Vatican Refutes Israeli ADL Allegations of Accepting Guilt for Holocaust

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

On May 25, Rabbi David Rosen, head of the Anti-Defamation League's Jerusalem office, gave the Associated Press a sensational story. The next day it appeared in U.S. papers under such headlines as "Vatican to Take Holocaust Blame" and such subheads as "A mindboggling draft says the church fostered centuries of anti-Semitism." On May 27, The New York Times published a corrective item headed "Vatican Disavows Suggestion of Church Guilt in Holocaust."

Meanwhile the story had helped strengthen in the public mind what Danny Rabinovitz had presented in the April l0 Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv) as major impressions Israel's "official historiography" aims to make. In a long feature on "Israel's Original Sin," he documented the Zionist determination to displace or distort any facts that detract from the concept of "Jews as eternal victims of Christianity and Islam" and Israel as "the only refuge" of the "saved remnants of the Holocaust."

It turns out that, as the Times notes, the draft which Rosen had described as "mindboggling"—and which he said the Vatican had conveyed to Israel—had not been "approved by any ecclesiastical authority." It had actually been written by German lay theologian Hans Hermann Henrix of Aachen, who feels a strong personal sense of collective guilt. He presented his paper in Jerusalem, we've learned, at the biennial meeting of the International Jewish-Catholic Liaison Committee. Jointly sponsored by the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation and the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, that body normally engages in dialogue on themes of joint moral concern, primarily related to family life and civil affairs.

Henrix's presentation, apparently added to the program on Rosen's initiative, was reportedly not enthusiastically received. After the AP account appeared, both Catholic and Jewish participants personally rebuked Rosen not only for misrepresenting facts but also for breaking his account to the press without the sponsoring group's authorization, or even knowledge.

In the June 4 (Catholic) Tablet, Cardinal Edward Cassidy, who chaired the Jerusalem gathering, regretted the media "misrepresentation" in this "unfortunate incident that should not have happened."

Muslim, Christian Leaders Press for Armenian-Azerbaijani Peace Initiative

The prolonged conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of Nagorno Karabakh, a largely Armenian-populated enclave inside the borders of Azerbaijan, has taken a hideous toll from both sides. In the first two months of 1994 alone, more than 7,000 Azerbaijanis were killed in the fighting. Other statistics indicate mounting civilian and military casualties among Armenians as well.

A glimmer of hope, however, lies in the fact that leaders both in predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan and in Armenia, which has been officially Christian since c. 300 AD, seem to be turning toward the ethics, morality and sensitivity of their religious roots for solutions. In his latest report through Ecumenical Press Service, Dwain Epps of the World Council of Churches (WCC) notes that the heads of the Muslim community of Azerbaijan and of the Armenian Orthodox Church have agreed to form peace-fostering delegations to visit each other's capitals together soon.

Significantly, governmental officials from both sides have agreed to cooperate. These projected joint visits Epps hails as "bold and symbolic gestures of historic importance."

Representing the WCC's Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) with Elizabeth Salter, Epps was present when, in April, Armenian Orthodox Supreme Patriarch Vasken I and Armenia's vice president, Bajic Haroutunian, pledged support for the projected reciprocal visits. "Given the history of this horrific war with its thousands of dead and wounded and more than a million refugees," Epps notes, "no one believes easy solutions exist. Nonetheless, these visits hold out the possibility of small achievable steps toward peace."

A month earlier, at the request of Sheikh AlIslam PashaZade, head of Azerbaijan's Muslim community, the first quietly dramatic breakthrough had taken place. Azerbaijan's president, Heydar Aliyev, invited Epps, with Herman Goltz of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) to meet with him in Baku to discuss possible avenues toward peace. In the course of their conversation, Aliyev commented, "The resolution of some political problems is beyond the reach of politicians. Do not," he added, "underestimate the role of spiritual leaders.... It is central."

The WCC and CEC have maintained continuous contact with Vasken I and PashaZade over the years. Meeting together in Montreux, Switzerland, in February 1993, they and their colleagues, "with strong support from both sides," outlined what they considered the essentials for fostering a just and solid peace. The proposals of what has come to be known as the resultant "Montreux Declaration" include an immediate ceasefire, the protection of hostages, the reciprocal immediate release of all prisoners, and an international humanitarian fund. The WCC, Epps commented, is "committed to working with religious leaders on the two sides until justice is done."

Added encouragement has come about from Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II's determination to "exert every effort to help stop the hostilities and restore trust between the two neighboring nations." Feeling the need for influence from outside as well as within, PashaZade and representatives of Vasken I journeyed to Moscow. Together with Alexei they appealed for "a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian state leaders to take a first step toward reconciliation" by arranging for "an exchange of prisoners and hostages." If it would help, they have announced, they are willing to mediate in the establishment of the necessary procedures. The token release and sentence reductions of some prisoners of war on each side in May have been partly attributed to the interreligious initiative.

