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Rev Clarence Musgrave  
and his wife Joan  
were our mission partners. 
They  worked at 
St Andrews Church of Scotland Church 
in Jerusalem before they retired in the summer of 2006.

Sunbula, the shop in St Andrew's Hospice that promotes and sells handcrafts made by Palestinians is now on the web: www.sunbula.org

• No 101
• No 102
• No 103
• No 104
• No 105
• No 106
• No 107
• No 108
• No 109

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Partnership in Conflict

Circular Letter No 109
21st December 2002


I do not know if it has been headline news in your part of the world, but it certainly has been here – the allegations of vote buying and selling in the contest to nominate the “List” for the Likud Party in the forthcoming General Election. It all is a bit unusual to someone not attuned to the way of Israeli politics, and to help understand it, here is a short resume (as I understand it!)

Parties submit a list of candidates for election.

At the Election, the percentage for each party is worked out, and the seats on the Knesset are allocated on the basis of the popular support for each party. There is a certain minimum percentage of votes that a party must gain to get any seats in the Knesset.

In the Likud Party, there was a Convention to elect people to the List.

Prior to this there were elections to nominate people to the Convention.

So, it is quite an involved process, but the importance of it is seen in the fact that the Likud (the party of the Prime Minister) has nominated a list of, lets say, 80 people. If it gains 70 seats in the Knesset, most of them will become MKs (Members of the Knesset) If, on the other hand, it only gains 30 seats, most of them will be disappointed. So, in the election of the List of Candidates, it is essential to be as near the top as possible. And there lies the root of the current scandal.

Sunday 15th Dec : Page 1 Main headline in Ha’aretz : Police open probe over Likud primary bribery charges. Below it, Likud MKs flout donations law (failing to report donations received to pay expenses for elections)

Monday 16th Dec : Page 1 Headline, Ha’aretz : Likud fears losing 3 – 4 seats to scandal.

Tuesday 17th Dec : Page 1 Ha’aretz : Attorney-General to probe Labour vote in Druze towns.

Wednesday 18th Dec : Page 1 Ha’aretz main headline : Two arrested in Likud voting case.

Thursday 19th Dec : Page 1 Ha’aretz main headline : Likud braces for public fury : vows to back police

Friday 20th Dec : Page 1 Ha’aretz Headline “ First remand in Likud vote scandal.


These are the headlines in the week when Mr Blair announced to the House of Commons “I am inviting leading Palestinians to come to Britain in January to a conference along with members of the Quarter and other countries from the region. It will discuss progress on reform and look at how the international community can help.”


Last Sunday, the morning service at St Andrew’s was arranged by Joyce Wilson, the American United Methodist Church Deacon whose husband is the Director General of the International YMCA. She invited a group of women to say a few words about some of the women from the Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. Not surprisingly among them was someone representing Mary, the mother of Jesus. Suad, the woman who recited the words, is a Palestinian Christian. “ I had come to the well to draw water when suddenly I saw something bright and beautiful. The angel Gabriel appeared before me. He said that I had found favour with the Lord and that I would have a child who would be called Son of God. Can you imagine how I felt? I was engaged to Joseph but not yet married. If I surrendered to God’s will I could lose my chance for marriage, I could become an outcast, I could even be stoned. What would this child mean to me? Would He bring me joy or sorrow? Nevertheless I responded, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” It was obviously a very emotional moment for her, and I think that it was her emotion which made me listen more carefully to words that I had heard so often that I have become guilty of not listening to them. The young girl Mary was being told by the angel that she would become pregnant and have a child – outside her forthcoming marriage to Joseph. It made me think again of the story of the women caught in adultery at the beginning of Chapter 8 of John’s Gospel, and how, according to the Law in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, she should be put to death. It recalled the recent cases under Sharia (Muslim) Law of women being condemned to death by stoning, for having children outside their marriages. It was quite some request that was being made of Mary – to put herself into the position where, at the least, her marriage might be at risk, and at the worst her life might be endangered. For me, it made her reply all the more remarkable with its rather bland words : “Here am I : I am the Lord’s Servant. As you have spoken, so be it.” Had it been possible for me to have been in her position, I wonder would I have had the same courage – to put myself at risk by bucking my tradition and my religion?


That evening, we had another in our series of evening Taizé services at the Ecce Homo Convent on the Via Dolorosa in the Old City. I thought that it was a bit strange to see so many Police and Border Police in the vicinity, and asked the Sisters about it. Apparently, there is a march in the convent area – which is close to the Temple Mount -on the third Sunday of each month by proponents of commencing to build the Third Temple now. As the march proceeds through the Muslim area, where it is understandable that it does not meet with universal approval, there is the police presence to ensure that there is no trouble. On this evening, the commander of the Police went on to the roof of the convent property to make sure that no-one had gained access to it who might throw stones on the procession. In the Chapel of the Convent, the altar is placed in front of a stone arch from Roman times, which is spoken of as a possible place where Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd (Behold, the man). While this may, or may not, be fact, what is sure is that the arch dates at least from AD 70. As we were inside, trying to pray and mediated, in front of an arch which represented Roman power that had destroyed the Temple, outside there were the preparations for the march of those who wanted to build a new Temple to replace the one that the Romans destroyed. There was not much peace then. There certainly is not much peace now. But what actually does the phrase “The peace of Jerusalem” mean?


Thursday Dec 19th. Each year, there is a “ceremony” of singing some Christmas carols and decorating the Christmas tree in the foyer of the International YMCA. This year it was on 19th December. We went along to share in it for a while, and the foyer was full. Folk said that there were more people there this year than had been the case for some years. Be that as it may, in circumstances where as adults we debate about whether we should “celebrate Christmas” and if so, in what way – it was heartening to see so many children there, and to see a large group of teenagers helping with the arrangements. Despite “the situation” there was an excitement about the approach of Christmas.


Joan and I left the “Y” and went back along the road to St Andrew’s Church, where there was to be a concert given by two choirs at 2030 hours. (This is a reasonably frequent happening, as the Church is a good size for concerts, and not too expensive to hire.) It was good to see it full, and to be able to listen to some excellent singing. Three or four reflections went through my mind about the evening.

The first was when one of the young women in the first choir appeared at the door of the church ready to go in with the choir, with her automatic gun slung over her back. She is doing her military duty, and having been given a gun, takes it everywhere with her. I was saddened to think that she had felt it necessary to take it with her when she was sharing in the singing of Christian sacred music. I was also saddened to think that she would assume that she could take it into a church. I pointed out that this was not possible, and so, despite some reluctance on the part of the organisers, she left the weapon in a secure place and went into the church without it.

The second was the relationship of music to words, and to the beliefs of the people who sing the music. So much of classical music is Christian, that I suppose it is not too easy to find a wide range of secular music. However, it did seem strange to listen to a group of Jewish women singing the praises of the Virgin Mary, and singing “alleluia” to the “fruit of her womb”. It is a remark that can be made about many choirs, I am sure, all over the world. Somehow it seems a little bit more pointed here, where in the home of Christ, he is not universally praised.

The third was the fact that a series of Musical Concerts for Advent, organised for the Peace Centre in Bethlehem, had had to be cancelled, due to the Israeli army imposition of a total curfew on Bethlehem. It was a great pleasure to see and appreciate the talents of the young singers in St Andrew’s on Thursday evening – it is a source of great sadness that such opportunities have been denied to most of the West Bank people for much of this year.

The concert ended with the singing, by a second choir, of what we used to call a Negro Spiritual – I am afraid I do not know the current terminology for such music – Campground. It was thought-provoking to hear that song, born in the oppressed situation of the Southern United States, being sung by a Jewish choir and soloist – singing about crossing over Jordan to the promised land. As a musical item, it was superbly performed. As a message in words, it raised interesting questions about who is being persecuted, who is persecuting, in this part of the world.


Friday 20th Dec. The annual Carol Service was held at Tabeetha School in Jaffa, with the senior school sharing in the singing and the reading, and a group of Staff performing an amusing introduction to “While Shepherds watched their flocks by night.” The comment by one of the senior members of staff at the end was, that as a girl – and she is not getting near retiring age! – she sang the same 3 carols to end their services. The pupils who shared in the service came from many different parts of the world – and different faiths. Yet, they were all there – and they all respected one another.


After the service, it was back up the road to Bethlehem. We had had a phone call from Elias to say that he had made lasagna, meat pies etc. and that the curfew had been lifted. So we agreed to try to get in to see him. It was pouring with rain – we have had a heavy storm for the past few days – and conditions were far from pleasant. However, a mere 25 minutes of waiting in the queue saw us through the check point. We took along two parcels for Helen Shehadeh’s school that had come from Scotland, and we took gifts of money that had been sent by folk for specific individuals.

One of the places we went to was Manger Square, and the Peace Centre – where there was a Christmas Bazaar. This had had to be cancelled 3 times already, and was held on the first possible occasion when the curfew was lifted. Not surprisingly, the hopes of the different organisations from Bethlehem to sell their handcrafts to visitors was only partially successful, as it was not easy for people to get organised and get into Bethlehem.


There have been letters and e-mails about the whole question of celebrating Christmas this year – especially in Bethlehem. The Israeli army has said that it will withdraw soldiers from the area of the Church of the Nativity, but that it will remain in the Bethlehem area. The reason given is “security”. So, the argument goes :: as we, in Bethlehem are for the most part under curfew, should we give the appearance of normality by decorating our city, and going to services, which will then be shown all over the world, and people will think all is OK? Or should we forego decorations and attendance at the special services, so that when pictures go out, the message to the world will be clear that we are living under curfew? I am sure that there will be division of opinion among you, as there is here among the people who live and try to work in Bethlehem. Suffice it to say that, having been under curfew for weeks now, there has been no chance for the people of Bethlehem to put up any decorations in the city. So from that point of view, it will be a plain Christmas.


At St Andrew’s, we will have our Christmas Eve Watchnight Service, we will have our Christmas Communion Service, and then we will have a lunch for the congregation and some friends. Turkeys were bought yesterday – in Bethlehem! – so we will have a good meal together. We will rejoice that the last word about the human condition is not that of the armies of this world, nor of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’ – but that a resounding word of hope is pronounced each year, if we have the apparatus to hear it, from the centre of Bethlehem – a Saviour has been born who is Christ the Lord.


We hope your are able to hear it, wherever you are, as we will be listening for it here, and that you have a blessed and happy Christmas.

Joan and Clarence.
 

