April 1989, Page 24

Religion and the Middle East

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

Ecumenical Travel Aid

Jim and Elizabeth Tykal-Barnhart are the new Presbyterian Peace Associates in Jerusalem. As part of their assignment they work with the Ecumenical Travel Office (ETO) in helping groups and individuals plan their visits to Israel and the occupied territories. They're not only familiar with the Biblical and historical sites there, they can also arrange meetings with leaders and spokespersons from a broad political and religious spectrum of Palestinians and Israelis.

The ETO Middle East headquarters (P.O. Box 4259, Limassol, Cyprus) coordinates a network of such representatives throughout the region. It will, on request, send you a list of the contacts in each country it can put at the disposal of visitors.

Passover and Peacemaking

Passover 5749, commemorating the exodus of the ancient Hebrews from the grip of "Ol' Pharaoh," comes on April 20. Jewish Liberation Theologians and human rights activists are preparing to honor the anniversary with emphases on contemporary peacemaking.

On April 9, despite B'nai B'rith International's warnings against the dangers of exposing Jewish youth to other points of view (see the March issue of Washington Report), Hiliel's Stony Brook campus center (State University of New York) is sponsoring a day-long teach-in on "The Two-State Solution. " Organized chiefly by Prof. Michael Zweig, it promises an impressive array of top Israeli and Palestinian scholars and leaders.

In greater New York, the International Jewish Peace Union is promoting its second "Passover Peace Action" on April 16, to call for an end to the Gaza and West Bank occupation and for mutual recognition between Palestinians and Israelis. Adding two full-time staffers has already helped enlist cosponsorship by two dozen other organizations.

Inside the West Bank Video

Church-produced videocassette interviews with Palestinian Christians have—as noted here in Mardi—done much to humanize our understanding of life and death in the Israeli-occupied territories. Their effect can be intensified by also showing Victor Schonfeld's 80-minute VHS Inside The West Bank.

A Hebrew-speaking, non-Israeli Jewish filmmaker, Schonfeld took his camera and crew in 1987 into areas since closed to reporters, and produced this vivid three-part TV documentary on the circumstances leading up to the intifadah. Parts of it are painful to watch, but these add dramatically to the significance of its peace-stressing segments.

The vehement, unstaged arguments between Israeli soldiers on whether or not to serve in the occupation forces come as a startling revelation of undercurrents missed in most journalistic coverage. And the merits and problems of Mubarak Awad's campaign of non-violent resistance leap out from the footage of his struggles—helped by his Jewish and Arab colleagues—to replant destroyed Palestinian orchards in the face of fierce Israeli settler resistance.

The cassette is available at $23.90, postpaid, through Fusion Video, 6730 North St., Tinley Park, IL 60477, or phone 1-800-338-7710 (inside Illinois: 312-532-2050.

Good Friday Offerings and Offshoots

Annually since 1922, US Episcopal churches have sent their Good Friday offerings to their fellow Anglicans in the Middle East—primarily for their 32 educational, medical, and welfare institutions in the Holy Land.

Early each Lent, the US presiding bishop launches the appeal with detailed information on the work and needs of the recipient bodies. This year abundant supplementary materials were provided for congregations interested in ongoing studies of the people, the circumstances, and the challenges "in that troubled part of the world."

Copies of the related 21-page Annotated Bibliography maybe secured from Margaret Larom, Episcopal World Mission Information, 815 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10017. It offers topical outlines for study group discussions and a compilation of sources of further data along with its 69 condensed reviews of pertinent current periodicals, cassettes, pamphlets, and books.

Of its recommendations you will find the following in this issue of the AET Book Club Catalog: Curtiss, A Changing Image; Halsell, Prophecy and Politics; Weir, Hostage Free; Chacour, Blood Brothers; Grossman, The Yellow Wind; Halsell, Journey to Jerusalem; Shipler, Arab and Jew; and Shaheen, The TV Arab.

Ms. Laron's office also offers a Middle East Speakers Directory.

Catholics Join MECC

On March 10 the Catholic churches of the Middle East officially became full members of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). For years they had worked closely with the MECC's Protestant/Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Christians in such fields as broadcasting, publishing, and the development of educational and social service enterprises.

Such experiences created many ties of personal friendship and demonstrated how much more could be accomplished together than separately. They also led the 1985 MECC General Assembly meeting in Nicosia, to "affirm the desire to see the Catholic churches of the Middle East join the MECC as its fourth family of churches."

That action took no one by surprise. Pope John Paul II had sent a high level delegation to observe and participate in the assembly's deliberations on "how we can advance toward peace with justice." Cardinal John Willebrands had addressed the gathering on behalf of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. And regional Catholic leaders had participated in the discussions of how to work for "the eradication of violence, extremism, fanaticism, and intellectual terrorism." All had joined in commitment to "strengthen the spirit of understanding, respect, and mutual trust among all communities."

An ultimate merger was a foregone conclusion but would take time. The Catholic Commission for Ecumenical Relations in Lebanon was assigned the leadership in drafting a working plan for full Catholic participation. Approvals were finalized by the end of November 1988. On Nov. 29, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem announced his synod's agreement. On Nov. 30, the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, meeting in Bkerke, made the favorable decision unanimous.

The completed roster was forwarded to the Dec. 7-10 meeting of the MECC's Executive Committee. In the mandated three-month wait for possible objections from any source, none emerged. The merger has thus automatically become official.

Now, as it seeks to cope with the ongoing opportunities, problems, and special requirements of the area, the MECC will be striving for, and hoping to rely on, the unity and vigor of 90 percent instead of 70 percent of the Middle East's 12 million Christians.

Nearly 1,000 Attend Interfaith Convention

Over 350 Muslims, Christians, and Jews—Israelis, Palestinians, and mostly Americans from 37 states—participated in the March 8-9 National Convocation for Peace in the Middle East in Washington, DC. Plenary attendance was considerably larger. Close to a thousand joined its interfaith worship and candlelight service at Washington Cathedral. Details will appear in the May issue of Washington Report.

The Rev. L. Humphrey Walz D.D., retired associate executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast, is active in denominational and ecumenical peacemaking movements.