Home  |  Who we are  |  What's on  |  Site Index  | Contact

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 150
• No 151
• No 152
• No 153
• No 154
• No 155
• No 156
• No 157
• No 158
• No 159

Other Letters:
No 25-30
No 31-36
No 37-41
No 42-48
No 49-60
No 61-69
No 70-79
No 80-89
No 90-100
No 101-109
No 110-119
No 120-129
No 130-139
No 140-149
No 150-159
No 160-169
No 170-179
No 180-189
No 190-199
No 200-209
No 210-219
No 220-229
No 230-239
No 240-249
No 250-259
No 260-270

Partnership in Conflict

We hope you are all well.

God bless. Joan and Clarence.



“Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.”

 

Top

Circular Letter No 151
9th November 2003

In the past few months, it has become increasingly important for members of the Israeli Jewish community to pray at Rachel’s’ Tomb, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. For folk like myself, who have to spend time sitting at the checkpoint at Tantur, waiting to get into, or out of Bethlehem, it has been possible to observe a significant increase in the number of people passing through the checkpoint to go to Rachel’s Tomb. This all took on a new dimension this past week, with an announcement that, due to the expected high influx of people wishing to pray at Rachel’s Tomb, the checkpoint at Tantur would be closed to all (diplomats, expatriates and Palestinians) except those going to the Tomb to pray. The closure would last from 0800 hours on 5th November to 1600 hours on 7th November. To facilitate entry to Bethlehem for those who normally were able to visit it, the checkpoint at Beit Jala would be opened instead.

Far be it from me to suggest that this devotion to Rachel’s Tomb is anything other than a blossoming of a new piety. Residents of Bethlehem speak of a time not so long ago when the Tomb was virtually abandoned and certainly had none of the status now being accorded to it. It certainly will be used to justify the decision of the Israeli government to annex the land immediately around Rachel’s Tomb, despite the effect this will have on the Palestinian families living in that area.

I had to go to Beit Jala on Thursday and to Bethlehem on Friday. The road leading to the checkpoint was cordoned off. I had no alternative but to go through the Tunnel Road and approach Bethlehem from the direction of Beit Jala. I have never seen so many buses in that area, all bringing Israeli Jewish people towards Rachel’s Tomb.

The facility given to Jewish people to worship was in marked contrast to the facility given to Muslim people to worship at the Temple Mount. Once again this Friday the blimp was in the air over East Jerusalem. It carries cameras which provide the police with detailed pictures of what is happening below. At 0800 hours, military helicopters were already in the air. Roads are closed. Pedestrian access to the Old City is controlled, and people have to show Identity Cards to be able to get into the Old City. Restrictions are put on those who can attend prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount. Young males need not bother trying to get to prayers.

On Friday, on my way to Bethlehem, I saw a couple of Arab women being put into the back of a Border Police van about 1 kilometre from the Guest House. At Tantur, there was another check, where some drivers were being stopped and documents inspected. Those stopped are almost always Arab drivers. On the road up to Beit Jala, there was another Border Police/Army vehicle, and more Palestinian men sitting at the road side, their documents having been taken for checking by the police.

Earlier in the week, Rizek Abusharr, whom some of you will know, was going to the airport to meet people coming from the YMCA in the USA. Rizek has been the Senior Elder in our congregation since 1975. He has frequently attended the meetings of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He has been decorated by the Jerusalem Municipality for his work in trying to bring reconciliation between the Arab and Jewish communities in the city. He travels all over the USA speaking on behalf of the YMCA, meeting Jew and Arab audiences, speaking about a vision of peace and reconciliation. At the security barrier on the approach to the airport, he was required to leave the minibus in which he was a passenger. He was taken into the small room beside the checkpoint, where he had to show his ID card, and had to remove his shoes for inspection. Had this been a procedure which was applied to all entering the airport, it would be acceptable. However, as it is routinely applied to Arab people, but in my experience never to Jewish people, it makes is all the more offensive.

There are continuing stories about the way in which School textbooks in Palestine incite schoolchildren to hate Jewish people. With this sort of harassment outlined above, there is no need of text books to teach young Palestinian people not to like Israeli Jewish people. Their best teachers are the soldiers and the policemen who regularly humiliate their parents at checkpoints. They don’t need the written word to teach about discrimination when they can see the way the whole West Bank is closed down to allow Jewish people to celebrate Succot, while during their month of Ramadan, restrictions are tightened on who can pray at the Mosques on the Temple Mount.

This week, belatedly, saw the Annual Meeting of Sunbula, the organisation which runs the Handcraft Shop in St Andrew’s Guest House. The accounts for the year 2002 were sobering. The news from the groups affiliated to Sunbula was somber. Although there are groups around Ramallah which work with Sunbula, they were not able to come to the meeting, due to the difficulty of getting past checkpoints, despite the fact that the road is entirely on the West Bank. There were groups from Bethlehem, but one group south of Bethlehem gave up trying to reach the meeting due to harassment at checkpoints. So, it was a small, and not very optimistic, meeting. One Bethlehem group which used to provide work for 200 women doing embroidery for sale to tourists and overseas, now can only find work for 100 women. For all the groups, there is a struggle to find customers, though an increase in mail-order sales has partially helped to offset the lack of tourists. But again – how can we earn our living? How can we sell what we produce? How can we help families to afford the daily necessities of life? With travel likely to become more, rather than less, difficult; with access to Jerusalem likely to be more restricted, expatriates will become more essential in getting goods from producers to potential customers. Wherever you are, as you read this, if you feel that you could have some sort of sales outlet for goods produced on the West Bank, do get in touch. No matter how little you feel you are able to do, it is worth remembering that many folk in the West Bank and Gaza are having to live on less than US$1 per day. Hadeel in the West End of Edinburgh will be glad to offer goods for sale.

During the week I had lunch with one of the foreign correspondents living in Jerusalem and reporting on what is happening in Israel, in the West Bank and in Gaza. Part of the conversation touched on new regulations which the Government Press Office have suddenly released, and the procedures that will have to be followed by journalists wishing to get a Press Pass.

Headline Ha’aretz Monday 3rd November P2. “GPO (Government Press Office) press card reform includes Shin Bet” (one of the Secret Police/Security organisations.) ‘The GPO has published new eligibility rules for press cards that it hopes will drastically reduce the number of people with cards from 8,000 to 1,000, but which have raised the ire of professionals. Every request for a GPO issued press card will be sent to the Shin Bet, the journalist will be required to produce a notarised affidavit that the information they provide in their application is correct. … Since taking up his job two years ago, Seaman (the GPO Director) has been trying to crack down on the number of press passes the GPO issues to Israelis and foreign news professionals. He also cancelled most of the press passes of Palestinian reporters and newsmen working the foreign media. He claims to have cut back the number of press passes from 15,000 to 8,000.”

Ha’aretz Tuesday 4th November P3 “Local and foreign media slam GPO over proposed Shin Bet vetting for reporters.” ‘The Israeli Press Council yesterday published a sharply-worded condemnation of the new regulations announced by the GPO on Sunday, forcing journalists to undergo stringent checks by the Shin Bet security service. … Yaron Enosh, Director of the Israeli Press Association, representing journalists who work for local media, said he fears the new requirements will prevent Israeli Arabs from receiving press credentials. …. Until now, only Palestinian journalists were checked by Shin Bet, said Seaman. Under the new policy, Israeli and foreign journalists will also have to undergo a security check , although it will not be as thorough as that given to Palestinians, he said. “I am sure that they [the Shin Bet] have the intelligence information regarding people who could present a danger,..and therefore they have to give their opinion” Seaman told Israeli Radio.

Ha’aretz ‘Wednesday 5th November P1 “GPO hands journalists’ names to Shin Bet for security checks.” ‘The GPO has already transferred the names of thousands of journalists holding GPO press cards to the Shin Bet security checks, in line with the new procedures that it announced on Sunday.’

The journalist with whom I was lunching said he had never experienced this sort of procedure, even when working in South Africa during its Apartheid era.

We are all familiar with the saying about the difficulty of “teaching old dogs new tricks.” There was a telling article in Ha’aretz this week headed The Lights of Netzarim, and written by Emmanuel Sivan. (P B3, November 7). Netzarim is one of the Settlements in the Gaza Strip. The article starts with the following paragraphs :

“In early 1980, a helicopter hovered above the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim. In it were the military governor of the strip, and the agriculture minister, Mr Ariel Sharon. The governor told the Minister, his former commander in the paratroops, what was bothering him. ‘I’m supposed to defend a concentration camp, Netzarim, which is inside another concentration camp, the Nuseirat refugee camp. And that’s an impossible mission.’ What was the point, the governor wanted to know. Sharon replied without hesitation: ‘I want Arabs to see Jewish lights every night 500 metres from them.’ ….in other words to assert ownership, to dramatise who is in control.” As I have written on many occasions, the lights of Jewish Settlements spread far and wide all over the West Bank. Bethlehem is now almost completely surrounded by settlements and roads. Ramallah is increasingly being surrounded and fenced in. Nablus is dominated by the Settlements established on the hills around it.

Hope is rapidly disappearing for the Palestinians – if it has not already gone.

Saturday 8th, there was a Service of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery on Mount Scopus here in Jerusalem. A service which had been planned for Friday 7th in Gaza was cancelled due to uncertainty about security for diplomatic personnel. Today, Sunday 9th, there was a service at the Cemetery at Ramle, and here in St Andrew’s, we had the presence of the Deputy Consul General of the UK Government.