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Circular Letter No 108
December 2002

Tuesday 10th December “ Ha’aretz. “State Department (of the USA) report questions PA’s recognition of Israel. : Semi-annual review blasts PA for failing to stop terror.” The headline on Page 1 of an article about the semi-annual review of the work of the PA and the PLO, in which it is stated that the PA has not done enough to prevent terror attacks on Israel. The President therefore determined that the PA is not meeting its commitment to fight terror.

While not wishing to enter into the rights and wrongs of this particular discussion, I put this article alongside one at the bottom of the same page : “IDF starts work on Hebron promenade. An IDF engineering unit has stared work to expand the pedestrian strip that runs between Kiryat Arba and the Cave of the Patriarchs. A large truck and a few bulldozers appeared on the site on Sunday. Late last week, the High Court issued a work stoppage order, instructing the IDF not to demolish Palestinian buildings adjacent to the areas planned for the new promenade. …IDF sources say that while the army is being careful not to violate the High Court Order, it also wants to complete preparatory work for the promenade that does not require house demolitions.”

It can also be put alongside a report in the International Herald Tribune of Monday December 9th filed from Migron in the West Bank. “In the ‘Wild East’, Israel grows a hilltop at a time – West Bank’s Jewish population skyrockets.” The article starts : ‘Seven months ago, the only signs of civilisation atop this desert hillock 16 kilometres north of Jerusalem were a cellular phone antenna and a small maintenance shed. Today a smooth asphalt ribbon winds up the rocky hillside to one of the West Bank’s newest Jewish settlements : 33 house trailers set amid freshly planted slabs of lawn turf, a modest synagogue, a boisterous nursery school and a children’s playground.”

What so rankles many here is that while the State Department files its semi-annual review of the work of the PA and its compliance, or non-compliance with USA-set patterns of behaviour, no similar report is publicised, if it is even carried out, of a semi-annual review of the compliance of the Government of Israel with UN-set Resolutions,. Under the terms of these Resolutions the Settlement activity is illegal.


Deaths : Monday Dec 9th, P1: IDF tank kills woman, injures her 3 children. Tuesday Dec 10th, P2 - referring to this incident : An IDF enquiry found that the woman may have been hit by machine-gun fire from a tank that was shooting at what it believed to be infiltrators trying to reach the Settlement of Rafiah Yam. The inquiry report says some bullets fired at the suspected infiltrators may have continued into Rafah, hitting the woman and her children. End of story. Protecting an illegal Settlement/Colony – this woman is killed.

Tuesday December 10th, P2: Handicapped man shot dead by IDF. A 28-year old Palestinian, whom Palestinian sources said was mentally handicapped, was shot dead yesterday evening by IDF forces near Einav, a northern West Bank settlement, when the man did not stop after soldiers called for him to halt and fired in the air as a warning. Later, last night, a 25-year old woman was shot dead by troops and her husband and her mother were wounded as they drove along a dark road near Nablus in defiance of a dusk-to-dawn military curfew, Palestinian security sources said. The army had no comment.

Thursday December 12th. P2. IDF kills PFLP man in Balata Camp (beside Nablus).

Friday December 13th. P1. Two soldiers (of Israeli army) shot dead in Hebron. P2. 6 Palestinians killed in Gaza, 5 of them unarmed.


Approaching Ben Gurion airport by road, there is a check point manned by armed guards. Most cars and vehicles have a cursory check, with the guards determining the safety or otherwise of a car by a glance at the occupants. Almost invariably, if the driver of the vehicle seems to the guards to be an Arab, the car is pulled over for further searching. This is “normal”. On Sunday evening, I arranged for an Arab driver to take me in his minibus to the airport to pick up 3 visitors from the Church of Scotland, due to arrive about 2330 hours. As we drove down, neither of us spoke about the check point, but as we approached it, the driver got his ID card ready, put on the interior light, and I got my clerical collar in place and visible. As if to prove that “normal” does not exist, we were waved through – and once past the check point the driver laughed – it was the first time since the Intifada that he had ever been allowed through the check point without being stopped. One can only surmise that it was the power of the clerical collar!

Our guests arrived, and then left again on Thursday night. The purpose of their visit was to meet people and gain information to help them prepare a Report for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland next year concerning possible changes to the administrative structures of the Church of Scotland here in Israel and Palestine. The Presbytery of Jerusalem is an anomaly, and the question of dispensing with it has been raised. It was in connection with this that they visited. Roll on the Assembly to see what they report.

On Thursday evening, I drove them to the airport, having ascertained that their luggage would in fact fit into my car. We arrived at the first security check inside the airport about 2145 hours. Questions were routine, and it was then off to join the queue for x-ray examination of baggage prior to checking in at the airline desk. 2 ½ hours later they were through – every passenger that night had their baggage opened and searched. Rather every passenger in that particular line had their baggage searched. But in that line it was, of course, co-incidental that I did not notice a single person with an Israeli passport. I am not sure what adjective one would use to describe the separation of the sheep and the goats, but I am sure that if that happened at an airport outside Israel, as a regular occurrence, that all non-Israelis were waved through, while all Israelis were subjected to a search, there would be cries of anti-Semitism. What made the whole exercise so interesting was that on our previous visit to the airport last weekend, the passenger whom we were accompanying, was made to go through the same process, but in his case he had completed all the formalities and had gone to passport control in 20 minutes. While people may remark that such an occurrence or experience is not all that unusual in the world of air travel as it is now, I would have to ask about the fact that there is one fairly obvious set of rules for one group of passengers, while there is another for almost everyone else. What are the criteria that are used to determine who should join which line?


Thursday afternoon provided one of those rare moments that are really both unforgettable and unrepeatable. It was the second birthday of the toddler Shukran, the little girl who suffers from Apert Syndrome (There is some information on the Internet.) Victoria, who is a friend of the family and the contact person between us and them, arranged this visit for us and accompanied us. We left Jerusalem in mid-afternoon and drove out through the Tunnel Road – built to bypass Bethlehem, and give access to the colonies south of Bethlehem. The road into Bethlehem was deserted, but the Tunnel Road was busy with people returning home to the Colonies after working in Jerusalem. 2 or 3 miles down the road there is a junction, and we turned right to go into the hills a short way. Within a mile or two, there is, on the left hand side of the road, a conglomeration of Colonies – built illegally on the West Bank. Just opposite them is the village of Hussan, where the family live. Victoria had been on the phone to them, and so the father was waiting for us at the entrance to the village, to direct us to his home.

He is about 29, and like so many of his age, he has spent time in Israeli jails, for taking part in the 2 Intifadas. His most recent spell was when he was arrested – in the middle of the night – when Shukran was 4 months old. We were told that on this occasion he had not been involved in anything at all, but because he had a jail record, he was picked up. That meant his wife, who was just over 23 at the time, was left on her own with three children and the handicapped baby. He was sentenced by an Israeli Court sitting on the West Bank to 8 months in prison. After release, it was made clear to him that if he was picked up outside the village, he would be straight back into prison. Prior to his imprisonment he had been working in the building trade in Jerusalem. Now he works in a quarry, and earns perhaps NIS 1,500 per month – about ₤200, which is just about ₤1 per person per day. With that he has to look after his wife and 4 children. The cost for the materials to be used in the operation for Shukran is NIS 28,000 – so you can see the impossibility of paying for it himself. By the way, her operation is scheduled for February next year.

When we reached the house, there was some discussion about whether or not we were staying for a meal – of course we were! Rice and chicken were served, and the whole family sat round the table with the three of us. There was the Jewish woman who had brought us all together, there was the Muslim family, and the Christian newcomers. There was the Israeli, the Palestinians and the expatriates. It was just one instance of many such meetings across the religious and political divide. In one way, it will be our vision and experience of Christmas this year.

After we had eaten the rice and chicken, the table was cleared and we had coffee. Then the mother disappeared into a room, and eventually returned with a birthday cake. It was hard not to cry – in the father’s life, this was the first time that there had been a birthday cake in his family. It arose only out of a chance, and perhaps unthinking remark, by Victoria. She had told them not to bother with a meal – a cup of coffee and cake would do! As soon as she had said this, she realised what she had said – where would they find a cake in the village? It turned out that there was a person in a neighbouring village who baked, and so the father had to break his “restriction order” and go to the village to order the cake. Then go back to collect it. And here we were sharing it with them. Goodness knows what it cost. But such a moment is priceless, both for us as visitors, and for the family.

One of the matter-of-fact things which came up in conversation was the fact that the children, when they go to school, take with them as part of their “school uniform” half an onion. This is for use when, as happens from time to time, the Israeli army or the Border Police come along and fire tear gas in the village, or at the school. Sniffing the onions helps to alleviate the effects of the tear gas. They are not for throwing at the soldiers!!!

The whole atmosphere was one of love and caring – and a marvellous example of family life which would have done credit to any home, let alone one which has to exist under such testing conditions.

When it was time to go, the father accompanied us to the edge of the village to make sure that we didn’t take a wrong turning. But it was also interesting when Victoria said that she was glad to have his company as we went through the village. A mile or two down the road, there is the checkpoint, at which we are normally stopped, but this time we were not. Passing through it we moved from a world of deprivation to a world of affluence, of restriction of movement to one where there are so many cars that there are traffic jams, from a home where there had just been the first-ever birthday cake to homes where birthday parties are everyday occurrences. For us, to move from one to the other is relatively simple; for Victoria, less so; for the family in Hussan, virtually impossible.


This was all made possible by those of you who have given us gifts and donations to share with the community around us. Thank you for providing us with the means to help, and the opportunity to share such an experience.


On Friday we lunched with the small community of Catholic priests who live at the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu – the home of Caiaphas, where it is said that Jesus was taken on Maundy Thursday night, and where Peter denied him and then heard the cock crow. We heard reiterated there the rumour that Bethlehem will remain a closed area, under curfew, over Christmas. Understandably, there is anger and sadness as such a decision – but it is the second such decision. For the Muslims, one of the most important feasts of the year is the Eid which comes at the end of Ramadan – and they were under curfew. Why should Christmas and Christians, a minority in Palestine, be any different from the majority who are Muslim? We will just have to wait and see what transpires.

From the gardens of the Church one looks across to the Arab village of Silwan, on the sides of the Kidron valley. It is a community of houses built close together up the sides of the valley – and now there are a few Israeli flags flying from houses which somehow have been bought or acquired. Each one appears to be guarded by armed guards. One can only wonder what it is that makes people subject themselves to such conditions, and to impose themselves on a community where they feel so anxious that they have to guard themselves 24 hours a day.


