News from the Holy Land

2010 January: Christians Scuffle in Bethlehem

You would think that Christians in the Holy Land have enough to worry about being a double minority, that is a minority among Jews in Israel and among Muslims in Palestine. But you would be wrong, as December witnessed Christians again fighting each other along denominational lines.

This time it occurred in Bethlehem on the occasion of the annual general cleanup of the Basilica of the Nativity. This general cleanup is made just before the beginning of the Orthodox Christmas celebrations that according to the Julian calendar falls on 7th January. Scuffles broke out between the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox monks, who conduct celebrations within the same Basilica. Two years ago similar scuffles took place and, then and now, Palestinian police forces had to intervene.

The squabble concerned the cleaning of the northern transept of the Basilica, which is officiated by the Armenian Orthodox. The lower walls of the transept are cleaned by the Armenians, but the Greek Orthodox claim rights on the upper sections of the transept. The Franciscan friars, or Latins, have the right to clean the passageway leading from this transept to the northern steps of the Nativity Grotto, but they were not directly involved in this dispute.

Similar scuffles have broken out in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which is the other main Christian site shared by three Churches (Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian Orthodox). In those cases, and similarly, the Israeli police had to intervene.

The effect that such internecine violent quarrels could create is of real concern both regarding the Christian witness of mutual brotherhood and peace that the Churches are bound to give, as well as regarding the image of Christianity in the Holy Land and in front of the civil authorities in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous Territories.

It is a sad thing that the Holy Land finds itself in the news virtually every day not only regarding disputes between/among the three religions that each find it holy, and but also because the denominations and sects within each of those three religions also find themselves at each other’s throats.

Some would say it always has been that way in the Holy Land. But if it has been, we need to dedicate ourselves to healing all these divisions to make sure it does not remain that way. And given all the emotion and factions, the effort must be based on love and forgiveness, and not seeking to fix blame. And all Christians throughout the world must contribute to this effort through getting informed and getting involved.  

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2009 December: A Christian is running for President of the Palestinian Authority

Ray Hanania is an award winning journalist and commentator, standup comedian and American Palestinian peace activist. He coordinates the National Arab American Journalists Association and is a diversity board member with the Society of Professional Journalists where he has received three Lisagor Awards for column writing. In addition Ray hosts a morning radio show in Chicago.

Ray Hanania has announced that he intends to run for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority.  If he is successful he will succeed Mahmoud Abbas.

Ray is a Christian.

Ray’s father George, emigrated to Chicago in 1926 with an older brother following the death by drowning of  another brother. He drowned while swimming at the quarry outside of West Jerusalem.  Ray describes the circumstances as follows:

“The police reports noted that bystanders nearby refused to help him with Jews believing he was Arab, Muslims believing he was Jewish and Christians believing he was a Jew. That hatred, only a few years old at the time, has become the actualization of today’s Arab-Israeli conflict. Although my dad could not foresee the tragedy that was unfolding in Palestine, it was too much for him and he decided to find a place where people could live without the hate.”

In speaking of Christian Jewish Muslim relations in the Holy Land, Ray writes:

“Ever since I was a child, I remember the heart and spirit of the Palestinian Revolution was to create a "secular independent Palestinian State where Muslims, Christians and Jews" could live together as equals and in peace.

It was a mantra of my mentor, the late Professor Ibrahim Abu-Lughod who was an activist partner with the late Edward Said. Christian and Muslim Arabs fought for Palestine as indistinguishable brothers and sisters in conflict, they taught me. But now that they are gone, their lessons are being lost.

Both the conflict and attitudes have changed. Raising the issue of Christian rights in the Arab World provokes a reprimand from Palestinians and Arabs, not because the simmering Christian-Muslim Arab conflict does not exist, but rather because the critics hope that if we pretend it doesn't exist and not discuss it, it will go away.

Instead, when the issue of Christian relations in the Arab World is raised and overcomes the resistance, it is placed immediately into the political context of the abuses of the Israeli occupation causing the disappearance of the Christian presence in Palestine.

But it is not just the fault of the Israelis, whom the Arabs blame for everything; although in truth, the Israelis are no different and they blame the Arabs for everything, too. The issues of blame are symptoms of the problem, not the cause of the problem. So is the simmering relations between Muslims and Christian Arabs.”

