Seeking to understand the Holy Land
A personal reflection by Celia Blackden – Executive Officer for Inter-faith Relations
Follow these links to the various sections of the article. The full text is set out below.
Some reflections following a Study Tour
Something about Tantur and our group
Something about the Holy sites
Something about the Israel/Palestine situation
Something about the good that is being done on the ground
Something about interreligious dialogue
Something about the Christian context and Christian ecumenism
Hope for the Future
Some reflections following a Study Tour
It was not intended that we should return from the Holy Land with a bite-sized solution to the conflicts in the Middle East. Indeed we were told a story about those who fly in to study and solve the problem: some came for a week, went home and wrote a book; some came for a month, went home and wrote an article; some came for a year, went home and wrote nothing. It is impossible to grasp all that has happened over 3,000 years of history, (not to mention the 20th century) with conquests, occupations and migrations, in a context of such diverse peoples, races and religions. What matters is to grow in awareness and indeed respect and love towards the peoples of the Holy Land, rather than draw conclusions.
Something about Tantur and our group
Our Study Tour was sponsored by the British Trust for Tantur to give a broad range of Christian clergy and lay leaders a unique experience which they might share with others. Our group of 44 was described by Revd Michael McGarry CSP, the Rector of the Ecumenical Institute, as “one of the most remarkable groups Tantur has ever hosted. It was not merely the ecumenical breadth that was impressive but the way the group engaged with each other and with the theme of reconciliation”.
While we were certainly a ‘reconciled’ and conciliatory group amongst ourselves, the theme of our 10 day tour might have been more accurately expressed “Explaining the Unreconciled” as we grappled with the complexities of our surroundings.
Something about the Holy sites
Being in the land of Jesus was bound to have its own repercussions on each of us. Visiting the holy places creates a mixed set of emotions and impressions. We had been helped in advance by Fr Michael who explained how important it is (whether in the political or religious context) not to judge the way the other does things, sees things, relates to things or adorns things, because so much was bound to be beyond our own experience, tradition, mode of being or doing.
Regarding the holy places, a question mark arises in one’s mind when you are told that the room of the Last Supper was built in the 12th century, that there are four options on Emmaus, two for the tomb of Jesus, a few sites for Gethsemane and several “Shepherds Fields”! But while the temptation to cynicism might present itself I realised that precision does not matter…. To be there is the special experience. There is an added bonus when you are in a location where there is no doubt about it like the Synagogue in Capernaum (built directly over the one where Jesus taught) and the steps going up to Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which I as a person engaged in interfaith relations found particularly moving.
Understanding the practices and piety of others was certainly part of our reconciling experience. I felt privileged to have the opportunity as a Roman Catholic to seek to explain to a Salvation Army Officer something about the RC understanding of Perpetual Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which we witnessed in a secluded part of a very beautiful church complex in Bethlehem. She in turn told me of young Christians’ commitment to pray “24/7”. The charity, adaptability and openness of each member of the group to the others and to what we experienced around us was a great blessing.
Something about the Israel/Palestine situation
2008 is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. For the Israelis it was a national celebration at which world leaders gathered; for the Palestinians the commemoration of the Nakba, the ‘Catastrophe’ which lead to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians and where three quarters of a million were driven from their homes, villages and land. For a remarkable account of the context and background to the situation in the Holy Land today, and a powerful testimony the peace endeavours of an extraordinary Christian, I recommend Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, which was part of our preparatory reading.
Our visit to Yad Vashem the Jewish Memorial of the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were brutally murdered, was horrifying, re-enforcing the impressions I had on my visit to Auschwitz last summer (see article on CTE website). It is understandable, while remaining controversial, that the claim to the land by Zionist Jews, after the Holocaust (Shoah), could not be refused.
At Yad Vashem I understood better the vile and deceitful forms of racism that developed in Europe in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Although we say ‘never again’ I believe it is important for each person to recognise in themselves or others any trace of racial contempt or disdain and seek every means to eradicate it. Moreover we need to be proactive in identifying ways in which races and cultures can discover the other as gift.
We were given some insight into the political and religious situation in Israel/Palestine by Rabbi David Rosen and what follows are a few extracts from my notes of his most interesting talk.
Part of the failure of the political processes in the Holy Land has been the lack of engagement of religious representatives, a lack of engagement with the religious dimension. The negotiations at Oslo, Camp David and so on are secular processes. It is clear that when people see atrocities supposedly done in the name of religion, the politicians seek to ignore religion because it is part of the problem. However this leaves a vacuum for extremism. It is vital to include the moderate majority voice. Naturally, we must be aware that it is not a religious conflict but a territorial conflict between two liberation nationalist movements.
There is the frustrating and hopeful paradox: the leaders of Israeli and Palestinian politics who want a resolution and who know what they should do; and the tragedy of having a leadership that is too weak to reach the goal. Neither side is strong enough within their own political structures. But surveys in Israel show that 70% support a two state solution for peace. The remaining 30% are not against but think it is naive. The vast majority of Palestinians too want a peaceful resolution. Most important is the of initiative and positive action by third parties outside Israel, overcoming the inertia and immovability of the local situation, for example Lord Carey’s initiative in the ‘religious peace process’ meeting held in 2000 in Alexandria.
