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

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

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Christmas Picture
 

Partnership in Conflict

Support Jayyous

Circular Letter No 198
18th December 2004

We left Jerusalem late in the morning to drive through the West Bank to Jayyous. The purpose of this trip was twofold : to share lunch with Mufidi who had invited us to have a traditional Palestinian meal of Musakhan (warm bread with onions, sumac, chicken and olive oil); and to pass on to her the gifts from people who had sent money to enable her to buy some olive trees to replace the ones which had been destroyed by the Israeli Army in the building of the Fence past Jayyous.


The journey was mostly uneventful, apart from being stopped once at a checkpoint, behind a vehicle from the British Embassy. We were in good company. We had with us a minister from American for whom, on her 4th trip to The Holy Land, this was the first time that she had been in this part of the country. We spoke about the roads, the Settlements, and the ubiquitous presence of soldiers of the Israeli Army. She came up with a description of the Settlers in their Settlements – Squatters – living in someone else’s place, without their permission, and without paying for it. It was the first time I had heard this particular word used in this context.


We duly reached the village, and met Abdullatif, who has been the contact person for us in all our dealings with the people of Jayyous. We sat outside his house and chatted, as it was considerably warmer in the sun, than sitting in the house. Neither Joan nor I could recall having seen or heard him so depressed. You will recall that there had been uprooting and destruction of Olive Trees a short while ago, but that it had been stopped pending further investigations. Well, it appears that the investigations have taken place, and it is likely that the uprooting will start again this week. The Settlers claim to have documents showing that they bought the land. Apart from one person who sold land, no one else can be identified as a seller. And the farmer whose trees have been uprooted, has in his possession an Israeli document from 2004 stating that he is the owner of the land.


As we sat outside his house, we could quite clearly see the cities in Israel, just a few kilometres away. We could see the Mediterranean. It was close to the sea that the people of Jayyous “in the hills” had some land “by the beach” prior to 1948. It was to these lands that they took their sheep and goats when they wanted to do business with the city folk. Abdullatif spoke of the land that his father had had, and how it had been lost in 1948. What his father had wanted to hand on to him had instead been taken.

Now, with great sadness and anguish in his voice, with frustration at being able to do nothing to stop it, he spoke of the fact that the land which he owned “behind the wall” was now being taken for the expansion of the Settlement of Sufin. It was the land which he had thought he would hand on to his son Ibrahim who was playing all round us as we sat there. “All they want (they being the Settlers in particular and the Government of Israel in general) is to get rid of us, to force us out,” he said.


We listened, as there was nothing we could say. On Wednesday December 15th I had read in Haaretz P1 the following story: “ Gov’t : No need to halt settlements approved before 2003.” ‘The government decision adopting the road map that obliges Israel to “freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth” has no operative legal standing, according to the state’s response to a High Court Petition by residents of Nirit, a south Sharon community inside the Green Line. … The freeze requirement is mentioned in the 14 reservations that the government appended to the decision to accept the road map. Article 9 in that document says that the settlements in Judea and Samaria will not be discussed “except for a freeze of illegal settlements and outposts.” The response to the High Court petition indicates that the entrepreneur and the state do not have to worry about the obligation to freeze construction if the establishment of a settlement or neighbourhood was approved years ago. The Defence Ministry told Haaretz last week that the word in a new neighbourhood for the settlement of Tzofin (Sufin) which is also in the western Samaria area, near the Green line, was based on approvals for the project given a decade ago.’

In other words, the decision was taken years ago to dispossess the people of Jayyous of their land, but they maintain that they were never told of this. All this makes sense of the route which was chosen for the Fence – it carefully puts all that land that the existing Settlement wants on the Western Side of the wall. It makes the statement that the Fence is to do with Security sound even more hollow that is has always done.


The British Prime Minister will be in Israel this week to hold talks with the Government of Israel. Can one give any credence to what might be agreed between them, when the treatment of Jayyous and its people show what is the real agenda of the Government? I took the following quotation from a paper, but did not keep a reference.

“Israel has said violence must end before peace talks can resume and has held out the prospect of coordinating its planned withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements with the new Palestinian leadership if it quells violence.”


Sitting looking out over Israel from the hill of Jayyous, with the Green Line 5 kms away, and the real probability that all the land between the village and it would be alienated from the village, all I could do was to feel ashamed that my Government is a party to this sort of action.


After a while, we were invited to Mufidi’s house for a meal. We were overwhelmed by her reception. She and her husband have little enough, and here they were putting a feast in front of us. We ate, and talked, and slowly the atmosphere lightened a bit. When we had finished eating the main course, we then washed our hands, and were offered tea. Then fruit!

In due course, we got to the matter of giving the donation to Mufidi. We spoke of the people who had sent the money; we spoke of the trees and land that had been bought; and we spoke of the (forlorn?) hope that these trees would be safe, as they are just a few hundred metres from the village. Anyway, when the money had been counted and the paper signed to say that it had been received, we went along the road to see the trees.

We parked the car and walked across the ground round other trees in the grove. It would be nice to say that they were extraordinary and beautiful! – but they were in fact very ordinary. They were just 9 trees in the middle of a grove, and had been sold by an elderly woman from another village some kilometres away. In addition to the ones that we saw there were 4 more on another small piece of land. What was touching was the way in which Mufidi took Joan’s hand and arm as they walked to what were now “her” trees. They were two women who, in their different worlds, shared the same concern to care for their families.

We said our goodbyes, and drove home. Once more, on the way, we were stopped at a checkpoint – for us a formality, but for Palestinians in the other vehicles in the line, just one more part of their regular humiliation – not even able to go home to their own village from a day away to shop, without being checked. It is a pity that this is not part of the itinerary of Mr Blair later this week.


We have written before of the great privilege it is to live and work here – even when the experiences are sometimes so very painful. One regret for us yesterday was that the folk whose generosity has given a new hope to Mufidi were not able to be here to see her – maybe they will come next year, and we would be able to take them to meet her.

There is much more to write about the Wall, about the people with whom we will spend Christmas, about the fact that on December 24th, the congregation will be almost entirely Jewish.


We will stop here.

In case we do not get another letter off before Christmas, we send you all our greetings and our thanks for your support.

God bless

Happy Christmas and Peace in the New Year.

Joan and Clarence

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God bless.

Joan and Clarence

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Circular Letter No 196
8th December 2004

Last week, - the end of November and the beginning of December – was a domestic week.

There were the arrangements for the annual St Andrew’s Day Service here in Jerusalem, which is followed by a Reception when we welcome anything up to 200 guests. Having just arrived back from Scotland in time to get ready for these two events, and having brought with us colds that developed and ended up with Joan being in bed for a couple of days, discretion dictated that I spend most of the time at home, not spreading germs to all and sundry. A domestic time in the house. So, not a lot of news

It was a domestic week, too, for politics.

What will happen in the Palestinian Authority, and who will be chosen to succeed Mr Arafat?

