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Rev Clarence
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No 61 No 62 No 63 No 64 No 65 No 66 No 67 No 68 No 69 Other Letters:
Index Liturgy for Prayers for Peace
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Circular Letter No 69 started on 27th December 2001 1st January 2002 (Having asked myself the question as to what had happened to Letter No 69, by this evening I have remembered! I wrote a letter to my sisters and brothers, intending to amend it for general use – and forgot to do anything about it. So, here, is a cobbled together Letter NO 69. You don’t have to read it.) If this gets finished before the end of the year, it will be the last one for 2001!! If not, it will be the first for 2002 – surprise, surprise. Either way, Happy New Year. Our Christmas Services started at 2330 hours on Christmas Eve, with a Watchnight Service. There was a contingent of Christians from Uganda and Congo Brazzaville, some of our own congregation, and about 200 Jewish people. It makes for an interesting and different approach to a Christmas service - what to take for granted etc. One thing that is most certainly different is the music - we do not have a choir, and so have to rely on the congregation - few of those there knew any of the carols, despite the fact that there were the most well known of the book, and also few of them would, I imagine, have felt able to sing them. The Service ended about 0015 hours, and having greeted all the folk as they left, it was time to clear up a bit, and get ready for the regular Christmas morning service. However, people were still coming at 0100 hours - sorry that they were late for the Mass! I had quite a good chat with the last group, and asked them why so many young Jewish folk wanted to come to a Christmas service. Curiosity seemed to be the answer, as they said they had heard of Jesus but really knew nothing about him. We also got talking about music, and one of them asked if we had a band - we had not - and then asked if Elton John would have been a good guy to have had there! Joan liked that idea - I said that I would like James Galway - James who? They said they knew as much about him as they did about Jesus!! Christmas morning we were down at the church for 0900 hours to get ready for the 1000 hours service. It was a rather smaller congregation – with again the surprise of a couple of Jewish ladies back for the morning service having been at the Watchnight Service. There was the usual coffee after the service, and then we had organised a Christmas Lunch in the Hospice, for which we had about 30 guests. WE had “invited” a couple from Beit Sahour, beside Bethlehem, to cook for us. They are Orthodox Christians and so celebrate Christmas in January! Therefore they were quite willing to be at the Hospice for Christmas morning. When we had finished eating, and clearing up, we took them home, along with Helen Shehadeh. The check point was quite quick (though when we were coming out, the IN side was backed up quite a way) so we got them all home, and back to Jerusalem about 1630 hours. Finally got home at 1730 hours - quick look at some gifts - and then out for an hour to the Session Clerk. So, another Christmas day come and gone. It was fun, interesting, sad, etc On Boxing Day, for light reading, the newspaper provided a supplement, “Dawn of a new Europe, 1.1.2002”. It had a number of interesting articles in it, similar I am sure to many which you will have had in your own newspapers. One which I doubt would have been in many European or American papers was entitled “Our good mother Medea.” It is dealing with the migration of the Jewish people, and produces some startling statistics. In 1895, there were about 10.5 million Jews in the world, and 8.8 million of them were Europeans. At the end of 2001, there are about 13.2 million Jews, of whom only 1,583,000 are European. In the EU the Jewish populations is 1,032,000. Muslims are more than 4% of the EU population, while the Jews are less than 0.3%. If current trends are not reversed, Europe will be almost totally devoid of its Jewish element by the end of this century. The Jewish population of the UK has fallen from about 410,000 to 275,000. This is an almost incomprehensible picture. It is impossible to describe Jewish history without Europe, just as it is impossible to describe European culture without Jews. The writer states that three separate and unlinked causes have voided Europe of its Jews – the American dream, Nazi tenacity, and the Zionist vision. I find it quite staggering when the change is put in this context. Some months ago, there was an article here about Jews coming to Israel to live – currently there is talk of a new “wave” of immigrants from the Argentine. It was postulating that within this century, there might be as many as 80% of the Jewish population of the world living in Israel. If this happens, it will mean that they have to come from somewhere, and it will of necessity mean that the Jewish population outside Israel and America will be very small indeed. Today’s paper has a feature article about the Tiv-Taam chain of supermarkets, operated by 3 veteran Israelis. “Here, alongside the regular brands – Israeli, American and European – there is a vast abundance of products from Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia, a variety of edibles that by definition are not kosher. When browsing through the shop’s spacious and aisles, the refrigerated shelves filled with sausages, hams, sea food, berries, Vodka and beer – most of who se labels are in Russian with some in Czech or Polish – it becomes evident that the patrons are not “olim” – Jews ascending to live in Israel for Zionist-Jewish motives – but rather immigrants, with everything that the term implies.” “Pork, which may not be imported into Israel, is particularly evident in these shops. Tiv-Taam produces a large selection of pork products, raised in Israel. Having to cope with the migration of Jews across the world and to Israel; having to cope with the pressures on its conservative religious society from the influx of immigrants, many of whom from Eastern Europe may not even be Jewish at all; having to cope with the “Palestinian problem” and the irrelevant Mr Arafat, who nevertheless still manages to create diplomatic havoc for the government – it is easy to see what a turbulent time the Jewish people are going through, and perhaps also a bit easier to see why it is so difficult for them to get things right vis-a-vis their situation in the Middle East. None of this is in any way meant to condone what the government has done and is doing to the Palestinian people – it perhaps helps to put it in a wider perspective. (I will not add any more to this letter – you have probably read far too much from me already – but just to keep myself right, I thought I should finish it after a fashion.) For the second time, Happy New Year. God bless. Joan and Clarence top Circular Letter No 68 Saturday 22nd December Somebody asked me in a letter this week what the weather was like in Jerusalem at this time of the year. This year, it has been bright and sunny; it has been overcast with very heavy rain; it has been warm in the middle of the day, and very cold at night. Two nights ago the temperature was down to 6.5 degrees on our bedroom verandah. It is, admittedly, not all that cold by standards in Scotland, or USA, or elsewhere – but when your house is designed to let air in to keep it cool in summer, it can feel very cold. The carol which starts with describing the “bleak mid-winter” can actually