I find it always a poignant time, standing at Mount Scopus, looking over towards the Old City, with the new developments spreading out far and wide. The Temple Mount will not have changed all that much since there was the fighting around Jerusalem in 1917, and to that extent the soldiers who served and died here would recognise some of the landscape. I wonder what they would feel about the developments that have taken place since then?

Who could have guessed in 1903 how the landscape would be shaped in 2003 – with a new set of city walls, for what the Israeli government will call Greater Jerusalem, being built? What will it all look like in 2103?

Sorry that this is late this week – somehow the muse found it hard to get going.

Tuesday 11th sees the arrival of the first people for the Study Tour to Sinai, Galilee and Jerusalem area. Next weekend we will all be in Sinai – so freedom from Musgrave meanderings!

Be back in touch in a fortnight – stay well. God bless.

Joan and Clarence

Top

Circular Letter No 152
22nd November 2003

Before setting off on the Study Tour programme, I extracted some information from one of the papers which raised questions for me. It is now almost 2 weeks later, and much has happened. However, just for information I thought that I would send this letter. Please ignore it if you feel so include.

• November 10th. On P 3 of the International Herald Tribune section of the paper, there is an article headed : “Germany reflects on two dates.” The dates in question are
• November 9th 1938 – the night of Kristallnacht in Germany when 190 Synagogues were torched, and 7,500 businesses belonging to Jewish people were ransacked.

November 9th 1989 – the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The article is illustrated by two pictures – one showing a young woman peering through a hole in a memorial of the original Berlin Wall.
The second picture shows Charlotte Knobloch, leader of the Jewish community in Bavaria, carrying an olive tree that was to be planted on the site of a new Jewish Centre and Synagogue. What I find so ironic in this picture is illustrated by the following article taken from the Jerusalem Post.

Destruction of Olive Trees Fuels Israeli-Palestinian Distrust
Irris Makler Ein Abus, West Bank 07 Nov 2003, 21:33 UTC
Israeli settlers in the West Bank have destroyed olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers in several areas in recent weeks, just as the farmers were preparing to harvest their crops. The issue has caused quite a stir among Israelis and Palestinians. Irris Makler visited one olive-growing area of the West Bank near the village of Ein Abus and filed this report.

“Palestinian farmers from Ein Abus climb the steep, stony hills to their olive groves. The fruit is ripe, but they have not come until now because of threats from the Jewish settlers on the ridges above them - from the settlement of Yizhar and the illegal outpost it has spawned.
They have not tended these trees in almost a year. The only reason they dare to come today is that they are accompanied by Jewish volunteers from a group called Rabbis for Human Rights. Rabbi Arik Ascherman is one of its founders.
"We can't even see the mother [main] settlement from here," he said. "Here, it's a new outpost. In fact, they've just added this week new pre-fabs [pre-fabricated houses]. They don't even have a name for it yet. We just call it Hill Number 725." Rabbi Ascherman came here a week ago to document Palestinian allegations that their olive trees had been cut down. He was attacked and beaten by a group of Jewish settlers. "I got hit by a stone. I was kicked, threatened with clubs, pushed, etc, etc, etc.," he said "Some of them actually took my 'kipah' and said, 'You're not worthy of wearing a 'kipah,'' the Jewish head covering. I felt sad that what we call this 'chilul hashem', this desecration of God's name was being done by people, most of them, in the name of religion."
Israeli grandmother Dalia Bones was also there. "They came down from the mountain with big sticks and stones," she said. Mrs. Bones says she confronted the settlers, and prevented them from assaulting a Palestinian farmer. But most disturbing for her was the reaction of the farmer whose trees had been cut down. "He was an old man. He came up, and he started to hug the trees, and he was crying there and it was just horrible," she said. "It was a horrible sight."
Now, on their second visit to the area, the farmers and volunteers climb the hill on the other side of the village, watched from the ridge above by settlers armed with electric cattle prods and automatic rifles. In the fields in between, Israeli policemen and soldiers stand guard.
When the farmers and their supporters reach the orchard, they find these trees have also been destroyed. They have been hacked in two. The owners Amer Mustapha and Fawzi Hussein are in shock. The destruction looks fresh. Journalists manage to count more than 200 ruined trees. "This is worse than losing a child," said Amer Mustapha. "You can have another child, but you can't replace these trees. A man may be bad, but an olive tree never can [be]. He says this is an offense against God."
The olive trees are one of the few remaining sources of income for many Palestinians, who have been prevented from reaching their jobs in Israel, or even in other parts of the West Bank, by Israeli security rules. And this type of olive tree is not easily replaced. A newly planted tree will take at least 10 years to become productive.
The nearby settlement of Yitzhar put out a statement saying officials there do not know who destroyed the trees, but saying they are 'happy' that Palestinians will no longer have any reason to come to the area near the settlement. The Israeli Settlers Council, overall representatives of the settlers throughout the West Bank and Gaza, issued a similar statement, and accused Palestinians of using the harvest to gather intelligence for planning attacks.
Both Israel's president and prime minister have issued statements on the attacks on the olive trees. President Moshe Katsav said the struggle with the Palestinians must be conducted with 'good sense and integrity,' and urged Israelis to distinguish between ordinary Palestinians and terrorists. A statement from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office says he views the situation with 'utmost gravity,' and has 'ordered the security forces to take all possible measures to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice.' A spokesman for the West Bank Israeli police says there will be a full and serious investigation.”

An olive tree is planted within a new Jewish centre, while in Palestine olive trees are being destroyed.
Also in the IHT for Monday 10th Nov is an article headed “Old crimes and continuing responsibilities” in which Thane Rosenbaum writes about the question of the continuing responsibility of the present-day population of Germany for the crimes committed by a previous generation of Germans in the Holocaust. His article contains an interesting paragraph :
“It may be true that the majority of contemporary Germans are legally innocent of crimes committed under the Third Reich, which is why there is such collective frustration about note being able to shake off the stigma of genocide. But regardless of redemptive impulses and achievements, everyone in Germany remains morally responsible. This was a crime that took place on German land. …. It is not that German guilt must be eternal, but the acceptance of moral responsibility …”
Is this approach correct? How can it be applied, or should it be applied, to other situations?

A more regular letter is on the way, but may be a little bit late.

Clarence Musgrave.

Top

Circular Letter No 153
23rd November 2003

The news since I was last able to write has been dominated by bombs – in Istanbul and in Iraq. Mr Blair and Mr Bush are quite correct in their condemnation of such attacks – but I find it difficult to agree with their diagnosis of why such attacks occur, and their remedy for dealing with them. It is part of life here in Jerusalem that we encounter members of the Diplomatic Corps, and we have worked with some of them quite closely at times. The killing of the British Consul in Istanbul makes me even more aware of the risks that diplomats often have to take, to work on behalf of people such as ourselves and our government. After the killing of American personnel in an attack in Gaza, and now British personnel in Istanbul, our diplomats need our support and prayers.


I am sometimes asked about the distribution of these Letters, and how many people receive them (perhaps different from how many people read them!). I have not the slightest idea where they go, but I received a fax this past week from a person in Bet Shemesh, who had been send a copy of Letter No 151. Bet Shemesh is a town set among the hills on the southern side of the road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He had felt compelled to write to me with comments, quite understandably expressing a very different opinion from mine. I am grateful to him, and to everyone, who take the time to read what I write. Having been out of Jerusalem for most of the past two weeks, I have not had a chance yet to respond to him, but I hope to be able to do so next week.

However, I felt that I would share with you something from his letter, and something of quite a different nature from a message that came in while I was away from home.


I have often written about the Wall, or Fence, or Barrier that is in process of construction around the West Bank.
My correspondent wrote :

The “Wall”. Israel’s security fence is 140 kilometres long, of which only 8.5 kilometres consist of a concrete wall. The rest is an electronic fence, punctuated by dozens of narrow agricultural passageways to enable farmers to continue cultivating their fields. There is passage for vehicles and pedestrians, and crossing points for transfer of goods across the central area and in the Jerusalem area. So much for the propagandists “Berlin Wall”, which was erected to keep people in. Israel’s security fence is intended to keep people out; not all of them, but those bent on murdering innocent babies, children, women and men – and in addition – explosive rigged vehicles.”


I do not have to hand figures about the length of the Wall/Fence, and the amount of it that is a concrete wall as opposed to an electrified fence. However, I have personal experience of the “narrow agricultural passageways to enable farmers to continue cultivating their fields. There is passage for vehicles and pedestrians…” Such passageways are locked, except when opened by the Israeli Army or Border Patrols. I have seen a mother being able to get her children to school only at 1130 hours, with the day half over, and farmers trying to get to their greenhouses having to wait for hours until someone might open a gate.

What is of concern is that there is so little awareness of the actual effect of the Wall/Fence on daily life, among people here in Israel, and in the wider world. On Thursday 20th November, I was able to arrange for those a group to see the Wall (in this case an actual concrete barrier) that has been in place for some time in Bethany, and the new one that is being built at Abu Dis (suburbs of Jerusalem). Although he had read my letters about the Wall, and felt that he knew what it was about, one of the people in the group said that 5 minutes’ looking at the Wall in place had given him a better understanding than all the letters that I had written. I will be happy to arrange such a visit for anyone who would be able to come and see it.