For those in Scotland, advance notice of some meetings. When Joan and I are in Scotland in January, we will hold meetings at Morningside United Church, Edinburgh on 26th January at 1830 hours; at Kinross Parish Church on 27th January; at the Episcopal Church in Ellon, north of Aberdeen on 28th January, at Limekilns on 29th January and in Dunfermline on 30th January. Accompanying us will be Diana Kattan, who is in Scotland for a few months working with Christian Aid and comes from Beit Hanina, part of East Jerusalem, and Judith Keshet, who is one of the founders of a group called Checkpoint Watch. It will be a chance to hear their stories, rather than ours. The meetings are open to the public. More information later.


Greetings to you all.

God bless.

Joan and Clarence

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Circular Letter No 107
7th December 2002

Wednesday 4th December. Headline in Ha’aretz – Soldier shoots dead 95-year old woman in taxi. In a story about Palestinians trying to get through a particularly contentious area, which the Israeli army has declared off limits, but across which people have to go to get transport to get home, it is reported: “An hour later (after a previous incident) one of the drivers (of taxis) began heading onto the road forbidden to Palestinians. A soldier who noticed, fired a warning shot in the air, and when the taxi didn’t stop, he fired at its tyres. According to witnesses, the taxi was about 100 metres away from the soldier when he fired. According to Channel Two (Israel TV) last night, he fired 17 bullets and kept shooting while running, a particularly inaccurate procedure. Fatima Mohammed Hassan, 95, was killed returning home from a shopping trip when the soldier opened fire on the minibus. She died from a single bullet in the back, said Mohammed Wahdan, a doctor at Ramallah’s hospital. ..,. According to the preliminary enquiry, the soldier fired at a car that was driving away from him without any indication that the soldier was at risk.”

Wednesday 4th December. Headline in the International Herald Tribune (IHT). 95-year old is killed by Israeli soldiers. “A 95-year old Palestinian woman trying to return to her village after a morning of buying sweets and nuts for her family’s Ramadan festivities was killed Tuesday after Israeli soldiers smashed the windows, then fired into the minivan where she was sitting, according to family members. … Fatima Hassan had just climbed over a pile of dirt at a roadblock created by the Israeli military and had boarded one of the small minivans that ferry travellers to their isolated villages when Israeli soldiers came and destroyed the windows of the van with the butts of their guns, then sprayed the van with bullets, said Izzat Ahman, her 28-year old grandson, in a telephone interview.”

Two rather different stories of a tragedy.

Also in the IHT : “Residents of Hebron reported Tuesday that the military had posted notices on 15 houses that it said were scheduled to be demolished in an area between a Jewish settlement and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a holy site.” Some of the houses are described as being hundreds of years old. This is the area where in a gun-fight, 12 soldiers and border patrol officers were killed. The same story was reported under a large headline in Ha’aretz on Monday – “IDF planning walls from Kiryat Arba (a Jewish colony adjoining Hebron) to Patriarch’s Tomb.”


Also in IHT : “The US pressed Israel on Tuesday to investigate reports that its soldiers had destroyed about 500 tons of UN food aid during a weekend incursion in the Gaza Strip, Agence France-Presses reported from Washington.”

Despite a careful examination of Ha’aretz, I did not find this story at all.

Saturday 7th December.

It is hard to get going this morning – signs of age no doubt – yesterday was a fairly full day.

Living here, it is not at all evident that Christmas is close at hand. There are no street decorations, no shop windows full of enticing (or useless?) goods, no advertising jingles on the TV. So, to get motivated to sit down and write Christmas Cards is perhaps not the easiest of things to do. However, in the past couple of days, considerable time has had to be spent on that, and Friday morning was getting close to the end of it. (Correction – on one of our TV channels, we get advertisements from Ireland! – this morning we are told that if we buy the newspaper Ireland on Sunday we will get a free CD with songs like “Have yourself a merry little Christmas”. Seems rather far removed from reality as we know it here.)

The first phone call was before 0800 hours, from a man in Beit Sahour for whom I had received a gift, to let me know that the Curfew on the Bethlehem area was being lifted from 1100 hours to 1600 hours. Was there any chance that I could get the gift to him during that time? Start the mental processes to change the whole shape of the day.

Then it was off to the BBC studios – as if this was a thing that I regularly do! – to take part in recording a programme which is scheduled to be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland on 22nd December at 0800 hours – Personal Touch – a conversation with Johnston McKay, a Church of Scotland minister and broadcaster.

From the studios, it was home, collect a few items, and then head off to Bethlehem. If anything, it was even more depressing than the last time we had been able to get in. There were no pedestrians going through the Check point at Tantur, and two vehicles that we saw in front of us as we approached the barrier were turned away. However, having showed passports, and explained what we were hoping to do, we were told to wait while a soldier made a phone call. After about 10 minutes, I also decided to make a phone call, to an Army office, and it appeared to do the trick, as we were sent on our way with a half-hearted wave from one soldier, while the one who had actually made the phone call to ask for advice just sat where he was.

We have 4 visits to make – and about 3 hours to make them. Driving down through the streets there were the signs everywhere of the Curfew and the Occupation. The Curfew was imposed 15 days ago when Bethlehem area was reoccupied. Yesterday was the third time that the Curfew had been lifted – each time for between 4 – 6 hours. That means that for the past 15 days, people have been confined to their homes for at least 14 days and 6 hours. The rubbish was piled up in the streets, the destruction caused by the tanks and APCs running over kerbs, knocking down light poles, hitting street signs, was all there. Quite apart from the fact that people had been locked up for so long, the sights that greeted them when they came out were not such as to lift their spirits. At one stage we drove across Manger Square – the one place on earth which you think would merit some Christmas decorations – and there was nothing – some cars parked in front of the Peace Centre, some local people meandering about, and one group of Catholic people who had come to visit the Church of the Nativity.

Helen Shehadeh was well. She lives near the school, and so despite the curfew walks down to the school each day from her home. At present the children had all gone home to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the feast of Eid. All being well, they will come back on Monday. She sends a bus with Israeli number plates to Hebron, and somehow the children gather there. The soldiers at road blocks let them through, as they are (a) children and (b) blind or partially sighted. She laughed to see us – laughter of relief at having visitors. We talked a bit of business, had a cup of coffee, and then collected the two cakes that she had made for the Church lunch on Sunday. Giving them to us was a precaution, in case she does not manage to get in for the service.

Down through Bethlehem with a fair bit of traffic on the road, we came to Beit Sahour, where we reached the home of Najla and George Azar. They were well, and enjoying the few hours of freedom. Their two daughters had come down to visit – from less than a mile away – bringing their children. Therese is the daughter who had premature twins in April. They are now bonny babies, and growing just like all normal children. The difference in them from the time I first saw them, in incubators, with Bethlehem under curfew, is amazing. Reema, their older daughter, recently gave birth to her third daughter, and she too was there with the baby and her two other girls. They would all head to their own homes before 1600 hours, and that would be the end of the “official” family visits for the next 4 or 5 days, unless or until the Curfew is lifted. Who knows that the situation will be for them at Christmas.

While we were there, the person for whom we had the gift came down to meet us, thus saving us a bit of time in our visiting. So he was glad that he had made the phone call earlier in the day, and he will have something for his family that he did not expect.

We went up to see the Korean family, John Gang and Chang-Lim, Samuel and Simon. They moved from the apartment that they had rented close to the main cross roads of Bethlehem, as it was too exposed and they felt it was too dangerous. Their school is now on indefinite leave, partly as the children cannot get out of their houses, and partly as John and his family have made the school their temporary home. Safety is relative. From their back verandah, they look down over a valley, at the bottom of which is the site of the demolition of one of the 8 houses demolished in the Bethlehem area during this invasion. Next door to them rebuilding has commenced on a house partially demolished on a previous incursion.

John was quite agitated at times. First for his family, with the kids being bored at having to stay in for such a long time. In a sense they are lucky, as they have several rooms to live in – it is hard to imagine what families do when they have only a couple of rooms. Then his Visa is expiring. He applied for a renewal one month ago, and by yesterday when he had heard nothing, he decided to use the lifting of the curfew to go to the Army post where he would get information about it. He became very excited when speaking about the way the soldier at the Check point had spoken to him – rudely telling him to do this and that. So John started to tell him to be more polite – you can imagine the scene with two people for neither of whom English is their first language verbally squaring off to each other. While John was there, a Palestinian who came up was ordered to stand facing against the wall, hands out, and wait until the soldier had time to deal with him. Eventually John went on his way to the Army office, but had no success. So, he is now worried about what will happen when he next tries to go through a checkpoint and his passport is examined. He is technically an illegal resident.

Finally we went round to the home of Elias and Basma. As you will recall, Elias is the cook of the Hospice who had not been at work for a year or so, as he cannot get a work permit. Normally there is a reasonably positive atmosphere in the house, despite all the difficulties they are facing. Yesterday it was somehow different, and we both remarked that we have never seen them so depressed and lifeless. It was sad to experience this depression – a sort of hopelessness – reinforced by the fact that from their kitchen window they can see the fence that the Israeli authorities have built to keep them from leaving Bethlehem in the direction of Jerusalem. With no work permit, no roads open on the West Bank, no travel documents, no work, curfew, children not able to go to school or university, wife not able to work – it is easy to see why they are so despondent. It also makes a mockery of all the carols that will be sung all over the world about Bethlehem and White Christmases and whatever.

We left Bethlehem and even on leaving there was a surprise. The vehicle in front of us had a party from St George’s College in it, led by Henry Carse, the person who led the recent Study Tour for us. Hearing that the curfew had been lifted, they changed their plans for the day, and headed for Bethlehem getting in a different route from that through the main check point. They had had a very good visit, and came to the check point thinking that they were within a few minutes’ of getting home. Instead, for whatever reason, the soldier on duty refused to deal with them, and told them to go back home the way they had entered Bethlehem – a detour of some 15 kms. We passed without even having a document examined – they were sent away. They did in fact get back home, as I saw them later in the evening. It was a sort of bitter end to their day, but salutary in that visitors from Australia, New Zealand, and America will now have a first hand story to tell of check points. It is sad.