Within Israel, there was the departure from the Government of the Shinui Party, and there is now the bargaining to see what sort of Coalition will be set up. If the relations between Israelis and Palestinians are complex, just as complex are the relations between the political leadership figures within Israel. Being such a small country, and with such a relatively small group of political leaders, they all know each other intimately, and this makes for tensions between people that I have only the merest chance of understanding.



However, perhaps the “domestic” argument is just a way of getting out of admitting I was shirking!



I am criticised from time to time for being blinkered and focussed only on what is written in the Haaretz newspaper. Well, this week there came an e-mail which contained the following, taken from one of the main Hebrew language newspapers. It is lengthy, but it opens a window on the debate that is going on in Israeli Jewish society, about the whole question of morality, and what the conflict with the Palestinians is doing to the moral fabric of Jewish society.



From Gush Shalom.

Meir Shalev, well-known writer, writes a regular column for the Yediot Aharonot weekend edition. Normally it is printed on an inner page, but last week (Nov. 26) it appeared on the front page, accompanied by photos.

The decision of Israel's largest mass-circulation paper to publish it as conspicuously as possible adds interest to an article which in any case would have been well worth the effort of Gush Shalom to translate it into English and make it available internationally.



In the end, it is the violin which wins. Meir Shalev Yediot Aharonot, 26.11.2004



So, what did we have in the past weeks? We had an officer who "confirmed" the killing of a 13-year old girl. We had soldiers mutilating the dead body of an enemy and posing for photos with a cut-off head and a cigarette placed between the dead lips. We had soldiers at a checkpoint demanding that a passing Palestinian play the violin for them. And we had several members of the naval commandos pose naked for a photo on top of Mount Hermon. This is what our armed forces issue in the course of one or two weeks.

About the "confirming kill" of the girl, the army conducted a flawed and lying investigation. The mutilation of bodies is still under investigation, please be patient. About the soldiers before whom the Palestinian had to play his violin, the army spokesman said that they were insensitive. But the commandos who posed naked were cashiered forthwith - for the IDF is a moral army which cuts off abominations from its midst. When it is really necessary, the IDF knows how to take a swift and decisive action.

I look at the photo of the Palestinian playing the violin to our soldiers. The face seems very familiar. It seems very familiar because this deliberately expressionless look on the face, this intentionally unfocused gaze, is very common at thousands of checkpoint encounters, and even at ID checks conducted by our fighters right here in the centre of the city. But it is also familiar because we know this sight from the not too distant past, we know it very well from the other side of the violin, and the other side of the checkpoint, and the other side of the gun barrel.

"Such severe incidents make clear the imperative need for continuing our efforts to make our troops understand the message" said the army spokesman in response to the checkpoint recital. But the message was already long ago delivered and well understood. It was understood when the army not only allowed the settlers to mistreat Palestinian civilians, but often itself acted on the settlers' behalf. The message was well understood when the commander of the air force said that he feels nothing when dropping a one-ton bomb on a Gaza neighbourhood - and was rewarded for that statement by a promotion to deputy chief-of-staff. The message was understood when a division commander was cashiered for leaking information to a journalist, after having been praised for an operation in which civilians were indiscriminately killed and their homes razed to the ground. The message is well understood indeed, the understanding of it and its implementation have long ago spread from the army and into the behaviour of drivers on the road, and the violence of pupils at school, and the economic policy which is trampling over the poor.

And the army spokesman also said that the soldiers' conduct towards the violinist was "An insensitive conduct by soldiers who are facing a complicated and dangerous situation". This automatic-modular answer clearly shows that the army spokesman does not understand the true complexity and the true danger of the situation. For once, we were the people who played the violin. The Jewish violin played in weddings, and at concert halls, and before the thugs in the camps. We played and joked: the violin is our instrument because it is so small, so easy to carry when you need to run away...

Zionism asked of us to lay the violin aside for some time, to pick up the rifle instead "until things get better". The Territories and all that is involved in holding them have made this into a permanent situation. And here is the real danger. For in the end, it is the violin which wins.



There has been discussion in the Press about what actually happened, and one will not be surprised to find that the Israeli Army version of events, following its own investigation, seems to be rather different from that offered by others. Haaretz P2, Wednesday Dec 1st. “Palestinian violinist : I was forced to play at checkpoint.” ‘The findings of an IDF probe into the November 9th incident were presented yesterday to the head of the IDF’s Central Command, Moshe Kaplinsky. They show that the man, Wissam Tayam, was asked by soldiers to open the violin case for inspection and that he then began playing, even though he was not asked to do so. After a few seconds, the civil Administration’s officers at the checkpoint asked Tayam to stop playing, the report states.’



One often hears allegations about the incitement to which Palestinian children are subjected through their educational curriculum, to hate Jewish people. I received the following message from a person in the United States, who writes to me from time to time.

“Here's a quote from Angela Bertz I enjoyed: 'Yasser Arafat was barely in the rigor mortis stage when world leaders poured into Cairo, among them Jack Straw. He was finally laid to rest in Ramallah and one can take some small consolation from the fact that his decomposition will be a long drawn out process, with no self respecting worm eating away at the evil corpse of this mass murdering terrorist. This is more than can be said for the worm that stood above the ground in the shape of Jack Straw. This representative of the Queen's Government placed a garland of red and gold chrysanthemums on the grave, as if to give legitimacy to the man that invented modern terrorism. He then went on to sign a book of condolences.’ "



Once again, Helen Shehadeh’s seat in Church is empty. Once again she has no permit to come to worship. Once again, she has gone to the offices of the Israeli Army administration which deal with issuing permits, and despite having a letter from myself, and despite contact from the person in the Ministry of the Interior who deals with the Christian community, and despite getting in touch with someone in Jerusalem suggested by the Israeli Embassy in London, and despite having written to the Israeli Embassy in London herself – when I spoke with her on Monday 6th December, she had had no permit for some weeks.

Whatever the words that politicians utter, the reality is that someone such as Helen is denied the possibility of attending worship at the church to which she has belonged for 30 years.



On Saturday 4th December, Joan and I had to go into the Old City on some business. Walking in through the Jaffa Gate, we were both immediately struck by the large numbers of tourists. Many were Nigerians, some were French-speaking West Africans, others were Spanish speaking, we followed some Russian speakers. There was an air of activity around which we had not seen for many months. On Monday 6th December, I had to spend some time working in Bethlehem, and one of the people whom I met was a shop owner. I asked him about business, and he confirmed what I had seen for myself – though there are some tourists in Jerusalem, few make their way to Bethlehem. The sheer unpredictability of the check point, with its unexplained delays, has more or less put an end, at least for the present, to significant numbers of tourists visiting Bethlehem.



There was a small snippet of news in Haaretz, P2, Monday Dec 6th. “Nine crossings to open in fence in February.” ‘Nine of the 24 crossings in the separation fence will be opened at the end of February, Seam Line Authority officials told the Knesset Committee dealing with the defence budget. Five of the openings will be for goods. Fence planners, Danny Tirza and Netzach Mashiach, who took the MKs to one of the crossings due to be opened near Rachel’s Tomb, reported that it was built to handle approximately 2,100 people per hour. Automated identification of people crossing will make security checks easier and more thorough, the officials stressed.’

