Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1997, Pages 107-111

California Chronicle

Lebanese Newspaper Exposes Sales by Greek Clerics of East Jerusalem Lands to Israelis

By Pat and Samir Twair

The headlines in the Sept. 3 Lebanese daily An-Nahar were shocking, but no surprise to Orthodox Christians who have been campaigning for decades to have an Arab patriarch in Jerusalem instead of a Greek patriarch and bishops ruling the Orthodox Church in the Holy City. The An-Nahar article printed contracts signed by Greek Patriarch Deodorus I which sold Palestinian property in Jerusalem to the Israelis. The latest sale was 70 dunums of Orthodox Church land on Jabal Abu Ghneim.

The translated contract reads: "I Patriarch Deodoros give to the City Hall and local Committee of Building and Organizing in Jerusalem the freedom to use the following 70 dunams for 500,000 shekels (U.S. $150,000)."

The An-Nahar article stressed this sale is one of many in which the Greek patriarch has sold unknown thousands of dunums of land held precious to Palestinian Orthodox Christians. The best known sale was the Hospice of St. Johanna in the Christian neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Deodorus is believed to have collected $3.5 million for selling this property to Ateret Cohanim. Another 750 dunums around the Church of St. Elias, south of Jerusalem, also was sold to the Israelis. Another scandal reported by An-Nahar deals with the sale of an Orthodox Christian cemetery in Jaffa on which 250 housing units were built for Soviet Jewish immigrants.

Stated Marwan Tobassi, head of the Orthodox Initiative Committee: "We're not only furious over the sale of our land but by the fact that more than half our Orthodox population has emigrated because of the Greek leadership, which has refused since 1967 to repair or build new churches or religious schools."

The response by Deodoros I is best summed up in his Sept. 2, 1992 statement in Ha'aretz: "When did the Arabs come here? The Greeks have been here for over 2,000 years. The Arabs arrived only during the 7th century. This is our Church, the Church of the Greeks. If they do not accept our laws, they have no alternative—choose another Church, or establish one of their own."

Arab Orthodox Christians don't intend to follow the advice of Deodoros I.

In September 1994, a committee to unseat the Greek Patriarchate in the Holy Land was organized in the United States under the name of the Task Force to Save Orthodoxy in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Dr. George Madanat of Diamond Bar, CA, is the national chairman.

What's more, they have an answer to the argument about Greeks being in Jerusalem before the Arabs, which is akin to the Zionist claim.

"The Orthodox Church in Jerusalem is on the brink of extinction."

"The Arab people didn't start with Mohammed," states Dr. Madanat. "The original Arabs were the Canaanites who predated the arrival of the Hebrews by millennia. In fact, they based their biblical stories on Canaanite legends. The Philistines pre-dated the Jews, and the Palestinians of today are the descendants of the Philistines. For Deodoros to claim sovereignty over a piece of real estate that has been taken by force often over the millennia but was most often ruled by pre-Islamic and Islamic Arabs is to deny historical and archaeological fact," Dr. Madanat told the Washington Report.

"The Jerusalem Patriarchate was in the hands of Arabs until 1534, when the Ottoman sultan allowed Greeks to take charge. Contrary to Orthodox Christian principles and traditions in which the Russian Orthodox Christians have a Russian Patriarch, the Romanians have a Romanian Patriarch, the Greeks have a Greek Patriarch and so on, the 300,000 Arab Christians in Jordan, Israel and occupied Palestine have a Greek Patriarch and Greek bishops in the Jerusalem Patriarchate."

When asked what action his task force is taking in light of the latest disclosures, Dr. Madanat said he can only continue to expose and publicize the Greek Patriarch's disregard for the national heritage of the Arab Orthodox Chrisitans.

"The Orthodox Church in Jerusalem is on the brink of extinction. The reign of the Greeks is religious colonialism. Since 1872, the Arab faithful have tried to convince the Greek hierarchies to change their practices. They have uniformly turned a deaf ear on all calls to reason and we say the call for re-Arabization is no longer an option, but a national necessity."

A case in point, Dr. Madanat says, is what happened in Fuheis, Jordan. There, priests collected more than $600,000 in donations from the U.S. and Jordan to build a church school in their town. When they ran out of funds, they turned to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which denied them help and cut off their stipends in October 1995. When the priests protested, Deodoros issued an excommunication order against them.

The Task Force has appealed to Dr. Hanan Ashrawi as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council to investigate the rights of 300,000 Arab Orthodox Christians. However, with the Greeks willing to sell precious Orthodox lands to the Israelis, Dr. Madanat points out, it looks as if the Israelis will be keeping their accomplices in office for as long as there is property to sell.