be accurate! So, does Friday’s news of a cessation of suicide bombing by Hamas herald the beginning of some sort of peace initiatives? Or is it one more proclamation which will turn out to be inaccurate? The big boys have got their way, in pressuring the Palestinians to some sort of cease-fire. Now how will the other participant in the violence respond? Will the big boys remember their declarations of only a few weeks ago about the need to implement UN Resolution 242, and get down to the serious business of ensuring that this is in fact done? One does not have too much hope, given the track record of the politicians, and of the way in which the International community has allowed people to pick and choose with which UN Resolutions they wish to comply. However, we will have to wait to see what develops. One “solution” to the problem of having two peoples claiming ownership of the same land, is to find some way to divide it that is just, and recognises the needs of the two parties – I hesitate to say “rights” as I am not sure how you would define “rights” in any helpful way. However, one solution that has been talked about over the time that we have been here, has been that of “two states” with Israel on one side of the Green Line, and Palestine on the other. There are those who think this is crazy in such a small area of land, but they at the moment are in the minority on either side. Two interesting straws in the wind as to how the eventual resolution might appear were : 1. Wednesday’s paper and an inside page article on the building of walls and installation of fences on the Green Line in the northern part of the country. In a rather piecemeal fashion, a new sort of Iron Curtain is being built to separate Israel from the West Bank, or perhaps it should be the West Bank from Israel. Details were given of how many kilometres of fence had been erected in this area and how many kilometres of wall had been erected in another area. Electrified fences are called “agricultural security fences” and are thus funded partly by Ministry of Defence and partly by the Ministry of Agriculture. The first stage of the programme to build an electrified fence will see 60 kms constructed, and phase 2 will be for a further 40 kms. In addition to walls and fences, there is a trench along 25 kms of the Green Line, which is 1.5 metres deep. Although no political decision has been taken about separation, in practice, according to a Defence Ministry official, such is the pressure from residents that it has been necessary to build physical barriers. “We can’t talk about separation, but in practice, it is happening, with our help” said the Ministry of Defence spokesman. For the record, the Green Line boundary is 286 kms long. One can see the logic in this from the Israeli side – make it impossible for people to get into Israel except at crossings which are completely controlled. In this way, it would be virtually impossible for people carrying any sorts of arms to get into Israel from the West Bank. In another way, it raises even more acutely the situation of the 250,000 settlers living on what would be the wrong side of the wall. What is to happen to them? What sort of agreement will be reached? Is there any chance that UN Resolution 242 will be implemented, - by both sides? Just in case anyone should not know what the Resolution states, I thought it might be worth putting it in – at the end, so you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. (Suggestion – write to Tony Blair and ask when he is going to get round to doing anything about 242, as he said when Mr Arafat was with him in Downing Street.) 2. Strange as it may seem, one of the features of life here at Christmas time is the free distribution of Christmas trees. We got a letter from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and submitted our order. One tree ordered was to go to Helen Shehadeh. The tree was collected on Wednesday afternoon, and I took it out to Beit Jala on Thursday. What had started out last year as a rather ramshackle check point has in the last few weeks been transformed into a semblance of a permanent post. There are new lanes for traffic, new little boxes for the soldiers on duty to occupy, and a rather unprepossessing concrete wall enclosing a small compound for military vehicles etc has now been faced with the white Jerusalem stone similar to that on most buildings in the city. It is very obvious that this is now a permanent feature of the landscape, and will be the border crossing point between Israel and Palestine when there are two states. It still took us 30 minutes to get in – and others took 50 minutes to get out! I have written before of the feeling Joan and I had when we crossed through the Iron Curtain on our way to Prague in 1989, and of the fact that when we went back the following year, the Curtain had gone. It seems strange to be witnessing the erection of another “Curtain” – maybe it too will come down in time, but how sad it is to think that it is being created. A few weeks ago there was the outrage of the bomb that killed 5 young kids on their way to school in Gaza. You will recall my anger at the way in which this was, or was not, reported, and the fact that attention swiftly moved on to something else, and the big boys turned a blind eye to what had been, in essence, terrorism in uniform. Yesterday’s paper carried a report headed “Officers blamed in deaths of 5 Gaza children”. The Chief of Staff of the IDF stopped short of reprimanding officers from the Yiftach unit responsible for laying a mine that killed five Khan Yunis children last month as they were on their way to school. But Mofaz “cited” the officers for what he called an “operational failure that had grave, harsh and sorrowful results.” He confirmed that no disciplinary action would be taken against the officers, none of whom ranked as high as colonel in command of the southern brigade, other than the “professional citation.” I imagine that this is the end of the story as far as the IDF is concerned. At least there has been a public admission of incompetence, if nothing else – but one wonders what the Israeli media people would be making of such a report if it were dealing with Palestinians planting a mine of a path used by Israeli school children. Much of the news here this week has, however, not been about the “situation” but about the economy. As I understand it, the Government has to have the 2002 Budget approved by the Knesset by the end of 2001 – not far away. There is an enormous amount of wrangling over what are said to be the necessary buts to allow the Government to stay within agreed limits for a deficit. So NIS 6 billion has to be cut from the Budget – approx 1 billion pounds sterling or $1.5 billion. As in all countries, there is a lot of pressure from this group or that group. The ultra-Orthodox parties support the payment of substantial family allowances to large families – over 5 children. This was agreed during the year – but now may have to be delayed. The residents of the Negev were given tax-breaks earlier in the year to assist in the development of the economy of the region – they may have to be delayed. There have been road-blocks in the Negev, demonstrations and sit-ins at Government offices by disabled people, etc. etc.etc. So, by Friday, the Prime Minister had moved in to try to get everything sorted out in time. A headline spoke of an Interest rate cut of 2% by the beginning of the week. It all sounds familiar – but there are real economic problems facing the Israeli government. The Union of Social Workers is reported in the paper as