Automated – meaning people will have to have cards? One wonders.

Automated – what about tourists? Will they have to apply for permits to become “automated”? One wonders. Watch this space.



I hope that a letter is better late than never!

Stay well

God bless

Joan and Clarence.

 

Circular Letter No 195
29th November 2004

Many of you have been more than generous in your support of the community of Jayyous, through donations to help with the Kindergarten, the Community Centre, the provision of water, and latterly help for replacing olive trees uprooted by the Israeli army contractors in the building of the fence.

It is this that makes me feel able to forward to you the following message from Abdul-Latif, the leader in the village with whom we deal most closely. I have spoken with him on the phone, and got some further information.

There already is one Settlement in this area – Zufim. The new one where a bulldozer is at work is about 1.5 kms away from it.

There has been no warning given to the farmers from the village about this attempt to take their land.

If it goes ahead, it will mean that there will be no road from the village to the remaining part of their lands.

If it goes ahead, there is the real possibility that they will lose access to their ground-water wells – and you will recall that they have not been allowed to drill new wells since 1967.

A Scottish person in the village has spoken with the driver of the bulldozer who confirmed that his work is in preparation for the construction of a Settlement.

E-mail from Jayyous, 29th November 2004.

DO the Wall Roots Start to Uncover?

In September 2002, when the farmers in Jayyous found some hand written papers affixed on trees, they thought that something belongs to somewhere else. Few weeks later, they start to see the bulldozers cut their olive trees, and destroy the land. Few months after, the wall starts to erect. One year after that, they start to access their land through the military gate, and bye conditional permits. Two years after that (very recently), a lot of speculations are going on and different sources of news start to talk on building a new settlement or settlements in Jayyous in the area located behind the wall.

The allegation to build the wall was for security reasons, according to those papers. However, it was not convincing to all people in Jayyous, who said "why they did not build the wall on the border line? We don't trust that; this wall aims to confiscate the land and the water resources" These apprehensions seem to be real. In the past summer, military troops were manoeuvring for one week behind the wall and they made a camp on top of a mountain adjacent to the village houses from west side. They put survey marks and pigs in earth, and brought buses of people in civil clothes. Like always, they came and did what they want, and leaved; but we have no idea or background about all these incidents. Very important to say they are not playing and it is not a coincidence.

A week ago a group of settlers came to a farmer while he was harvesting his olives and asked to leave, because they are intending to build a settlement in that area. We don't know how far this incident can be applicable, but according to the available maps we have they plan to build a new settlement called North Zufim. Another map shows more than one settlement, and all of these planned settlements are located behind the wall. We don't exactly how much this real, or where exactly and when they plan to start building them. One thing we are sure about; this wall is neither for security nor for peace, and its path was planned long time ago.

If these are the roots of the wall, then surely will not bloom with flowers, but settlements. The olive farms will be replaced by concrete houses, and the citrus farms by new roads, and Jayyous will become a new refugee camp. A new Nakba is a waiting for solution, while we are still living the previous one.

We urgently call for whom it may concern to help Jayyous before these plans become a de facto. The wall destroys our present and we don't know the tribulation which conceals behind it.

I wrote the above lines a week ago, but I was hesitated to send them because we don't exactly the situation. Today it becomes very clear, a very big bulldozer starts to bulldoze the land since two days and preparations are going fast to start building the new settlement or settlements.

Again we ask all people who visited Jayyous and love peace to help us and to do something. Our children ask us: Where are the friends of peace? Where are the friends of Jayyous? Where is the future? How could we live?

Today Jayyous is living a new tragedy, hope disappeared in this darkness, and bulldozers trample down its future.

Abdul-Latif

A second e-mail from a Jewish person in USA.

"Would Israel's withdrawal from Gaza lead to peace?" - The plan to vacate Gaza is a thoroughly bad one. It would reward terror and would be understood as a sign of weakness. It would not bring the solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict one step closer, it would exacerbate it and will very likely cause war, quite possibly involving weapons of mass destruction. A better idea - move all Jews from Gaza and even the "West Bank" and repatriate them to "Israel proper". But at the same time, evacuate all Arabs from Israel and resettle them ... wherever they might want to go."



We feel devastated at the news – Jayyous has been such a welcoming community to us.

Could you please write to your MP, MSP,. Senator, Congressman, anyone you can think of, and bring this to their attention?


Joan and Clarence

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Circular Letter No 194
28th November 2004

A short note this week, just to let people know that we are back in Jerusalem after a short break in Edinburgh. Much of the time was spent with family and friends, but we did do a little bit of work! It was good for us both to have some time away from work and from the different pressures of Jerusalem – but it is also good to be back, where for the present one belongs.

The world is repeating a sort of mantra –“there is a window of opportunity for Peace to be made, if only the Palestinians grasp it by tackling the problem of terrorism.” The words may vary, depending on the speaker, but the message seems to be the same. If only it were that simple.

We had some visitors sharing with us today in our service – among them a family from Glasgow (a place to the west of Edinburgh, or so I am told!), who used to work here and were members of St Andrew’s Congregation. They had come back, and brought their son to be baptised in the church where his two sisters had been baptised.
After the service, we took the family on a short drive to the southern side of Jerusalem, close to what is the Headquarters of the United Nations agencies working in this area. On the opposite side of the hill from the UN building, facing away from Jerusalem, is the suburb of East Talpiot, which is almost entirely Jewish. On the side of the hill facing Jerusalem are Arab communities, on what I have always regarded as “Arab” land. However, not so after what we heard and saw today. Along the side of the road were flags, advertising Nof Zion – a new Jewish neighbourhood. It is being built on the hill among the Arab homes that are there. I have no idea how the developers came to have possession of the land, but however it was obtained, it seems yet another instance of the expansionism that is driving the Jewish community throughout the West Bank and in the vicinity of Jerusalem. We passed by a small group of people, one of whom was an estate agent (realtor for some of our readers.) He was talking with what looked like a family, the man in his black suit and black hat. On the wall in front of the group was the glossy poster of the proposed development. On the hillside down below we could see clearly the initial work going ahead to prepare roads, building sites and recreational areas. One bizarre aspect of it all is that staring the new residents straight in the face when they move in next year, or the year after, will be the Wall that is being built around Jerusalem. But then, it is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and perhaps for them the Wall will be something beautiful.
It made me think that all the talk about “an opportunity for peace” seems so far away from the realities of life in and around Jerusalem.