One of the questions that the writer from Bet Shemesh posed was “Why?” He wrote : ‘You saw “a couple of Arab women being put in the back of a Border Police van … Arab drivers being stopped and documents inspected…” You also complain of an Arab member of your congregation being closely searched at the airport. You don’t say WHY.’


I receive many messages giving instances of harassment experienced by Palestinians, which I rarely pass on, as I am sure that others receive such messages also. And I prefer to write about things that I have seen. However, below is an extract of one such message that I received a few days ago.

Dear friend,

I now live in Beit Sahour, a Palestinian city bordering Bethlehem to the east in the middle region of the country. It is southeast of Jerusalem (15 minutes drive). I hold a West Bank Identity Card (I. D.) which makes it so hard to get to work in Jerusalem. I go through some tough experiences on the way to work and I would like to share with you some of my daily suffering living under Israeli occupation.

This morning I followed some advice from a lady I work with and tried to come through the "Wadi el Hummus" bypass road in the south of Beit Sahour. This is a rocky road where the “green-and white-plated” Palestinian taxi will drop you off near a small hill of rubble. From there you have to climb the hill and then take a "yellow-plated" (Israeli-plated) cab to the village of Silwan, in the southeast of the Old City of Jerusalem and finally a bus to Jerusalem.

I took a taxi to the hill and four Israeli soldiers were standing there. There were also many old Palestinian women with some vegetables and goodies to be sold in Jerusalem. But the soldiers wouldn't let anyone access Jerusalem. I decided to try talking to them. I showed my American I.D. and my work I.D., proving that I applied for a permit to enter Jerusalem a month ago. But nothing worked. They asked me to go back. "GO HOME," they said in Arabic I decided to wait in the shade with some women hoping the soldiers would go, but they didn’t.

Then one of the women told me, "let’s try to walk around the farm". We walked on the field, stepped over a lot of trash and went under trees trying to hide. Then we came out in the back of a small store. We jumped and got inside the store. There were some "yellow-plated" taxis but no one wanted to take us since we had no permits to enter Jerusalem. The taxi drivers could be fined over $1,200 if they got caught taking “illegal” passengers!! They said we should wait until the road cleared.

After waiting for a while, an Israeli military jeep came with another five soldiers, including one female soldier. They stepped out and started yelling at the old women, demanding to see their I.D.s. The female soldier grabbed the old women, yelling loudly and forcing her hands into the openings in their dresses to pull out their I.Ds. When one of the old women, old enough to be her grandmother, resisted, she slammed her on her face… twice!

My heart just broke at that moment; I wanted to go out and hit that heartless woman. But I was hiding so the soldiers wouldn't notice that I sneaked from the back through the farm. The soldiers started messing up the women's boxes, feeding the fresh spinach to the sheep and jumping over the grapes! It was a horrible scene.

All that time I was hiding inside the store. I was scared and angry for these women. I thought to myself: "What kind of threat does these poor old ladies and their fresh vegetables pose to the State of Israel??!!!" I can't help but admire the strong will of the Palestinian women. Nothing can stand in their way.

I finally made it to work at 11:00 AM... and started one more day of work with an "unusual" but yet "very normal" start.

Please pray that God will get us through this tough time.

Thursday Nov 20th : Ha’aretz P 1. “IDF admits it lied – and not only about Nusseirat missiles : MK Sarid says he’ll keep investigating.” This is the headline of a story about what weapon the Israel Air Force did, or did not fire, during an airborne operation in the Nusseirat Refugee Camp in Gaza on October 19, in which more that 12 people were killed and 100 injured. ‘The reporters were told the helicopters fired Hellfire missiles. But yesterday the army suddenly admitted that was not true – and it added yesterday that it knew it was not true at the time. The excuse given for the deception was “security reasons”. The army wanted to keep secret information about weapons systems it uses for assassinations.’

Although reporting this deception, the paper did not give any information about the type of missile fired, and so still left the general public unaware of what had been used.

In a sense, one could say – “So what?” War is dirty and dangerous, and not always fought according to rules.

The Bet Shemesh correspondent mentioned above included in his letter the following: “When families are sitting together on religious occasions, the concentrations of celebrants, including children and babes in arms, assures maximum casualties – especially when the explosive devices are laced with nuts, nails, broken glass etc.”

The following is a paragraph from an article in the Guardian (an English newspaper) on Friday 21st November, headed :

Israel admits it lied over missile raid on camp, written by Chris McGreal in Jerusalem. Friday November 21, 2003

“The (Israeli) military refuses to identify the weapon used, on the grounds of "operational security". But the speculation is that it was an American-made Flechette, which is illegal under international law because it fires thousands of tiny darts over hundreds of metres, causing horrific injuries. Israel has used similar weapons in Gaza in the past.” Should this report be accurate, it would show the Israeli forces using weapons similar to those described above by the correspondent from Bet Shemesh. Yet the information published in the Guardian was not published in the English language papers in Israel that I have seen.


Saturday 22nd. The penultimate day of the Study Tour was scheduled to be spent in Bethlehem. We sat for 40 minutes in the queue waiting to get to the checkpoint. Then we were told that Bethlehem was closed to tourists, and we could not enter. However, the soldier did suggest that I contact the District Office. I did this, and the first person whose number I had was on holiday, but he gave me a second number to phone. I did, and spoke with an officer, who said that he would see what he could do to assist us. About 20 minutes later, we were told that we could in fact go in to Bethlehem. We spent most of the day there, and then coming home spent another 45 minutes waiting in line at the checkpoint.


In the evening, having a meal at a friend’s restaurant, we were all surprised to hear how he feels that things have changed in the past month – mentioning specifically the adoption by the UN of the Road Map, and the date of 2005 for an independent Palestinian State. We all hope that his reading of the situation is correct.


I think that those who have come on the Study Tour have been aware of tension – but I do not think that they felt in any personal danger. Any takers for the next tour?


Stay well. God bless.

Joan and Clarence.



PS. Sunday’s Ha’aretz, P 5, has an article entitled “The deaths behind the lie” by Gideon Levy. Writing about the missile attack on the Nusseirat Refugee Camp, he speaks of a family where one son was killed, 2 others injured, and a cousin killed. At the end of that week, the father, who had worked in Israel for 30 years, was deprived of his entry permit. I quote “It makes no difference to Mohammed Tabaza whether the air force commander Major General Dan Halutz, lied or didn’t lie to Israel’s military correspondents. For the past month, Tabaza’s son, Mahmoud, who is 14, has been fighting for his life. The boy’s body was ripped open by dozens of metal fragments, some of which penetrated his internal organs and tore them apart. One of his legs was shattered and he was also wounded in the head. … An Israeli physician who showed x-rays of the boy to his colleagues at Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Hashomer, said they were convinced he was the victim of flying nails such as suicide bombers unleash when they blow themselves up.”
 

Top

Circular Letter No 154
30th November 2003

Working backwards in the week, Saturday evening finished with the launching of the Calendar of Wild Flowers of Palestine which Joan and a friend Lois had been working on. There was an exhibition of the original paintings of the flower pictures, along with 30 other pictures that the two of them had painted. The Gallery in Ramallah was fairly full, the first 200 of the Calendars were sold, with another 800 to come from the printer, and each of the artists sold a few paintings! It was a good evening. The next stage is to get the information out to schools, so that children will have a chance to learn more about their environment, and how to respect and preserve it.

Saturday morning started early with a trip to the airport to pick up visitors from the Church of Scotland. They were at the Guest House by 0620 hours, which gave me an opportunity to go to Bethlehem to collect food for the St Andrew’s Day Reception here at the Church and Guest House. I had tried twice on Friday to go into Bethlehem, but on each occasion gave up – the first just by looking at the length of the queue, and the second having waited 45 minutes without moving. Such is the “easing” of conditions for folk trying to get into places such as Bethlehem.

The crossing into Bethlehem took a few moments – not too may people waiting at 0630 hours. Business completed, I had to sit for 20 minutes or more in the line waiting to get out – cars moving slowly, luggage spaces having to be opened for inspection. While sitting there, I was able to watch the few pedestrians who were hoping to make their way into Jerusalem. When my turn came to move up to the soldiers in my car, many of them were still standing in a line – waiting. There had been, for me, a particularly poignant moment when 4 young kids came past, with the schoolbags on their backs. They were all Primary school age, judging by their size, and the youngest cannot have been much more than 5 or 6. To get to their school they have to go through the checkpoint. I have no way of knowing how they are treated on a regular basis – on Saturday they seemed to get through without hassle. However, I wondered what sort of impact this was making on them, and their knowledge of, and relationship to, Jewish people. 6 – year old and a check point.

Friday was a regular trip down to Idna with an added extra. Passengers included the usual Japanese woman who has worked with the co-operative for many years; an American woman studying in Jerusalem; and a Jewish friend active in “Peace” matters. The first check point does not normally operate on traffic leaving Jerusalem; the second usually is little more than saying “good morning” to the soldiers on duty; at the third it seems to have become normal for me to be asked to get out of the car and walk 50 metres to the soldiers. There is then a short conversation, after which we are allowed to proceed. So it was on Friday.

The visit to the Co-operative was a bit of fairly routine business for Joan and myself, and for the Japanese woman. The real thrill of the morning was watching the local women inter-act with the Jewish woman. It was one of those magical experiences which happen only occasionally. For most of the Idna women, the only Jewish people they meet are the soldiers at the check-points and the soldiers who occasionally make raids into their village. To be able to sit and chat with a real, live Jewish woman, who spoke Arabic, was a novel experience. As a small indicator of what could happen, it was precious. As a small indicator of what is only a rare occurrence, it was sad. Why should not more such meetings be able to take place?

