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Amid Mideast despair, hope
National Post
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
As members of KAIROS, a delegation of Canadian church representatives,
we have been in Jerusalem for four days. On the first day, six Palestinians
were killed in the Gaza strip; on the second, seven died; on the
third, a young Palestinian Christian was (mistakenly?) killed while
jogging in East Jerusalem by Fatah gunmen. Yesterday, Sheik Yassin
and his entourage were killed by Israeli forces. Much of this was
in retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bombing the week before.
More violence and reprisals are waiting in the wings and we have
already heard of attacks on synagogues in Toronto, far
from the epicentre of the central events.
What can we, as a delegation of church representatives, offer as
a message of hope in such times? Let us be clear. We were invited
here to express solidarity with and bear witness to the work of
our Palestinian Christian and Jewish partners to create a peaceful
and just society in the Holy Land. Equally clearly, we have witnessed
great injustices here. We have seen
Palestinians harassed by soldiers while waiting to get through checkpoints
-- not only from Palestinian territory into Israel but from regions
entirely within Palestine itself -- while Jewish settlers bypassed
this humiliation and indignity using their exclusive road systems.
We have seen health care clinics in Gaza crowded with mothers trying
to save their children from the results of malnutrition and bad
water. We have witnessed a Greek Catholic priest in Nablus, denied
permits to travel to Jerusalem, brought to tears by the isolation
and consequences of Israel's policy of collective closure and punishment.
These are the unquestionable result of Israel's occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza. But these wrongs are not the most important
events we have witnessed here. Far more powerful are the signs of
hope, mercy and compassion we have seen flowering in the midst of
what threatens to become a desert of despair and violence.
We have seen Palestinians abiding by the rules and containments
established by the Israeli occupation. They get permits to go from
their village to the city, to return to their homes, permits for
children to go to school, permits for farmers to till their land
on the other side of the wall. They patiently wait at checkpoints
for hours -- checkpoints often not open at the
stated hours and randomly closed sometimes for weeks. In spite of
this, we have been impressed by their ability to get on with their
life and by their generous hospitality to us.
We have also been impressed by the commitment of members of Palestinian
and Israeli civil society to non-violent protest against the occupation.
Not all Palestinians are members of Fatah or Hamas. The majority
reject both factions. Yet these voices of civility and moderation
are being drowned out by the violence. What of the patient work
of B'Tselem to hold Israel
accountable to the norms of international and Israeli law? What
of the work of Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi trying to create a democratic
alternative in Palestinian politics? What of the work of the Middle
East Council of Churches trying to provide young Gazan youth vocational
skills so they can earn a living for their families?
Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in a God of compassion and
mercy -- a God in whose eyes all humans are of equal worth and dignity.
And amid the violence, we have seen clear signs of grace working
among all God's people. We pray that these voices of civility, justice
and dignity in the Holy Land will prevail and be supported by all
people of goodwill in the world.
Rt. Rev. Peter Short, Moderator, United Church of Canada; Rt. Rev.
Peter Coffin, Anglican Bishop of Ottawa; Most Rev. Martin Currie,
Roman Catholic Bishop of Grand Falls, Nfld., for the KAIROS ecumenical
delegation to the Middle East, Jerusalem.
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