Something about the good that is being done on the ground
In contrast with news bulletins from Gaza, for example, there is in much of Israel/Palestine a strong sense of “life goes on”: people going to work, tending their farms, getting on with life as best they can. Of course all this is happening within a bizarrely abnormal situation and context: occupation, checkpoints, soldiers, high security consciousness and real fear of attack on the part of Israelis, real injustice regarding the Palestinian people, their freedom of movement, rights, land and so on.
Some of our group met a family in Bethlehem where the father had been killed by Israeli soldiers in reprisal for the shooting of students in Jerusalem shortly before our trip. We got another taste of the darker side of this conflict on our visit to Hebron, a place holy to all three religions, where whole areas of the Arab town have been evacuated to allow the settlement of a few Jewish families. Since our return the Sewing Room in the Hebron orphanage we visited has been destroyed by the Israeli soldiers and was reported by the British Media in late May.
We were also given a profound and uplifting insight into the good that is happening on the ground by people completely dedicated to peace, justice and dialogue. Mitri Raheb is an Arab Palestinian Lutheran clergyman from Bethlehem who refused an invitation to go into politics in order to be truly engaged with his own ‘polis’, his people in Bethlehem. His preaching, teaching and healing ministry – interfaith dialogue, education for 290 children, a culture and conference centre and a health and wellness centre – all of which are for Christians and Muslims - reveal his philosophy of creating hope and not staying in a mindset of victimhood. His book “Bethlehem Besieged: stories of hope in times of trouble” is an excellent read. Something about interreligious dialogue
I was deeply struck by the commitment to dialogue and understanding among the peoples of the Holy Land we witnessed in those who came to speak to us, and indeed our highly qualified guides.
Rabbi Rosen told us he had been introduced at a meeting as “the well known dialogian!” Perhaps this is a new vocation to which we are called developing within ourselves the capacity for inner silence and receptivity to the spiritual treasures of others, as well as being able to share our own, simply and with trust and confidence in the God who is Father of all.
Rabbi Rosen and others have worked to develop a Council of the Religious Institutions of the Holy Land. Its main purposes are to facilitate and enable communication among religious leaders, a monitoring role, where violence on any side is condemned by all three religions; and to be a voice of support for any political initiative to end conflict and establish two states living peacefully side by side. An important outcome of this dialogue is the Communique of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued in November 2007. Something about the Christian context and Christian ecumenism
Yusef Daher, Executive Secretary of the new Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre spoke to us about ecumenical efforts. The local churches belong to four church families,Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical and Roman Catholic. We were given a profoundly interesting talk on Orthodoxy by a lady Lutheran academic which offered a glimpse into a Christian world whose perspectives and depth we in the ‘West’ would do well to reacquire.
A key issue for the Churches is preserving Palestinian Christians. Local Christians in Israel/Palestine are now 2% whereas once they were 20-28%. People are leaving because of the occupation, separation, economic constraints and instability, which gives them no hope for the future. The chief engagement of the churches in the Holy Land is in the fields of education, health care and housing. It is these efforts which succeed to some extent in keeping the Christians in the Holy Land and also in building bridges with the majority Palestinian Muslim population who use these facilities.
A new development for The Church leaders was their engagement in the Council of Religious Institutions outlined above. It was initiated at a very high level including a visit to Washington and a meeting with Condoleeza Rice. Another outcome was a new educational initiative for peace, to know the other more and to achieve a dialogue. In addition they have committed themselves to reflect more together on final status of Jerusalem, which may in turn offer more light to political leaders
The involvement of the World Council of Churches, at the request of the local church leaders, has also been significant. It led in 2002 to the establishment of a monitoring programme on the ground ( the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel – EAPPI) and a joint mechanism whereby the Council of Churches can respond to events. The presence of these well trained Christian accompaniers as a protective and international presence in key locations helps calm the level of violence and harassment of Palestinians by settlers or Israeli soldiers and any retaliation that might occur. Hope for the Future
As you have seen it has not been possible to do more than write something about the many experiences and insights we had. The seeds of hope for the future are very evident, not least in the passion and perseverance of the people we met. These included Henry Carse from St George’s College Jerusalem who founded “Kids 4 Peace” having witnessed the killing of children in Jerusalem; and Robin Twite who works at the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, located in the grounds of Tantur itself and Sister Carmel, a member of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Sion dedicated to Jewish/Christian relations whoh as spent over four decades in Jerusalem. I returned home wanting to be as the Prayer of St Francis says, an instrument of peace. Peace is the result of unity. When there is unity between ourselves and God, there is inner peace. When there is unity among brothers and sisters there is peace in the family. When there is unity among peoples, there will be peace in the world.
Celia Blackden
May 2008
(2105 words)
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