Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1998, pages 115-116

Christianity and the Middle East

University Sets Up Mock Israeli “Checkpoint” to Demonstrate Harsh Realities of Palestinian Occupation

By Rev. L. Humphrey Walz

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Reformed Church-sponsored North Park University in Chicago sought to increase awareness of the Israeli policy of Palestinian closure by duplicating on the campus an Israeli-style checkpoint of the kind through which Palestinians pass daily and repeatedly. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 11, guards blocked the paths of students as they headed to class in Carlson Tower, and students had to present identification in order to pass through the checkpoint to their classes. Some students were detained randomly, and all students were given leaflets describing life in Palestine.

The demonstration took place as part of the North American Coordinating Committee (NACC) for Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine’s “Week of Action on Closure,” which put special emphasis on the issue of the Israeli policy of closure—and its human cost—during the coming year. According to NACC, when a closure is mentioned in the mainstream North American media, it often refers to an intensification of the “regular” closure that has been in place, uninterrupted, for years. While the intensification (often after a terrorist attack) is certainly newsworthy, says NACC, the institutionalized and systematic denial of permission to move from one area to another has had a tremendously negative impact on Palestinian residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

“We believe that this closure demonstration will be educational in the broad sense to enable students and faculty to value the freedoms that we so often take for granted in this country,” says Rev. Dr. Don Wagner, executive director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. “More specifically, we have experienced something of what the Palestinians cope with on a daily basis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Because North Park has a number of Palestinian students, this will enable us better to understand their situation back home.”

The remainder of this column will be devoted to two articles from church-affiliated publications illustrating efforts by individual groups and denominations to make American Christians both aware of and more active in the cause of human rights and justice for all of the people of Palestine:

Windows on a Sad Jerusalem

By Douglas Dicks

The following account originally appeared in the Spring issue of the Cyprus-published MECC (Middle East Council of Churches) News Report:

A Christian man in his early sixties runs a lucrative business in Jerusalem. Several years ago he acquired his American citizenship through his brother who had emigrated to America many moons ago. Recently, this man went to the Israeli Ministry of Interior to replace his worn-out identity card. He was told that his right to “reside” in Jerusalem was being denied. No new identity card would be issued to him because he also happened to hold an American passport.

Palestinian Arabs living in Jerusalem are defined by Israeli law as “resident aliens,” and not as citizens of Israel. Despite the fact that he has lived here all his life, this man is now being told that he no longer has the right to reside in the country of his birth.

A Christian woman in her mid-sixties recently went to the Israeli Ministry of Interior to renew her lais-sez-passer, a travel document issued to most Palestinians in lieu of an Israeli passport. At the ministry, she was told that since she also was the holder of a Green Card issued by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, she could not have her travel document renewed and must leave Jerusalem. This woman has lived in Jerusalem all her life, and has paid all municipal and social insurance taxes to Israel since 1967. Why was she denied renewal of her travel document? Quite simple! Since she possessed a U.S.-issued Green Card, then she had best go and make her home in America! She could no longer even “reside” in the country of her birth.

American Jews residing in the U.S. not only maintain their right to be holders of dual (American and Israeli) citizenship, but those residing in Jerusalem for any length of time, and at any given time, do not experience anxiety of losing either their American passports or their Israeli identity cards. This policy clearly only applies to non-Jews—primarily Palestinians.

The son of a local chemist, himself in his mid-thirties, whose father is a Palestinian Muslim and whose mother is a native-born American, wishes to renew his Jerusalemite residence permit. He, too, has an American passport which he acquired at birth through his mother’s American citizenship. But it is equally his right through his father to possess a Jerusalem identity card and to “reside” here. Not according to the Israeli government! His identity card will in all likelihood be confiscated and he will no longer be allowed to “reside” in Jerusalem.

U.S. consular staff are aware of such indiscriminate violations of the human and existential rights of any person holding American citizenship. Yet, any Palestinian with both a Jerusalem identity card and a U.S. passport who has sought the help of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem over this issue has been told that there is nothing they can do to help.

How much harder can living in Jerusalem become for its Palestinian “alien residents”? To whom can they turn, when they are denied entry at every door? Who will listen to their pleas for justice and fairness? Are we, members of a larger Christian fellowship, going to stand idly by and remain silently sympathetic regarding this “silent deportation” of Palestinians from Jerusalem? Through sophisticated means, Israel is systematically stripping its Arab residents of the right to live in the city where they were born, where they have lived, raised their children and been members of a larger community.