The day proceeded with a visitor from Edinburgh – a doctor who is doing voluntary work in Gaza. He is in Jerusalem for a couple of days, and as he had been in touch with us on his way there, he called us again. Having kept Ramadan with his Muslim neighbours and colleagues in Gaza, he was glad to sit down to a meal and really “break his fast”. He had the usual stories of shootings, incursions, demolitions etc which are so much part of the life of Gaza. He spoke of the 500 tons of food that had been destroyed. He had not been there when the most recent incursion occurred, with 9 or 10 people killed. Today he heads back for another spell there.

So, we felt a bit tired this morning – but our tiredness is at least from the safety of our home here. We are also free – able to take someone to the airport later this morning. Yet, in one sense we too are living in a prison, - with the check points in Jerusalem, the fear, and the uncertainty. Who is imprisoning whom? Israeli? Palestinian? Jew? Muslim? Christian?


By for now. God bless.

Love from us both.

Joan and Clarence

Circular Letter No 106
29 November 2002

Personal evidence of the very deep split in the political opinions of members of the world-wide Jewish community came in the past couple of weeks in the form of a meal in a Jewish home, a meeting I had with two Jewish women on Monday this week , and the receipt of an e-mail on Tuesday.

Sitting in the home of a Jewish family, it was interesting to hear the head of the family speak in terms of the political agenda having been hi-jacked by the Settler movement, and of his opinion that the present policies of occupation, closure and curfew will not in the end produce any resolution of the conflict between Jewish and Palestinian peoples.

The meeting was at home, with two avowedly members of the “radical left”. They both actively participate in opposition to the policies of the present government, and after the forthcoming elections would be hoping that their political point of view would continue to be represented in the Knesset.

The e-mail, which I copy below for your information, came from a Mr Aaron Cohen who receives copies of my letters from some source other than myself. I am constantly amazed at how many people, one way or another, read what we write. The text is :

Mr: Musgrave:

I would like to respond to your thoroughly "unbiased" letter .

You quote U.N. Resolution 242: "The Security Council, Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East; Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war...(etc).

This is a nice ideal, but the resolution ignores the factor of Israeli self-defense. The '67 Six-day War (in which the "Occupied Territories" were captured) was precipitated by Egypt blocking trade access to Israel, and Palestinian and Syrian terrorist raids into Israel proper. After massive Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, and Iraqi military build-ups (whose militaries, land, and populations far outnumbered those of Israel), Israel launched a surprise air attack and defeated the armies in six days. Let's remember the constant threats by many of these groups issued before the '67 war (and still issued today) to "push Israel into the sea". Not the settlers, mind you, but all of Israel.

Now those--who as you read this--launch attacks into Israel with Katusha missiles and suicide bombers would like Israel to cede its fragile borders until densely populated cities, such as Tel-Aviv, are well less than 20 miles away from enemies who blatantly state their goal as destroying "the Zionist Entity".

Six Million European Jews--along with their rich culture and language--were slaughtered by the Nazis, while much of Western and Eastern Europe (and the U.S.) either ignored it or were complicit. That's not to mention the expulsions, pogroms, and sundry horrors committed against Jews in Europe for the past 500-1000 years. Furthermore, In the 19th and 20th Centuries, hundreds of thousands of Jews in Arab countries were subjected to forced conversion, had their property confiscated, or were expelled. Most left to settle in the only place possible: Israel.

Certainly the nations of the World did not whole-heartedly open their borders to the thousands of Jews attempting to escape Europe in 1939, on the eve of World War II, or to the Jews of Arab lands during the 1940s and '50s. Now Israeli Jews should risk survival for U.N. resolutions?

Aaron

I am grateful to Mr Cohen for his response and for putting his point of view so succinctly. That it is one with which many in Israel agree is self-evident in the support for the policies of the Government, and for the actions of the Israeli army in the Occupied Territories. (This is a phrase which I do not normally use, but in this instance I quote it from Mr Cohen’s letter.) Interestingly, the Jewish people who had supper in our home on Monday evening also used the word “pogrom” (used by Mr Cohen) but they used it to describe the actions of Jewish people against the Palestinians.

Another illustration of the depth of division, and the strength of feelings, within the population here is found in a headline on P. 3 of Ha’aretz on 27th November. “Lieberman : Mitzna fit to be mayor of Jenin.” I quote : ‘The right-wing National Union coalition, comprising Moledet, Tekuma and Yisrael Beiteinu, officially launched its election campaign yesterday with a frontal attack on the new chairman of the Labour Party. “Amran Mitzna (the current Mayor of Haifa, the new Leader of the Labour Party, and a former general in the Israeli army) can be mayor of Jenin, Bethlehem or Halhul ( a community of the edge of Hebron) , but not prime minister of Israel” MK Avigdor Lieberman said at a press conference at Beit Sokolov in Tel Aviv. “Just as Hezbollah established a kingdom of terror in south Lebanon, so will Mitzna establish a kingdom of terror in the Gaza Strip, and later in all of Judaea and Samaria,” said Lieberman, referring to Mitzna’s foreign policy plans as “the transfer of the Jews” and a “surrender to terror.” (Mitzna has promised to withdraw IDF troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip within a year of taking office.)’

That there are deep divisions within the Palestinian community is just as clear. A report, also in Ha’aretz, of a speech by Abu Mazen, who at one time was talked of as a possible successor to Mr Arafat, to a meeting in Gaza, is headed “Abu Mazen slams Intifada as disaster.” ‘ “Palestinian violence has in the last two years cost the Palestinians everything they had gained until then and must be halted immediately before it does even greater damage” said Abu Mazen. But his remarks were greeted angrily by the listeners, who included leading members of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah party.’

Friday morning 29th November.

By any standards, yesterday was a bad day. Many Israelis look on travel abroad as a way of giving themselves some break from the pressures of the situation here. So, when as in Mombasa, an attack is aimed at Israeli property and Israeli tourists, it is not just the number of dead and injured that matter – it is the fact that yet again many Israelis will feel that they have no place to turn to, and that they are isolated. Having often been tourists, having often flown, we are able in some minute way to share the feelings of those who were the targets yesterday. As so often, we have to reiterate our belief that any violence is counter-productive, and wrong.

Participating in voting is a fundamental part of a society that elects if leaders and representatives. Having walked into voting stations on many occasions with never a thought of an attack, it makes yesterday’s attack on the Likud offices in Beit She’an all the more insidious, and in one way opens the doors for all sorts of further attacks. It was wrong.

Yet, what to do about the attacks, and why did they happen?

Vast amount of time and energy will be spent by security agencies of many countries working to find out who were the perpetrators of the attacks in Mombasa, while at home the Government of Israel will spend much time on the attack on Beit She’an. One wonders how much time will be spent examining the underlying causes of the attacks, and what it will take to bring them to an end.

In the shock and disbelief and despair of yesterday, it seems almost trite to mention personal experiences, but what else can we do, in order to try to let you know something of some of the realities of life here. So, a series of snapshots.

A meeting with a Palestinian Christian Theologian. The Study Tour participants from Scotland are sitting round the table with him, trying to elicit from him what they can do to be of help when they return to Scotland. Some of the dominant words in the conversation were “despair”, “hopelessness” “apocalypse”. I personally had never seen him so low in spirits. Yet, even in such a mood, he was able to share about a book that he is reading that contrasts the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, with the Book of Maccabees. It is suggested that the one reflects a non-violent approach – letting yourself be put into the lion’s den, yet surviving – while the other reflects the approach of force of arms – freeing the Jewish people from their then political rulers. Even then, differences of theology, of belief and of practice.

Bethlehem from afar. With the closure of Bethlehem last week, it is virtually impossible to get into the city. So the Scots folk had to be content with looking at it across the valley from the Jerusalem side. Behind them, the roar of traffic, the jams of rush hour. In front of them, silence, broken only by the very occasional sound of a car or truck, and the throbbing exhausts of tanks and APCs. It was a week ago that the curfew was imposed when the Israeli army re-invaded Bethlehem – and as I write, it still has not been lifted.

A visit to the airport. The Scots group left on Wednesday evening. Their questioning at the airport was polite and non-intrusive. Their luggage was checked with the x-ray machines, and some of it was individually opened and checked. The comment of one of those doing the checking was that they should feel safer because this was being done. And so, certainly for myself, I do feel safer with the luggage thoroughly checked. What would make me feel even safer would be the checking of all luggage – and an even-handed treatment of all passengers. Stories of inequality of treatment at the airport are legion, and such experiences become the breeding ground for resentment and much more.

A trip to Ramallah. Joan’s Art Group was to meet in Ramallah on Thursday. So, I agreed to take her to the Kalandia checkpoint, where I would leave her, and she would walk through to meet her friends on the other side. It is about 7 kms from the city, but to get to the main checkpoint at Kalandia there is a smaller checkpoint at Ram. On the journey north, to Ramallah, there was only a minor holdup caused by the traffic having to get into single file and negotiate a few curves round barriers. On the opposite side of the road, waiting to get into Jerusalem, were two lines of traffic, nose to tail, stretching for over half a kilometre. Goodness knows how long they would take to get through, and this is people on their way to their regular work in Jerusalem. At Kalandia, there is mild mayhem, with one line of traffic waiting to be allowed through the check point into Ramallah, and at least a couple of others trying to get round on to a different road. Not wishing to face the ½ kilometer queue at Ram checkpoint, I take the second road and head down the Ramallah by-pass. A few kms further on, another turn takes me on to a road to Jericho, and eventually about 7.5 kms from Kalandia, I get to the end of a queue to go through this checkpoint. It is an entrance into the city which Palestinians do not normally use, and so to my relief the traffic moves fairly quickly. In distance the return journey was double the outward journey, but at least it was reasonably quick. Not so for those on the main road, at the checkpoint at Ram.

A visitor. A Jewish woman called and had a cup of tea. She is yet one more of the “radical left” She speaks of her anger, and her despair, at what she sees happening. She tells of being with Jewish people assisting Palestinians to pick olives, and of being shot at by the Israeli settlers. She speaks of the “final solution” that she believes Mr Sharon is planning for the Palestinians.

A picture by e-mail. A middle aged man standing in the middle of the road, two Israeli APCs in the background. He is naked, and people have come to give him clothes. The caption : Nablus – November 24, 2002. Palestinians give man clothes after Israeli army forced him to strip naked and sit on the ground in a cold rainy day for some time.

How can one make sense of it all? What can one do about it?

Just one item of good news. A cheque for NIS 28,864 (NIS 4.5 = US$1 approx) was sent to the company providing the “bone cement” for the operation for the little girl about which I have written. Her 2nd birthday is soon, and we hope to be able to go to see her. The person who collected the cheque skipped down the stairs as if Christmas had come early. Thanks.