Palestinian Psychiatrist Deals With National Psychosis

For 11 months of the year psychiatrist Viveca Hazboun oversees a guidance and training center for children and families in Bethlehem. The mother of three and her husband live in the Old City of Jerusalem but she commutes daily to Bethlehem. Her drive, which once took 15 minutes, now consumes one and a half hours due to checkpoints and closures.

"I use my U.S. passport to pass through checkpoints, but this means that every three months I must apply for a tourist visa to continue my work in Bethlehem," explained the Jerusalem-born Hazboun, who has a Palestinian father and a Greek mother. "If I were to apply for residency, then I wouldn't be allowed to commute.

"I often risk my life just to get to work," she said, recalling a time she tried to take a shortcut and ended up facing Israeli soldiers and tanks.

"For one month each year I escape from the violence and turmoil and enjoy a swimming pool in my relatives' Southern California home," Dr. Hazboun said at an Aug. 6 meeting of the American Friends Service Committee in Pasadena. In her talk, entitled "Intervening Cycles of Violence: A Look at Palestinian Mental Health and Overcoming Years of Displacement and Depression," the USC-educated psychiatrist was more philosophical than clinical as she discussed her observations during the 12 years she has worked in Palestine.

Dr. Hazboun minces no words when she says there is a serious mental health crisis in Palestine. Foremost problems are post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and delayed development in children. As one of six psychiatrists serving on the mental health commission of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, she says she is overwhelmed by the number of cases referred to her. Some of the caseloads are being alleviated by 85 mental health workers who have been graduated over the past two years from a six-month course. Her center treats 450 children and 400 adults suffering from depression.

"Palestinians must cope daily with violence, which builds paranoia and fear," she explained. "If a mother is severely depressed, her children won't develop. They won't crawl or talk or walk. Some children of depressed parents never play. We put toys in front of them and they have no idea what to do."

Another disturbing disorder is when Palestinian prisoners return home and identify with their aggressors by beating their wives and children or becoming suicidal. "It is our job to help them understand they can't rectify the injustice done to themselves and to the Palestinian people, but they can become responsible for what they are doing to themselves," she said.

Dr. Hazboun said Israelis who torment Palestinians are carrying out the survivor syndrome of the Holocaust. "It follows the line: 'I was abused, so I can do anything I want.' The Palestinians have this feeling, too, but they go a step further and don't care if they lose their own lives."

Turning to the triple suicide bombing on July 30 in West Jerusalem, Dr. Hazboun continued: "As a psychiatrist, I must call things as they are. I can't refer to a depressed person who kills himself and others as a martyr. If we don't own up to our own violence, we are hypocrites.

"Anyone who commits such an act of violence, who believes he is so omnipotent that he can take the lives of others, is deranged," she said. Yet, "for every individual who loses control, 10,000 people continue to endure intense pain. All people don't deteriorate under excessive trauma, some even excel. Many Palestinians who would never risk their lives get angry when they are prevented from working and are unable to feed their hungry families. If we could recognize the aggressive instinct within and control it, we could have a more harmonious existence."

During the question-and-answer session, a young woman challenged Dr. Hazboun: "I find it hard to accept your words that the suicide bombing was an act of depression. To me, I see it as self-defense. I'm surprised there aren't more bombers. I would do it."

Dr. Hazboun replied: "It's OK for you to feel this way, but not to act on it. We need more people like you to stay alive. When one kills it is violence. Perhaps those bombers would have lived insignificant lives, but they wouldn't have hurt the Palestinians as much as they have now. The Palestinians will pay much, much more for that bombing than the Israelis. By using collective punishment, the Israelis make all Palestinians suffer. As long as you stay alive, there is hope. At least every day I now see the Palestinian flag flying. I never thought I would see that in my lifetime."

When asked if Peace Now or other Israeli groups admit to the injustice the Israelis have done to the Palestinian people, Dr. Hazboun shook her head negatively.

"We Palestinians have the worst public relations of any people in history. How can we suffer so much and be portrayed as terrorists? I try to tell my son, whenever he voices anger, that if we ever have a peace based on principles the world will recognize an injustice was done. I tell him always to express the message that we search for peace despite a great loss of property."

As for the Israelis, Dr. Hazboun says they are a self-destructive pople. "People who commit violence to solve an inner conflict are punishing themselves."

Another question dealt with the Israeli perspective that they are superior to others and, therefore, if the Israeli oppressor wants to eliminate non-Jews, how can there be reconciliation?