One of the reasons for the Jewish woman being with us was that she sometimes assists Physicians for Human Rights, and had thus been involved with the situation of a man in Hebron who, (as she put it) had been wounded by the IDF and had cost the Government of Israel thousands of shekels in treatment to repair the damage caused to him by the Israeli army. She had a small package to deliver to him, and asked if I would mind taking her into Hebron so that this could be done. No problem!

To get into Hebron involved passing through a preliminary checkpoint more rigourous than any that I had been through for a long time. This gave us access to the Jewish Settlement of Qiryat Arba. We eventually found our way to the final checkpoint, having made a couple of wrong turns. One of them had brought us up against a double fence barrier, with a significant Israeli army post. This was to ensure separation of the Jewish community from the Arab community. Through the final checkpoint, we followed the road down to the vicinity of the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Destruction was everywhere – houses that had been demolished; windows in buildings that had been shot out; debris lying on the roadside; a general air of dilapidation and hopelessness. We stopped in an open place while waiting for the person to come to pick up the package. Folk were on their way home from Friday prayers, and a small crowd of curious kids quickly gathered. My Arabic did not lead to their being much conversation! After a few moments, an Israeli army jeep came along and circled round our gathering – and no doubt having come to the conclusion that we were no threat to general peace, moved off. Then it was time to leave – that part of our mission accomplished.

The experience was one of the most depression that I have had since coming to live in Jerusalem. There has been destruction on the West Bank; curfews; road blocks – but this was something different. There was a small shallow valley, perhaps 100 metres across. It was full of vines, now a golden colour as the leaves die off in the autumn cold. On one side, behind a significant barrier, was a Jewish enclave. In construction and design, it could have been anywhere in Jerusalem – the same sort of stone-faced building, the same sort of square architecture, and the people on the streets, some of the young men whom we passed aggressively making their presence felt. There was some sense of economic well-being.

The other side of the valley might have been thousands of miles away, in some part of a run-down third-world country. Buildings that were lacking in regular maintenance. Houses that had been demolished. Israeli army outposts at what seemed to be every corner. A place of no escape, and a place with no seeming future.

What such an environment is doing to the youngsters of both communities does not bear thinking about. It is almost impossible to see how they can avoid growing up with stereotypes of “the others over there” which will only reinforce the divisions between them. To contemplate any way in which the present situation can continue ad infinitum is also virtually impossible.

The juxtaposition of the two events – the humanity of Idna, and the inhumanity of Hebron – highlighted what is possible, but also the reality of what many people now take for granted, a life of separation, of deprivation – and ultimately something which I feel is self-destructive.

Friday evening was spent with two families where both wives are from England. They came out to work in Jerusalem 30 years ago, and married Palestinian men. It is interesting – at times hilarious and at times painful – to hear of the different pressures with which they have to cope – how do you travel with your family when you have a British passport, and they had a Palestinian Authority travel document, or a Jordanian passport? A husband and wife approach a checkpoint which is between them and their work in Jerusalem. The wife is allowed to pass, and the husband is turned back – yet they are going to the same place to work, and have done so for 20 years. They take this for granted, and have worked out how to deal with it. Other guests included a person who had lived almost beside me in Trinity College Dublin in 1958, - yet we had never met!

One headline from Ha’aretz this week. Thurs November 27th. Page 1.

“Universities return to aptitude exams to keep Arabs out.” ‘There’s no politically correct spin to put on it, and the facts speak for themselves: As soon as Israel’s top university administrators noticed that the big winners from admissions policy changes were not Jewish youngsters from low-income town, but rather Arabs, they reverted back to the old admissions system.’

We are well – Joan is off this week, assuming that the airport is working and not strikebound, to visit Vivienne and Gordon.

We hope you are all well. God bless.

Love from us both.

Joan and Clarence

Top

Circular Letter No 155
5th December 2003

With Joan away on holiday visiting Vivienne, life has a totally different rhythm. Dishes used are fewer, and therefore it makes more ecological sense not to run the hot water tap too often, so they get washed from time to time. Picking up the things that I leave lying around the apartment is an occasional exercise, perhaps suggested by the need to be able to sit on a chair. Then this evening, cooking for the first time for a while, as distinct from using left-overs that had been in the frig or freezer, there occurred that interesting phenomenon of cooked finger-nail. Part of me ended up in the chopped vegetables. Fun will come when I try to do some clothes washing – despite having had a 2 minute lesson before I was left alone to look after the house. Sob, sob – but we are surviving – stiff upper lip and all that sort of stuff.

Galleries and Art Exhibitions and Calendars – the exhibition has finished, and I am glad to say that fewer pictures had to be brought back than were taken. The Calendar has proved popular with most of the 1,000 being sold. A second printing has been ordered – cost in UK inclusive of package and postage is NIS 45 - £6. The reprinting will be ready for January, we have been told. Coming home from Ramallah on Tuesday afternoon, we had to wait for 45 minutes in a queue. Coming home on Thursday evening, much later and in the rain, I had to wait for 3 minutes.

However, when we had tried to arrange to go to the Gallery on Monday, we were told that it was in an area which the Israeli army had invaded the previous night. The headline in the paper (Tuesday December 2 Ha’aretz P 1) reads : “Boy, 3 Hamas men die in Ramallah raid.” ‘The IDF rolled into Ramallah yesterday, the day the Geneva initiative was launched, in an effort to reap some last-minute fruits in its campaign against the terror organisations before the “hudna-2” cease-fire takes effect some time in the coming weeks. Despite the problematic timing, - and the possibility that the operation might be interpreted as an Israeli effort to disrupt the Geneva ceremonies – the defence establishment could not resist the temptation to take action.’ It is interesting to note the language of the Headline “Boy, 3 Hamas men die in Ramallah raid” – almost as if they were responsible for their own deaths. In fact, they were killed in the Ramallah raid.

We are sometimes asked about danger to ourselves, and our reply is that we do not knowingly put ourselves at risk. Rarely have I felt any real threat while living here. Yet, the fact is that 400 metres from the Gallery where the Exhibition was being held, the Israeli army came in – in the middle of the night – had a gun fight with people in the area, and then demolished a multi-storey house. I saw the scene on Tuesday, the day after it had happened, when I called at the Gallery. Every window in the houses facing the demolished house had been shattered. The demolishers must have been pleased with the result of their effort – the house just collapsed on itself like a pack of cards, with hardly any of it falling outside its own garden.

Following a visit to Jayyus earlier in the year, Helenka – a member of the congregation – got together some of her friends and raised some money to purchase toys for the Kindergarten. We took these to Jayyus on Tuesday. It was a reasonably straightforward journey, going the route that I know. While on the side roads winding through a few villages, the phone went, and we were told that the more direct road was open. The Israeli army had opened the gate a few kilometres from the village, and so we could have passed through it. We used that route on our way home. For a Palestinian vehicle to travel on the main roads in the West Bank, a permit is needed. It was salutary to see a phalanx of taxis sitting at the gate, not venturing on to the main road – waiting for people to come somehow, and then taking them over the side roads that we had used in the morning.

It rained much of the way, and this was the first real rain that I had seen this season. Since then, there has been more rain in the Jerusalem area – greatly appreciated, as it is quite late in the year for it to really start.

Jayyus was little different from previous visits. Tales of closed gates, of farmers not being able to get to their fields, of crops that had died and fruit that had been unable to be harvested – all in the name of security. We were told of one period of 20 consecutive days when the gates had not been opened for the farmers.

You may remember that I wrote on the occasion of a previous visit about a woman who had managed to get her children to school for 1100 hours, instead of the 0730 hours – as the soldiers did not open the gate. Hers is the only house from the village that is on the “wrong” side of the fence. At that particular point, there is a pedestrian gate and a gate for vehicles. The gate for vehicles has now been closed with stakes driven into the ground on the army side of it. Among other things it means that the family is unable to have water delivered to them in a tanker – what they use will have to be carried, unless they can bring it several kilometres on a different track.

One of the reasons for the visit was to take back to the village one of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Team. That is the shortened version of the full name, and more information can be had on its web site : www.eappi.org. The members of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme come for a specified period of time; they are here to express their Christian concern for the people with whom they stay – mostly on the West Bank, with some in Israel. Their presence may at times help to defuse tense situations, while they also are able to make their own contributions to the general life of the communities in which they spend time. There are currently two Scots people on the programme whom I have met – the one I took back having been the Piper for the St Andrew’s Day Service here in Jerusalem.

Some time around mid-January, Joan and I will be leaving for Scotland for Leave and for speaking engagements. These will be in Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, and the Church of Scotland congregations in London. Dates will be advertised when they have been arranged. So, packing up will be the order of the day, as our apartment will be subjected to re-wiring while we are in Scotland. It is planned that it will be completed by the time we return at the end of March. In the meantime, I have found some handcraft stock that we bought (mostly from Idna) so if anyone is interested in any of it, please get in touch for prices etc. Handcraft Stock; 17 Bethlehem Angels: Coasters – 5 green, 10 blue, 9 purple; 4 Christmas pincushions; 1 blue Tote bag; 1 pink double-zip handbag; small bags – 1 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 grey; change purses -1 green, 1 red, 1 purple; spectacle cases – 1 brown, 2 purple, 3 red; 9 white place mats with 10 bunches of embroidered grapes 36 cms x 28 cms; 5 white table mats, with 12 bunches of grapes and embroidered border 46 cms x 37 cms.