My Window on Jerusalem today is a very sad and tense one indeed. Here, among the countless Palestinian people who make this city their home, the face of Christ still longs to be comforted. It still yearns to be loved, still hungers for compassion. It still seeks, with a heavy heart and tear-filled eyes, to be understood. As I was writing these thoughts during Lent, I wondered how are we Christians going to live with our own consciences and watch yet again as people are turned away, despised, rejected and full of sorrow?

(Douglas Dicks is a Presbyterian missionary assigned to the MECC Jerusalem office.)

The following is an abridged article from the September issue of Communiqu’ , a publication of the Presbyterian church.

To Israel and Back—a Youth Journey of More Than Miles

By Susan Gawel

When 75 youth and their chaperons were welcomed home in July after two weeks in Israel, they told of a journey that was about more than a visit to the holy sites. They had returned from a pilgrimage, a two-week visit in which they learned much about the twin pillars of the church: faith and justice.

The youth were members of Grosse Pointe Memorial Church (Presbyterian) in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan; Christ Church in Grosse Pointe (Episcopal) and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, CA. Together they traveled to visit holy sites and to spend a week living and working in a Palestinian village called Ibillin.

This was the fourth trip to Israel for the churches in Grosse Pointe. The students earned much of the money for their trip through a variety of fund-raisers during the past year. The church also provided support for this mission effort. In addition, the youth met and studied for the trip during the months beforehand.

A week of their visit was spent touring the holy places. They visited churches, shrines and monuments in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee. They experienced places and people important to the three major faiths in Israel: Christians, Muslims and Jews. All discovered the modern life in the place we call the Holy Land.

The other week of their visit was spent in a work camp in Ibillin, a small village in northern Galilee occupied mostly by Muslims and Christians. It is the home of a Melkite Christian community led by Father Elias Chacour. Father Chacour, or Abuna, as he is known in Arabic, had been the ecumenical minister at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in 1991. It was during that visit that he first invited the youth of the church to come to his village to work alongside his people. It began a meaningful tradition for the youth of the congregation.

Abuna’s mission in Ibillin is to build up his community through faith and education. As such, he has worked to develop a high school, community college and a kindergarten for children of all faiths. He has committed to the building of an elementary school as well. The schools welcome teachers and students of all faiths, although the primary purpose is to provide a place for the Palestinian students to receive an education. The youth from Grosse Pointe and California spent their time in the village helping to construct a building at the Mar Elias College that will house classrooms and teachers’ offices. They did this willingly, and for many it was the highlight of the trip.

Some understood that they were getting a real life lesson in making a difference in the world. The bonds that developed while “working, singing, dancing and praying together” were powerful for most of these pilgrims. Many of the students were struck by the presence of Abuna, his talks on the rooftop in the evenings, his time spent in teaching the recent history of the Palestinians in his region, his help in understanding the continuing discrimination they face today and his journey for justice and peace.

The visit to Israel was a powerful way for the students to learn their history, deepen their faith, and see the tangible result of one person’s work for justice. They made a direct contribution in the week that they visited the college by providing their labor.

Their other contributions went beyond that and will prove to be longer lasting and of greater importance. They learned that there are at least two sides of the story in Israel, they understand some of the needs of the people discriminated against in Israel and will carry that message to others. And, perhaps most of all, they learned what their faith calls them to do in this world. Below are some of their comments:

“The highlight of the trip for me was the friendships I made. Everything about this trip helped people to work together and helped them to become better friends.”—Alison

“I loved working in Ibillin. The work was rewarding and in between all the work was also a lot of fun.”—Matt

“The highlight of my trip was the time we spent on Abuna’s roof listening to his stories and worshipping together.”—Jill

“I did not expect to encounter the extent to which Palestinians are discriminated against in Israel.”—Dave

“My faith has been strengthened immensely. Along with the friendships made and sights seen, this trip has truly been priceless.”—Jon

“We are all God’s children—whether a member of the Jewish faith, the Muslim faith or the Christian faith: furthermore, in order to build peace in our world, we must respect not only our differences, but also our similarities.”—Dave

“I have learned that I need to open my ears to what God is trying to tell me, and my eyes to see what I can do to make the world better.”—Jeff

“My faith has changed...It has become stronger.”—Nick

Because of the special relationship between Grosse Pointe Memorial Church and the Mar Elias College, Memorial has sponsored a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization called The Pilgrims of Ibillin, c/o Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, 16 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48235.