MECC Holds Conferences on Middle East Economics and Ethics

By The Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

Two four-day ecumenical conferences on Middle Eastern economic development in Jordan and Cyprus are described in the current issue of the Middle East Council of Churches' MECC News Report. Each conference on the role of Christian ethics and morality in development involved about 50 theologians, economists, sociologists and educators from Melkite, Roman Catholic, Christian Orthodox and Protestant churches, agencies and institutions in the Middle East. There were also participants from Greece, Holland, Kenya, Switzerland and the U.S.A.

Anglican Bishop Samir Kafity opened a February conference in Amman, Jordan, with reminders of the MECC's history of commitment to cooperative service to all, regardless of social condition or ethnic or religious affiliation. The two conferences, General Secretary Gabriel Habib said, sought "to analyze the present economic situation, its causes and its effects on the people of the region ... and ... to define the appropriate response of the churches and the ecumenical movement." A major concluding agreement was to give top priority fostering education that emphasizes "community, participation, justice and dignity." It was seen as obligatory, not just optional, to include interfaith dialogue on such "vital issues.... as peace, environment and refugees" along with "more traditional subjects."

Obstacles to economic development described by economic expert Dr. Youssef Sayegh and others included the Arab world's alarming demographic changes, the rapid increase in the rate of illiteracy, limitations on popular participation in governmental decision-making, the unjust exploitation of national resources, burdensome national debts, the rising cost of living, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and migration from rural areas to the cities and to the Gulf countries.

Ecumenical responsibilities toward the mounting problems of Palestinians arose at both conferences, and dominated discussions at the March conference in Limassol, Cyprus. Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi, former leader of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks, called attention in his keynote speech in Limassol to the fading of optimism stirred by the PLO-Israeli joint Declaration of Principles.

Panel discussions at the Cyprus conference, co-chaired by Dr. Kamel Abu Jaber, former Jordanian foreign minister, and Jerusalem YWCA General Secretary Ms. Doris Salah, included "The Requirements of Democracy and Human Rights in Palestine-Israel" and "Religious Developments and Ecumenical Responsibilty."

Participants noted the lack of clarity and the ambiguity in the peace process and identified the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories as a major obstacle. The participants called for a halt to all settlement activities and for the disarming of the settlers, affirmed the rights of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem as a central issue in any discussion on the status of that city, and pointed out how such rights have been violated by the establishment of Jewish settlements there.

On economic issues, conferees underlined the need for carefully formulated strategies, especially in view of the fluidity of the situation. They asked the Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees to continue current programs, but keep monitoring changes in the situation in order to respond to emerging needs and priorities.

Scholar From Bethlehem Asks Christians to Be More "Prophetic"

When Israel seized the West Bank in 1967, some 80 percent of Bethlehem's 40,000 Palestinian residents were Christian. Six years ago, emigration had reduced their numbers to about 60 percent. It is now nearer 40 percent.

Violet Al Rahab, a lifelong member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, described for a "global theological colloquium" in Minneapolis sponsored by the local Council of Churches the hardships faced by that 40 percent. "To be a Christian living in Bethlehem ... in 1994 under Israeli occupation," she said, means facing a life "without dignity, without identity ... where your human rights are neglected day by day in the name of the human rights of others."

Though her mother tongue is Arabic and her academic language for the past four years at Heidelberg's divinity school has been German, she addressed her listeners in fluent English. Excerpts from her presentation were published in Churchwoman magazine.

St. Paul's encouragement of "the gift of prophecy" among everyday church folk is not to be confused with the colloquial use of that term to mean simply prediction, she said. "In the Old and New Testaments, God always sent messengers-prophets whenever there were wars, whenever there was evil, whenever prevailed, whenever human rights and dignity were denied. The prophets came to remind the people that God's justice, love and righteousness are for all of us."

This kind of "prophecy always means that you will have to speak out on injustice and ask the people with the power for justice," Ms. Al Rahab explained. The Palestinian women who wrote the liturgy for the World Day of Prayer are among those she regards as "prophetic" in this sense. (See Washington Report, Sept. /Oct. 1993, p. 67, and Jan. 1994, p. 64)

Lutherans Call for Swifter Aid to Ex-Yugoslavia

The Lutheran World Federation has called on the United Nations to improve the use of sanctions against Serbia Montenegro to ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and medical supplies to the former Yugoslavia. Gunnar Staalsett, LWF general secretary, has written U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali urging him to "instruct those responsible for the sanctions regime to find ways to process more effectively and speedily all requests for humanitarian assistance and to facilitate their unhindered delivery to the people for whom they are intended." He pointed out that requests for permission for delivery of food and medicine took six weeks to process, and requested procedural improvements.

He also repeated the LWF's opposition "to any settlement in the former Yugoslavia which can be seen as a moral acceptance by the international community of the concept of 'ethnic cleansing,' " and urged the U.N. secretary-general to support such solutions as build on the principle of respect for the integrity of recognized states and their multi-ethnic reality."

Ecumenical Press Service adds that Christian, Jewish and Muslim theologians meeting in Cologne, Germany declared, "There is no place for religious war" in the Balkans or anywhere "in present-day Europe. Members of all three religions, " they agreed, "should act in the name of their common God and protect human life."

Presbyterians to Confer on "Alternatives to Violence"

The annual Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference in Montreat, NC, will be a day longer this year. Its five days, Aug. 14-18, will allow registrants to attend more of the workshops and spend personal time with the assembled national and international leaders. Aspects of the overall theme, "Alternatives to Violence" will, as in the past, include constructive approaches to conflict situations in the Middle East.

Mubarak Awad, Jerusalem-born Arab Christian founder of Non-Violence International, will be back to discuss lessons learned in the Palestinian struggle with the Israeli occupation. Such nonviolent resistance projects as planting replacements for olive trees uprooted by Jewish settlers led to his expulsion from his native land. In exile, he supports efforts for peaceful, honorable Palestinian-Israeli coexistence.

A similar voice will be that of Israeli peace activist Hanna Knaz, a registered geriatric nurse at Kibbutz Gan Shmuel and a co-founder of Women in Black. The Rev. Robert F. Smylie, Director of the Presbyterian U.N. Office, will include the Middle East in his presentation of the political, economic and cultural ends pursued by both state-sponsored and individual violence.

Workshops also will confront the tensions and turmoil in other geographic areas. All will deal with aspects of peacemaking, ranging from the interpersonal and intergenerational relations to international, interregional, intercultural and other social strife. Conference brochures (DMS #259-93-943) and promotion packets (DMS #259-93-952) can be ordered at no cost by calling 1 (800) 524-2612.

The Rev. L. Humphrey Wa1z, D. D., retired associate executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast, is active in interdenominational and ecumenical peacemaking activities.