saying that one in every three people in Israel sought help from their local welfare offices. That is a lot of people. While there are problems on the Israeli side, there are even greater problems on the Palestinian side. A UN report issued this week says that half of the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are living on less than $2 per day. It states that conditions have never been so bad since Israel took control of the West Bank in 1967. It is in this sort of situation that the members of the co-operatives live and work, who produce the goods that are sold at Sunbula, and by all sorts of other organisations. So, your purchases are helping – the Idna women were able to increase their earnings in the past few months to NIS 400 (approx $100) each from NIS 300. Not a lot, but the UN figure gives some idea of how significant even a small rise is, and of how important the support of people like you is. Keep buying. Give us some ideas of what you might buy, so that we can suggest new products to the Co-operatives. Earlier today we went for a walk down in the region of Abu Gosh. It is about 10 kms from Jerusalem, and we went on a road towards a settlement, Nataf. Parking the car, we walked along the top of a ridge, looking westwards over the plain towards Tel Aviv. It was a glorious day, warm in the sun, but not so hot as to be uncomfortable walking. We had brought a sandwich, and we sat eating it looking down at what is a graphic illustration of why, regardless of the rights of people to return to the land from which the fled in 1948, return on any major scale just will never happen. In front of us were hedges of prickly pear cactus, marking out the place where there had been a Palestinian village. Now there is nothing apart from some stones. All traces of the houses that had been there have been obliterated. Across the valley, snuggling in to a sort of fold in the hills, is Nataf. This is a Jewish village, built within the past 30 years. I cannot see its residents, some of whom I know, consenting to people returning to the village which they left – it would be too difficult, too painful, and too obvious a reminder of who used to live in the country, and what had happened to them. It may not be right – I fear it is what will happen about the rights of the refugees. Sunday evening. “To celebrate or not to celebrate, that is the question.” It is just as strange this year to approach Christmas in a country where we are greeted by our Jewish friends with the phrase, “Happy holiday” as it was last year. We will be on holiday on Tuesday, they will be at work on a normal day. Yet, today, we sang carols. I had invited members of the congregation to choose them, and we got 9! So we sang them all. The Christmas Tree is in the Church, the Advent Wreath is there also, and there were enough kids to light the four candles, and then a fifth one arrived – had to blow one candle out and light it again. We all know it is hard, yet we all are happy that it is Christmas. At a meal tonight at the YMCA, I was sitting beside a young Palestinian Christian woman – how can we celebrate, she asked. I told her of our friend overseas, from whom we had a phone call yesterday. She has just been diagnosed as having two tumours in her brain. She called for a chat, and told us not to worry – but to enjoy Christmas. She was going to have a happy time with her family. So, tomorrow, we will have a Watchnight service – very traditional carols – and we know that the majority of the congregation will be Jewish people. It is not a question of what to say in the service, but how to say it so that it may be heard. Then on Sunday we have a Communion Service, and at 1230 hours in the Hospice we will have a lunch – perhaps 25 of us will be there – mostly from overseas, mostly with our families elsewhere. We will have fun. Two good things from the week. On Tuesday morning I mailed a Communion Table Cloth to Elgin, and it arrived on Friday. They were delighted with it, as we were when we had seen it. I will be able to get in touch with the women of Idna and tell them of its reception – and they have paid more than it cost, so the women will get more. Good news, and thanks to the folk in Elgin. If anyone would like to see the photographs of it, let me know and I will send them to you, by e-mail. On Tuesday evening, Joan and I were at the Certificate Presentation at Tabeetha School. It is not a huge school, so there were not a huge number of certificates to be handed out. But it was good to see that youngsters had worked, had achieved, and were hoping for more. Good for the Church of Scotland for putting its money into this school. One of the items was a presentation by one of the pupils who had entered an Internet competition to write a short essay about Human Rights. He won the Israel section. An immigrant, he wrote quite movingly. I asked if I could send you his Essay, and he agreed. It is an attachment to this. So, to you all wherever you are, thanks for your cards, your messages, your company, and may you know something of God’s love this Christmas, and of his Peace in 2002. Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year to you all. Love, Joan and Clarence. Circular Letter No 67 Monday 10th December It is perfectly understandable that a traveller arriving at Ben Gurion Airport, about midnight, will have some concern as to how he/she is going to get home. So, when an e-mail arrived, followed by a phone call, asking if I would be able to assist someone arriving at the airport, it is the normal thing to do to say “yes”. The more so, as on this occasion it was a Palestinian woman arriving back home having been away for about 4 months, speaking to various groups, and sharing in a variety of meetings in the USA, the UK, Ireland and Europe. Although I had not met her, I had heard much of her, and was more than happy to be able to be of assistance. So, what better way to prepare for Sunday services than a leisurely drive down to the airport and back again – not too much traffic, an interesting passenger, and a feeling that one was being of some use. Almost the first person out from the plane was the Rector of Tantur Ecumenical Institute, situated on the border between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This was the second time that he had come off a plane, and I was able to offer him a lift back to town. So we both waited, … and waited. Comparatively quickly, our passenger came through, and we go into the car to head for Jerusalem. It had been a relatively easy arrival for her – the Israeli Immigration/Police official who stopped her after Passport Control was persuaded to “deal “ with her promptly, as a Pastor was waiting for her. So, off to the private interview room, remove coat, shoes, watch etc., further check of baggage, and finally she was able to go. This of course is not done for the likes of you and me arriving at Ben Gurion, nor is it done to Jewish people arriving – it is one of the little pleasantries that are reserved for Palestinians. S, on we go – drop the Rector off at Tantur, and then head for Ramallah. Said she, it is easier to get through the check point in the middle of the night than in the middle of the day – less traffic! So, at 0030 hours, we are heading for Ramallah. The road is quite quiet – which can be both good and bad – good in that it is “normal”, bad in that there is “trouble”. Don’t bother thinking about it, and drive slowly through the first check point. The Border Police are not taking too much of an interest in us, and so on we go. A mile or two up the road we reach the Kalandia check