Christian Congregation Hosts Muslim Historian on Arab-lsraeli Peace Developments

Northshore Presbyterian Church of Shorewood, WI, is again hosting a summer course on a Middle East subject. As in the past, it is being conducted by University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee History Prof. Abbas Hamdani. This time the focus is on "Arab-Israeli Peace Negotiations: From Madrid to Jericho." Lecturing for three hours each Tuesday and Thursday evening from June 21 to July 28, Hamdani is using pertinent official documents from all sides to explore the trends and assumptions they reveal.

Shorewood elder Nancy Theoharis, a veteran of Milwaukee Presbytery's Peacemaking Committee and the wife of a Marquette University professor of history, reports that Hamdani's occasional talks at church events have made the congregation happy to promote as well as house his annual summer off-campus series.

Bombay-born Hamdani brings the perceptions of a non-Arab, non-Israeli Third World scholar to bear on international problems and opportunities not fully appreciated by most Europeans and Americans. Also, as a Muslim, he conveys an awareness of how the concepts resulting from forming the Arabic root letters SLM into iSLaM (submission to God's will), muSLiM (one who so submits) and SaLaaM (peace, the fruit of such submission) continue to influence the billion Muslims who constitute the global Islamic society. His essays in the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Post and the Milwaukee Journal project his perspectives and spirit beyond the classroom to wider publics.

Professor Hamdani and Dr. Leila Ahmed of the University of Massachusetts are providing Muslim input for a oneyear interdisciplinary study initiated by the Project of Religion and Human Rights, 485 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10017. That study's outline, crystallized at a May 2224 conference at General Theological Seminary and St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, NY, strives to be both specific and comprehensive in its effort to maximize religion's unifying, stabilizing role in the face of the alarming spread of violence, divisiveness and oppression claiming religious sanction.

Church Spokesman Summons Balkans to "Prayer and Faithfulness"

In a message to Patriarch Pavle, leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, General Secretary Jean Fischer of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) has called for "prayer and faithfulness" to counter the "power of evil" emanating from the warring Balkans.

"The CEC and its member churches," he has written, "condemn the continuing violence caused by the war in Bosnia and especially the disrespect for international humanitarian conventions. We are deeply concerned about the large numbers of dead and wounded civilians in this war.

"We know that you, too, suffer from this war and its consequences, and that you have declared the perpetrators of the atrocities, irrespective of their nationality, to be criminals. Just as you have called on your people to exercise forgiveness, peace and love, now and in the future, we would encourage you in tirelessly using the full force of your authority for immediate peace and the renunciation of all force of violence in Bosnia, so that all may participate in the reconciliation proclaimed by the Gospel of our living Lord."

In Belgrade, Zorica Trifunovic of the Center for Anti-War Action told an international interchurch team that Patriarch Pavle had been the first to speak publicly about the suffering of the people on the other side, with the result that he was no longer welcome to appear on television.

Natasha Kondio, director of the Humanitarian Law Fund there, added that the Serbian Orthodox Church was perceived by some people as nationalistic and mainly concerned with the Serbs. She told the church team that the Orthodox should give more attention to the rights of the minority non-Serbian groups which form a quarter of the population.

Pope's Trip to Lebanon Canceled

Pope John Paul II will not be visiting Lebanon this summer, after all. Citing the Vatican as its source, Agence de Presse Catholique says that the present atmosphere in Lebanon required the pope to delay his scheduled pastoral visit there.

Melkites, Maronites and Latins—Catholics all—in that most Catholic of Middle Eastern states can only speculate on what elements have changed sufficiently to warrant altering the original plans. Mixed reactions of the Lebanese faithful to the Dec. 30 "Fundamental Agreement Between the Holy See and the State of Israel," some surmise, might have generated a less than cordial grassroots response to the Holy Father's projected presence.

Some loyal Lebanese Catholics do favor the agreement as a potential contribution to regional peace by facilitating friendly relations with Israel, their most devastating enemy of record, and, as a byproduct, reducing any possible Syrian threats. The agreement also puts Israel on record as supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and combating not only "all forms of anti-Semitism" but also "all kinds of racism and of religious intolerance," not excluding those rampant in Israel. It affirms Israel's respect for "Status Quo" rights of Christian communities under its rule. And it commits both the Holy See and the State of Israel to backing "the peaceful resolution of conflicts among the states and nations" and the eliminating of "violence and terror from international life." Israel's promised observance of these and other criteria upheld by the Agreement could, if adhered to, give Lebanon a much more acceptable neighbor state on its southern border.

There are others who see Israel's 1982 saturation bombing of Beirut (called a "holocaust" by President Reagan), its continuing raids on, and occupation of, vital portions of Lebanese soil, its violations of truce agreements, its defiance of the United Nations Charter and the Geneva Conventions (to both of which it is signatory), its evasion of U.N. resolutions and even of solemn agreements with the U.S., as repetitive behavior patterns financed by the U.S. government.

Such folk are less than sanguine about any likely Lebanese benefits from the new agreement. Some suggest that the pontiff has been lured into providing a smokescreen behind which activist, exclusivist, expansionist Israelis may continue to function detrimentally, though less noticeably.

The Vatican-Israeli agreement will, in any case, provide a challenge to make sure that all its aspects are observed in such a way as to add to the agreement's goals of a peaceful resolution of conflicts and the exclusion of violence and terror.