In mid-afternoon, Joan and I took two of the family on a drive out from Jerusalem to Ramallah. As you will recall from previous descriptions of this journey, it passes through a check point at Ram - a suburb of Jerusalem. Almost immediately, the road was blocked by construction vehicles – working on the Wall that has been built straight up the middle of the road. The way round was simple, as lots of others were taking it, and we went along in the direction of Ramallah. Kilometre after kilometre we were beside the Wall, bumping along a road that has been dug up and road works of some sort taking place. At one point there were workmen putting a man-hole cover in place, and standing 10 metres from them was their armed guard!
At Kalandia checkpoint, we found the queue to go into Ramallah was not all that long, so we joined it, and did get through in 10 minutes. To our right were the ugly concrete barriers that have been built, and for me, the new addition of metal turn-stiles, over 2 metres high. Every pedestrian going to Jerusalem has to pass through one of these. As this may be the place were the schoolchildren on the outside of the Wall will have to go through the Wall to get to school, and as there are thousands of them, one wonders how many turnstiles there will have to be.
Below is an extract from the report of MachsomWatch – a group of Israeli women that was set up in response to reports of grave violations of human rights at IDF checkpoints. Its chief activity is monitoring and documenting the checkpoints’ operations, with the goal of protecting human rights and reporting violations of them.
MACHSOMWATCH OBSERVATIONS DURING OCTOBER 2004
Last month we drew attention to the intolerable suffering caused to people crossing through the checkpoints via the newly installed turnstiles. “Hundreds of people crowded around the turnstiles – which were not operating. Dozens of students on their way to Nablus were standing beside the concrete barriers, furious. Children were being crushed among the adults. Women carrying babies were being shoved by the crowd and it was a miracle that no catastrophe occurred.” (Huwwara, near Nablus23 October)
This month, buzzers controlling the electronic opening and closing were installed in the turnstiles, giving the soldiers another method for controlling and abusing people passing through the constrained turnstiles, by suddenly stopping them. Thus anyone in the process of going through the turnstile is trapped within it, between a rock and a hard place. “Our impression was that the soldiers at the checkpoint are delighted that - with the push of a button - they can operate the turnstile. This is very amusing to the soldiers - including the fact that if one presses twice, a person can get stuck in the middle.” (Kalandia, 25 October)

In Ramallah, we drove to the Muqata. The last time I had been there was to attend the funeral of Mr Arafat. Then it was so crowded that movement in certain places became difficult. Today, it was much quieter. We parked the car, and were allowed, along with many others, to go and see the grave of Mr Arafat. It was a quiet and dignified place, with some young soldiers on duty. Looking at them, having already looked at the young Israeli soldiers whom we had met on the checkpoints, made us all the more aware of the fact that, on both sides of the community divide, there is a whole generation of people who have known nothing but Occupation. On the one side, it has meant a virtual imprisonment with little to look forward to. On the other side, it has helped to foster a culture of domination – when “they” do what we tell them, then everything will be all right. In this culture there are the elements that are leading to its corruption, as an article in Haaretz, Sunday 28th November, P5, entitled ‘Another reason for refusal to serve’ highlights with reference to the actions of the Israeli army in the West Bank. “When the IDF acts in the territories in accordance with these two concepts ….. it brings masses of trouble on itself and moral calamity on Israeli society.”

Jeremiah is the Jewish prophet who spoke about the iniquity of saying there is Peace, when there is no Peace.
On the evidence of what we have seen today, Peace is very far away indeed.

In the mail today came a Report from the Centre for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (www.edume.org). It is entitled “Jews, Israel and Peace in the Palestinian Authority Textbooks – the new textbooks for Grades 4 and 9.”
There is a section showing many maps of the area, and on P 29 above a map of Israel and Palestine, there is the comment: “Palestine covers the whole country, Israel is missing from the maps. In the following passages, Palestine covers the whole territory of Israel, and borders all Israel’s neighbours.”
It would appear that this is a criticism of a map that does not show the existence of the Green Line, dividing Israel from Palestine.
From time to time I look at the front page of Haaretz on the Internet. Clicking on the command to show the Map of Israel produces a map remarkably similar to that in the Palestinian Text Book. There is no reference to Palestine, or the West Bank, - although there is on the Map the Green Line.

Enough for now – it is time for bed.

Stay well
God bless
Joan and Clarence

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We will be in Edinburgh for a few days- no letter next week!


Circular Letter No 193
13th November 2004



Monday 8th November

Speaking on the phone this morning with one of the leaders of the village community in Jayyous, he told me that he was on his way to work in Nablus – and was now, at 0800 hours, at the fourth check point on the way, a journey of about 30 kms. Reckoning on a minimum of 15 minutes per check point, these delays add 1 hour to his travelling time, and that is just getting to work. Later there will be the job of getting home. I appreciate that for many who will read this, to spend only 1 ½ hours getting to work may be little more than a dream – but few will have to pass through the humiliation of having papers checked and re-checked, of having cars searched, and from time to time of being made to stand and wait outside their car.

The purpose of the call was to speak about the woman whose Olive Trees were uprooted by the Israeli army when they were building the Fence past Jayyous. As some may recall, she had saved and managed to get 8 olive trees. These would be a sort of capital investment, providing her and her children with olives and olive oil for decades, if properly cared for. You may also recall that they were uprooted by the Army, and she was not given the chance to take the trees to some other location. So, she lost them, lost her work and savings, and lost something of her soul when she saw what happened to them. I have spoken about trying to help her to buy some trees, and so I was asking about costs. To buy 1 dunum of land with trees is likely to be about $7,000. She originally had about ½ dunum. So, several thousand dollars lost in the destruction of her first trees, and several thousand dollars needed to get some more trees. It may not sound much, but when I tell you that a friend working in Bethlehem earns about $300 per month, from which he has to feed and clothe his family and try to pay for their education, it may give some idea of the virtual impossibility of the woman in Jayyous ever being able to purchase trees again. Thanks to the generosity of a couple of donors, we are not too far from the amount needed.

The galling thing is that the land on which the trees were growing is now derelict, and on the wrong side of the fence, as the Israeli army has no further need for a parking area for construction vehicles. Sadly, it is not in the business of putting back what it removed.



Undoubtedly the major news of the week has been the death and the funeral of Yasser Arafat. Others are better qualified than I to give an assessment of his life, so I will let them do that.

There have been many thoughts running through my mind during the week :

Friday Nov 12th Haaretz PB2 : “Loss of the non-partner” – an article describing one of the ways in which Mr Sharon had viewed Mr Arafat. For someone who was a non-partner, and in the eyes of many political leaders, a non-person, it has been interesting, if not a little galling, to see the way in which the TV networks and the Press here have devoted so much time to him.

The painting of Mr Arafat as the arch-terrorist. Here is a quotation taken from a report by a MEP after a visit to Gaza : “142 Palestinians were killed here during the last week of August,” she said, “and 60 of them were under the age of 18. The Israeli army blew up 120 homes, about four each day. Such communal punishments continue despite the fact that they are against international law.” And a quotation from a Report by the Palestinian Monitor: “Other school children killed recently by Israeli occupation forces include Iman Sameer Al-Hams (13 year old, shot on her way to school by Israeli snipers and then shot with 20 bullets at close range by an Israeli Commander), Ghadeer Jaber Mukhaimer (9 years old, shot in the stomach as she sat at her desk in school by an Israeli sniper) and Raghda Adnan al-Assar (10 year old, shot in the head by an Israeli sniper while sitting at her desk in school). Approximately 20% of more than 3,500 Palestinians killed in the past four years have been children 17 and under.”

