Title: Ecumenical Delegation Exposed to Complexity of Mideast Issues
  ELCA NEWS SERVICE

  December 12, 2000

  ECUMENICAL DELEGATION EXPOSED TO COMPLEXITY OF MIDEAST ISSUES
  00-297-JS*

       JERUSALEM --Shaking off the vestiges of jet lag, a delegation of 26
  church leaders representing 12 U.S. denominations and
  organizations waded into the thicket of Middle East issues
  December 8, talking with those who are most directly affected by
  the increasing violence that has plagued the area for the last two
  months. As the bus moved out of the gates of Notre Dame Center
  across the road from the Old City of Jerusalem, Bishop Herbert
  Chilstrom of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America prayed for
  the safety of the people especially the children.
       Headed for Bethlehem, the bus passed through an Israeli
  checkpoint and detoured around the heavily fortified site of
  Rachel's Tomb, past the new settlement of Har Homa, a highly
  controversial part of a belt of settlements surrounding Jerusalem
  and effectively cutting off many of the Palestinian territories.
       Entering Bethlehem, now a closed military area, the streets
  were strangely quiet and empty, highly unusual in the Christian
  season of Advent, which draws tourist and pilgrim crowds to the
  city. The closed shops and hotels cast a noticeable pall over the
  city when it should be entering its most celebratory time.
       The delegation stopped to meet with a family whose home and
  business had been reduced to a pile of rubble by Israeli rockets
  and shells. "You have to be our voice we need you," said Vera
  Baboun in welcoming the group. In explaining that the family would
  not be allowed to rebuild, in the name of "security," she pleaded
  for help "to keep our identity."

  Municipal leaders describe difficult times
       Parking near Manger Square in front of the Church of the
  Nativity, the delegation entered the Bethlehem Municipality
  Building to meet with officials from Bethlehem and two adjacent
  villages, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour.
       "We are here to listen, learn and then interpret to our
  churches the situation," said Bishop William Oden of the United
  Methodist Church who moderated the conversation. He pointed out
  many American churches began a Vigil for Peace on Advent
  Sunday and would continue until there was a just peace for the
  area.
       Deputy Mayor Ziad al-Bandak began by noting the irony of
  welcoming the delegation to the city where the "messenger and
  prophet of peace was born." The new intifada (Arabic for "shaking
  off") began at the end of September when it became cleat to the
  Palestinians that seven years of negotiations had not produced a
  just peace for them.
       He said that Palestinian trust for Prime Minister Ehud Barak
  had evaporated because Barak had reverted to the militaristic
  thinking of his Army days. As a result, "We are in a war," one
  fought against a highly sophisticated Israeli military. "We want
  to live in peace with our neighbors but that is only possible when
  Israel respects the rights of the Palestinians." Because that is
  not happening, "The whole region is boiling," from both a
  political and military viewpoint.
       "Christmas will be sad this year," he added. "The religious
  ceremonies will take place but there will be no joy."

  Continuing threats
       Mayor Fuad Kokaly of Beit Sahour echoed his colleague's
  sentiments. "Palestinians thought peace was coming, that we would
  get justice in the region," he said. "And we were looking forward
  to a prosperous future, especially for the children." Instead the
  result was "despair and loss of hope."
       He said that Palestinians were convinced that the peace
  process was built on security concerns only for Israel and that
  the emphasis that emerged was one of process not a search for true
  peace. When Palestinians tried to change the process, their
  efforts were rejected and "we realized that the process was
  fruitless," he said. "And we were accused of being against peace."
       Sammy Khalil of Beit Jala added, "This is a war against
  us not just political but also religious." He said that the
  Israelis are tightening their grip and denying access to places of
  worship in Jerusalem, especially now during the Islamic observance
  during month of Ramadan.
       By targeting Christian homes and businesses in the area,
  said Kokaly, the Israelis are hoping to encourage emigration.