point. It is in darkness, and a soldier appears in the headlights. There is a barrier of plastic bollards all across the road. My ID card is checked – I have taken the precaution of wearing a dog-collar, so that at least I appear like a minister! – and off we go. However, which direction? Round the end of the bollards, headlights on low-beam not to dazzle the on-coming cars, and gently pick our way along the road. It is a waste land – large boulders in rows down the middle of the road, so that there is but one lane in each direction, and at one point there is only one lane for both directions. We follow the road, appalled at what I am seeing, and drive on into Ramallah. In places there are no lights – perhaps because they have been vandalised but someone, perhaps because there is a power failure in that area. It is spooky at times! Once we are stopped by Palestinian guards, but no problem, my passenger speaks Arabic to them. We reach her house in a part of the city that is new to me, and we part. 0120 hours. Without any difficulty at all, I make my way back to the centre of the town, and then down the road to Jerusalem. Once I am stopped by a group of young Palestinian men – some with guns, I think – but when they have a look at me, I am on my way. No sweat! Down the road, on the way to Kalandia, out from a side track come three Israeli army jeeps, on patrol, at 0130 hours, - and I wonder why they are there and what are they doing. They are driving slowly, so do not hurry to pass! After about a kilometre they pull in to the side and I drive on. Back to the main check point, greet the soldier, and I am on my way into the city. 0150 hours – home again and call Ramallah just to say that all was OK. It really was no problem at all – for me – being expatriate, - but for my passenger, an enormous sense of relief that she was home again – back in her prison as she said, but at least it was HER prison. You cannot help feel for people who are subjected to such harassment : you cannot help feel for the youngsters of soldiers out on the check points, and feeling very vulnerable. For me, the drive was OK. However, farther north in the West Bank that night, there had been an IDF raid, to find terrorists – 4 Palestinian policemen killed. The Israelis said they had tried to crash through a road block, the Palestinians say there were shot in cold blood. Take your pick. Also that night, a taxi driver was shot and killed – trying to get into a town on a dirt road – because the main road was sealed off. And people wonder why there is “terrorism” and ask why the Palestinians don’t see the error of their ways. I am writing this on Monday evening – and have just heard of the killing of a 3-year old child and a teenager in an attack by IDH helicopter gunships on a car in Hebron. The IDF said that they did not mean to kill the children, they had been targetting someone else, who was a known terrorist. How low can the Palestinians sink? Not only are they content to send their children out to throw stones and become martyrs when they are killed by young Israelis throwing rubber bullets and live ammunition, they are now taking babies as living shields in cars so that when the Israelis shoot at them, the babies will get killed. I wonder how long it will be before Mr Bush come sup with a condemnation of this new Palestinian tactic! I seem to remember Mr Blair speaking in Downing Street, standing beside Mr Arafat, and making commitments to the implementation of UN Resolution 242 – which if I am not mistaken has something to do with the return of Palestinian land captured in 1967, and also something to say about the Settlements. Each week there is a Cabinet Meeting, - this week it was held in a Settlement on the West Bank! Just what message is that which Mr Sharon and his government are sending to the world? And yet life goes on – and people show amazing resilience. Rizek Abusharr, Session Clerk of St Andrew’s, has worked for the Jerusalem International YMCA for 46 years. He retires at the end of this month. To mark his retirement there was a Reception on Tuesday 4th December. To it came Jew and Muslin and Christian, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs, and a sprinkling of expatriates. We were about 350 people in the auditorium. The Choir gave its services free. People came from the US to be there. Speeches were brief, but to the point. Rizek had made a difference to them, in welcoming them, whoever they were, to the Y. Someone spoke in Arabic - one of the workers. Someone spoke in Hebrew, one of the members – someone welcomed them all in Irish! After the assassination of Mr Rabin, and special prize was endowed to be awarded to people who had made significant efforts to bring about harmony between Jew and Arab – Rizek was the first recipient. It was good to be there, good to see the contribution that one man had made – and good to recognise that it had come out of his deep Christian faith. I, and many others, know that it has been difficult at times – but he kept going. Rizek had said that he did not want personal gifts – give some money to the YMCA – so a Fund was opened and by Tuesday evening I was able to announce that it had reached NIS 75,000. At the reception, a donation of NIS 25,000 was made, just to top it up! Thursday evening, 6th December, there was a concert in the church, organised by Emma Given, as a sort of farewell. The music was of a Scots variety, played by Israeli musicians. It was fun, and then we had a couple of Scots songs – and something to eat. Again, a mixture of Jew and Arab, of people of different faiths and of none – all of whom had called Emma a friend. It was good to have been able to be there, and to share in that evening – again a living demonstration of something of the reconciling work of the Church. What a pity that her post has not been filled – at least for the moment – by a representative of the Church of Scotland who would have been able to carry on that Christian witness in the Hospice. Switch to the Bethlehem check point on Sunday morning. Helen Shehadeh arrives – without any permit of course. The soldier asks where she is going – to church says she. No you are not, says he – go back home. Not at all, says she – are you really going to stop a woman like me from going to pray? On you go, says the soldier, and say a prayer for me! You have to smile – even to laugh. Saturday 15th December 0430 hours – Joan arrived back at Ben Gurion Airport. It was raining. In Barotseland ( Western Zambia) such an occurrence would have been interpreted as a sign of approval from the gods, or the spirits! Sunday 16th December. Years ago one of the buzz-phrases was something to the effect that “The Medium is the Message”. This came into mind when watching the TV reports of the special events held to mark 3 months since the bombings in New York. President Bush was standing in front of a row of flags, presumably commemorating those who had died in New York and Washington. There was only one flag visible – at least on the news coverage that we saw on CNN, BBC and Sky News – the flag of Israel. Perhaps one is paranoic, but it did seem strange. An accidental arrangement of the flags? Or was it yet another way of saying that Israel is our friend? What message was it to convey to the other party in the conflict here, in which the Americans try to broker peace? On Friday evening I was at the annual Carol Service at St John Eye Hospital in East Jerusalem. It is the eye hospital which provides treatment for the Palestinian community in East Jerusalem, in the West Bank and Gaza. The Medical Director, who happens also