Security? Or Land grab? These are two very opposing views of the Wall/Fence/Barrier that is being constructed by the Israeli Government in the West Bank on Palestinian land, and in and around Jerusalem, where it is being constructed on land in East Jerusalem and beyond the Green Line. Wednesday’s edition of Ha’aretz had two contrasting stories on the front page.

“Washington warns Israel not to rock the Mideast boat. U.S. says don’t hurt Arafat, destabilise region, or create facts on the ground”.

Immediately below this story, and accompanied by a coloured map headed “The Fence in North Jerusalem” is an article headed “Jerusalem’s borders are being redrawn : Separation fence will completely change the lives of tens of thousands.” Part of it reads ‘The fence will completely change the lives of more than 100,000 people who live in northeast Jerusalem. Some 70% of them have blue ID cards identifying them as residents of Jerusalem [ a consequence of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 – CWM] though they are not Israeli citizens. The fence planners invested a lot of thought and creativity into drawing a winding line for the fence that has no urban logic, cutting off the Arab neighbourhoods and the refugee camps from the centre of their lives in Jerusalem.’ It is hard to convey the significance of what is being done. In Edinburgh terms, it is as if a Wall were built up the middle of the Corstorphine Road all the way from Murrayfield to the Airport in a westerly direction, and all the way from Murrayfield to the Firth of Forth in a northerly direction. Anyone living in the area to the north of this wall, assuming that he or she had permission to enter Edinburgh, would have to do so through gates controlled by the army – showing their passes and ID cards. Here in Jerusalem, for some people who wish to cross the road, which they are able to do now to shop, visit families, go to school, go to work, will mean a journey of several kilometres to the projected checkpoint, and if they are able to get through, then the same distance back to end up just a few metres from their homes.


The matter does not end there. On whose land is the Wall being built? It belongs to Palestinians, and in a court case in Tel Aviv, reported on Wednesday 3rd December (Ha’aretz P 2) there is the Heading : “Court rejects land compensation offer. NIS 12,000 per dunam is a violation of Palestinians’ rights, judge rules.” ‘The Court’s decision came in response to a rqeust submitted a few weeks ago by Ibrahim Shakriat and other complainants. The petitioners asked the state to issue a temporary injunction order blocking the construction of the fence in the Kidron River area. …. The state, the petitioners said, is exploiting an old emergency order in order to offer a nominal compensation fee, which is equivalent to just 5% of the value of the land that is to be expropriated. ‘

And how do you get, or renew, your ID document, if you are a Jerusalem Arab? Thursday 4th December (Ha’aretz P 3 ) has the story : “Jerusalem’s Arabs are herded ‘like cattle’ at Interior Ministry.” ‘The lines and crush at the entrance to the Interior Ministry offices in East Jerusalem have earned an endless number of descriptions in the Israeli and foreign media over the years. Masses of Arabs, residents of East Jerusalem, gather there from late at night to win entry into the building the following morning. The offices open at 0800 hours every day, and there are days on which one can see people gathering outside the building from 1930 hours the evening before.’ The story goes on to explain to Israeli readers the facts of the situation regarding the status of Arab people in East Jerusalem. There is an adjoining story: “Court tells Ministry: Move to new offices.” ‘The High Court of Justice yesterday morning ordered the Interior Ministry to move the East Jerusalem offices of the population registrar to a larger building, employ more people at the facility and extend its opening hours. … The Supreme Court … gave the state 19 months to move the Interior Ministry offices to a new and larger building. The justices also order the state to immediately employ a total of 42 workers at the office and extend its opening hours. … During a hearing on the petition two weeks ago, attorney Avi Licht, representing the state, unusually asked the court to order the state to move the office. ‘This is the only way that the Interior Ministry will take any action on the matter’, he said.

Speaking with a Jewish woman yesterday, I was asked if I saw any signs of change within the Israeli Jewish community. She spoke of the statements made by 4 former heads of Shin Bet, one of the Government Security agencies; the statement by the Head of the Israeli army about the need for political action, as military action alone will not provide an answer to the situation; the action of Air Force pilots in refusing to bomb targets in the West Bank and Gaza, and this weekend an article by several Reservists in the Israeli army who had completed a tour of duty at the Settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip. Also there is the Geneva Accord signed this week. So, perhaps, that long process is starting which will lead to political change in Israel, and political action to bring about a resolution of the situation. But, at the same time, there is the Wall/Fence, the checkpoints, and the regular shootings of people such as the 9-year old boy in Ramallah.


Stay well. God bless.

Joan and Clarence


PS The mind boggles : “The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoons.”

Top

Circular Letter No 156
13th December 2003

“Arabs will be majority in Jerusalem by 2040, says Mayor.” This was a headline in Ha’aretz on Wednesday 10th December P.1. ‘Jerusalem May Uri Lupolianski expressed concern over the demographics of Jerusalem in 2040 when, according to population estimates, Arabs may constitute a majority in the city.’ This is one of the factors putting pressure on the Government of Israel – what to do in preparation for the time when the Arab population between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea will outnumber the Jewish population. For some, it makes more urgent the need to ensure that there is the creation of a State of Palestine with which the Arabs will be able to identify, and thus take some of the pressure off the State of Israel. For others, it reinforces the need to have one state covering the total area, and get rid of the Arab population by sending them eastwards, of in some way recognise them as residents in the area, but not citizens. For yet others, there should be one state for all the people – Jewish and Arab. What seems difficult, if not impossible, is to retain the present status quo.

The vexed question for the Israeli government of what to do with the Settlements in the West Bank is perpetually in the news. In the same paper, the leading headline is “Sharon : ‘Unilateral steps’ could mean moving settlements.” Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering moving some settlements as part of unilateral steps Israel would taken even before it reaches the conclusion that the road map has failed because the Palestinians are not interested in implementing it, he told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee yesterday.’

While the bold assertion that the Road Map will, or may, fail because the Palestinians are not interested in implementing it will be vigourously challenged by the Palestinians, one of the facts about the continued retention of Settlements which will influence the decisions of the Government will be the sheer cost of keeping them in place, and of ensuring the security of people living in them. The weekly Magazine of Ha’aretz for December 5th had a most compelling article entitled “Delusional Disorder.” The introduction read : After 32 days of reserve duty in Netzarim [ a Settlement in Gaza], officers from Para troop Battalion 9263 decided that they could no longer remain silent. This place has to be evacuated, they say, because Israel has no reason to be there. One of the interesting aspects of this article is that it represents the views, not of some Peace Camp people, but of officers who will continue to serve in the Reserves, and some of whom say that, if ordered to do more duty at Netzarim, they would do so.

Says one of them, Samocha, ‘Not too many years go, one platoon guarded the road to Netzarim, and the whole area was cultivated and blooming. Now there a battalion plus guarding Netzarim, there’s no trace of the orchards and olive groves, the road is strewn with islands of rubble from factories and residential buildings.’

The article ends ‘The ratio of soldiers to residents now stands 1:1. (Battalion Commander) Minervo’s company was charged with securing the corridor to and from Netzarim, another was charged with carrying out external missions, and a third was charged with guarding the settlement itself. And another armoured company is also available if needed. According to information from the settlement’s spokesmen, there are 58 families living in Netzarim. Minervo laughs when he hears this. “Just like what happens at demonstrations, there’s a big gap between the numbers the reporter gives, the number the police give and what the organisers say. Some of the houses here are basically empty.”

The demographic pressures on Israel, along with the economic pressures, will make change inevitable.

One other form of pressure is the investigation that is going on into the financial affairs surrounding the contest for the leadership of the Likud Party in 1999. This is the party led by Mr Sharon, and there has been an on-going investigation into the way that $1.5 million was raised to help pay for Mr Sharon’s campaign to lead the party. “Fraud Officers expected to question PM soon” (December 10th Ha’aretz) : “Kern [a family friend of Mr Sharon] ‘loans’ were more than $3 million. Court orders PM’s son to hand over documents.” (December 11 Ha’aretz.) However the investigation ends, it is yet one more pressure on the Prime Minister, and if he feels that his future as Prime Minister is under threat, he may well decide to do something dramatic vis-à-vis the Palestinians.

Little scenes imprint themselves on my mind. One morning this week I was sitting at traffic lights, watching the pedestrians crossing the road. Going in the direction of West Jerusalem (which is the predominantly Jewish sector) was a young Arab woman, on her way to work. Going in the direction of East Jerusalem (which is the predominantly Arab sector) was a young Jewish man, going on his way to work. One can easily identify people by their dress : the Arab woman by her headscarf, and the Jewish man by his kippa or prayer cap. It was like a little visual parable : two people, different, yet their lives somehow intertwined.

The refusal of air force pilots to drop bombs or fire missiles into certain parts of the West Bank was a significant event in the way in which Israeli Jewish people are being asked to make judgments about the morality of what is being done on the West Bank and in Gaza. It is tragic to read the reports from Iraq of two incidents in which 15 children were killed by American weapons being dropped near them. Reports of the Israeli army being involved in the training of US army personnel for service in Iraq are disturbing. The thought that the same tactics might be used by the US in Iraq as are used by the Israeli army here, and which even the Israeli Chief of Staff acknowledges have no chance of bringing a peaceful solution to the situation here, is alarming.