The continual message coming from many parts of the world that the new leadership in Palestine must take steps to control the “Terrorists”. Only then will discussions be able to be held. The following describes an incident near Bethlehem: “Israeli occupation forces have once again shown complete disregard towards principals of medical neutrality when they forced a PMRS Doctor and member of the PMRS Administrative Council, to strip in a public street near Al Nohmaan village in Bethlehem. On the evening of Friday the 5th of November, Dr Mohamed Odeh was stopped whilst driving back to his home in Beit Jala. Dr Odeh, who was accompanied by his wife and six children aged between two and thirteen years, was returning from a village outside of Bethlehem where they had broken the Ramadan fast with his wife's family. An Israeli military jeep stopped the car and shined a bright light at the Doctor and his family. They forced him to show his ID, whilst snubbing the Medical ID he also presented. Whilst pointing their guns at the family they began to shout at them terrifying the children who were by this time crying hysterically. The soldiers then forced the Doctor to vacate his car and ordered him to take his clothes off down to his underwear. They then forced Dr Odeh to remain standing in the public street near his car and in front of his family.”

With all the acres of print, and the hours of air-time on TV, much of the coverage that I have seen and read has been concerned to question the Palestinian representatives as to how they will control their terrorists. I was always taught that to prescribe a proper course of treatment for an illness, one had to have an accurate diagnosis of what that illness is. It has been sad to see how little there has been by way of any accurate diagnosis of the situation here.



Thursday 11th. A visit to one of the War Graves Commission Cemetery in Gaza to hold a Remembrance Day Service there was cancelled due to uncertainty about the security situation there following the death of Mr Arafat. This is the second year in the row this particular service has been cancelled.







Friday 12th November

I had a message to do in north Jerusalem early in the morning. Driving there, I was struck once again by the draconian measures that the Israeli police and army take to control movement into and out of East Jerusalem and the Old City. Passing by the New Gate, there were at least 10 uniformed members of the Israeli police and Border Police, and a crush barrier had been put across the entrance to give better control to the police. The next three major intersections leading into East Jerusalem were all blockaded. . At a major intersection where I turned left, the road ahead leading to one of the checkpoints was closed, while the road to the right, taking traffic to Settlements, was open.



Later in the morning, I joined a group of Lutheran pastors and went to Ramallah for the funeral of Mr Arafat. The formalities at the Check point at Bet El (in English, the House of God), were minimal and the officers courteous. We got on to a road leading to the Muqata, the Compound in which Mr Arafat had lived, which the Israeli forces had virtually demolished a couple of years ago and which is slowly being rebuilt, and where the funeral would take place.

There were very few vehicles moving, because of the solid mass of people walking to the Muqata. Predominantly male, but with a significant number of women, there were fathers taking their children, young and old, dressed in their normal every-day clothes. Some carried banners, some had black flags, others had the Palestinian flag. There was a quietness about, with little loud noise – just some soft-toned conversation, and a feeling of sadness. Being Ramadan, all the folk would have been fasting since sunrise.

When we reached the Muqata, our cars were allowed to enter and park. We then joined the crowds making their way into the heart of the compound, where we were invited into one of the buildings that had been rebuilt, next to the place where Mr Arafat had lived. We, the Church representatives, were part of a group of diplomats, of leaders of UN organisations, of NGOs working in Palestine. It had been the intention of the organisers to bring Mr Arafat’s coffin into the building where we were, and to have a time for us and others to pay respects. However, as many of you will have seen on TV, this did not happen, because the people there more or less took over and did what they wanted.

When the burial had taken place, some of the leaders came to the building where we were, and there was an opportunity to greet them before leaving to return to Jerusalem. Once again, the formalities at the check point were minimal and the soldiers courteous, with little time being spent queuing.



I would just like to make the following observations.

On some of the news channels on TV, the word “chaotic” was used to describe the events when the helicopter carrying Mr Arafat’s coffin landed. “Chaotic” to me carries something of a negative connotation. I do not think this was the case at all. If anyone has seen the scores of funerals that have been held in the West Bank over the past 4 years, one of the most significant aspects of them is the way in which the people carry the body of the person who has died. What could have been more natural in Ramallah than for people in the crowd of mourners to wish to share in carrying the coffin of their President? For me, they were just doing what they always do, and the fact that it was their Leader made their actions all the more understandable. To some it may have appeared “chaotic”. The burial did not go as planned, but perhaps given the circumstances that was inevitable.

There was a lot of gunfire. It is not the way in which I express my emotions. It is not the way in which most who read this would express their emotions. But it is part of the culture here, and a common occurrence at major personal events here, such as funerals and weddings.

The concentration of the camera coverage on the crowd around the coffin of Mr Arafat may have given the impression of almost a “mob” atmosphere. That was most definitely not the experience I had. AS I said above, as people came to the Muqata there was an air of quietness and sobriety. Within the Muqata, while there were large crowds, for the most part they were quiet, and there was no pushing or shoving in the areas away from the burial site.

At no time did I feel the slightest sense of unease or worry about my security. Being a foreigner whose government has not exactly covered itself with glory in the eyes of the Arab world in the past year, or in the eyes of the Palestinian community since Mr Blair shook hands with Mr Arafat in No 10 Downing Street, one might have expected some hostility. Being able to be identified as a Christian minister, because of my dress, in an overwhelmingly Muslim community, one would have understood some hostility from a crowd who had heard a Western leader speaking of a “Crusade”. Yet never did I feel the least threatened. On the other hand, there was a courtesy and a feeling of being welcome. It was perhaps summed up for me when I bumped into one of the leaders of Jayyous. Little was spoken, but the warmth of his embrace made words superfluous.



Saturday 13th November. Today is the Service of Remembrance at the Mount Scopus War Graves Commission Cemetery overlooking Jerusalem. Tomorrow is the Service of Remembrance at St Andrew’s. Then it is home to Edinburgh for a few days. We will be back here for the end of November and the St Andrew’s Day Service and Reception.



Stay well. God bless. Joan and Clarence



A more mundane matter. Let me put a plug in for the Holy Week Study Tour which I hope will take place in 2005. Starting on 19th March, it will include participation in Palm Sunday services in Jerusalem, a visit to Galilee, and back to Jerusalem for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, ending on Easter Sunday. It would be helpful to have some indication from anyone who might be interested, and I can send them more outline information.




This is a Prayer sent to me by a friend in London.

A Meditation on Peace, from Rabbi John Rayner, part of an inter-faith Service recently held in London.

It is not enough to pray for peace. We have to work for it: to challenge those who foster conflict, and refute their propaganda; to ascertain and make known the truth, both when it confirms and when it runs counter to conventional views; to denounce injustice, not only when it is committed against us but also when it is committed against others; to defend human rights, not only our own but also theirs; to insist that peace requires sacrifice - of pride, or wealth, or territory; to practise and promote the way of moderation, compromise and reconciliation; and to build bridges of respect and understanding, trust and friendship, across the chasms that divide humanity.



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Circular Letter No 192
7th November 2004



It takes approximately 6 hours to drive across Sinai and reach Cairo from the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba. It takes approximately 34 days to make the same journey by a camel trek. It took the Hebrew people, escaping from Egypt, 40 years to get round Sinai and make it to the eastern shores of the River Jordan. Why?