to be an Elder of St Andrew’s opened the service by remarking that while it may seem strange to be holding such a service/celebration at a time when people are dying, nevertheless Christ came because there was sin in the world, and there still is. So we sang, we listened to Scriptures, and we enjoyed it. At the end of the evening we were invited to make a donation to the “Children in Need” Fund of the Hospital. This is a Fund set up some years ago to assist those Palestinian families who were unable to afford medicine or treatment for their children. From the Fund, assistance is given to families unable to pay for eye drops, for spectacles, for contact lenses, or for artificial eyes. Sadly, this latter need has escalated in the past year. There is one patient in the hospital at present – from Hebron. He went out with his sister to get some sweets, and just happened to be at the cross roads when Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car – injuring their target, and killing two youngsters. ( A headline in the paper on Tuesday 11th December reads “Deadly errors are bound to happen”. The Palestinians feel it strange how the word terrorism is used in conjunction with their attacks on Israel, but not about Israeli attacks in the middle of Palestinian communities. However, you will have heard them say that before. ) This young lad suffered severe abdominal injuries, broken limbs, and eye injuries which necessitated the removal of one eye. He will be in need of artificial eyes – and the hospital policy is not to charge those who have been injured in the Intifada. So, money will be needed. Money came from a congregation in Scotland – to be distributed to meet needs as I encountered them. Some has gone to the hospital for its Children in Need Fund. Thanks to the donors. What’s in a name? Some days ago, there was the attack on a bus bringing settlers back to their Settlement on the West Bank, and 10 people were killed. The name of the Settlement is Emmanuel. It is a name which Christians will associate more with the person of Christ, and probably have never even heard of a Settlement with the same name – God with us. To me, it seems strange to give such a name to a Settlement built in defiance of UN Resolutions, and on land which had been seized from its Palestinian owners. Can we really say that this is God’s Place? An article in the paper wrote of the people who lived there, and it made sad reading. It is a Settlement of Haredim – ultra-Orthodox Jewish people. The Settlement was established in 1983, and even at that time there was controversy about it, with some ultra-Orthodox leaders saying that it was unlikely to succeed. It was written that the Haredim went to settle in Emmanuel for economic reasons. Marriage customs say that parents should jointly buy an apartment for their children when they marry, so that the husband can study without financial worries. Thus, it went on, the average Haredi family, which is any case us usually poor, has to come up with the money for some 8 half-apartments on average. And so, they look for places in which apartment prices are particularly low and housing grants are generous, in other words, in settlements in the territories. So, as Emmanuel was a settlement where property was particularly cheap, people who cannot afford to buy an apartment anywhere else, end up at Emmanuel. It was this community which was caught up in this bus-bombing. I felt it was a sad article – setting out the economic plight of part of the Israeli society – sad in its religious understanding of the world around it – sad in that there are people who feel themselves trapped there, and who might not be able to get out, even if they wanted to. I will find it difficult to sing about Emmanuel this year, without having in my mind’s eye the Settlement which I believe should not be there, and the killing which I also believe should not happen. Today’s paper has an article in it about another Israeli missile attack on a police station in Ramallah – next door to the Friends’ School – established by the Quakers. Part of it was demolished in the attack – the School is planning to sue the Israeli government in the US courts. The IDF Spokesman’s Office reported yesterday that the army was not aware of any damage caused to the school. The paper reports that a classroom used by the Arabic teacher, and a classroom used for drama lessons, where hit be missiles. Perhaps a letter to the Israeli Embassy in London, or Washington, or anywhere, asking for information about this attack, might produce some interesting replies. Two quick snippets – on Wednesday 500 people gathered at the YMCA to celebrate Ramadan (Muslim) Hanukkah (Jewish) and Christmas (Christian). They were Jews and Arabs – playing together, working together – while the world was busy outside killing folk. This afternoon – 300 kids had a great time at a Christmas party – this time Muslim and Christian Arab kids – again at the YMCA. Sorry this is a bit rambling, and bitty. I will try better next time! God bless. Joan and Clarence. top
Circular Letter No 66 Clarence
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Circular Letter No 65 25th November, 2001 Is it anger, bitterness, cynicism, realism, fear, anti-Semitism? - what is, or are, the feelings that have not gone away since Friday? On Friday morning, the main headline in our newspaper was the fact that unemployment had reached 9.3%. Along side it, with a picture showing blood stains on the ground, was a report about the deaths of 5 schoolchildren on Thursday on their way to school. Inevitably the report was incomplete, and said that investigations were still continuing. Here, there are no newspapers on Saturday, and therefore no opportunity to read of any result of the investigations. So, early this morning, I picked up the paper, and could hardly believe my eyes. There are 3 stories across the head of Page 1 : IDF Reservist killed in Gaza mortar Attack IDF kills ‘No 1’ Hamas leader Hanoud Assassination a victory for intelligence, security. Not a single mention on the front page of the deaths of the school children Maybe it will be better on Page 2. Lead story on top left hand corner – Four more Palestinians killed in three incidents. Then, in smaller type, mid-page – IDF, Ben-Eliezer sorry over deaths of 5 children : Member of the Knesset Tibi calls for police probe. If one estimates the population of the Gaza strip at 1.5 million (it is less), and if one estimates the population of the US at 150 million (it is more) then the killing of 5 children in Gaza represents 500 children in the US – or - if the population of the UK is 50 million, - 160 children in the UK. Is that 5 times the number killed at Dunblane? Can you imagine such an event disappearing off the front pages of national newspapers in the US or the UK, after one report on one day? Some sense of balance is restored on the Comment page. The Leader column clearly and unequivocally speaks against the whole strategy of the army in placing booby traps on paths which it suspects might be used by Palestinian gunmen but which are also used by ordinary men, women and children. “The latest incident in Khan Yunis (Refugee Camp) did not arise from a mistake or from negligence, but is derived from an outlook that says harming innocents during attacks on enemies is simply unavoidable.’ This it implies is unacceptable. An Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy writes a feature article, entitled ’On the way to school’. It condemns in very forceful language the planting of explosive devices on paths that may be used by children. He recalls several other killings and woundings of children who were nowhere near any ‘action’, including a 3-month old baby killed in her grandmother’s house by a tank shell just moments after her mother had finished breast-feeding her. He writes – The state places a bomb where children are likely to pass, and then says only the other side practices terrorism? This is terrorism. (Italics and bold type are the way the newspaper sets out this phrase.) Better to leave this for a moment or two. On Monday Joan and I set out to go to the Lutheran Church in Beit Jala, to deliver a load of used clothes to the Church Social Worker. We got to the vicinity of the check point and gave up, realising that it would take a long time for the queue of traffic to get through. We tried again on Tuesday, and only spent 10 minutes in the queue. On Thursday I went back with Toshiko from Sunbula to meet one of the women from Idna – it took us 28 minutes to get through. By contrast, coming back into Jerusalem was much quicker, just a few minutes, and brief question, and we were on our way on both occasions. It has always seemed strange that it is more difficult at this checkpoint to leave Jerusalem than it is to enter it. I am sure there must be some logic to it somewhere. Naime, from Idna, had taken 2 hours to get to Bethlehem – and not a complaint. She had brought goods to go to Sunbula shop, some for Joan, and then the Communion Table Cloth that is being made for Elgin High Church in Scotland. It is about 11 feet long and 2 feet wide – and they are well on the way to completing it. When it is finished, some time in the next week or two, then they will get started on an Altar Frontal for a church in England. Any other commissions? One of the facts of life here is that it is very much governed by the weekly calendar. Friday is Prayer day for the Muslims; Friday evening to Saturday evening is Shabbat for the Jewish community; Sunday morning is when most Christians worship, but it is an ordinary part of the normal working week for the vast majority of the population. So, on a Sunday morning when I am walking down to church, almost without exception all the people whom I meet are on their way to work. I mention this because on Friday morning, I went across to East Jerusalem to do a couple of messages. I went early to avoid the increased traffic of people coming to pray at the Temple Mount. (At this time I had not yet heard of the deaths of the school children in Gaza.) As we are in Ramadan, there is a big increase in people coming to pray in Jerusalem. First of all, there was a greatly increased regular police and Border police presence. Some roads were closed; a helicopter was overhead keeping surveillance, an observation ‘blimp’ with its cameras was stationed close to the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. Secondly, there were cars and buses parked everywhere – a bit like Murrayfield at the time of International Rugby matches. Thirdly there were streams of people on all the roads I went along, heading for the Temple Mount, for prayers. There were young and old, men and women, fathers holding the hands of their young sons – all heading for worship. Not a sight or sound of anything remotely threatening. Everything was peaceful and good humored. Given so many people heading for one destination, the presence of so many police would not be anything out of the ordinary in most places, - except that these police are the ones who are seen to be the occupiers, the oppressors, in the eyes of the worshippers. Given, also, sadly, that after Friday prayers, not just in this country, but in Arab countries as well, there can often be a degree of volatility, there is an excuse for the presence of so many police. But does it really need a helicopter and a blimp overhead? In the eyes of one part of the community, it is prudent policing. In the eyes of the other, it is intimidation. Most shops and businesses were closed – the places I was going to were all Christian businesses , and so they were open. I was able to do my work, and get home, with absolutely no problem at all. Not so long ago, having a chat with friends who are living in the area for a while, and whose main source of information is the academic community round the Hebrew University, I was asked by them if it was safe for us to be going into the Old City and into East Jerusalem. We expressed surprise at the question – and they said that they had been told by their Jewish colleagues that it would not be safe for them to go in the Old City, and certainly not to visit East Jerusalem. Even on a Friday in Ramadan, there was not the slightest hint of aggression. Across the main north-south road through the city from the part of East Jerusalem I was visiting, is the ultra-Orthodox area of the city called Me’a She’arim. It is a warren of narrow streets, many of which are one-way, and so for the stranger it can be quite a baffling place to get around, and at times quite hostile. The people who live there enforce a very rigid dress code, and there are notices at strategic points of entry in the locality telling visitors what they should, or should not, wear. Part of the code of conduct of those who live there is that there should be no motor traffic at all on Shabbat, and so barriers are put up to prevent cars getting in to Me’a She’arim from the beginning of Shabbat on Friday evening to its end on Saturday evening. Not content with keeping cars out of their area, residents have been known to stone cars driving on the periphery of what has been described by a leading Jewish novelist as a “ghetto.” I mention this as a sort of contrast with the atmosphere of the folk going to the mosque on Friday. To question what is done on behalf of the government, or to criticise any aspect of policy here, almost inevitably leads to an accusation of anti-Semitism. Were the accusations those of anti-Israel, or anti-Zionism, then they might be more easily countered. But the charge of anti-Semitism is very emotive. Whether one agrees with the policies of the government, if one looks out at the world around from the eyes of the Jewish community, it is a great sea of people who are regarded as implacably hostile to the existence of the State of Israel. So, a criticism of the government is easily seen as an attack on Judaism, and labelled anti-Semitic. It is harder for that label to be applied to Jewish writers such as Amira Haas and Gideon Levy – but for many they have sold out on their birthright, and are just the same as the enemy, the Palestinians. There was a very compelling, if sad, article during the week entitled “Hatred of Israel and anti-Semitism, 2001” I quote – ‘According to surveys conducted in Israel, Israeli Jews believe that anti-Semitism around the world has actually increased and that Diaspora Jews, from the United States to Russia, feel more threatened that ever before.’ The author sees much of the increase in anti-Semitism as coming from Islamic fundamentalists. He quotes from a recent conference of the United Synagogue in Great Britain, where the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, Dr Jonathan Sacks, warned that the anti-Semitism which Jews had suffered from Christians is now being adopted by Islamic radicals. “The same demonisation, the same evil fantasies, as if humanity had learned nothing from the past. . .