  Driving out Christians?
       On the way to visit some of the Christian homes in Beit Jala
  that have recently been bombed, the delegation was greeted by a
  sign that said, "Merry Xmas America. Thank you for your Xmas
  gifts," showing helicopters and bombs with Israeli and American
  flags.
       Down the road, the delegation was welcomed into the heavily
  damaged home of Dr. Nakhli Qaisieh and his family of 25, including
  15 children. He said that the first attack began in the early
  evening and the family fled to the basement. As the attack became
  more serious, with heavier shelling, they fled for their lives.
       Their house is on a ridge across from Gilo, one of the older
  Israeli settlements on the West Bank, leading some to speculate
  that the attacks, blamed on snipers in the area firing at the
  settlement, may be an effort to protect a by-pass road through the
  valley below. The road connects Jerusalem and Hebron. And some are
  convinced it is still one more example of the attempt to drive out
  the Christians.
       On the way back to the bus, members of the delegation also
  tiptoed through the shattered glass of an Arab Orthodox Sports
  Club and a neighboring school for girls, also targets for Israeli
  shells and bombs.  Some members of the delegation picked up shell
  fragments clearly identified as being made in the USA.

  Environmental persecution
       As the delegation gathered at the Applied Research Center
  (ARIJ), a local non-governmental agency that deals with
  environmental issues, the news came that there were several more
  killings near Bethlehem, providing a grim context to what would be
  a grim conversation about Israel's attempt to isolate and
  strangulate Palestinian areas in the West Bank.
       In a thorough and sobering presentation, Dr. Jad Ishac used
  a series of overhead projections to illustrate how Israel was
  systematically creating "cages" for the Palestinian population,
  surrounded by Israeli settlements. One of the tactics is to take
  as much open space as possible, leaving the Palestinians living in
  increasingly dense areas that won't be sustainable, what he called
  "a recipe for disaster." He showed how that would affect the
  Palestinian villages in the Jerusalem District and how it might be
  applied to Bethlehem.
       He called the settlements "environmental disasters." Not one
  of them, for example, has a waste treatment facility and they
  usually use Palestinian land as dumpsites. He drew some direct
  parallels between environmental issues and political issues.
  Despite the gloomy predictions, he said that "everything is
  still achievable if we find a way, and if Israel stopped dealing
  with us in a master/slave relationship." But he is also convinced
  that "things may quiet down for a while but will explode again
  because the peace efforts are not built on pillars of justice."

  Strangulation and isolation
        In a wide-ranging discussion after his presentation, Ishac
  tried to respond to the apparent frustration among members of the
  delegation in how to inform people in America about what is really
  happening in the region. "The Palestinian cause is not presented
  properly anywhere in the world," he said. "And telling this story
  is a huge task but tell people to wake up."
       While the Americans may pressure Palestinian President
  Yasser Arafat to make some concessions, they can't expect him to
  commit political suicide, he argued. "But we cannot accept the
  present situation," he said. "In the meantime, encourage people to
  come here. Your presence is important."
       "We are caught between our national and religious loyalties.
  And we are getting close to extinction," he concluded.  The
  Christian population in Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza continues
  to dwindle, now estimated at less than 1.8 percent.
       In a debriefing session later, Oden said that the
  presentation had been "the most substantive, the most important
  one of the day but overwhelming." He was relieved that most of the
  information was available on the center's Web site at
  www.arij.org.
       Chilstrom said that the obvious attempts at strangulation of
  the Palestinians, the attempt to tighten the noose, had disturbed
  him. Bishop Edmond Browning, former presiding bishop of the
  Episcopal Church, agreed, adding that he was convinced the
  Israelis had "a master plan" for isolating the Palestinians. Patti
  Browning said that she was particularly upset that American tax
  dollars were being used in persecution of the Palestinians. She
  said that it is frustrating to try to tell the whole story to the
  people back home. "How are we going to break through this barrier
  in our country?" she asked.
       (A list of participants in the delegation is included in the
  December 1 news release.)
  ----
       *Jim Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of
  News and Information and is serving as press officer for the peace
  delegation. To follow the stories and photos check the Web site of
  the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs: www.loga.org.

  For information contact:
  John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
  http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html