, as I walk down to church, and the air is heavy with the dust carried in on the wind from the desert. Called Sharav (Hebrew) or Hamsin (Arabic) We are told that today the temperature will be over 30 degrees (TV said tonight that it was 34 degrees) At 0945 hours, one of the elders tells me of the suicide bomber near Tel Aviv. How can this be accommodated in the service? ( At the beginning of the service, we read from Matthew 5, about and eye for an eye; and about loving your enemies. God forbid that the Palestinian people would ever say that they will have to kill one Israeli for every Palestinian killed – that would be too horrendous to contemplate.) At 0950 hours a group of 25 arrives – Portuguese speaking from Brazil – could they have some translation of the service? We agree that the Bible can be read in Portuguese, and that it will be all right for people to translate for their neighbours. They are followed by a smaller group of Korean people living in Alabama – an interesting place to settle. There is also the first Moderator of the General Assembly of the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa – at whose election the then Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland had been present. ( She gently reminds the Church of Scotland that they have not yet had a woman Moderator!) It is not the easiest of services to take with the sotto voce translation going on, but, it is good to welcome folk from other churches and be able to give them an opportunity to worship. Afterwards, 3 carloads make it down the road to a National Park, close to Bet Shemesh. Fortunately there are picnic tables under trees at which we can sit . After our picnic, we meander up the dusty dirt road, through the forest. We reach an area where there are lots of memorial plaques erected by the Jewish community from Peru – the people have presumably paid towards the planting of the forest. This is one of the noticeable features of moving around public places in Israel – the extent to which overseas Jewish communities put money into Israel. One sad aspect of this park, and others like it, is that they often contain the sites of former Palestinian villages, now destroyed and erased from the map. I realise that there is a lot that is mundane, almost trivial, in this letter, while you may be wanting to hear about more momentous things. That may come in another letter – but daily life goes on, daily decisions have to be made, and there has to be some planning for the future. End of the page. End of time. End of inspiration. End of your patience! Thanks for reading.
God bless. Love from Joan and Clarence. |
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| © Ferryhill Parish Church. Last revised: 07 April 2007. |
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