"I've lived with this and through it all I knew that no one or no government could take away my national identity," Dr. Hazboun said. "The Palestinians are a recognized people. The world has heard of us. Netanyahu cannot say we don't exist. I am more worried about the Palestinians self-destructing. I firmly believe that nobody gets away with murder and, to survive, Israel must admit the wrong it has done to the Palestinian people."

MPAC Studies Religious Persecution Legislation

"Christian [fundamentalist] groups are picking up steam, they have their own agenda and Muslims must challenge the notion that we are the enemy. We must challenge the stereotype that Islam is undemocratic." So said Dr. Maher Hathout at an Aug. 13 town meeting at the Islamic Center of Southern California. "Religious Persecution and Human Rights—Here and Abroad" was the theme of the session which featured talks by Rep. Steve Horn (R-CA) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA). A principal focus of the meeting was on the Religious Persecution Act of 1997, designed by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). The House and Senate bills, H.R. 165 and S. 772, establish an Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring in the executive office of the president.

Ambereen Khan, of the Muslim Public Affairs Council's Washington office, pointed out that the proposed director of the new office would go through a confirmation process and would be responsible for monitoring religious persecution of Christians, Jews, Baha'i and Tibetan Buddhists in China, Vietnam, Sudan, Cuba, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, North Korea, Indonesia, Egypt and Laos. There is absolutely no mention in the bill of religious persecution of Christians or Muslims in Israel.

In the event the new office determined that a government was practicing religious persecution, the United States then could place sanctions on that government, Khan stated. Sanctions initially would entail denial of resources, such as withholding military weapons used for persecuting groups. If the targeted government did not cease persecution after 90 days, the U.S. then might deny visas to officials of that government, as well as ban trade with the offending government.

Dr. Aslam Abdulla, editor-in-chief of The Minaret magazine, discussed "Christians in the Muslim World." He noted that in Muslim countries where Christian minorities cooperated with Western colonial forces, Christians have undergone some persecution, as in the case of Pakistan. On the other hand, Muslim countries that never knew colonial rule, such as the Central Asian republics, generally have a Christian minority that is involved in rehabilitation of the state, although this is not the case for Azerbaijan.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders shared a panel on "Implications for American Society and Interfaith Relations." Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of North America said quite frankly he did not like the proposed legislation for an Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring. "The U.S. doesn't have a good record abroad and this office will be used to target some countries," he said. Added the Rev. Leonard Jack of the First AME Church of Los Angeles: "We must always be very careful about these great commissions that go out into the world to heal and educate. For too long, Christians have gone to foreign lands with the Bible and pretty soon the Christians own all the land and the people only have the Bible."

When one young student suggested to the panel that if the U.S. adopted a foreign policy that favors one religion over all others it would be committing an act against human rights, all the panelists agreed it would be.

Congressmen Berman and Horn delivered papers on "The Role of Government in Protecting Religious Freedom."

Rep. Berman noted the U.S. is a paragon of tolerance of religious pluralism insofar as institutional protection against religious persecution is concerned. He allowed that Rep. Wolf's legislation does not mention any country, but it would target China and Sudan. He rhetorically asked if the protection of religious minorities is a universal or arrogant Western value.

Rep. Horn said he is a proponent of the separation of church and state and that is why he refuses to speak from the altar of a church. "If churches took over our government then we would be a theocracy," he pointed out. He predicted serious problems ahead because of increasingly high church attendance and the eagerness of Congress to pander to pressure groups.

During the question-and-answer session, the same woman student who had asked about policies favoring one religion over another asked Rep. Berman if U.S. rules mandating separation of church and state would not make it illegal to provide foreign aid to a country that is a theocracy.

Rep. Berman replied: "My off-the-top reaction is that it would be a mistake for us to base foreign policy on our own notions of separation of church and state. I am for a Jewish homeland and I believe it is possible to protect religious minorities and have a state religion. I would caution against the disestablishment of theocracy to get aid."

In response to a query, Rep. Horn said he is in favor of a State Department agency that might review religious persecution abroad.

In fact such an office exists. It is the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, headed by Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck. Among 21 leaders serving on its Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad is Dr. Laila al-Marayati. The Glendale gynecologist told the town meeting audience she is trying to introduce a sense of balance as a Muslim and she tries to clarify Islamic terms such as jihad or shariah. She also spares no effort to let other committee members know that Palestinian Muslims and Christians are denied access to their places of worship by the Israelis, and that Muslims are persecuted in Burma.

"I don't believe the U.S. policy on religious persecution should be separated from human rights and security matters," Dr. Marayati continued. "It is very difficult to comprehend this inconsistency and it does diminish our credibility."