[it is as if] the world had regressed to the worst days of the Middle Ages, with a mere change of names; Delete “Christianity” insert Islam. Delete the world “Crusade” insert the world “Jihad” The writer reinforces his argument with statistics from France that showed the most virulent wave of anti-Semitism since the nazi occupation, with a total of 150 acts of violence against Jewish institutions and Jewish individuals, including 43 acts of arson and vandalism against synagogues. The writer concludes with the statement that the honorary President of the Jewish community in Zurich told a conference of Swiss Jewish communities last month that as far as Jews are concerned, Hitler is still alive. The article was compelling, as it tried to set out the view from inside Judaism today, and how it sees itself – and how the world sees it. If you think that you are under greater threat now than for decades, then you will attack, and not be too concerned at the methods which are used to try to ensure your security and safety. It was sad, in that it seemed to be hardening the divisions between Jew and Muslim, and offering no way out of the present impasse. If your picture of the Palestinians is governed by thinking that they are a sort of modern-day Hitler, then I can well imagine that the deaths of 5 children, plus all the adults of the past weekend, are justifiable in the struggle to keep Israel alive. The start of an article today about the dilemma facing Hamas after the assassination of some of its leaders is : No one in the territories (as the Israeli public refer to the West Bank) doubts for a moment that Ariel Sharon’s government assassinated Hamas leader on Friday with the clear intention of provoking Hamas and prompting a revenge attack by Muslim extremists to thwart the mission of American envoys William Burns and Anthony Zinni. Is it any wonder that optimism is in short supply? It has to be said that many Jewish Israelis do not agree with the policies that have led to the current upsurge in killing. These people need our support to enable them to keep up their brave witness. Last week when we were coming back from Bethlehem, there was a middle-aged lady standing at the check point, saying nothing, doing nothing, except watching how the soldiers were treating the people going through the check point. I have to say that the soldier who spoke to us on that occasion was the most polite that we have encountered in a along time. Hurrah for the presence of the women – it takes courage to do that. Just to end. Our situation here is not by any means unique, nor would I want anyone to think that we are the first to face such tragedies. Just last night there was an item on the news about the demonstrations that have been held in North Belfast as children of one part of the community were taken to school past the homes of members of the other pat of the community. Listening to friends, both Protestant and Catholic, it is hard to realise that they are talking about the same situation, so different are their perceptions. So, in many situations, there have been, and there are, folk having to deal with the realities of life just as the people in Gaza are having to deal with them, just as folk in Israel are having to come to terms with them. And there are folk like us, having to try to find a way to deal with it also. And there are folk like you, who have to play your part. More next week. Just to show that life has its positive side – yesterday we had our first visit to Jericho since Peter was here. We went through the same physical check point as we had then, with the presence of only one IDF soldier, and did not have to stop at all. Jericho was almost festive in the town centre. Quite a difference from January. It would be marvellous if one swallow did make a summer. Joan and Clarence. Circular Letter No 64 19th November, 2001 I started last week’s letter referring to anxiety – that of the passengers passing through the Security Checks at Ben Gurion Airport. This week, there is a rather different sort of anxiety in the air – that of the Israeli government about the speech that the US Secretary of State is scheduled to make today, in which it is widely predicted that he will be speaking, inter alia, about Israel and Palestine, and the state, or non-state, of negotiations. Listening to the news yesterday, there were reports of elections in Kosovo – a region where the West got extremely actively involved, both militarily and politically, and some movement occurred. There was also a report of meetings between the Russian government and representatives of Chechnya, despite the fact that there is continued fighting there. There was an article in the paper yesterday in which Jack Straw is reported as making a distinction between the military and political activity of the IRA/Sinn Fein, and the way in which, while fighting the one there was talking with the other. What do we have here? A veto given to one side about any negotiations on the basis of the Mitchell Plan. Says the Israeli government, - we will be the judge as to when talking can start, and it certainly won’t start until after there has been 7 days’ quiet. There is wide-spread scepticism here, among some Israelis and most Palestinians, about the incidents of violence that occur with regularity to prevent a period of 7 days of calm. When there is a government that has little interest in talking, is it any wonder that there is a suspicion that incidents are the work of ‘agents provocateurs’, and that is the sometimes Israelis who are doing the shooting which elicits return fire? It was not all that long ago, though it seems like years, that there was the first major IDF incursion into what is called Area A – those areas under complete Palestinian control, under agreements signed by the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority. It happened in Gaza, and while the IDF indicated during the day that they were there for some time, under American pressure the troops were withdrawn within hours. That was the first incursion. News came yesterday of an Israeli withdrawal of its troops from Tulkarm. Tulkarm is a town within the West Bank, in Area A. Along with Bethlehem, Ramallah and others, it was invaded about a month ago. Where there had been an outcry on the occasion of the first invasion, this time it passed with little notice being taken of it – except in the Bethlehem area. So, after a month, the Government, or the IDF – and that is quite intentional, as there is a debate here as to how much control the government exercises over the army – decides that it is time to pull out. We are told that there is now only one occupied area – Jenin – and that the troops may come out this week. Is it any wonder that there is shooting at soldiers occupying your city, taking over private homes to use as bases, and even when they do ‘withdraw’ they park their tanks at the entrance to the town, and they leave behind some soldiers on the roof tops of private homes. Even to get in and out of their own homes, the people need army permission. People are being far too machiavellian, suggesting that the Israeli government could be so devious as to arrange for shooting incidents. Perhaps. Yet, the fact is that from the Prime Minister down there have been speeches all week, the most recent yesterday, stating that the Israelis will not move from their insistence of a complete calm for 7 days before any talks will start. This was the message delivered face to face, and in a public press conference, yesterday by Mr Sharon to the Belgian Prime Minister, who was here as the current leader of the EU. It apparently has been the message delivered to many folk in the States, and perhaps also in the UK. It remains to be seen what Mr Powell will say, and what pressure will be put on both sides to do something about it. If there is one thing that is sure to fan the flames of tensions between Jew and Arab here, it is the question of the Settlements. One of the most contentious settlements is in Hebron, and it is no surprise that Hebron has been the scene of some of the worst atrocities over the years. You will recall that it was in a Mosque in Hebron and Dr Goldstein carried out the massacre of over 20 Muslim worshippers – a massacre which was celebrated last year by Jewish Children dressing up as the doctor and parading in the streets. (I sometimes am asked about anti-Jewish material used in schools, and anti-Israeli propaganda from Arab TV stations and radio stations. There was an item on a TV station, I think it was in Abu Dhabi, at the weekend, depicting Sharon and Dracula as sort of accomplices, and Sharon selling bottled Palestinian blood. That is inexcusable. It is also inexcusable to taunt the victims of a massacre by having children make a sort of game out of it. ) Back to today – “Sharon orders new Hebron Jewish housing. 