Much of the time this week has been spent in working with Professor Robert Davidson, former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and retired Professor of Old Testament Studies at Glasgow University. He was the Convener of the Committee which presented a Report to the General Assembly of the CofS earlier this year entitled “Theology of Land and Covenant.” The General Assembly agreed that it be translated into Hebrew and Arabic – the Hebrew is already printed, the Arabic will be printed in the next few days.

Professor Davidson arrived last Wednesday to share in a series of meetings about the Report – to gather reactions to it, and to see if there was any way in which it might be used in the current situation here.

Attendances at the meetings have been disappointing, but the quality of the discussion has been high. The response has been generally positive, with obvious reference to the fact that it was a Report produced by Scottish people for a Scottish audience. Had it been produced by people here, it would probably have been different.

It is quite possible that it will be used in young adults’ groups to stimulate discussion; in classes at Bethlehem University; in courses at Tantur Ecumenical Institute; and as part of the material resources of the Jerusalem Centre for Jewish- Christian Relations. Have you seen it? Used it? If you have not got a copy of it, let me know and I will forward it to you.

I think that one of the over-riding impressions that I have gained from the conversations of the past few days has been one of lack of any real hope of political progress in resolving the current conflict. Few people see the signs of understanding and of a desire for a solution that will be necessary to move things along.

Defeatism? Realism? Time will tell.

Thanks to those who have offered to have a few angels etc. Still a few things left.

Study Tours next year. Seems to be some sort of feeling that something around Easter would be a possibility. I will make enquiries about this. For a Study Tour in May – how about each of the congregations who receive this letter offering to sponsor a person, or assist a person, to be part of a Group? I am sure that the folk who were here in November would be glad to share their experiences with you, and allay possible fears.

Bye for now.

God bless. Joan and Clarence.



Seen in a church magazine : The Low Self Esteem Group will meet on Thursday. Please use the back door.
 

Top

Circular Letter No 157
19th December 2003

Since early November, much of my time has been spent with visitors to Jerusalem. Some came for a Study tour, which included visits to Sinai, Galilee, and Bethlehem, as well as different areas of Jerusalem. We had a visit from the Very Rev James Harkness, President of the Friends of St Andrew’s for St Andrew’s Day, and latterly a visit from Professor Robert Davidson, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament, who shared in meetings with various people about the Report on Theology of Land and Covenant which was presented to the General Assembly earlier this year.

Some memories stand out :

Time spent in the Desert in the Sinai Peninsula – giving an opportunity to reflect on the story of the 40 years that Moses spent with his people in the Desert after they escaped from Egypt. In the divine economy of Time, what was the purpose of that 40 years? What were the lessons that can, and should, be learned from it? Maybe I will get time to put some thoughts on paper, and then inflict them on you.

Standing at the top of a huge sand-dune, and having to get to the bottom of it. It was pristine, with never a foot having been set on its surface at that time. When we had come down, there were tracks all over it – obliterated in a few hours, I am sure, by the action of the wind in blowing the sand about.

The remark of one person who has been receiving these letters since they first started, saying that he had read them all and thought that he had some understanding of the reality of checkpoints and fences and walls. 3 minutes looking at them gave him a deeper understanding of them that 3 years’ reading my words.

Sitting in a car for 40 minutes at a checkpoint, - a not unusual experience for us – but something entirely new to our passengers. Then to be told that Bethlehem was closed to tourists – and 20 minutes later being told by the soldiers that we could go to visit the Church of the Nativity.

Listening to a Rabbi sharing in a conversation about the “Theology” Report. To which Jewish Community do you speak? – the Jews from Arab countries, the Jews from European countries, the secular Jews, the religious Jews, the Russian Jews, the Settler Jews, and so on. It highlighted the difficulty of speaking about Israeli Jewish society in anything other than very general terms, and the need to recognise the many different understandings of what the State of Israel is, or might become.

Now it is time to get back to “regular” work.

We need to renew our Visas. Application has first of all to be made to the Ministry of Religious Affairs for endorsement of our Application to the Ministry of the Interior. Procedures are in a state of flux at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but we will be in touch with them later today (Wednesday). Then – who knows what will happen. The front page of Ha’aretz on Wednesday December 17th has a photo of crowds of people outside a building in Tel Aviv, where the Offices of the Ministry of the Interior are located. The caption below the photo reads “ALL TOGETHER NOW : Now, for the fist time since September, Interior Ministry offices, like this one in Tel Aviv, opened to the public yesterday as striking ministry workers tried to prove they were not anti-public. Thousands crowded to get their papers in order.” Our turn will come some time. For us, the importance of a valid visa is evident every time we pass through a checkpoint and have our passport examined – no valid Visa, perhaps no passage. Then, when we do leave the country, will it be possible for us to get back in again without a Visa – this is something which is worrying to many people, including other Church of Scotland staff.

Time also to look at a few newspapers!

Wednesday 17th (again!) Ha’aretz P1. “CIA report predicts no peace here until 2020” ‘The intelligence estimate [prepared by the US National Intelligence Council] casts doubt on the likelihood of a full peace settlement materialising in the years before 2020.’ If one of the things that Christmas is about is the truly catastrophic effects of human sinfulness, which necessitated the drastic action of the Incarnation and all that followed from it, then such a headline surely is an indication that we have not made all that much progress in the last 2,000 years.

Same day, Ha’aretz P 10 (well away from the front pages) – “Army court convicts 5 IDF conscripts for refusing service” This is the report on the Jaffa Military Court verdict issued yesterday in the case of 5 young men who had refused to be drafted into the Israel army. The 5 had claimed ‘conscientious objector’ status on the grounds that they oppose serving in “an army of occupation”. They were convicted and will be sentenced next week.

Thursday 18th.

Two very different experiences.

Thursday morning.

Mahmoud is from the Eastern hinterland of Jerusalem and works in a Christian institution in Jerusalem (not St Andrew’s) To legally work, he requires a Permit to be present in Jerusalem. He has had such a permit for some time, but periodically it has to be renewed. Last week his permit expired and a new one was issued. However, it had to be collected from the appropriate office, and this was not possible until Monday. However, on his way to work on Monday morning, he was stopped by a soldier, and when he had no valid permit to present, he was arrested. He was taken to an interrogation centre, where his story was verified, and he was released. This of itself is no great story – it happens dozens of times every day. But what stood out as I listened to it was his account of the conversation that he had with the soldier.

Said Mahmoud the worker to Moshe the soldier – I am only trying to get to work so that I can earn some money to feed my children. Replied Moshe the soldier to Mahmoud the worker – I too am only doing my job, as I have to earn money to feed my children. If I do not arrest you, then I run the risk of losing my job. I do not want to arrest you, but I have to.

The story ended happily with Mahmoud being able to pick up his permit and get to work – the next day. He showed not the slightest animosity towards Moshe – just a sense of regret that two fathers, trying to look after their families, should have to go through their different experiences. Said Mahmoud – all we both want is peace.

Thursday evening.

Our church is used from time to time for concerts, and there was a concert this evening. One of the Guest House Staff acts as Parking Attendant/Security Office.

A young Israeli Jewish woman came up the drive and met me on the steps of the Church. Correctly assuming that I had something to do with the church, she asked if we had “security”, to which I replied “Yes”. She then asked if the person she had passed in the car park was the security man, and I replied that he was. “But he is an Arab” she said, and was a bit surprised when I asked what difference that made. “I want to be safe” she said, indicating that she obviously did not feel that an Arab could provide security for her.

It has been difficult this week to try to see a way forward from the present situation.

On Wednesday Mr Netanyahu, the current Minister of Finance and a former Prime Minister, was speaking at a Conference in Herzliyya. On Thursday Ha’aretz reported as follows (Thursday Dec 18., P1.) :”Israel’s growing demographic problem is not because of Palestinians, but of Israeli Arabs,, finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday. …. “If there is a demographic problem, and there is, it is with the Israeli Arabs who will remain Israeli citizens….. The Declaration of Independence said Israel should be a Jewish and democratic state, but to ensure the Jewish character was not engulfed by demography, it was necessary to ensure a Jewish majority” he said.

On Thursday Mr Sharon made his long-awaited speech about his vision of the way forward. As there are those who read this letter who feel that my judgement is unsound, I will use part of an e-mail from Gush Shalom, an Israeli Jewish Peace Group, which comments on Mr Sharon’s speech :

"Ariel Sharon's speech of today is a masterpiece of misrepresentation, half-truths and outright lies," Gush Shalom declared immediately afterwards. "The polished formulations are hiding the clear intent of annexing more than half the West Bank, while giving up a few far-away and isolated settlements that the army consider as a burden." As examples of blatant untruths, Gush Shalom cites: [I have taken the first three, in the interests of space. CWM]

1. Sharon: The Road Map demands that the Palestinians eliminate terrorism, and that only afterwards Israel is requested to fulfil its obligations. The truth: The Road Map demands that Israel starts to fulfil its obligations at once, simultaneous with and independent of the steps to be taken by the Palestinians.

2. The Road Map demands from Israel to remove "unlicensed outposts". The truth: The Road Map demand from Israel to remove ALL settlements set up after January 2001.

3. Sharon: The Road Map allows Israel to build inside the "built-up area" of the settlements The truth: The Road Map forbids any building activity in the settlements. The "built up areas" of the settlements have been planned in advance in such a way that tens of thousands of new houses can be built there.