Scholarly Work on Qur'anic Topics Published

Fathi Osman, an Islamic scholar living in Southern California, has completed a book entitled, Concepts of the Qur'an: A Topical Reading. The thousand-page tome is written under topical headings such as divine law (shariah), economic justice, the family and human rights, to name a few. The author received his doctorate in Islamic studies from Princeton University and taught at al-Azhar University in Cairo. For information on obtaining the book, phone the Islamic Center of Southern California at (213) 384-5783.

Representative Royce Addresses GOP Arab Americans

The Arab American Republican Club of Orange County honored Rep. Ed Royce on Aug. 29 for his efforts to lift the State Department ban on American citizens traveling to Lebanon. Rep. Royce said that he and fellow California Republican Congressman Chris Cox repeatedly sent letters to the White House and secretary of state which "focused in on the double speak" of the State Department's issuance of the travel ban every six months. Stating that the ban was "completely untenable," Royce said he and Rep. Cox checkmated the State Department on the issue because it didn't have a leg to stand on for continuing the ban.

Many questions were posed on the Middle East, but Rep. Royce avoided a direct response. When asked about the status of Jerusalem, he answered, "I sit on the committee for Africa and Asia and haven't got into it."

In response to a question about the boycott of Iraq, Rep Royce commented that the United States needs to engage Iraq in the same manner as China and begin a dialogue on the problems of nuclear and biological weapons.

When it was brought up that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's policies could lead to a pre-emptive strike on the part of Israel against Syria, thus launching a new war in the Middle East, Rep. Royce said he wants to make sure no U.S. troops are in the Middle East.

NAAA Celebrates the Wheel From Sumer to L.A.

Los Angeles wouldn't be Los Angeles without the automobile and freeways—so the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Arab Americans decided to host a fund-raiser focusing on the history of the wheel from its beginnings in the ancient Near East to its prominence in L.A. Yvette Alexander chaired the gala presented at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

More than 200 members and friends turned out for the program in the museum, which exhibits some of the world's earliest, most expensive, fastest and most famous vehicles, ranging from luxury cars owned by film stars such as Gary Cooper and Clark Gable through a 1914 Dudley Bug motorcycle to a fire-engine-red 1993 Lamborghini Diablo. Hostesses attired in traditional hand-embroidered Palestinian dresses greeted guests to the museum, which was rented for the evening by NAAA.

Dr. Nancy Thomas, curator of ancient art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, noted the wheel seems to have originated in Mesopotamia, according to reliefs on tombs at Ur depicting chariots. The wheel was depicted in reliefs at Nimrud and Ninevah palaces, but arrived late in Egypt at the time of the Hyksos and even later at Persepolis, in present-day Iran.

Prizewinning designer of Pasadena Rose Parade floats Raul Rodriguez was presented an NAAA award for his many floats depicting Middle Eastern themes. Artists' renditions of Rodriguez' floats depicting the hanging gardens of Babylon, Aladdin's lamp and other Middle Eastern themes served as a backdrop for speakers.

George Hanna was master of ceremonies for the program, which also featured a presentation by Jerome Berman of the California Museum of Ancient Art. Berman kindly brought a 16th century b.c. replica in bronze of a wagon pulled by two oxen. The miniature object, recovered from northern Syria, offers insight into the mode of transportation for this period. The wheels of such wagons were made of planks of wood, joined by metal clamps.

Saudis Mark 64th National Day

The Grand Ballroom of the Regent Beverly Wilshire was the setting for the 64th National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hosted by Consul General Mohammed A. al-Salloum.

In his speech to more than 500 guests, the consul general pointed out that Saudi Arabia provides financial assistance amounting to more that 5.5 percent of its gross national product to more than 70 countries in the Islamic world and beyond. Over the past 26 years, he said, Saudi hospitals' capacity has increased by 350 percent, students in centers for professional training have increased from 578 to 10,000, and students in institutions of higher education have increased from 8,000 to 170,000.

The Saudi Consulate General in Los Angeles has donated two scholarships to needy Lebanese children through the Lebanese Ladies' Society, and has provided an honorary membership for a teenager to the World Affairs Council of Los Angeles.

First-Rate "Arabian Nights"

Theater pages of Southern California newspapers have carried ads for the Chicago Lookingglass Theater Company's production of "The Arabian Nights," performing through Oct. 19 at the Actors' Gang Theater in Hollywood. We were curious, but feared it would be just another Arab-bashing take-off on lecherous sultans and sexually insatiable bellydancers. Imagine our surprise and gratification to see a first-rate stage performance of fantasy, gymnastics and whimsical comedy that might have blended very well into Haroun ar-Rashid's court.