Stay well. God bless.

Love from Joan and Clarence

Early this week, as tomorrow is St Andrew’s Day, and we have a service and Reception at the Church.

Circular Letter No 105
Tuesday 19th Nov.

One of the images imprinted on my memory from the past couple of years is that of Mr Blair addressing the media in No 10 Downing Street with Mr Arafat standing at his side, and expressing his support for the creation of a State of Palestine in accordance with UN Resolution 242, the first part of which follows.

("The Security Council, Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East; Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area live in security; Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with article 2 of the Charter;

1. Affirms that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:

- withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;

- termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;.)

This routinely comes to mind when there is more expansion of Colonies on the West Bank. It comes to mind when one hears the leaders of Western countries justifying their verbal attacks on Saddam Hussein on the grounds that he has not complied with UN Resolutions.

It came to mind this morning as I was reading the articles in the paper about the developing situation in Hebron.

Hebron is so important to some parts of the Jewish community as it contains the site revered as the Tomb of Abraham. This lies in the middle of an Arab community of some 150,000. Living in the vicinity of the Tomb are several small Jewish communities of Colonists, numbering in the region of 450. At the edge of Hebron, about a kilometre away, is the much larger Colony of Kiryat Arba, which has a population of some 7,000. To guard these Colonists within Hebron requires a significant presence of the Israeli army, and their presence has been the catalyst for violence over the years. The worst example was probably the killing of 29 Muslim worshippers in 1994 by a Jewish man, Baruch Goldstein. However, there has been regular harassment of the Palestinians, damage to property, intimidation etc. [Anyone wanting detailed and up to date information about the situation there could obtain it from http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/hebron.php. This is the Internet site of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron – a part of the Ministry of the Mennonite Church in the USA. Just for interest, the following paragraph is from this website. Monday, November 18, 2002 Today is the fifth day of the curfew since the shootings on Friday. Many Palestinian families have run out of food. Team members have spent much of the day delivering food, medicine, and baby supplies to people who are not allowed to leave their houses. Team members also observed infrastructure such as water supply and garbage receptacles being installed at the site of the shootings, where the Israeli government has announced it intends to set up a new settlement. ]

This is all part of the West Bank. It is part of the area where there should be no Colonies at all. Yet, today’s paper has an article headed: Hebron settlers plan to build 1,000 units in a new neighbourhood.. ‘The Kiryat Arba Council and the council of Hebron’s Jewish enclave have announced a plan to build 1,000 housing units between Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in the area in which 12 Israelis were killed by Islamic Jihad attackers last Friday night. Housing and Construction Minister Natan Sharansky supports the Hebron building plan and has ordered his ministry’s workers to review the possibility of expropriating lands in the city and using them for Jewish residential purposes.’

Saturday 23rd – morning

There is sadness, anger, bitterness – all sorts of emotions here, no matter with whom you speak.

Sadness at the suicide bomber during the week when so many were killed, and at the automatic response of the Israeli government to invade the Bethlehem area once again.

Anger at what people on both sides of the community call “the men of violence” whether they be Israeli or Palestinian, who seem to be working to their own agenda.

Bitterness at what is perceived by both sides to be the bias of the world’s media in reporting what is happening here. If you are Palestinian, you wonder why there is so much more coverage given to deaths if Israelis in a suicide bomb attack than there is to the deaths of Palestinians, young and old, as a result of Israeli army operations. Are the lives of Palestinians worth less than those of Israelis?

If you are an Israeli Jewish person, you wonder why any reporting of the action of a suicide bomber is combined with reporting of deaths of Palestinians on the West Bank.

On Friday morning I had to go across town to East Jerusalem. Friday is, as you will be aware, the day when the largest numbers of people go to the Mosque in Old Jerusalem to pray. So, it is always a day when the police are most jittery and the blimp often is sent up with its “spy-in-the-sky” cameras. As it is Ramadan, there are likely to be even larger crowds of people than usual. Nevertheless, I was surprised to find, on my way north on the main road, that every entrance into East Jerusalem was closed. I was even more surprised to find on my return that the main road south on which I wanted to travel, had been closed, and there was a monster traffic jam. I had to take a 4 - mile detour round the city centre in order to approach home from a different direction. One is not surprised that similar traffic restrictions are not put in place when there are large numbers of Jewish people going to the Western Wall for special prayers.

Good News.

1. The Jerusalem International YMCA (JIY) occupies a huge building in the centre of West Jerusalem, opposite the King David Hotel. When it first became known that I was going to be involved with it, I was asked why I wanted to get involved with the “American” YMCA, with the “Jewish”: YMCA. Let some people see it that way. However, the philosophy of the JIY is that it offers a place where people of all faiths and none can come and participate in its activities.

On Tuesday, we had a report at the Board Meeting from a young man who until a few months ago was working in the Accounts department of the Y. Then he became involved in the Youth Programme. He spoke of 150 youngsters – Jewish Muslim and Christian, Israeli and Palestinian, coming to share in a sort of Youth Club; of several groups being formed to grapple with the problems of co-existence; of young people (I liked this!!) over 40, asking for their programme too!; of young folk from Haifa asking for assistance to have a similar programme there. We all know that it is probably easier to get a programme started, than to continue with it over a long period of time. Nevertheless, the fact that youngsters of both main communities have found their way to the Y to share with each other, can be nothing but a source of encouragement. It is good to have the chance to be involved with such a programme.

2. In Letter No 103, I mentioned the name of Shokusan Sabatan, and of the need for $5,000 to help pay for materials for use in surgery for her. The good news is that this morning, when I did my sums, I have been able to send a letter to the person who is my contact saying that I can give a cheque for NIS 23,000 as soon as anyone is ready to receive it. This is just about $5,000. Some of it has come from an individual donation from Canada, some of it from a group of people in Prague, and a major part from a congregation in Scotland. Thank you all for your support. I have never met the family, but at some stage I hope to be able to do so, and I hope to be able to relay news of her treatment.

3. On Friday night, the Study Tour people from Scotland who are here at present were invited to attend the Friday evening prayers at the Yedidya Synagogue, which Joan and I had attended a few weeks’ ago. After the service, they, and we, were invited to the homes of three families from the congregation. Certainly in our case, we were not overly surprised to find that our host and hostess are as distressed as we are about the current situation. There may well be different understandings of some of the causes, but we were able to agree that all was not well. Whether or not there can be any further involvement with them, we will have to wait to see. (The proposed visit to Bethlehem on Friday had to be cancelled due to the re-occupation of the city by the Israeli army.)

4. I have been hoping to put together a short speaking tour in Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Edinburgh after Joan and I have attended a course in Crieff in January. Our idea is to try to have follow up meetings with our Partner congregations, and anyone from the wider community who wishes to come – at which a Palestinian woman and a Jewish woman will speak. This, I hope, will give us a chance to hear two voices, and will perhaps widen our appreciation and understanding of what is happening here. The first item of good news is that there is outline approval for this. The second item of good news is that provisional agreement has been reached about the participation of the Palestinian woman. The third item of good news is that I am meeting next Monday a Jewish woman who has been a leading member of the Checkpoint Watch, who has indicated that she could well be able to share in this project. If all goes well, and arrangements can be made, I hope it will be possible to have a series of meetings in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dunfermline, from 26th – 30th January. Partner Congregations - watch this space, and get ready for action!!

Not so good news.

Sunbula, the organisation that assists Palestinian groups to sell their handcrafts, has had some Bazaars. The receipts from the one in St Andrew’s a couple of weeks ago were significantly down on last year. I mentioned before that sales in 2000 were about $280,000. In 2001, they were less than half of that, and this year they are down again. Quite apart from the effect on Sunbula, there is the effect on the village communities where the women live who make the items. Any support for them would be enormously appreciated and significant. I am sure that Carol Morton : e-mail address Palcrafts@fish.co.uk : in Edinburgh would be able to provide information for people in Scotland about where to get such goods.

For general information. A book that was recommended to me recently is called “The Other Israel. Voices of Refusal and Dissent – articles by a diverse group of Israelis” It is published by the New Press, 450 West 41st Street, New York, NY10036 www.thenewpress.com ISBN 1-56584-789-X I am sure that you would find it compelling - and sad – reading.

Bye for now. We have to go to meet the Study Group, and with them make our way along the Via Dolorosa.

Stay well. God bless.

Love, Joan and Clarence.

Circular Letter No 104
16th November 2002

Apologies at the outset. A lot of the letter this week consists of quotations from Ha’aretz. I think that they give some idea of the complexities of the situation, and of the currents at work in Jewish society. Please don’t feel that you have to read through them. Perhaps more normal service will be resumed next week!

Monday 11th November

The headline news today tells of yet another killing of families, this time in Kibbutz Metzer, where it is reported that at least 5 were killed, including a young mother and her two sons. What good can possibly come from such an action? And from this action in particular, against the population of a Kibbutz which had made strenuous efforts to have the line of the new Wall moved in its locality, to allow a neighbouring Palestinian village to retain its farmland and olive grove?

Sunday is the day for the normal weekly meeting of the Cabinet of the Israeli government. At the meeting on 10th November, it was reported that the Defence Minister, Mr Shaul Mofaz (retired 4 months ago from the post of Chief of Staff of the Army) gave his first security roundup. The report makes familiar reading, being remarkably similar to what he said before he retired from the Army : ‘…stating that he intends to increase the pressure on terrorist leaders. He said all the terrorist organisations were continuing their efforts to carry out attacks, and Yasser Arafat is “playing for time” to survive.’

Much is made of the rule of law here, and there are those who portray Israel as a shining example of behaviour in the middle of all the other countries of the Middle East.

One of the real areas of contention within Israeli Jewish society is that of the Colonies on the West Bank, and the activities of the colonialists. Currently one of the hot issues is that of the Olive Harvest. Monday’s paper carried an article headed “How the olive thieves shamed Israel.” ‘Rarely has any issue caused the IDF (and Israel) such deep embarrassment as the West Bank settlers plundering the olive harvest of Palestinian farmers, and then burning and destroying their crops and damaging their trees….Armed robbery [by Jewish people] from Palestinians is something that undermines the war against terrorism, and it was also an embarrassment because the armed settlers doing the thieving were citing security excuses and religious halakhic justifications. They carried out military activities, behaving like armed vigilantes without approval of the police or military. Not only the Palestinian peasants were surprised – so was the army.’

