Newsletter: Vol. 10. Iss. 2
May 2011
A Holy Land in Conflict
Clayton Childers
You cannot visit the Holy Land today and remain untouched
by the profound sense of fear and conflict that permeates the entire region.
People are pitted against people, family against family, religion against
religion, nation against nation. This is the backdrop that millions of people
pass through every year on their way to visit the many holy sites found in
that region of the world. Each of these “pilgrims” is faced with
a choice, to either ignore or engage. On a recent trip to the Holy Land sponsored
by the General Board of Church and Society thirteen clergy and laity chose
to engage.
The pilgrimage, which lasted from February 22 – March 5, was called
Holy Land Holy People. It was organized in collaboration with Dr. Peter Miano
and The Society for Biblical Studies of Boston. Participants, representing
a number of conferences from across the United States, were able to travel
to Palestine, Israel and Jordan and visit with people in each place. “
This is not your typical Holy Land trip, that is why we made a commitment
to make this happen,” said Neal Christie, GBCS Assistant General Secretary
for Education and Leadership Formation, “Peter Miano brings a wealth
of knowledge of the ancient sites and culture, the formation of early Christianity,
and a sensitive awareness of the current context. His approach makes this
the type of trip General Board of Church and Society is eager to support.”
The group visited a number of the historic Christian sites. Pausing to read
the Sermon on the Mount at a site where Jesus may have taught his disciples
years before. Riding a boat on the Sea of Galilee and watching a crew member
demonstrate the ancient technique of casting a fishing net. Visiting the Qumran
archeological site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Kneeling in
prayer in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, drinking water from Jacob’s
Well, and worshipping in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A
number of the group had collected prayers from church members and friends
which they used to guide their prayers at the Western (Wailing) Wall of the
Temple in Jerusalem. There was even time to take a swim and float in the Dead
Sea.
But in addition to visiting the historic sites, the pilgrimage also called
for staying in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem for several nights, shopping
in stores owned by Palestinians and purchasing locally made fair trade products
and crafts. Significant program time was spent hearing a wide variety of perspectives
from indigenous Christians and other groups about the concerns of Palestinians
and Israelis on the current crisis of Palestinian self-determination.
On a day trip the group traveled to southern Israel to meet with families
from a “unrecognized” Bedouin village. There are an estimated
forty-five of these “unrecognized” villages of Bedouin people
living within Israel’s borders that do not appear on Israeli maps. The
Pilgrimage group was hosted by Bedouin families from this community and then
taken on a tour. They were able to see a number of ways the village was taking
initiative to develop itself and establish a higher standard of living for
its people. Recently, the community dug a well and ran water to all of the
homes in the community. They have also been able to tap into an internet broadcast
signal and have installed a wireless connection that measures “3G.”
Some months ago the community pooled their resources and built a new concrete
block home for a widow from the community but, but because the village is
not recognized, the new home was bulldozed by the Israeli government.
Moving from place to place was somewhat difficult because of the dividing
wall which has been built around Israel. Even the name of this dividing wall
is in dispute, depending on who you ask. Many people in Israel will call it
a ‘security fence’ while Palestinians refer to it as the ‘Apartheid
Wall.’
The group travelled to the Al Arub Refugee Camp where they heard stories from
Palestinian refugee families who had been displaced from their homes decades
ago. Some have lived their entire lives at the refugee camp. Even though the
life is hard, and opportunities are limited they do not want to move from
the camp because they fear, if they are dispersed, the world will forget that
they have lost their lands and homes. They continue to maintain that they
have a right to return and claim the land that is rightfully theirs. The presence
of camp itself serves as a prophetic witness to the injustice that occurred
to their families decades before.
In welcoming their American visitors the Palestinian women demonstrated extravagant
hospitality and warmth. However, they also expressed passionate feelings of
betrayal and anger toward President Obama’s administration who, just
days before, had vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution which
would have condemned Israel’s ongoing construction and expansion of
Jewish settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank. The United States
was the only Security Council member to vote against the resolution.
Participants later talked with two Jewish Israelis. Both believe Israel has
a right to exist as a “Jewish State” but hold very different views
on its size and scope. The first of these, Lydia Eisenberg, has lived in a
kibbutz (a communal town) which was established in the 1920’s. It has
been her home for several decades and now a number of her children and grandchildren
are making it their home as well. She showed the group a cemetery and reminisced
about a number of her friends who are buried there. She feels a profound attachment
to the land as the place where she has found meaning and purpose for living.
While affirming Israel’s right to exist she does not believe in the
right of Israel to establish settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories
and sees the settlements a significant obstacle to peace in the region.
The second perspective came from Hagi Ben Artzi, a Jewish settler who lived
the Beit El Settlement. It is a Jewish town built on Palestinian land in the
West Bank. Ben Artzi unapologetically maintains that the State of Israel has
a right to possess all the ‘promised land’ mentioned in Hebrew
Scripture “from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Iraq.”