Even before the performance, we realized some research had gone into Daniel Ostling's set, which utilizes good Oriental rugs, cushions and brass lamps. Simply by lifting the ornate lamps, the room is transformed from the interior of a palace to a souq, an oasis, or the banks of the Tigris. The musicians, who double as actors, are remarkably adept on theoud, nye and def.

"The Arabian Nights" was adapted by director Mary Zimmerman from a four-volume version of One Thousand and One Nights. The collection of Arabic, Persian and Indian tales are told by Scheherazade (Naama Potok) to Sultan Shahryar (Adam Dannheisser), who takes a virgin to his bed each night and murders her before daybreak in revenge for his first wife's infidelity. Each night, Scheherazade staves off her execution by ending her complicated story with a cliffhanger that leaves the sultan anxious to hear more the following night.

The themes of the episodes are universal, but each is also highly attuned to contemporary American humor. This is best exemplified in "The Wonderful Bag," a tale of two thieves who attempt to describe the contents of a stolen bag so that one of them can claim it.

Explained Lookingglass actor Andy White: "Each night the two thieves come up with whatever cast members egg them on to say is inside the bag. At first, one thief says the bag contains a needle and thread and a few coins. The other thief does him one better and says a ring and comb and gloves also are in the bag. Each tries to outdo the other. Soon, one says the bag holds a camel, the Sahara desert and three dancing girls. The other thief says the bag also contains the Taj Majal, the moon, the constellation Orion and a bit of remorse."

While "The Wonderful Bag" may seem to be the only piece of improvisational theater in this production, Zimmerman originated the entire show as a work of spontaneous innovation. During rehearsals in 1992, she rewrote her script on a daily basis according to the interactions of the actors. The germ of each tale can be recognized by anyone who has read the complete One Thousand and One Nights. The charm, however, is in the American humor evinced in these bawdy, sad, wise and reflective stories.

We were especially pleased to observe the tale of the girl named Sympathy the Learned, who is reputed to know everything about any subject in the universe. When a Qur'anic scholar asks her to name all the prophets in the Qur'an, she readily complies and then tells him the exact number of suras, words and letters in the holy book. Sympathy so beautifully describes the simplicity and wisdom of Islam that few Muslims would find fault with this tale.

This is not to say we recommend "The Arabian Nights" to all pious Muslims. No doubt some would be shocked by a particular story dealing with a sultan's flatulence and other tales exalting eroticism and romance.

This production also features faces of familiar TV sitcom actors including Joey Slotnik of "The Single Guy," who uniquely portrays a camel, lecher, unspeakably ugly woman in a chador and a greengrocer. David Schwimmer of "Friends" fame is a member of the original 1992 ensemble and brought the production to Los Angeles. He appears in some performances as Sultan Shahryar.

The tumbling and gymnastic feats of the actors transform the production into an intimate Cirque du Soleil. The closing stories are told against the backdrops of a Baghdad night with crescent moon and shining stars. The audience is abruptly transported from an eighth century Abbasid court, when Baghdad was the city of peace and poets, to the shrill sound of a siren and a flash signifying bombs dropping on Saddam Hussain's Baghdad circa 1991.

"The Arabian Nights" can be seen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from Nov. 17 to 23 and at the Chicago Steppenwolf Theater from Dec. 5 to Jan. 4.

Kan Zaman Performs for Syrians

More than 800 friends and guests turned out Sept. 28 for the Syrian Arab American Association's first concert with the Kan Zaman Community Ensemble. Kan Zaman, whose name means "Once Upon a Time," relates to classical Arabic music of the past, particularly the muwashshahat form which originated in 10th century Arab courts in Andalusia, Spain, and underwent modifications by Egyptian and Aleppine musicians early in this century.

Jordanian singer Saher was guest artist at the concert. He brought cheers and sighs of approval from the audience for his renditions of Waily lau yidrun, Ya salat azzayne and Ghannili Shway Shway. The full house at the La Mirada Theater broke into rhythmic clapping when oud player Yarvand Khamtrashyan sang the Farid Alatrash songs, Alhayat Hilwa and Hallit Layali.

The Kan Zaman ensemble was formed in 1994 by Jordanian American Wael Kakish and is composed of three ouds, six violins, one cello, four percussions, one nay and the qanun. Added to this are 18 choral singers. The dramatic buildups to solos vocalized by Rama Silyan and Samir Sado enhanced the sensation of being in an Arab music hall rather than in Southern California. One of the favorites of the evening was a set of songs from Syria made famous by Sabah Fakhri, Sabri al-Mudalal and Mohammed Khairi.