Ray’s observations dovetail with the mission and message of United Christian Communities.  On our website, www.UnitedChristianCommunities.org , in discussing the problem of the flight of Christians from the Holy Land, we point out:

“Some try to place the blame on Palestinian Muslims by alleging Muslim acts against Christians such as threats, roadblocks to permitting Christians buying land, arson attacks on Christian property, rapes, forced marriages and, in the case of at least one Muslim convert to Christianity, murder.

Others try to place the blame on Israelis by alleging discrimination in education, employment and public services that Israeli-Arabs face, as well as the spillover effects of Israeli policies with respect to Palestinians. 

The fact is we don't have the time for these blame games.  Injecting the politics of the region into discussions of how we halt and then reverse the decline of Christians in the Holy Land simply drowns out the Christian message.”

Now Ray Hanania is not running for the Palestinian presidency on a Christian platform, but rather on a Palestinian platform.  His message, though, as well as his personal history, say something of importance for all Christians.  We wish him well.

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2009 November Climbing Everest in the Holy Land

What is between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean and not Israel or Palestine?  It's the land on which the Everest Hotel stands. Run for 60 years by the Christian El-Arja family, the hotel today is one of the few points of connection between Israelis and Palestinians.
 
"My hotel is in its own country," jokes Everest's owner Makram El-Arja (most of his brothers and sister left the country in 2001, some to Egypt others to the United States).  "Everyone from both sides knows that it's safe to come here and they all trust me."

"It's the last corner for Israelis to come freely [before they reach areas under total Palestinian control] and Palestinians can also get here without too much trouble," he continues, referring to the myriad checkpoints and security barriers that have sprung up in the area over the last decade."

"We are not with the Israelis or with the Palestinians… we are the government of Everest."

Being in an area forgotten or overlooked by both Israel and Palestine has its advantages and its disadvantages. For example, being in the middle of nowhere (politically speaking) makes it difficult to expand or improve the 60 year old hotel. El-Arja says he has not been allowed to make any changes since 2000, noting that there are eight Israeli court orders halting improvements to the hotel.  However  he then shows off, with more than a tinge of pride, the eight new guest rooms he opened in December.  And being ignored by both sides meant no municipal services for years. Like adequate electricity.  (Today the hotel pays taxes to the Palestinian Authority for services) .  These and other difficulties, like being surrounded by checkpoints that made it next to impossible for tourists to get from the hotel to sites like Bethlehem and Jerusalem, forced the family to change the hotel’s business model or go out of business.

And so about four years ago El-Arja, began marketing the hotel as a meeting place. "At first it was for businessmen, Jews who wanted to work with Palestinians but did not feel it was safe enough for them to enter the territories.

"However, when they realized that this was a safe area and that their car insurance would cover them while here, they decided to use my services," continues El-Arja. "The Palestinians could come here, too, without any permission. It was the perfect place."

While a myriad of checkpoints still must be negotiated, politicians (including Tony Blair) come to meet to talk peace, non-profits come to meet to create connections between Israelis and Palestinians, and Israeli and Palestinian business people come to meet to talk about making money.  And it’s also the place where families separated by the Israel Palestine conflict can get together for such events as weddings. 

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2009 September: Patriarch Twal: Jerusalem Christians expected to decline by half within 7 years; pleads to come visit Christians in the Holy Land, "pray with them, comfort them, strengthen them"

Excerpts from Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem’s talk on the plight of Christians in the Holy Land at Westminster Cathedral on September 8, 2009

A constant theme in the life of the Christians in the Holy Land is the fact that we are a very small community, about two percent of the general population whether in the Palestinian Territories or in Israel. In Israel, Christians live as part of the Arab minority in a state that is overwhelmingly Jewish. In the Palestinian Territories, Christians live within a population that is overwhelmingly Muslim.
. . . . 

Christian demography, illustrates in a dramatic way, the situation of the Christians in the Holy Land.   Whereas Christians constituted between six and ten percent of the general population in 1948, this has dropped to about two percent today. . . . Not only has the relative proportion of Christians dropped radically, but Christians often find themselves marginalised in both Palestinian and Israeli society.
. . . .

At Mass in Jerusalem on 12^th May 2009, [Pope Benedict] called on Christians to be pillars of faith and harmony: "Precisely because of your deep roots in this land, your ancient and strong Christian culture, and your unwavering trust in God's promises, you, the Christians of the Holy Land, are called to serve not only as a beacon of faith to the universal Church, but also as a leaven of harmony, wisdom and equilibrium in the life of a society which has traditionally been, and continues to be, pluralistic, multiethnic and multi-religious”
. . . .

