Amid Mideast despair, hope
National Post

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

As members of KAIROS, a delegation of Canadian church representatives, we have been in Jerusalem for four days. On the first day, six Palestinians were killed in the Gaza strip; on the second, seven died; on the third, a young Palestinian Christian was (mistakenly?) killed while jogging in East Jerusalem by Fatah gunmen. Yesterday, Sheik Yassin and his entourage were killed by Israeli forces. Much of this was in retaliation for a Palestinian
suicide bombing the week before. More violence and reprisals are waiting in the wings and we have already heard of attacks on synagogues in Toronto, far from the epicentre of the central events.

What can we, as a delegation of church representatives, offer as a message of hope in such times? Let us be clear. We were invited here to express solidarity with and bear witness to the work of our Palestinian Christian and Jewish partners to create a peaceful and just society in the Holy Land. Equally clearly, we have witnessed great injustices here. We have seen Palestinians harassed by soldiers while waiting to get through
checkpoints -- not only from Palestinian territory into Israel but from regions entirely within Palestine itself -- while Jewish settlers bypassed this humiliation and indignity using their exclusive road systems. We have seen health care clinics in Gaza crowded with mothers trying to save their children from the results of malnutrition and bad water. We have witnessed a Greek Catholic priest in Nablus, denied permits to travel to Jerusalem, brought to tears by the isolation and consequences of Israel's policy of
collective closure and punishment.

These are the unquestionable result of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. But these wrongs are not the most important events we have witnessed here. Far more powerful are the signs of hope, mercy and compassion we have seen flowering in the midst of what threatens to become a desert of despair and violence.

We have seen Palestinians abiding by the rules and containments established by the Israeli occupation. They get permits to go from their village to the city, to return to their homes, permits for children to go to school, permits for farmers to till their land on the other side of the wall. They patiently wait at checkpoints for hours -- checkpoints often not open at the stated hours and randomly closed sometimes for weeks. In spite of this, we have been impressed by their ability to get on with their life and by their generous hospitality to us.

We have also been impressed by the commitment of members of Palestinian and Israeli civil society to non-violent protest against the occupation. Not all Palestinians are members of Fatah or Hamas. The majority reject both factions. Yet these voices of civility and moderation are being drowned out by the violence. What of the patient work of B'Tselem to hold Israel accountable to the norms of international and Israeli law? What of the work of Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi trying to create a democratic alternative in
Palestinian politics? What of the work of the Middle East Council of Churches trying to provide young Gazan youth vocational skills so they can earn a living for their families?

Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in a God of compassion and mercy – a God in whose eyes all humans are of equal worth and dignity. And amid the violence, we have seen clear signs of grace working among all God's people.  We pray that these voices of civility, justice and dignity in the Holy Land will prevail and be supported by all people of goodwill in the world.

Rt. Rev. Peter Short, Moderator, United Church of Canada; Rt. Rev. Peter Coffin, Anglican Bishop of Ottawa; Most Rev. Martin Currie, Roman Catholic Bishop of Grand Falls, Nfld., for the KAIROS ecumenical delegation to the Middle East, Jerusalem.

© National Post 2004