Another real source of anxiety here is “the danger that Israeli military personnel and politicians will be indicted abroad on charges of war crimes. The growing trend in international law to grant cross-border judicial power for crimes such as the killing of civilians and torture is arousing much concern in Israel. … Mr. Netanyahu suggested at the Cabinet meeting that Israel convene an international conference for legal experts from countries opposed to the International Criminal Court. He said, ‘It could lead to a dangerous situation in which IDF soldiers and commanders of elements acting on behalf of the state will be personally exposed to indictments.’ Mr. Sharon accepted his suggestion.”

Wednesday.

While the headline in Tuesday’s paper spoke of the operation planned by the Israeli army in response to the killings at Kibbutz Metzer, the smallest headline on the page read “Palestinians say IDF killed 2-year old boy.” No further news was carried of this incident on Tuesday. Nor is there any mention of it in Wednesday’s paper. However, on an inside page in the International Edition of the Herald Tribune (which comes with Ha’aretz) is the story “Israeli and Palestinian fathers mourn their slain sons.” TV coverage that I saw of the events at Kibbutz Metzer were, quite naturally, harrowing as they spoke of what happened there, and were on BBC World, accompanied by photographs of the dead youngsters there, playing in their bath. It is sad that there was so such coverage of the death of the Palestinian youngster in Gaza. The Herald Tribune reports reads : “ Khaled Meshal (the boy’s father) said he had been holding Nafez (2 year-old) in his arms outside their house when the toddler was hit by what witnesses called unprovoked gunfire from an Israeli Army watchtower. The army said troops had fired after being shot at. Khaled Meshal said his son was holding a balloon, a gift for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when a gust of wind blew it out of his hands. Nafez was shot as he tried to struggle out of his father’s grip to catch the balloon.”

One of the complicating factors in organising life here arises around the question : Which Calendar is to be used? For instance, the date on the newspaper is given according to both the “normal” calendar, and the Jewish calendar. It may not seem of huge significance, but it has become an issue in the case of the current Minister of Defence – Mr Shaul Mofaz. A Law passed in the Knesset this session stipulated that officers above a certain rank in the Army had to have a “cooling off” period of 6 months before they could be elected to serve in the Knesset. Mr Mofaz retired from the Army on August 11th 2002. So, according to one interpretation of the legislation, his “cooling off” period will end on February 11th 2003. It seems clear. The article in Wednesday’s paper reports that “Knesset legal sources yesterday cited a law which specifically states that the year and month are determined by the Gregorian calendar.” But the next paragraph reports that ”Attorney General E Rubinstein informed Mofaz last night that he would be able to vie for a seat on the Likud party list. Rubinstein stated that the “cooling-off” period is calculated according to the Hebrew calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, and when there are discrepancies between the two, the more lenient of the two is used.” Just one other interesting aspect of this matter – this Law only comes into effect in the next Knesset, so Mr Mofaz is currently able to serve as a Cabinet Minister, even though he has not completed his “cooling-off” period. By the time the next government is formed, it is assumed that he will have completed this period, regardless of which calendar is used, and so will be eligible to serve in the government. Legal disputes such as this which arise between representatives of the Jewish population make one even more aware of the difficulty of any sort of legal agreement being negotiated between people here who are of differing cultural and religious backgrounds.

Saturday

The day started with a wake-up call at 0430 hours at a sort of Bedouin camp near the town of Arad, on the edge of the Negev desert. Joan and I were there as part of Study Tour II. The first had been in March, when one minister from Scotland braved this part of the world. The second has 5 from Scotland, which is a significant increase. What are the chances of No III having 25? Here’s hoping.

We visited Masada, became acquainted again with the Dead Sea, spent some time at Qumran, and got back to the city in mid-afternoon.

Once again, we could not help being reminded of the transitory nature of empires and kingdoms – and of how great power can have a great fall. It does not bring peace to a troubled land, but at least it did hold out some hope for justice and some form of reconciliation.

The news at 0430 hours had been grim, with a report from the nightwatchman of the shootings at Hebron. On the News tonight there are reports of Israeli army units going back into Hebron, a city of some 120,000 Palestinians, and less than 1,000 Jewish people. One can only feel apprehension about what will happen there. The most likely scenario is continued killing, by both sides.

In the paper each Friday there is a section called “Anglo File” which reports attitudes and events among Israelis of an English –speaking background. This week there are two distinct “sides” to the reports. One is very supportive of the action of Jewish people to assist Palestinians in picking their olive harvest. The other contains some shorter interviews with Jewish people of a very different outlook. Below are some extracts from one such interview. It is with a Dr Pinchas Fuchs, who was raised in Newark, New Jersey, and immigrated to Israel 26 years ago. He works in the Accounting Office of the Yishuv (Settlement) where he lives.

Olive Picking: It has to do with law and order, and who belongs to what, and what belongs to whom. There are people who don’t give a damn about what helps the Jewish people.

The Land: I have a feeling of belonging here. Everything here is mine.

Soldiers: What are the soldiers doing? They are protecting the Arabs from us picking their olives? The question is – who are they guarding from whom? The soldiers are supposed to be guardians of the citizens of Israel. I don’t want them to pick olives at any time, even if it means their livelihood. I’m scared.

Palestinians: The poor little slobs want the same thing I do – to live their lives. But, then they’re indoctrinated to believe this stuff about Jihad and blowing Jews up. There’s no such thing as a Palestinian, nor a Palestinian state, And, there never will be.

The murder of an olive farmer: A stupid Arab went close to the fence at three in the morning, and a settler shot him. Afterward, they said he was picking olives?

Jews helping Palestinians: I think they’re nuts because they are helping their enemies to destroy themselves.

Part of an interview with Yaacov Hayman, the Chairman of the Secretariat of Itamar.

Homeland and Security: All this land is ours. It belongs to the people of Israel. It’s a complicated situation. Arabs planted and grew trees. Maybe they should be compensated as a possible solution. Ultimately, they must be transferred. The policy of endangering Jewish lives and not taking measures again Arabs in order to appease world opinion is a mistaken policy. Jewish lives must be protected even it is means tremendous losses to the other side. This is our God-given place to live. This is our homeland, not their homeland. If they are threatening our sovereignty then they have no right to live here.

Warfare: All warfare that we carry out must conform to the Torah. The fact that it’s not a Torah State, that is the problem, but God willing we’ll get there. However, if there were a full-scale war, we could destroy all the property and force them off to Jordan. Maybe we’ll come to than – we’re getting close.

An entirely different point of view is reported from Kibbutz Metzer, - the place mentioned at the start of this letter, where 5 people were killed at the beginning of the week. In the course of a long article, in which the horror of the attack, and the trauma of the deaths is fully acknowledged, Doron Lieber the administrative co-ordinator of the Kibbutz speaks about the views of the members of the Kibbutz. “Amid all the horror, the people of Kibbutz Metzer continue to insist, whenever a camera or a microphone comes their way, that they believe there is no substitute for coexistence and good neighbourly relations in the bid for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Hatred and revenge were not included in the spectrum of emotions displayed in Kibbutz Metzer this week. Question : “it is hard to believe that nothing has changed – not even way down inside.” Lieber : Our basic approach to solving the conflict, and the way we relate to our neighbours, hasn’t changed. I’m not saying that there aren’t any cracks on the emotional level. As a person who was born and bred on peace and brotherhood, this is a real smack on the head. My ears are still ringing. On the other hand, thousands of Arabs came here to show solidarity, to mourn with us, to strengthen us, and that makes an impact. You think about the bastard who did the shooting, and ask yourself what kind of creatures are we dealing with. Then all these people come to cry with you, and you realise that there is someone to talk to.

Question: As far as we know, the attacker came from Tul Karm. Maybe there is no connection to the building of the fence and your relationship with the villagers of Kafin? (The members of the Kibbutz had been trying to influence the decision about the line of the “fence” which is being built to separate Israel from Palestine. They had objected to the line near their Kibbutz which was going to cut off the villagers of Kafin from their olive groves.) Lieber : “Things aren’t clear yet, but something happened here that I can’t believe is coincidental.. After 50 years of no one ever touching a hair on our heads, along come the decision-makers and ruin peace and quiet. Confiscating land, ripping up thousands of olive trees. Look at us. We’re macho men. We can take your land away. We’re the masters and you’re the slaves. And right after that, the kibbutz is attacked for the first time in its history. Don’t tell me there is no connection.”

Joan and I are well : having started this Study Course, making more definite plans for the next, which will be aimed at our Partner congregations – hopefully to last for a couple of weeks which will include Palm Sunday and Easter. Details soon.

Stay well. God bless. Us.

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Circular Letter No 103 
9th November 2002

It has been a disjointed week, starting with Joan leaving early on Sunday morning to go to Cairo, while I stayed on to share in the service at St Andrew’s. My plane was due to leave about 2300 hours, but was in fact a bit late, so it was Monday morning when I arrived at Cairo airport – and somehow managed to get through the formalities and emerge into the night, where I was met by Keith Russell, a Church of Scotland doctor working with the Anglican Church in a medical care programme for Sudanese refugees.

We were in Cairo for a Retreat for Church of Scotland staff in the Middle East, and 8 of us managed to make it to the meetings – David Kerry, a Librarian at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut; Keith and Lai Russell, doctors in Cairo; Chris and Sue Mottershead, Headmaster of Tabeetha School, Jaffa; Diana Hibbert from the Church of Scotland Hospice at Tiberias; and Joan and myself.

Moving to spend a few days in Cairo provided an interesting contrast to our circumstances here in Jerusalem. We tend to think that we are living at the hub of the universe, and all the really important things that are happening are taking place here. Cairo is a city of some 19 million people (or 16 million according to another informant). Either way, it dwarfs the 6 million of Israel and the 4 million of the West Bank and Gaza. People there have plenty to think about, and like many have perhaps become a bit tired with the conflict here. Over-crowding, poverty, traffic, jobs, housing, development – all are part of the overall picture there. We were not there long enough to gain any deep insights – although there, just as everywhere we have travelled outside Europe and North America, there is the staggering gulf between the rich and the poor.

The Conference/Retreat Centre where we spent a couple of days was about 90 kms north of Cairo on the desert road to Alexandria. The road itself was a toll road, and the traffic constant for most of the time. Features along the roadside were the enormous gateways that have been built by those who have bought farms, and are in the process of developing them. Often behind the gateways there was empty land, but I imagine that in a year or two, there will be a succession of eye-catching mansions.