Friday evening

We had planned to travel to a special service in the Episcopal Church in Nablus today – but there was some “action” there which made it difficult to proceed with the plans, and so the Bishop had to cancel the trip and the service. However, as they say – “it is an ill wind …” It meant that we were free to go to the Carol Service of the Secondary Department of Tabeetha Church of Scotland School in Jaffa. Tabeetha is one of three Church-run schools close to each other in Jaffa – one teaches in Arabic, one teaches in French, and Tabeetha teaches in English. There are currently about 315 pupils, from the Reception Class to Year 13 taking A level exams. 80% of the pupils come from the Jaffa area, and 20% are expatriate, from 25 different nations. Most of the pupils are Christian, with Muslims being the next largest group, and a small percentage of Jewish pupils.

There was a bit of a hitch at the start of the Service. The Chaplin called in to say that he was delayed by a road – closure, as there was a suspicious object on the road, which was possibly a bomb. He arrived towards the end of the service.

What was special about this service, as it has been each of the years that we have been able to be there, was the fact that ALL the School family joined in it. Christian, Jewish and Muslim people all shared in it. It is not that any group is asked to deny its own faith, or traditions, but rather given an opportunity to share with, and celebrate with, another group in the School on its special occasion.

Christmas is but a few days away – and we have some work to do to distribute donations which have been sent – so that the money will be given to some of the folk who are out of work, or to other Churches for their pastoral work, rather than sitting in a bank account.

Mahmoud, Moshe, Netanyahu, Sharon, Gush Shalom, Tabeetha School – which is the sound that will prevail? Or perhaps it might even be the sound of a vulnerable baby?

Thank you for journeying with us this past year, and for all your support. We wish you all happiness at Christmas and blessings in the New Year. God be with you all.

Joan and Clarence
 

Top

Circular Letter No 158
27th December 2003

I took the trouble to look back over the letters that I had written at the end of the past three years – I am amazed that people still read what I write, it all seemed so repetitive. However, maybe that is the way things are – repetitive and not a lot of change.

So : for the record, (and to repeat previous years!) we did have services at Christmas time, and once again the congregation on Christmas Eve was largely Jewish young people, and once again, most of them stayed to the end of the Service. Again, we had a smaller congregation on Christmas day – which reflects the reality of things here – fewer people, and fewer able to go out. We had one family who had to stay at home on Christmas Eve, due to Security Advice from their government.

Some of us went into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in the afternoon to join the crowd welcoming the Latin (Roman Catholic) Patriarch as he came to spend the day in Bethlehem prior to celebrating Midnight Mass. It was very much a case of the local Christian community welcoming its Catholic Bishop – one of the few ways in which they are able to express their identity and dignity. Manger Square was not at all full, but there was quite a press around the Patriarch – his arrival had been preceded by a parade of the local Scout and Cub Scout troops, the Guides and Brownie companies, many of them with their bagpipe bands. Looking into the Square, there was one expression of “reality” – a relationship between Church and Community which had endured over a very long period of time. As we turned to leave the Square, there was another expression of a different reality – dominating the skyline to the north were the buildings of Har Homa Settlement, on land which the State of Israel had expropriated from the very people who were in the Square in Bethlehem. Between Bethlehem and Har Homa runs the new Fence, complete with its razor wire rolls and tarred road for military vehicles to patrol. As it would have been difficult to envisage this “reality” in 1903, so one wonders what will be the new “reality” in 2103.

Getting in to Bethlehem and getting out again was really almost pleasant. The soldiers on duty were much more affable than normal, the formalities almost non-existent, and the waiting times extremely short. One of those who stopped us then wished us a Happy Christmas as he allowed us to proceed. It makes one ask a question about the normal routine – is it for security, or has it another agenda?

Christmas Day was a bit different this year from the past 3 years. As the Guest House is closed for re-wiring, it has not been possible to arrange the Christmas Meal here which we have shared with the congregation. So, we all went off to the Notre Dame Centre – a Roman Catholic Hotel and Conference Centre opposite the New Gate of the Old City. There were about 30 of us – including the mothers of two of the members of our congregation who were here for Christmas – both having celebrated their 80th birthdays this past year. A good time was had by all.

December 26th saw us go down to Idna for a visit. Unbeknownst to us, the women there had arranged a party! We had cake, and Joan and I were given a small Christmas Tree which they had had made for us. Toshiko, the Japanese woman who really started the group, was given a posy of dried flowers – and they had written a little speech in English, which one of the women read. It was an experience to treasure – one of happiness and affection, despite all the difficulties. Because the main entrance to the village had been blocked by a concrete barrier and a mound of earth, we had had to make a short detour through an olive grove to get into the village – following an Israeli army jeep along the track! Vegetable sellers in the “square” stopped us to greet us for Christmas and the holidays. While we were at the Co-operative centre having our party, Israeli soldiers were in another part of the village conducting some sort of a search. On Christmas Day, some folk from the village who had been in Detention for 6 months or a year had been released and come home, without being charged. Some would perhaps be arrested today – and they too would come home in time. The women more or less shrugged their shoulders – this was a normal part of life, so why bother about it. This is what the Israelis do.

From time to time people ask us about the future ; what should one expect?

During the year, there was the optimism of the visit of President Bush to the region, and the conference between Americans, Israelis and Palestinians. It was followed by a Press Conference here in Jerusalem at which both Mr Sharon and Abu Mazen were present with many of the Ministers of their respective Cabinets. It seemed one was being a spoil-sport expressing reservations about it all. Yet – it certainly seems now to have all been a mirage, perhaps a smoke-screen. I am aware that some people feel my sympathies for one side over against the other are all too obvious. To that end, I try to allow Jewish people to contribute to these letters, by quoting from their reports and articles. A sort of Review of the Year is encapsulated in the title of an article in Ha’aretz on 26th December, by Yoel Marcus : “The Year of the Fall.” It includes the following paragraph : ‘The year 2003 will be remembered as one of the worst years this country has known. Israel is on the list of the countries that endanger peace in the world, and the issue of the separation fence has been passed along to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. The Intifada and the suicide attacks have wreaked destruction in all areas of life. Crime is rampant and public corruption has reached Sharon’s doorstep. The situation of the individual has become worse than it has ever been. Sharon’s policy is leading to a dead end with blood and fire on the horizon. …. Ferment is bubbling and seething at all levels with respect to a prime minister about whom there are questions marks concerning his ability to function. In the prevailing sense that things cannot go on like this, there is no doubt that the government turnaround is simmering beneath the surface.’

From an Israeli, Jewish, journalist, it is indeed a bleak judgment on the past year and a bleak outlook for the coming year.

One of the major components in the debate about the future impact of the policy of the Government is the Fence/Wall/Barrier. It is hard to find words to convey what is looks like, what it is doing to Palestinian society, and what it ultimately will do to Israeli Jewish Society.

The following is an excerpt from an e-mail circulated by Gush Shalom following a demonstration yesterday at the site of the Fence near a Palestinian village.

“This is Not Security! This is Disregard for Human Life! Stop Hurting Civilians!

A demonstration tomorrow, Saturday 27.12.03, 19:00/18:00, in front of the army's headquarters, Hakirya, Tel-Aviv, following the injury of an Israeli activist on Friday, by Israeli soldiers' shooting.

In the last few months Palestinians were killed almost every day, dozens every month, a lot of them were innocent. And this in times when there were no suicide-bombings. What was referred to in Israel as "Three quiet months" was not at all like that for the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The vicious cycle of bloodshed eventually reached us, in a suicide bombing in which 4 Israelis were killed. Today, Friday 26.12.03, in response to a protest action against the wall, Israeli soldiers intentionally shot an Israeli activist, causing him serious injury and lightly injuring another demonstrator. The Israeli army believes that it's OK to shoot live bullets at a group of unarmed people, engaging in protest activity, if they were pre-warned or if one of them has some kind of head-cover. The defence minister, the high command and the commanders in the field encourage the light hand of soldiers on the trigger by refraining from investigating, immediately pressing charges, and severely punishing soldiers that kill Palestinians in cases were the soldiers are in no danger of being hurt. Furthermore, the instructions for opening fire themselves foster a disregard for human life! We demand to stop hurting civilians, to investigate, press charges against and severely punish those responsible for such acts.”

I am sure that a search of the Internet would find expressions of a completely opposite point of view, again from within Israeli Jewish society.

On an entirely different tack, what are folk like you and me able to do by way of actually helping people where help is needed?

This year, you have bought over 1,000 angels from the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, representing $7,000 cash put into a local community. Well done.

This year, in a variety of ways, you have made donations to people and projects, mostly on the West Bank, of over $30,000.

In addition, there has been the purchase of handcrafts from a variety of sources, which has come to thousands of dollars.

Given the huge need that there is, and the impossibility of meeting even that which we hear about, it is still heartening to have been able to help with such a level of assistance. Thanks to all who have made this possible.

At the risk of repeating what some of you may well have received already, let me share with you the short note which I sent to folk in and around Jerusalem this Christmas.

It was in the time of what is called the “Pax Romana” that God decided the circumstances were propitious for the Incarnation to take place – for Jesus to be born just down the road from us, in Bethlehem.