Many do not believe that the Israelis want to end the occupation, and the Palestinians are dramatically divided in how to resist the occupation, between those who use violence and those who seek diplomatic resolutions. Islamic fundamentalism that has sprung up as a response to the hopelessness of our general situation pushes Christians even further into the margins and alienates many of our young people.
. . .

The issue of being a small community in a precarious situation is exacerbated by the fact that since the end of the 19^th century Christians in the Holy Land in particular, and Christians throughout the Middle East, have been tempted to emigrate, seeking a more prosperous and promising future for their children elsewhere.  One of our greatest challenges is to persuade our faithful to stay and build their future in a land where many of them feel hopeless, marginalized and even threatened.
. . .

Many Christians continue to dream of a future elsewhere, in a place where they can guarantee their families jobs, housing, education, decent living conditions, equal rights and socio-political stability.  . . . . The number of Jerusalem Christians, for example, is expected to fall from 10,000 to 5,300 in the coming seven years . . .  Our young people, and the best among them, often cannot resist the temptation to leave and make their future elsewhere. They often do so with heavy hearts, but when they see no brighter future ahead, and no possibility to raise families in security, they emigrate and very seldom return.

However, despite the obstacles, we have a great treasury to sustain us. God chose this land, and this community, in which to establish his Church.  We are a community of ‘living stones’ that has a rich treasury of ‘monumental stones’ that commemorate the major events of our salvation history. We are a Church called to be custodian of the Holy Places of our Christian memory, but we are also called to be custodians of life.

Our Churches are vibrant centers that sponsor a vast array of projects, that touch every aspect of daily routine. Our schools are among the best in the region, our hospitals among the most advanced, our housing projects are being constantly built, our clinics, our social welfare agencies and so on…
. . .

It is this community of living stones that welcomes Christians from all over the world who come to the Holy Land, to drink from the sources of our common faith.  We ask you to come and to pray at the Holy Places, but do not be satisfied with the monumental stones alone. Seek out the living stones, our Christian faithful. Pray with them, comfort them, strengthen them, and you too will be enriched by their testimony to the Living Lord, in the land that is His own.

We are called to be Christian and that means we must have hope, hope in a God of surprises: a God who brings life out of the tomb, a child out of a virgin womb, a created world out of the nothingness of chaos. . . . We know that we do not and cannot live this hope alone, isolated from our brothers and sisters in faith throughout the world. We depend on your prayers, on your support and solidarity, on your advocacy for our rights, on your lobbying for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine.

Excepts from Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem’s Homily at Mass at Westminster Cathedral on September 8, 2009

For Christianity, Islam and Judaism alike, Jerusalem is a holy city, where God chose to address mankind, calling us to reconciliation with our Creator, with our own selves and finally with each other.  It is here that humanity discovered itself to have a single source, a single nature and destiny, an inalienable dignity shared by all. In this sense, Jerusalem is universal.
. . .

Thus Jerusalem has the calling to offer itself as a place particularly dedicated to ecumenism and dialogue. It is only in Jerusalem, that one can see different religious communities living, praying and even singing in the same place, and, sometimes, at the same time.

There is, in this place, a unique opportunity for educating and strengthening common values, such as the sense of the sacred, the sense of the other, his dignity, the sense of tolerance and liberty. In point of fact, we are living each day the mystery of Jerusalem – Jerusalem, which gathers all the believers; Jerusalem which divides all the believers.
. . .

Pope Benedict said to the Christians gathered to pray with him at the Mount of Olives in the Holy City: “Precisely because of your deep roots in this land, your ancient and strong Christian culture, and your unwavering trust in God's promises, you, the Christians of the Holy Land, are called to serve as a beacon of faith to the universal Church and as a bridge for more reconciliation and peace between the two peoples in conflict”.

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2009 October: Christian Brewery Finds Success in the West Bank.

The Taybeh brewery is the only brewery in the overwhelmingly Muslim Palestinian territories. It is located in the village of Taybeh, which is largely Christian. Economic conditions make operations difficult, including the extra costs and challenges of dealing with the checkpoints and delays that make up Israel's military occupation.  And, on top of all that, they face the daunting challenge of trying to market their Palestinian beer to Israeli customers.