The Retreat Centre was run by the Coptic Evangelical Church – small in comparison with the Coptic Orthodox Church. I was staggered to learn that the Coptic Orthodox Church claims a membership of 6.5 million, and that some 10% of the population is Christian. The Coptic Evangelical Church has a membership of 250,000. At one of the principal churches in Cairo there is a weekly Bible Study session with between 2,000 and 3,000 young people regularly attending it. The Coptic Orthodox Church is larger than the population if Israel, or of Scotland for that matter.

We had little time for sight-seeing, but we did get a chance to see two of the Pyramids – the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. It was awe-inspiring to stand and look at blocks of stone, perfectly cut to fit into their places, that measured something like 3 metres by 2 metres by 2 metres. One can only marvel at the skill of the builders, and wonder at the power and the wealth enjoyed by the Pharaohs who built them. And yet, who could have seen 3,500 years ago that the system which brought the Pyramids into being would end up by being just one more example of a fallen empire? On Friday, at a service in the War Graves Commission Cemetery at Gaza City, we read part of the Magnificat – “he has brought down the mighty from their seat, and has exalted the humble and meek. The hungry have been fed, while the rich have been sent away empty.” For me, in the end as we left the Pyramids, it was not their grandeur that impressed, but the fact that they stand so forlorn as symbols of a failed human attempt to make people into gods. If the Pharaohs could not succeed in building an “eternal” society, what chance have we? Or the Americans? Or the . . . (fill in you own choice of countries.)

While we were meditating in the desert, two parallel series of events were taking place here in Israel and Palestine. The one that you heard much about, I imagine, is the political turmoil that has brought down the government and is leading to elections early in 2003.

The principal element in the drama has been the invitation to Mr Netanyahu to join the Government, and his responses to it. Mr Netanyahu indicated that he would be willing to join the government, if Mr Sharon met his principal condition and agreed to call early elections. He also said that his conditions included getting rid of Mr Arafat, and changing the location of the security “fence” between Israel and the West Bank. At first his principal condition was rejected by Mr Sharon, but then it was accepted. So on Tuesday the President of Israel announced that there would be elections and on Wednesday Mr Netanyahu became the Foreign Minister. So for the moment, there is a caretaker sort of Government. But the real political struggle is underway to see who will lead the two main parties into the Election – Mr Sharon or Mr Netanyahu to lead Likud, and Mr Ben-Eliezer or someone else to lead Labour. Unless there is a major change in voter intentions during the campaign, it will be Likud which will be in charge of forming the next government.

In the middle of all this confusion, there is a thing called “The American Road Map”. This is a draft timetable for progress towards a political settlement of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Given certain achievements in the early part of 2003, the Americans are proposing a provisional State of Palestine. Negotiations towards a final settlement would then take place, and the aim is for a conclusive agreement in 2005. The outlook for progress on this Plan is bleak. Mr Sharon will likely pay lip-service to it. Mr Netanyahu has said that the principal matter for attention is the American war on Iraq, and he is not at present interested in the Road Map. So, chances are that there will be little progress.

The second series of events taking place is on the West Bank. There, inexorably, the Israeli contractors, guarded by the army, are building the Wall. Below is part of the text of an e-mail that I received from an organisation called Gush Shalom – an Israeli civil rights organisation. It tells what is happening to one village.

“On Sunday Nov. 10 there will be another solidarity visit to Falami. In the past week, the state of Israel is visiting destruction upon the village of Falami. A small quiet Palestinian village located near the "Green Line" opposite the Israeli town of Kochav Ya'ir. Each day Israeli contractors, defended by troops and private security guards, are uprooting the villagers' olive, citrus and guava trees. Hundreds of trees were already destroyed. The reason given: according to the government’s map "The Separation Wall" is to be built there, more than two kilometers east of the Green Line. On the map two kilometers may not seem like much - on the ground it means that the villagers of Falami stand to lose most of their agricultural lands, and that a flourishing irrigation project financed by the French government will be ruined. The inhabitants, who hitherto managed to live from agriculture, will be pushed down into abject poverty - as already happened to very many of their neighbors. The villagers of Falami have invited Israeli and international peace activists to come and help them protest the destruction which the government of Israel is bringing upon them. Several Gush Shalom activists went there during the past week. On Sunday Nov. 10, at 7.00 AM, Gush Shalom provides again transportation to the village from the El-Al terminal at the Arlozorov St. Railway Station, Tel-Aviv. (The purpose: to be there at the time when the contractors and army arrive.) If you are able and intend to take part, please call Adam at: 03-5565804 (there you can leave a message) or 056-709603. Inform us whether you are able to take part later in the week - also when you can’t come on Sunday.”

In Edinburgh terms, imagine that your village is at Shandwick Place and that your orchards and olive groves stretch all the way along Princes Street. Instead of the Wall being built at the East End of Princes Street, leaving your land intact, it is being built at the West End, thus effectively separating you for your land, and from your source of income.

The world is busy with the UN and Iraq; Israel is busy with elections; and in the shadows yet more land is taken away from the West Bank.

The different standards applied here to Israeli Jew and Israeli Arab are well illustrated this week in the papers :

Tuesday : “Cops quiz Islamic head over incitement charge.” Police interrogated Sheikh Kamal Khatib, deputy leader of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch yesterday for five hours yesterday (Monday) for allegedly delivering an inciteful speech on August 24 on the Temple Mount.

Wednesday : Article by Amira Haas, entitled “Will you just stand on the sidelines? “After the election the preachers of the ‘Transfer Solution’ will be strengthened, surveys say. It doesn’t matter right now exactly how much stronger they will become. The important thing is that every day that goes by, the preachers of transfer feel ever more confident about raising their ‘permanent solution’ in public. No law stops them from posting thousands of leaflets and placards calling for the expulsion of Arabs, or as they put it rather more bluntly ‘Them there, us here’ Nobody in the law enforcement agencies shows any enthusiasm for fighting them, No attorney general has forbidden then to raise their ‘ideas’ in various media interviews.

That this matter of “Transfer” is very much on the agenda of the right wing politicians is shown by another little report on a discussion between two right wing parties trying to agree on a common political platform for the elections. One of the parties – Yisrael Beiteinu, wants to use the phrase ‘settling refugees in Arab countries’ rather than speak of ‘transfers’. Whatever words they use to describe it, the policy is the same – ethnically cleanse the State of Israel of Arab people.

Other items of news this week.

Economic news. The average wage for the first 7 months of 2002 is 4.5% less than for the first 7 months of 2001 – at NIS 7,145 (NIS 7.3 = £1). A survey shows that 1 in 5 Israelis live below the poverty line.

Army news. Tuesday : “Officer dismissed over killing Palestinian teenager.” Thursday : “2 officers sentenced for using Palestinians as human shields.” Friday : ‘Officers ordered dangerous mortar fire in Gaza Strip, reservists charge. Shelling in densely populated civilian area was mistaken, IDF sources admit.’ It is not all that often that three such articles appear in one week. Despite the fact that there have been numerous investigations launched, there are not very many such public reports of results, and certainly not of critical reports.

Check point news. An article by Gideon Levy in the Weekend section of Ha’aretz starts : “At 11 in the morning last Monday, at the exit from Jenin, IDF soldiers detained two dialysis patients, one a double amputee and the other blind in both eyes. They set the amputee down on the road and had the blind man sit next to him. Both were exhausted after dialysis treatment. The amputee was bleeding from the dialysis tubing in his body. The soldiers sent the men’s wives away and let them there on the road for about an hour. Then they transferred them to a detention facility and later to another one. For 10 hours, the IDF held on to these two very ill men, and bounced them around in a jeep from one place to the other, on the suspicion that they could be wanted men. In the evening they were finally released and sent home, and no one had ever interrogated them during all the hours they were held. The soldiers wanted to leave the blind man in the middle of nowhere and let him find his own way home, and they thought of binding the hands of the amputee, but they changed their minds ….”

A final bit of good news. Due to the generosity of those who gave money for the caring work of St Andrew’s, we have been able to promise to give about half the cost of treatment for a girl Shukran Sabatan who was born in December 2000, with a rare congenital condition called Apert syndrome. An Israeli woman writes ; “The fingers of her hands and feet were fused. The cranial sutures between the individual bones that make up the skull closed prematurely, resulting in malformation of the face. The air passages in her nose and the tear passages draining the eyes were blocked. At the age of seven months she underwent a head operation in Ramallah which enabled proper development of her brain. (She is a smart and alert kid.) However further treatment required a specialist surgeon. The regional Apert syndrome specialist is Dr. Cohen of the Schneider Medical Center (a pediatric hospital) located in Petah Tikva. I brought Shukran to Dr. Cohen about a year ago (I am a volunteer for Physicians for Human Rights). Dr. Cohen and the hospital authorities arranged for a large scale treatment for Shukran free of charge (this is the nicest Israeli hospital with the nicest doctors that I ever saw). Since then, Shukran underwent two operations in which the fingers of her hands were separated, and the air passages in her nose opened Now a third plastic surgery operation is needed to "fix" her face, specifically the forehead and the top of the head. The problem is - the operation requires very expensive material which will be implanted under her skin and which will harden to bone-like consistency, maintaining the normal shape of the head and the face. The substance costs $5000 and must be purchased to carry out the operation. If funds are available, the operation will performed out in January 2003.”

Sorry this is so long this week!! 

Stay well. God bless 

Joan and Clarence

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Circular Letter No 102 
2nd November 2002

1730 hours Saturday. We are just home from prison – at least that is what it feels like. And to make matters worse, we used privilege to get out! - which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. We went in to visit people in Bethlehem today, and knowing that it would take time, we decided that we would make a day of it – or as much of a day as we possibly could.

The entrance to Bethlehem at the check point had not changed noticeably in the three months since we had last been there. There are still the signs of destruction all over the place, the residue of the last time that tanks and APCs were going in and out. Just down the road, on the right hand side, was the same deep trench filled with the same three layers of razor wire, and the same feeling of desolation around, where the buildings had been flattened that once had been the working places of families.