Scholars and historians offer all sorts of explanations and suggestions, but in the end of the day, they can be no more than theories, and human attempts to see into the mind of God – assuming that God was somehow involved in the whole process of the Hebrews moving from Egypt to Canaan.

We have just come back from 6 days, mostly spent in the desert of the Negev in Southern Israel, and the Southern part of the Sinai. We were part of a small group of 9, who were looked after by a team of 1 guide and 2 drivers. In the so-called “real” world it is more often the case that people stress differences between them and others, pointing out the potential areas of conflict. In the “escape” world of the desert, we were 2 communities – 9 Christians and 3 Muslims. And the 9 of us were totally dependent on the 3 for our very lives. It was the guide who knew the tracks through the desert; it was the guide and drivers who provided all our food and water for 5 days; it was the drivers who kept control of their vehicles and got us safely across rocks and sand and back to the place where we bade each other good bye. 2 small communities, totally interdependent – the one dependent on tourists such as us for a livelihood, the other dependent on the local people for keeping us alive.

Maybe we all need such an experience, to help us put into perspective this whole business of the fact that, regardless of our religious or political differences, we will only find that elusive “peace” when we learn that we need each other.



The first night was with a small community in the Negev – in Israel. The person in charge of the camp was Jewish, the person who introduced us to some aspects of Bedouin life was a Bedouin Muslim – and unlike much of the situation elsewhere in Israel, they worked in harmony.

Next morning, we saw the sun come up over the hills of Jordan, sitting on the top of Masada. This is the mountain fortress largely created by Herod. It is quite staggering to see the work that was done to build palaces, store-houses, baths, cisterns for water storage, and all the buildings necessary for the life of a community on the top of this plateau. It shouts out “power”. It is also now a ruin and an archaeological site – and so also shouts out the transience of that sort of power. Around the base of the plateau are the stones set out to mark the sites of Roman camps, when Masada was besieged. There is the ramp which the Romans built to get their battering rams in position to breach the walls of the fortress. It too speaks of power, of engineering skill and ingenuity. It, too, is a ruin. Gone is that power.



Then it was to the Sinai, and two nights under the stars, with the day in between spent in having a couple of walks across the desert, and just learning a little bit of what life was about in that environment. It was also, by chance, Election Day in the USA. We had no radio, but some did have mobile phones and so were able to get some information. Information about modern-day power and victory and defeat, when all around us was a demonstration of another sort of power – the power of nature over all our lives, and the power of the Creator to sustain life itself.

We spent a night at St Catherine’s Monastery, and made our way up Mount Sinai in the dark, on camels, to a point 750 steps below the summit. There we stopped to have some quiet time for reflection, waiting for the sun to rise, and then for reading some passages from the Bible, for prayer, and for breakfast. Not long after sunrise, they started to come down from the summit – the hundreds of people who had made the trek there, to stand in a crowd watching the sunrise. One wonders why they did it, and what they felt they achieved, or learned. Some of our group then came down the mountain, while the rest climbed to the top, and then it was back to the virtual emptiness of the desert for another night. Yet, even when we thought we were alone, there were other parties of people in the vicinity, on camels or in 4-wheel drive vehicles, all seeking some form of solitude. Was our presence, on the mountain, or in the desert, actually killing the thing that we were seeking?



After a night in a hotel at the coast, it was back to the border crossing at Taba, where we got out of our vehicles under the shadow of the remains of the Hilton Hotel, devastated a few weeks ago by bombs. Crossing through the two frontier posts took about an hour. It could have been accomplished in 15 minutes, but each government had put in place the procedures which it feels are necessary to protect the integrity of its people and country. The saving grace was the civility of all the various officials concerned with checking us.



What had we learned? Was it all worth the time and effort, to say nothing of the expense? I think for all of us, the answer was that it had been most worthwhile. On the surface, there was the visual experience of seeing a pretty desolate part of the Earth’s surface. But there was the experience of seeing the Bedouin people living in harmony with such an environment, seeming to work with their environment, rather than trying to dominate it. Again, on the surface, there was a demonstration of the fragility of our existence, and our dependence on the world around us to provide such a basic commodity as water.



But underneath there was something deeper. It was the week when power was seen in the election of a US President; in the journey to Paris of the man whom the Palestinians regard as President, though without an actual State as yet. No doubt there were other things of importance also – but we did not know of them. Maybe the deeper aspect of our whole trip was to make us aware of our complete dependence on the one whom we recognise as God our Creator, and that in the end all this “power”, which seems so important, is little more than a mirage – it beckons only to deceive and disappoint.

One of the words in Hebrew which is translated into English as Desert is “midbar”. It has the same root as the word for “word”. Maybe it is when we are stripped of all our pretensions, and face to face with our limitations, that we can really hear the “word” from God – and to achieve this state of being able to hear God, we need to be like folk in the desert – aware of our frailty and dependence on one another and on our Creator.



Psalm 8 – “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” Under the desert sky with a moon so bright that it almost kept us awake, we certainly felt small. “Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour.” So we are told, but when we look at what we are doing with it, we have a long way to go to realise our potential.



In our services here in Jerusalem recently we have been looking at the Beatitudes – those words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. One that we thought about is “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The “poor in spirit” are those who know their complete dependence on God, and when they realise this, then they are able to have that relationship with him which is described as the Kingdom of God. The Desert is a good place to make one realise one’s poverty and dependence.



End of Sermon!



Now it is back to the “real” world, with its power politics. The desert has been an escape.

Or perhaps the desert has been the reality, and the politics is the escape.



Stay well. God bless. Joan and Clarence


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Circular Letter No 191
31st October 2004



The week’s events have been dominated by two events here.

On Monday and Tuesday there was a momentous debate in the Knesset on the proposal of the Israeli government to withdraw all settlers from the Settlements in Gaza. It is difficult to convey the potential significance both of the proposal and of the fact that it has been put forward by one of the chief architects of the whole Settlement movement – Mr Sharon.



I have said the “potential” significance, as there is a very strong feeling of scepticism among some folk both in the Israeli Jewish community, and in the Palestinian community within Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza. They want to know what is the hidden agenda, and they fear that the actions in Gaza are but a smokescreen for expanded settlement activity in the West Bank. This is fact was the thrust of the interview given some weeks ago by the man who had been the chief Adviser to Mr Sharon – Mr Weisglass. He openly said that one of the effects of the pull-out from Gaza would be the indefinite freezing of all discussion of the establishment of a Palestinian state, while Israel would continue to assert its control over the West Bank.

So, there is the very real feeling that even if the withdrawal from Gaza does take place, it will alter nothing, at least in the short term, on the West Bank, and may in fact presage increased settlement activity.