Despite Obstacles, Jerusalem "Peace Through Understanding" Conference an Exemplary Success

When, in August, the Middle East Conference of Churches (MECC) convenes its next international Human Rights Training Seminar in Limassol, Cyprus, it is sure to include an evaluation of the impact of two seasoned Americans—Protestant clergyman Jesse Jackson and Catholic layman James Zogby—at a related April conference in Jerusalem.

That conference had been conceived by Hebron University to gather some 200 Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and Gaza to discuss achieving "Peace Through Understanding" in the light of the PLO-Israeli Declaration of Principles affirmed by the celebrated Sept. 13 handshake on the White House lawn. The intended dominant aim was to initiate an ongoing Palestinian dialogue for peace.

The most natural site for a springboard conference was the Ambassador Hotel. It was there, in April 1964, when East Jerusalem was still officially Arab that one of the two new peacemaking partners—the PLO—had been born. The 30th anniversary of that event seemed an appropriate date for the launching.

Acknowledging the U.S. initiative that led to the handshake, the university decided to invite two Americans known for their dedication to peace through human rights. As banquet speaker they wanted Jackson, whose Rainbow Coalition has drawn so many diverse Americans into cooperative endeavors. As their luncheon speaker they decided on Zogby, president of the DC-based Arab American Institute (AAI), which supports Palestinian rights to self-determination, democracy and statehood. Both men accepted their invitations.

The Rabin government, apparently aware that the success of such an event could enhance both Israel's stability and reputation, gave it a green light. Objections came from Israel's "religious right," which is even more intimidating to Israeli public officials than is AIPAC lobbying to members of Congress in Washington. The religious right's campaign of opposition included accusations that Rabin had surrendered Jerusalem to the PLO.

Caving in, the government canceled the conference the day before its scheduled start. Permits for Palestinians to come from the West Bank and Gaza were denied. Ambassador Hotel managers were threatened by the Military Governor with personal arrest and permanent closure of the hotel if they did not "shut down every hall or conference room that serves or could serve the purpose of the meeting as well as any building or courtyard where such a gathering could be held." This decree was based on the British Mandate's Emergency Regulations of 1945, now a functional part of Israeli law, though originally it was denounced by pre-Israel Zionists as "worse than Nazi" law.

Nonetheless, on the morning scheduled for the opening, Americans and Palestinians walked together through the military roadblocks. (Seemingly, the Israeli soldiers were too bewildered over how to handle the international non-violent resisters to stop them.) The participants then convened their conference on the Ambassador's front steps—the only part of the hotel not officially closed to them.

With the backing of U.S., French, U.N. and other foreign officials in Jerusalem, the participants then walked arm in arm past more armed roadblocks to continue their conference at Orient House, the unofficial Palestinian Guest House in Jerusalem. Jackson's subsequent plea at Hebron University for the disciplined non-violent pursuit of a just peace and his expressed hopes to engage other Americans more directly are covered in the fivepage, double-column Jerusalem Conference: A Special Report. Readers may obtain a copy by sending a stamped, return-addressed #10 envelope to the AAI, 918 16th St., NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC, 20006.

Shootings Spur Protest Against Pakistan's "Anti-Blasphemy" Law

Civil rights-minded citizens in overwhelmingly Islamic Pakistan have long been troubled by their country's religiously discriminatory laws. Their anxieties were increased by the May 1,1991 passage of an amendment to Section 295C of the Anti-Blasphemy Law. That section forbids derogatory remarks, innuendoes or insinuations, direct or indirect, against the Prophet Muhammad. The amendment mandates the death sentence for violators. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has received reports from Pakistan that "such laws in our country have promoted `shooting sprees,' religious intolerance, anarchy, harassment and sectarianism among the people and have given sanction to exterminate religious minorities." Anxieties accelerated in April after the assassination of three Christians on the steps of the Punjab High Court. In an article in the current One World magazine, executive secretary Clement John of the WCC's Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, recounts some of the apprehensions he observed in the course of his latest official visit to Pakistan. He is completely candid about the risks regularly endured by the two percent Christian minority. However, he pointedly adds that "despite the gloom cast by the killings, progressive Muslims are working hand in hand with Christians to fight discriminatory laws." Mansur Masih, 40, the father of 10, and the two other men had been accused by the imam of Gujaranwala of scribbling obscene graffiti on the mosque there and circulating offensive literature locally. They were gunned down as they were leaving the High Court where they had defended themselves against the charges. Within two days, leaders of the Pakistan Council of Churches, the Church of Pakistan, the Salvation Army and regional Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches filed a protest with the Punjab authorities urging the immediate arrest of the assassins and the banning and disarming of sectarian terrorist organizations in the region. Further, at their request, WCC Secretary-General Conrad Raiser wrote Pakistan's President Sardar Farooq Leghari protesting the attack and related disregard for due process. His letter also urged repeal of the Anti-Blasphemy Law "as it has become a tool for personal vendettas in the hands of religious zealots to oppress and victimize the religious minorities of the country."