7 families have lived in caravans for the last 20 years in a Jewish enclave in Hebron. At this time, after what is described as intensive political pressure following the assassination of Rehavam Ze’evi, Mr Sharon has given permission for 122 housing units to be built. While accepting that there should be no new settlements under the Mitchell Plan, the government will say that this is not a new settlement, just new homes for those already there. At this particular time? Last week, news of several “extensions” of settlements, some well over a kilometre away from existing settlements. No new settlements? Certainly it would be hard to sell that to the Palestinians. Yesterday was the occasion of the annual Sunbula Bazaar. Producer groups whose goods are normally sold by Sunbula are invited to come to St Andrew’s and have stalls in the Lounge, on the Verandah, etc, and there is a crowd of people there. A year ago, there was great enthusiasm, with the feeling that we must not let the violence get us down, and we must do all that we can to support the co-operatives. Yesterday there was the same feeling, but perhaps fewer people, and less money around than there was before. However, a lot of things were sold, and thus help was given. When it was all over, there were some folk needing to get back to Bethlehem. With the Festival of Ramadan having started, taxis were in short supply, so we agreed to take some of the women back. It is cold here now, and when we got to the check-point, in the dark, the soldiers were well muffled up. There was a bit more discussion about the merits of a Church of Scotland ID card versus a Passport, but without too much hassle we were past. Some may remember the period of the black-out in the UK during the Second World War. Well, last night as we went into Bethlehem, that came into mind, as did the experience of driving into Prague in 1989, when we were surprised to see how little there was by way of street lighting. In the area of Bethlehem closest to the check point, many of the lampstandards had been demolished by the Israeli tanks. Many have in fact been replaced, but the power supply has not yet been re-connected. It was eerie, driving through dark, then light, and back into dark. Even the area round Manger Square had not been immune to destruction, and there was darkness there also. There might be something there for a story, about the birth-place of the Light of the World being in darkness, as a result of the continued conflict between the children of Abraham. What is new? What was new were the shop-fronts that were being put up to replace those shot out by the Israeli tanks. There has been an amazing transformation in the street since we went there a few weeks ago after the Israeli withdrawal. Sadly, it seems as if the major hotel that was set on fire two or three times will have to be demolished. (The uncertainties of life at checkpoints – Sunday afternoon, no traffic and almost straight through. Monday afternoon – so much traffic help up that we did not even try to get in, and instead came back to Jerusalem.) On Saturday, we had a meeting of the Church Elders – the Kirk Session – of St Andrew’s. One of the items on the Agenda was a report on the donations that churches and individuals have sent to us in the past while. Although most of them come from Congregations within the Church of Scotland, which are “partnered” with Joan and myself, the donations are administered by the Kirk Session. So, we had quite a debate about what should be done with the amount that has come since we last had such a discussion. In the end, it was decided to give almost all of the money – about NIS 11,500 – to the Social Worker/Church Worker of the Lutheran Church in Beit Jala, to assist with the social care programme of that church. She will not be able to write to all of you, so on her behalf, I would just like to thank folk for their generosity. This money is in addition to that which is used to finance the buying and selling of craft goods. That goes on, and it is interesting to see that in the past 6 months of so, we have bought goods from the villages worth over $3,000. Not a lot in global terms, but for Idna, a significant sum. Keep it up. Economic pressures are felt not just in Palestine and by the Palestinians. There is a series of strikes by workers in the Public Sector here in Israel. Child allowances are not being paid on 20th November, due to a strike. Customs workers are on strike. University lecturers have been on strike. Sounds a familiar picture from some time in the past. WE have had a visitor staying in the Hospice for the past week – a university professor from Ottawa. He says he has never seen Jerusalem so empty, and when he and his wife go for an evening meal, they are often the only ones in the restaurant. One of the joys of being here is that you get to meet people from different countries who have come to work here. However, the other side of that is that you have to say good-bye to people. Two Sundays ago, it was good-bye to a French woman who is leaving for a new post in Cairo. This Sunday it was good bye to a family from Prague who have been here for a short while – Iva and Pavel Jungwirth, whom we first met when they came as part of the very first Czech group to Murrayfield. Then an American family is away home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the New Year! I am sure that at different times, in all sorts of different places, the church has been up against it. Yet, here it is with folks from all over the world, worshipping in St Andrew’s in Jerusalem. We need a few more Scots! Winter is here. Night time temperature on the verandah outside our bedroom has been down to 8 degrees – Friday night and Saturday we had 32 mms of rain here in Jerusalem – other parts of the country not so fortunate. Think of us shivering! A short letter this week. We hope you are all well, we are grateful for all the news you send us. Stay well. God bless. Joan and Clarence. Last night I had an experience that will stay with me for a very long time - it was a "conversation" involving two women and some folk here in Jerusalem for a study programme. The two women were :
a younger Jewish university professor, and the mother of a young girl who is one of the statistics of the current Intifada, being one of the many who have been killed. She spoke so movingly, and in questions answered so openly, and I felt I would like you all to have a chance to read her presentation. It is attached to this note.
Circular Letter No 63 Circular Letter No 62 Joan and Clarence. Circular
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