The fact that it is Mr Sharon who has brought forward this proposal to withdraw from Gaza is also significant. He is far enough to the Right in the spectrum of Israeli politics, that it would be difficult for any credible figure to outflank him to the Right. Which is not to say that people will not try – and there are such as Mr Netanyahu who have publicly come out against the withdrawal unless there is a Referendum to obtain the “support of the people” first. Two situations and two personalities come to mind who might have carried out similar sorts of political actions. The one is President Nixon in the United States, when he made his “opening to China”. Being of the Republican Party, it was difficult for him to be accused of being soft on Communism and so he had space in which to carry out a policy that a Democrat may not have been able to do. The second is General De Gaulle, and his decision to withdraw from Algeria. Supported by the French people who lived in Algeria, he nevertheless put in place the withdrawal from Algeria which led to the establishment of the Algerian state.



It remains to be seen whether or not the Government will survive long enough to ensure that the withdrawal is carried out.



The second major event of the week was the departure of Mr Arafat from Ramallah to Paris for medical treatment. Having had a string of denials from spokesmen on behalf of the Palestinian Authority that there was anything seriously wrong with Mr Arafat, there were the pictures of him in mid-week prior to his journey to Amman and Paris which showed how ill he had become. CNN carried continuous coverage of the beginning of his journey, and I was able to watch part of it on Thursday morning. I had the feeling that I was watching the beginning of a state funeral, with the principal actor still alive. Along with many others, I wondered if Mr Arafat would ever return to Ramallah or to Gaza, and what will be the effect of his absence on the political life of the Palestinians and the Israelis.



And so, on the one side there is all the uncertainty about the withdrawal from Gaza and what it will portend for the whole future of Israel. Is it the beginning of the end of Settlements? Will it lead to the withdrawal of Israelis from the West Bank? Having taken since 1967 to come to the decision to withdraw from Gaza, with it take another 37 years before any lasting decision about the West Bank? If it is part of the reality that withdrawal has come about due to the physical opposition of the people of Gaza to the presence of Israeli forces and people living there, will it lead to an increased and prolonged violent struggle in the Wet Bank? And so one could go on with regard to the Israelis.

At the same time, on the other side there is the uncertainty as to what political organisation will emerge to govern Gaza if and when the Israeli government completes the withdrawal. This uncertainty has been compounded by the illness of Mr Arafat. Who will take over from him? What will be the role of organisations such as Hamas? Will there be the equivalent of a civil war? And so one could go on with regard to the Palestinians.



Life is not dull!



However, one of the most disturbing days that I have spent for some time was Tuesday. There were representatives of the Board of World Mission in Jerusalem to meet people in this area, and then to share in the official opening of the Church of Scotland project at Tiberias. This has seen the transformation of the former Hospice/Guest House into a new 4-star Hotel. That opening did take place on Thursday 28th October.

However on 26th October, I had arranged for the group to meet some people in Bethlehem, and so shortly after an early breakfast we headed for the main Bethlehem checkpoint at Tantur. It was closed, with police barricades all across the road. So, we set off for the second checkpoint, which is at Beit Jala. Although there was a long queue of vehicles when we got there, we did in fact get in to Bethlehem quite quickly.

When there, we learned that the main checkpoint had been closed since Monday, and that a new Jewish Settlement had been established within Bethlehem. The location of the Settlement was close to Rachel’s Tomb. If allowed to remain there, it would be the beginning of the sort of saga that has evolved over the years in Hebron, where the area occupied by the Jewish Settlers has encroached more and more on the surrounding Palestinian homes and businesses, and made it a flash point between Jewish and Arab people. The feeling on Tuesday morning in Bethlehem was one of apprehension – what was going to be the effect of such a presence? What sort of fortifications would be built to “protect” the Settlers? What would be the effect on the surrounding homes and families? How would it affect the access to Bethlehem? Would tourists still come to Bethlehem if they have to pass by a fortified area of a Settlement? What would be the long-term effect of this on the life of Bethlehem? And so the questions were asked.

On the Internet site of the Jerusalem Post, I found the following short article:



Oct. 26, 2004 23:32

Settlers evicted from Bethlehem home

Soldiers on Tuesday evacuated a Jewish family that had moved into a home near Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem on Monday. A family from the settlement Nokdim with children moved into the building, which has been used as a beit midrash, a Jewish learning institution, for the past several months.

The building was purchased by a settler group several years ago but only recently underwent renovations to allow the family to move in.

The settlers claim that the building was purchased with the approval of former Defence minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.



With all the other things that I have been having to do during the week, I have not been able to follow up on this story. More next time I write – but it certainly set the alarm bells ringing in my mind. Is this just the opening skirmish, and will the Settlement eventually be established?

Withdrawal from Gaza, - new settlement in Bethlehem. Is this the shape of things to come?

We wait to see what happens there.



Sunday 31st October, we are leaving with a group for Sinai. Hopefully there will be a Letter next week!



Stay well

God bless

Joan and Clarence

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Circular Letter No 190
23rd October 2004



Personal : Joan and Clarence have moved house, and consequently have a new phone number. Rather than burden everyone with it, we will send it to those who ask for it!!



Part of the work of the Church of Scotland here is to relate to, and support, some Christian organisations in Gaza. Mea culpa – I have not been active in that area of work. However, when Ian Alexander (IA), the Executive Secretary of our Overseas Board with responsibility for such relations asked me to arrange a visit for him, I had to get busy. This is the tale of our visit to Gaza.

1. All visitors to Gaza need a Permit. I obtained the relevant number of the office in the Israeli army that deals with such permits, and 5 days ahead of the proposed visit, sent a fax requesting permits early on Sunday 17th October.

2. A phone call from the Gaza Permit office on Monday asked for more information about us, and also about the Church of Scotland, and those whom we would visit in Gaza.

3. On Thursday morning, a call to Gaza elicited the information that IA had been given security clearance, but that my clearance and therefore permit had not yet come through. That came through on Thursday at 1630 hours.

4. I left home at 0630 hours Friday morning, to try to locate the hotel in the vicinity of the Airport in which IA had spent the final part of the night after his arrival from Scotland. I found it, and we had a quick breakfast before leaving for Erez – the crossing for folk like us into Gaza. We arrived there about 0900 hours.

5. All crossings of visitors such as us are on foot, so we left the car in the enormous car park, which had enormous empty spaces, and walked towards the building where passports are checked and papers given. On the way, we had to stop at the first army booth, where our passports were taken, phone calls were made to the office to ascertain that we did in fact have a reason for going there, and after 5 minutes we were allowed to proceed.

6. In the office, one officer checked our passports, and then handed them on to a second person who made more computer checks, who then passed them to a third person, who checked details, prepared a Gate Pass for us, and then handed back our papers. We were the only people passing the checkpoint at that time. With one exception, all the army personnel with whom we had to deal were courteous, and there was no hassle at all. It just took a lot of time.

7. With our papers, we set out on the walk to Gaza. After crossing the empty parking area in the vicinity of the office, we had to go through a gate in a concrete wall, and passed alongside a row of metal “gates” through which Palestinian workers coming from Gaza would pass on their way into Israel to work. We got to the end of that section, where there was a large metal gate, and a further army check, before it was opened, and we were allowed to pass through. After that, we had to pass through a turnstile some 2 metres high – there were 4 to choose from, and one of the soldiers behind us directed us by a loud speaker to the correct turnstile which was then opened to allow us to pass.