First call was to Elias, the former cook at the Hospice. He is well, though there is that same sadness in his eyes that nothing has changed, and that in fact things have got worse. We looked out from the verandah at the back of his house to the top of the next ridge of hills – perhaps 500 metres. There, on the top of it, was the line of a new fence – in this case a real fence of wire and barbed wire. This stretches down most of the northern side of Bethlehem from the Tantur checkpoint to the Beit Sahour check point. Hence the remark at the top of this letter about a prison. For Elias and his family, no matter how freely they are able to move about within Bethlehem, they are in fact in prison, and can only look over at Jerusalem as if it were a million miles away. He has still no work. We talked about getting the marmalade production line going once again when the oranges start in a week or two; we spoke of him making pastry once again, and getting it in to Jerusalem; we spoke of the possibility of getting a freezer in Jerusalem which we could use for his produce, making it more accessible to a market here; and so on. Those who were kind enough to give us donations when we were in Scotland may well find that some of their gifts will be used to try to set up this cottage industry to keep Elias, and possibly others, going.

Next stop was to see the daughter of Najla and George – Therese – with her husband and twins. They were born prematurely at the time of one of the closures of Bethlehem about 6 months ago, and there were in intensive care. The wonders of modern medicine meant that they were given a good start in life, and now they weigh 7 or 8 kilos and are bouncing babies. We were able to give to her, for distribution within Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, some of the baby clothes that we had brought with us to be given to folk who are in financial difficulties.

Last stop was with Helen Shehadeh, to whom I was able to bring some donations that had been made specifically for her and the school. She is well, though like everyone else, depressed at what is happening. For the first time I heard her say something remarkably like “I have lost hope.” School now has 24 pupils – 20 boarders and 4 day pupils. So, obviously she is meeting a need. One of her great anxieties is that she is paying a sizeable rent for the premises which she uses for the school – and the desire to be able to find sufficient capital to make a down payment on a property on which she would then make regular payments. More of this in the future, I am sure, but if anyone has money burning a hole in their pockets, get in touch.

So it was back to the check point. There was a long, long line of traffic that seemed to be going nowhere. So, with a car with France emblazoned all over it in front, we took a chance on our white plates and drove up to the head of the queue. We were through in seconds. I felt rotten at leaving all those other folk who do not have the privileges that I had sitting in the queue.

Once again, there is the picture of barbed wire fences, and the reality of thousands of people in prison – no matter how large the prison is. Once again, there is the question as to what this is doing to both sides – to the Palestinians and what is being stored up in their minds about the imperialism of the State of Israel, and to the Israeli Jewish people, and their unawareness of the reality of the situation just a mile or two down the road from the places where they are moving freely.

Friday saw me in my usual weekly metamorphosis – becoming a sort of honorary member of the Women in Black. Last week on the opposite side of the main road there was a counter-demonstration by the Women in Blue and White. This week they were prominent by their absence. On “our” side of the road we were joined by a group of French people who had come out to help with the olive harvest. They had spent the past week in different parts of the West Bank, by their presence making it more possible for the local villagers to go out into their olive groves and harvest their crop. Colonists ( settlers) are a bit more reluctant to attack Palestinians when there are “internationals” present. Where are the Scottish groups coming out to make their contribution? Hopefully it will not be necessary next year, but if it is, could we expect some representation from Scotland?

Thursday was the 85th Anniversary of the Battle of Beer Sheva. I had not even known of it, but apparently it is quite well known in Australia – certainly among members of the Australian army. I was told that it was the last occasion on which there was a successful mounted charge in a modern battle. A small group, led by the Australian Ambassador, made a quick tour of two areas of the battle field, the second one being close to what is called Tel Beer Sheva. It is a fascinating thought that what was a strategic position in 1917 was also a strategic position in the time of Abraham. The service was attended by a group of Australians making a tour of battle sites which are especially connected with Australian forces, from Gallipoli to Beer Sheva to Damascus. I noticed on the headstones on the graves in the Cemetery the names of many Scots folk – any interest for a tour of battle fields where Scots regiments fought? The seating arrangements for the ceremony were interesting – to my right was the representative of the Turkish forces, and to my left the Rabbi who shared in the service. I never cease to be amazed that, less than a century after the battles here in this part of the world, old enemies share together in services of Remembrance – and folk of different religions somehow also find it possible to share together – a Christian between a Muslim and a Jew.

Later that afternoon in Jerusalem was the annual service for Reformation Day, held in the Lutheran Church in the Old City, and organised by the Lutheran Church. Joy at seeing so many denominations represented was tinged with sadness at the fact that the Catholic priests there whom I recognised did not in fact share in the Sacrament. Still, getting on for 500 years after the protest of Martin Luther, there is still time for change to come.

The big political news of this week, as I am sure you will be aware, is that the Labour party has withdrawn from the Government of National Unity, changing the political landscape here. One of the things that is now necessary is for the Prime Minister to nominate new Ministers to taken the place of the outgoing Labour ministers – two of the major positions being Defence Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister.

Early in the week there was the speculation that the post of Defence Minister had been offered to Shaul Mofaz, who held the post of Chief of Staff of the IDF until July this year. Checking the electronic version of Ha’aretz on the Internet this evening, it states that he will announce this evening his acceptance of this position. There was a fascinating article earlier in the week when this possibility was first mooted. When Ophir Pines-Paz was serving as Chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee, he thought that a Bill had been passed which meant that officers retiring from the army had to have a 6-month “cooling-off” period before they could enter political life and accept political office, and that this Bill was to come into effect immediately it was passed. What he did not realise was that at the first meeting of the Committee, one of the members had suggested that this Bill should only take effect from the start of the next Knesset. As this was not discussed at later meetings of the Committee, it became part of the legislation and thus left open the possibility that has in fact happened – the former Chief of Staff has become Minister of Defence within a few months of coming to the end of his term of office as Chief of Staff. Caveat legislatores Knesset.

Mr Mofaz was a familiar figure on TV screens and in the papers when he was Chief of Staff. Generally he was one of those pushing for more and more army involvement in the struggle with the Palestinian people, and would be described as right-wing. Below are two little excerpts from Ha’aretz relating to him.

May 30th 2002 - Ha’aretz carried a headline “Irate Sharon raps Mofaz in cabinet.” The story started ‘ IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz so angered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday that the Prime Minister interrupted him during a meeting of the security cabinet and told him sharply to stop “navigating the government”. Mofaz angered Sharon in a briefing that stated the army should return to all the Palestinian cities for a long time “to finish the job” it started with Operation Defensive Shield. Mofaz went on to say “the state cannot abide a terrorist entity on its borders” and suggested that Israel evict Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. At that point Sharon angrily interjected: “Don’t navigate the government. Stick to military affairs and stay out of political matters.’

Friday April 5th 2002 – Ha’aretz. “Mofaz, Defence Minister at odds over exiling Arafat.” The position of Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz – who believes that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat should be expelled – is not shared by Defence Minister Ben-Eliezer or by the heads of the various intelligence branches. Ben-Eliezer yesterday described Mofaz’s remarks about Arafat as a ‘grave matter.’

Now that Mr Mofaz is firmly in the political arena, in one of the three most sensitive and powerful positions in the Government, it will be of more than passing interest to see how if he will modify his former views. Certainly among people with whom I have spoken there is little expectation of any political moves towards any form of agreement with the Palestinians.

I will leave matters there – time to get ready for the morrow. Joan leaves early in the morning to go to Cairo for a Church of Scotland Middle East Staff Retreat. I will follow late in the evening. We will be there until Thursday morning, with our Retreat being led by a Lutheran pastor currently working in Cairo.

Stay well.

God bless.

Joan and Clarence

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Circular Letter No 101 
26th October 2002

“To write or not to write, that is the question” with apologies to a well-known Bard. When I had pressed the “Send” button on the computer at the end of July, I had thought that it signalled the end of Circular Letters. However, reasons, I am making a start once again:

• my amazement at the different ways in which letters have been appreciated and used;
• my own feeling of isolation from the “real” world of what is happening here, when we were in Scotland;
• meeting people on our return who are telling me that it is getting worse, and that one of the great needs is communication.

So, I am back at it. But I would ask one favour. If you do not wish to receive letters, do not punish yourself be continuing to have them sent to you. Just let me know, and I will remove your name from the list, with absolutely no hard feeling! Only a sincere thank you for having put up with them for so long. As before, they are a sort of letter written for me, were I in Scotland – there will be some personal news, some family news, and hopefully some insights for us all to share.

Furlough – or leave – in Scotland lasted from the end of July until 23rd October. What a long time! We had August as a sort of holiday month, with a week spent with Peter, Vivienne, Diane and Colin and Grant and Cara near the Solway Firth in SW Scotland and a short trip to Ireland to visit our families as the highlights of the month. Then on 30th August, we set off for London to start our speaking engagements, and this phase ended on 16th October, by which time we had shared in 53 meetings, mostly of people connected with the Church of Scotland, in London, Aberdeen and Dunfermline area.

October 24th we arrived back in Jerusalem, and in the afternoon started talking with people, at the Hospice/Guest House, at the Church, and in the community. October 25th was pretty full – bank and money matters in the morning, Women in Black at noon, lunch with a Scots party, meeting of the Kirk Session, and then to a Synagogue for the service for the start of Shabbat, and finally a meal. Home to bed – though Joan did not sleep much, as she was unwell due to something she had eaten. Today – 26th – is much more relaxed, with a Service to finalise, a Letter to write, and perhaps a meal with the Scots folk this evening. Then tomorrow, back to the congregation and our people there.

It would be marvellous to be able to say that things had improved in the three months while we have been away, but sadly that is not the case, as conversations with all sorts of people and a reading of the papers indicate.

Friday morning – the Bank. The Assistant Manager greeted me warmly, and we had a chat. He was born in Manchester, and has lived here most of his life. Why was I back? Was I glad to be back? Did I like it here? How long was I staying? There was some surprise that we were back, some surprise that we were glad to be back, and some surprise at how long we were hoping to be able to stay. We both agreed that there were some good things, and some bad things, about life at present. His daughter-in-law is expecting her first child in the next few days – we wondered what sort of world awaits that baby, and all the others that are being born here now.

Friday lunchtime – the Women in Black. They have been having their demonstration at the cross-roads near our house for years, and recently have been joined at the same time by other Jewish people, of a different political and religious outlook. Things got a bit more ugly during the time we were away, with the possibility of some physical confrontation. There was a meeting with the police, and so it was agreed to allow the Women in Black the use of the square at 12 noon, and the other demonstrators could continue to use it at 1300 hours. What we saw yesterday was that the others now demonstrate across the road – also at 12 noon – and at 1300 hours march across the road to take up their position where the Women in Black had been standing. Surprisingly, as few minutes later, they too moved off. What was the point of having a counter-demonstration, if there was no demonstration to protest about?

We were particularly