Although it was the time of “The Roman Peace” there were still conflicts, and within a generation from the ministry of Christ, there was the major conflict between the Israelites of that time and the Romans, ending with the destruction of the Temple. Violence then was the seed-bed in which the message of the Gospel was planted – and it not only survived, but it grew.

Who knows what has been planted in the violent world of today, and what will emerge from it in the future.

While praying for the peace of the world, we also pray for peace for you, and that together, we may be channels of peace to the communities around us.

Greetings to you all from the two of us.

God bless. Love.

Joan and Clarence

Top

Circular Letter No 159
3rd January 2004

Thanks to one of our correspondents for the following little story :

In one of the ‘Peanuts’ cartoons, Lucy says to Charlie Brown: “If you were on a liner, would you put your deck chair at the front, looking ahead or at the back, looking to where you had been?” There is a long pause, then Charlie Brown says: ”I’m still trying to unfold the deck chair”. I feel a real sense of identity with Charlie Brown – it would be great to be able to unfold the deck chair and find some feasible solution to the situation which is destroying this part of the world.

Christmas has come and gone: New Year has passed. It would be marvelous to be able to report a change in the routine. Certainly, Christmas Day going into Bethlehem and leaving it was the easiest time that we have had since September 2000. Yesterday, I was back there doing some work – 40 minutes queuing to get in, and 40 minutes to get out. An incredible waste of time, of energy, and of potential good will. Is it that the Security Situation was so much worse on December 30th than on December 25th? I wonder.

Among our friends here are some of the members of Machsomwatch – Checkpoint Watch. They are Jewish women who feel that one way they can help in the present circumstances is to be present at Checkpoints, to intervene where possible and necessary between soldiers and Palestinians, in the hope of defusing potential aggressive situations, and assisting Palestinians to proceed on their journeys.

The necessity of their work has been highlighted by one story that came in this week :

“29th December 2003 Israeli troops ensure the Qasim family have a journey that they will never forget On the 22nd of December 2003, the Qasim family lost their new born twins, after Israeli soldiers delayed their mother during her journey to hospital. Lamis Qasim (26), from the village of Der Balout in the Nablus district, was leaving the village to get to hospital. In spite of severe birthing pains, Lamis and her husband were very excited, as doctors had told them that Lamis was expecting twins. The Qasim's car was stopped by Israeli soldiers, at the checkpoint to the entrance of the village. The soldiers started shouting at Lamis, her husband and the other two female passengers, who were relatives of Lamis and there to help her. Lamis's husband Raed, was very worried for his wife and got out of the car. He began to call the soldiers, begging them to allow the car to pass through the checkpoint. However, they ignored his pleas. Raed decided to walk towards the soldiers, but after a few meters they ordered him to stop, claiming that they would check with their Commander about what to do. They threatened to shoot him if he walked any further. After one hour of waiting, Raed called an ambulance, which arrived at the other side of the checkpoint, within ten minutes. However Lamis's suffering was set to continue. The soldiers refused to allow the ambulance cross the checkpoint to reach Lamis, forcing the medical personnel to walk to her with a stretcher. However, although the soldiers let Lamis cross the checkpoint, they prevented Raed from accompanying her. According to the medical staff, the soldiers also stopped them whilst they were transferring Lamis to the ambulance, in order to check what was on the stretcher. They lifted the blanket that was covering Lamis and protecting her from the cold weather. Within ten minutes of driving, while still on the road, Lamis gave birth to the first twin, a girl, and the second girl was born within fifteen minutes, still inside the ambulance. Unfortunately, there was bad news for the mother. After she reached Ramallah hospital, the doctors told Lamis that the first child died in the ambulance because of the delay at the checkpoint. Furthermore, the doctor failed to save the second child's life, so she died for the same reasons. After one day, Lamis went back to her village, but was accompanied by mourning cloths, not two baby girls. The soldiers turned what should have been a happy event, into a tragedy”. For more information contact: The Palestine Monitor +972 (0)2 298 5372 or +972 (0)59 387 087 

On 30th January, there was the annual Reception for Heads of Christian Churches and Communities by the President of Israel. It is one time in the year when you manage to see most of the church leaders under one roof, and an opportunity to at least greet each other. There is a speech by the President, and a speech by the Foreign Minister, with a response on behalf of everyone given by the representative of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch.

It is an experience which really makes one stop and think. I have no doubt that the President and the Foreign Minister are both honourable men, and who are convinced that they were speaking the truth. Both stressed that since 1948 the State of Israel has held out the hand of peace and friendship to the Palestinians, but unfortunately there has never been a reciprocal gesture from the Palestinians. So, it is therefore necessary for the State of Israel to take what measures it decides are necessary to protect itself, hoping that in the long run there will be a negotiated settlement leading to the establishment of a Palestinian State.

In the Christmas message of a Pastor from Bethlehem, he referred to the words of the hymn : “O Little town of Bethlehem” – how apt they are at present, he said. On the northern boundary of Bethlehem the building of the Fence/Barrier by the Israeli government on Palestinian land is making Bethlehem even smaller than it was before, and the continued expansion of the Jewish Settlement of Efrat to the South of Bethlehem will ensure that it stays a little town, with no space for expansion to the South. Having seen with my own eyes the growth of the settlements around Bethlehem, it is difficult to see how that fits in with the assertion of the President that Israel is holding out the hand of peace and friendship. Certainly, it would be contrary to the view of people living in Bethlehem.

A digression : In his speech the Foreign Minister said that the Christian population of Israel is now 142,000, out of a total population of 6.75 million, which is 2.1%. Close to the Montefiore Windmill near St Andrew’s here, there is a notice board with the following statistics on it, which relate to the city of Jerusalem, and not to the whole country, or to the West Bank. :

 

Date	Jerusalem	Jews	Muslims	Christians
1840 Renewal of Turkish Rule	12,900	5,000 - 39%	4,600 - 36%	3,300 - 25%
1870 New Jewish Settlements	22,000	11,000 - 50%	6,500 - 30%	4,500 - 20%
1917 British Mandate	60,500	32,000 - 53%	13,500 - 22%	15,000 - 25%
1948 Establishment of State of Israel	149,000	84,000 - 56%	40,000 - 27%	25,000 - 17%

In The International Herald Tribune on 31st December (P 3.) “Jewish settlements bulge during Sharon’s tenure,” is the headline, followed by ‘The population in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza strip has grown by about 16% during the almost three years of Prime Minister Sharon’s rule, according to Interior Ministry statistics released Tuesday. The statistics show the population is 236,381 people, up from 203, 067 at the end of 2000, 3 months before Mr Sharon took office.’ Palestinian people whose land has been taken by the settlers find it hard to see this action as extending the hand of peace and friendship.


One of the stories that has continued to be in the headlines here has been the shooting in the leg of a young Jewish man taking part in a demonstration against the Fence near the village of Meshka. The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army was being questioned by the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee of the Knesset, (Ha’aretz 31st December 2003, P2). Part of the controversy surrounds the shooting of an Israeli Jewish person and an American. In response to a question from a Meretz Party MK, who asked if the Israeli army refrains from shooting at demonstrations only if they are known to be Israeli, the Chief of Staff said no such decision had been made. However, the Israeli army may now change its orders on opening fire along the Fence.


A sort of panic phone call came in on 30th December. You may recall that some time ago, we wrote about 2 families in the northern part of Jerusalem whose houses were demolished, because they had been built without a permit. We have been kept in touch with them by a Jewish woman who is working to try to get the whole situation in that little part of the city regularised, so that people can get on with their lives. The panic this week was about back-payments of taxes. There were 2 separate debts. The one was for a house rented by the mother of the man whose house had been demolished. The fact of the debt was not in question – the amount of it was. Anyway funds were needed there and then to try to get the matter resolved before the end of the month. Fortunately we were able to arrange the immediate help needed.

The second debt was on the house that was demolished! The Council will not issue permits for buildings, but the Council will demand payment of Property Taxes on buildings which it regards as illegal, and on which it has demolition orders waiting to be executed. So, despite the fact that the house is now in ruins, the Council is demanding that NIS 4,000 be paid in taxes for last year. That particular matter has been taken up by one of the Councillors who was approached and asked for help. We wait to hear the news.

In general terms, the debts are not huge - $1,100 or ₤700. Just what some people would have spent on Christmas festivities. Yet for a Palestinian family, they can represent the difference between having a roof over their head, and being homeless.


We have often written about the village of Idna, and the work of the women there making embroidery. It is not just a matter of trying to find markets for their goods, but it is also an opportunity to try to foster links between them and other communities. To this end, we have introduced them to the community that works at the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, where we hope they will be able to find help when they need it.

When we first went there, we commissioned some work for churches, which included the embroidering of a Cross on a Communion Table Cloth. The village is entirely Muslim, and some people began to question this work of the women – was it compatible with their own faith of Islam? So, the women asked for the opinion of some of the local Sheikhs, and they were advised not to embroider Crosses again. On Friday we had a meeting with one of the Sheikhs, which gave both us and him a chance to share our views. Understandably, he felt unable to give a “ruling” but we will go back again for a meal with him on 20th January when we will continue the discussion, and he will have had a chance to ask others about their opinion. The good news – the warmth of our reception by him and the village community. The not-so-good news – the reservations about making a Christian symbol. One wonders what would be the response of some of our more conservative communities in Scotland if asked to produce articles for use in a Synagogue or Mosque.


Personal news.

We all enjoyed Christmas – including our daughter who was at a US Army base near Baghdad. Her husband was supplying som