Reflection 3
Reflections by Linda Bales, United Methodist Church, General Board of
Church & Society, Washington, DC
(The
National Council of Church of Christ USA sponsored a two-week pilgrimage
of 16 women religious leaders to the Middle East to meet with men and
women about peacemaking and to learn about the current realties in the
region. The trip occurred May 9-22, 2007)
Rev.
Jacqueline Lynch, a delegation member from the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, compares her awakening about the situation in the
Middle East to her deep abiding relationship with Christ. “My
relationship with Jesus began when I was a child. People would tell me
about Christ, but it wasn’t until I matured and had a personal encounter
with Christ, did I fully understand,” said Jackie “I’ve found this to
be true with this pilgrimage to the Middle East. To witness the strife
between the Israelis and Palestinians with my own eyes makes such a
difference in my comprehension of the issues facing people, particularly
those in the West Bank. And, what I’ve also come to understand is how
much I value my own freedom now knowing how many people in this area
have little to no freedom.”
Jackie’s understanding was broadened by a media presentation by the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
based in Jerusalem. “We had been told about the obstacles faced by
Palestinians in the West Bank due to erected physical barriers to one’s
freedom of movement, but I didn’t fully comprehend the scope until it
was visibly displayed on a series of maps in the UN OCHA’s
presentation.”
The
Israeli government beginning in 2002, has implemented a multi-faceted
strategy of “security” in the West Bank, which includes a now 703
kilometer
West Bank Barrier. There is growing controversy, however, about recent changes in
this construction because it now is weaving into the interior of the
West Bank resulting in the isolation of thousands of Palestinians.
According to OCHA, if the Barrier is completed, 60,500 West Bank
Palestinians living in 42 villages and towns will reside in closed
areas. For movement beyond these areas, residents will need a permit to
pass through gates in order to access health and education services, job
and markets in the West Bank.
In
addition to the Wall, the Israeli military (which has full control and
authority in the West Bank) has set up a series of other barriers: 537
roadblocks and checkpoints, “flying” checkpoints (checkpoints set up at
random), huge earth mounds obstructing access, trenches and electronic
fence barriers.
A
primary reason for these “security” activities is to protect the now
450,000 Israeli citizens who have illegally moved into the Occupied
Palestinian Territory to live in what are called “settlements.”
According to OCHA, the
settlements violate international law. As an “occupier” of the West
Bank, Israel cannot legally move their citizens into the occupied
territory. Additionally, the building of the Wall was declared illegal
by the International Court of Justice in 2004.
Validation of these movement injustices was given by several Palestinian
women with whom we met. These barriers are creating heightened stress
within families and, at times, deaths of adults and children due to lack
of access to emergency health services. Farmers living within the
barriers have to take circuitous routes which consume time and money to
get their crops to market. Plus they must unload and reload their goods
at the many checkpoints. A Palestinian vocational
trainer working with Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Jerusalem spoke
of the challenges faced by her students. “Many have to cross several
barriers or through checkpoints to get to school. It has become a
severe problem especially for students between the ages of 16-20 who are
considered by the Israeli military as more vulnerable to terrorist
influences.“
This woman
and her colleague, a medical physicist at the LWF’s
Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem, compared their opposite
experiences related to personal freedom of movement. The physicist lives in
Jerusalem and has greater access to travel than her friend, who lives in the
West Bank. When wanting to go to the Mediterranean Sea for a vacation,
she explained that, “For those in Jerusalem, they can get to the sea,
but for those on the West Bank, they can’t see the sea but can just
smell it."
As
people of faith who believe in a Christ who has compassion for all, we
were all visibly moved during our visit to the Yad va Shem, the
Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. The newly re-built museum serves as a
visible reminder of the horror inflicted on 6 million Jews at the hands
of the Hitler regime. It was disturbing to walk through the halls of
this site. I felt myself grieving deeply over the loss of so many
innocent persons while the world stood in silence. This extinction is
something that must never occur again. I saw the photos, heard
the personal stories of the deaths of loved ones and the survivors and
wept when thinking of this tragic act of hate. The Holocaust, along
with acts of violence perpetrated by the Palestinians, are key reasons
why fear and security are so vital to the Israeli’s. But, I ask, at
what cost?
“A country is not
just what it does – it is also what it tolerates” Kurt
Tucholsky
“Slay them not [the
Jews] scatter them abroad.” St. Augustine 5th C.
Elder
Emotions
were high when we stood on the Mount of Olives. Tears came and thoughts
of our own complicity in the tragic drama in this region. “We are
standing on holy ground, and we’re hearing sacred stories being told and
recovered,” shared Rev. Lois Powell, a United Church of Christ
representative. “It has been a very emotional day.”
Behind Our Backs
How is
it that a wall
Declaring ownership and boundaries
Without negotiation
Can be
built
And the world turns away
Our eyes shut
Our ears closed
Our hands tied behind our backs?
How is
it that territories are expanded
Into
your neighbors homes,
Pushing them out
While
imposing new laws and restrictions
And the world turns away
Our eyes shut
Our ears closed
Our hands tied behind our backs?
How is
it that women going to work and children going to school
can be
turned away
at the
check point
How is
it that men needing to get to their farms
can’t
get past the ten foot earth mounds
And
babies needing to birth die at the road blocks
How is
it that teenagers with guns can decide
The
fate of the elders
And the world turns away
Our eyes shut
Our ears closed
Our hands tied behind our backs?
How is
it that there are roads paved for some
And
tunnels made for others
How is
it that some need permits, green cards, red cards,
While
others roam free
How is
it that the wall could be built
Dividing neighborhoods, separating families,
Creating poverty, starvation, alienation and oppression
And the world turns away
Our eyes shut
Our ears closed
Our hands tied behind our backs?
--Rev. Sue Turley
Reflection through Poetry by Rev. Lois Powell, Team Leader for Justice
and Witness Ministries for Human Rights, United Church of Christ,
Cleveland, OH
Tamara
The
feather bed of her heart
will
envelop you
surround you
warm
you
just
when you are ready to free fall in despair.
Mother
of killed Israeli soldier
took
her inconsolable grief
and
made bridges
alliances
friends
sisters
with
Palestinian mothers
other
Israeli mothers
all
who found truest connection
in the
loss of their children.
Together they made
a
strong circle of hope
for
what must be.
All are welcome