8. It was perhaps a 5 minute walk along a wide covered passage – 3-metre high concrete walls on both sides, and a corrugated iron roof. It was functional and could have been a bit foreboding.

9. At the other end, we were signed in to Gaza by the Palestinian officers on duty. The whole process had taken 45 minutes. We were duly picked up by a driver from the Near East Council of Churches.

More later about our visit. First, the return journey.



10. We reached the Palestinian end of the crossing point at 1500 hours. We were asked for our passports, which were taken without any explanation at all. After 10 or 15 minutes, we gathered that contact had been made with the Israeli side to say that we were there, and affirm that we had permission to return to Israel. After 45 minutes, we heard the Palestinian officer speaking again on the radio with the Israeli officers, replying to some questions, and then – nothing. At about 1610 hours, I called the Permit office, but it had closed early, being the eve of Shabbat. About 1650 hours I finally called a number that I had for an Israeli army office south of Bethlehem, and spoke with a person there who was very helpful. He called back with the number of a person in the Gaza area, whom I called. We got permission to return towards Israel about 1715 hours – after a 2 ¼ hour wait. (Also waiting was a Japanese journalist, who had arrived at the crossing an hour before us, and he too was given permission to cross just after us, so we became a party of 3)

11. It was by now dark, and we walked along the concrete passage towards the several gates and turnstiles. As we approached the first, we were met by a group of Italian visitors pulling their suitcases, on their way into Gaza. The large floodlights shone in our faces, and communication from the Israeli soldier was by way of a loud microphone. We were directed to the appropriate turnstile, and one by one had to make our way to the main gate. After passing through the turnstile, we went between metal barriers in a sort of “s” pattern – towards the gate, away from the gate, and then back to towards the gate. At one point we had to stop, put down what we were carrying and turn around, so that the soldier behind the lights, whom we could hear but not see, could scrutinise us.

12. That process was followed by passing through the sort of door-frame metal detector common at airports etc, and finally the gate was opened for us to come back into Israel. A first check on our way in, with our bags being examined. Then a wait while the soldier made contact with the permit office. When that had been done, it was on to the luggage check, with bags being screened, and us passing through the metal-detector. From there to the Permit office, papers checked, exit pass given, and we were able to return to the car. From the time that we left the Palestinian side it took us 45 minutes to get to the car.

13. Several reflections on the process :

a) everyone with whom we dealt, whether when making application for a Permit, or actually at the crossing, were civil and courteous, with one exception. The officers whom I contacted by phone when delayed leaving Gaza were helpful, and one apologised for the long delay.

b) the huge insecurity that Israelis must feel, to have had to create such an Orwellian complex as the Erez crossing. It has been the scene of suicide attacks, and so there is in the mind of the Israeli authorities the need to protect themselves from such episodes. Yet, will it in the end achieve the goal of “security”? I doubt it, and given the process towards “disengagement” it would seem that the Israeli authorities also doubt it. Certainly, the Palestinians in Gaza with whom we spoke – deeply committed Christians – are convinced that it will never provide security.

c) the humiliation that it imposes on the Palestinians – in use of time, in the way that they are treated, and in the sort of attitude that it conveys to them of the way they are seen, and valued, by the Israelis. We were told, with sorrow, and also with apprehension, by the people whom we visited, that they have seen such a depth of feeling against the Israelis.

d) We negotiated the crossing on our way back – but I wonder how long we would have stayed had we not had access to a phone, and to two sympathetic Israeli army officers.



One of the facts of life to which we were exposed while waiting at the Crossing was the incessant droning noise of what are called “drones” – the unmanned surveillance craft which circle over Gaza providing the Israeli Army with photographic information about what is happening on the ground. The noise is a constant reminder that you are being watched. I suppose, that like many such noises, it becomes just part of the background – but it struck me as being just one more illustration of the way in which Israel seeks to assert its control over the lives of the people in Gaza. They are unable to leave the Strip, and they are constantly watched while in it.



Approach to Gaza City.

Driving in Gaza is an experience – or rather being driven in Gaza.! We survived the journey in, and the journey out.

The first thing I noticed leaving the Erez crossing was how every building on the Palestinian side of the road had been flattened, and virtually every tree had been uprooted. Tangled, twisted heaps of concrete and iron lined the road like a welcoming committee.

Jabalya Refugee camp is on the northern approach to Gaza City. We drove along the edge of it. The destruction was mind-blowing, and also it seemed almost utterly pointless. The demolition of a large school in the process of being constructed, paid for by the citizens of the world through UNRWA. Bedouin people live in tents, or tin sheds built in the style of their tents. We passed one encampment which had been bulldozed, and some folk had moved back, picking up the twisted metal sheets to start make a house all over again. Some houses had been demolished while others left standing. One side of the road was devastation, while the other might be anywhere in the world. Why demolish one building, but leave another? And so one could go on.

Just one story from the southern part of Gaza. We were told of a woman worker at one of the Christian institutions had her home there. She was called to say that it was being demolished. When she was able to get back to where her home had been, it had disappeared – into a hole that the Israeli army had dug, and into which they had pushed the rubble of her home and the possessions that had been in it.



We visited Ahli Arab Hospital and heard about some of its work. It is a hospital of the Episcopal Church, and its Director is Suhaila Tarazi. Quite apart from the fact that this is her home, and she is working on behalf of her own people, there is the deep understanding that her work is Christian work. The hospital does not have guards – the people who use it know that is if a place of love, and they have come to respect that. No one is allowed into the hospital carrying a weapon – that too is respected. This feeling of service, and of love, is shared by all the staff, Muslim as well as Christian.

There are many who cannot reach a hospital, and so the hospital reaches them. Once a week, they try to organise an outreach Clinic away from the hospital, and they will see over 100 patients – giving them not only medical assistance, but also a good meal. Your donations made it possible for me to give a donation to pay for one such clinic.



We visited Constantine Dabbagh, the Executive Secretary of the Near East Council of Churches Committee for Refugee Works. We heard of the work of the Council, with its training programmes and its social programmes. One almost felt like asking if it was worth the effort, when one sees the poverty, hears of the unemployment, sees the degradation – and yet here was a man who had refused to move with his family to Australia when he had the chance, because he had a mission as a Christian to remain with his people. I wonder if I would have had the same courage, and would have the same capacity to carry on as he has.



When we asked both of them – Suhaila and Constantine – what we might do, advocacy and support came top of the list. If any of you would like to show such support, send an e-mail to necc@mtcgaza.com or ahli@marna.com Mention the visit of folk from the Church of Scotland by way of introduction.



Sitting looking out of my window as I write this, it is a clear morning, not too hot – Shabbat. Some folk are on their way to prayers, many others are out taking a morning walk. None of them, unless they have served in the Israeli army, will have been to Gaza in recent times. None of them has any idea what has been, and is being done, in their name, to try to obtain security. I like to think that if they knew, they would not accept it. Am I naive? Misguided? Or do they somehow really feel that any means are acceptable to try to achieve the goal of their “shalom”?



Much of this letter has been taken up with our experiences. More later of the really important experiences – of the people of Gaza.

Stay well. God bless. Joan and Clarence

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