Yet, the Taybeh brewery brews on, producing thousands of bottles of lager every month. The village, located in the hills of the West Bank just east of Jerusalem, will hold its fifth annual Oktoberfest, expecting to draw as many as 10,000 visitors, including tourists, but also Palestinians and Israelis!

The Taybeh brewery was begun by Nadim Khoury, a Christian, in the wake of the optimism that followed the Oslo Accords.  He had left the village years before for Boston where he taught himself to brew beer at home. He returned to Taybeh in 1994 at the urging of his family. There, unable to find a bank or aid agency to fund a Palestinian brewery, his family provided the $1.2m in funding for the brewery.  "The banks and NGOs thought we were crazy to build a brewery in a Muslim country," says Khoury. "But now I think we were lucky we didn't take their money."

He says that because all business in the West Bank virtually completely ceased during the second intifada, that is the Palestinian uprising that began in late 2000. While he was forced to lay off many of the brewery's workers the business survived because it had no mortgage or other debts and therefore no loans to be foreclosed upon.

Today the brewery is fully operational, producing three different lagers and, beginning this summer, a non-alcoholic beer, called Taybeh Halal, which is aimed at the young Palestinian market. In part, this is an effort to enter a new market, in part it is an insurance policy. "Just in case something happens and there is a change in the environment and political situation," Khourey says.

Khourey is quick to note the decline of Christian population in the area. He reports having seen so many Palestinian Christians leaving for a life abroad that he says there are now more of his fellow villagers living in Michigan than in Taybeh itself.

Khoury sells his beer to restaurants in the more liberal Palestinian cities, such as Ramallah and Bethlehem, but many of the deliveries go into Jerusalem and further into Israel, to Tel Aviv, Haifa and Nazareth.  This is a complicated process because of the occupation. Even though Taybeh is only a few minutes drive from Jerusalem, the beer deliveries must go through a checkpoint at near Hebron, about two hours’ drive away where the delivery trucks are searched and the beer transferred to Israeli trucks.  This procedure often takes several hours, while the beer, which contains no preservatives, sits exposed to the sunlight. Khoury says "My beer is delicate. I cannot afford to have it sit in the sunlight,"

He would like to export more Taybeh beer to the Arab world but, for example, the Jordanians impose prohibitively high import duties to protect their own foreign-run beer industry.

Khourey sees signs of an improvement in the economy of the West Bank economy. "Demand has rapidly increased," says Khoury. "If there is peace and prosperity, people celebrate more." His daughter, Madees, 24, now helps him run the brewery and he expects she will take over the business some day.

Khourey hopes his brewery will help to change opinions and biases. "People don't believe that we have a product like Taybeh beer brewed in Palestine," he says. "On the news they see only violence, bombing and uprisings. Now we are trying to change this and to show the world we can live in peace with our neighbors. We are human beings. We have a right to enjoy life. Enough is enough with the fightin Printable versiong.”

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2009 September: Palestine Bible Society Head: Chances for peace not strong, Christians have role as peacemakers.

During a visit to the Bible Society in the United Kingdom, the head of the Palestinian Bible Society, Nashat Filmon, says that Christians are “vital” to bringing peace to Israel and Palestine.  He went on to blame both for the recent war in Gaza.

He also feels that notwithstanding the efforts of US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, in Mr Filmon’s view there was “not a very strong chance of peace”.  But he feels that Christians could help foster peace by acting as a bridge between Palestinians and Israelis.

 “As Christians, we have a role to be peacemakers. Palestinian Christians are between a rock and a hard place. They can easily be crushed by both sides. But we have the opportunity to build bridges to bring both sides together."

“It’s our task to be true peacemakers between people and between people and God.”

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2009 September Jordan/Israel: Baptism “Wars” on the Jordan River.  The Stakes? The Hearts and Minds of Christian Tourists.

A visit a to the Holy Land invariably includes a visit to the baptismal site at Yardenit on the Jordan River, just south of  the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The water there is pure, deep and lovely.  Leafy trees line the banks.  Wildlife flourishes in and near the waters.  And tourist amenities abound, including steps leading into the River Jordan, making access very easy, and available smocks for those desiring to immerse themselves totally.  There  is even a good restaurant nearby.

The only fly in the ointment is that many are convinced there never was a baptismal site at Yardenit before the tourists started coming.

Some thus look to an area downriver near Bethany-Beyond-Jordan, in Jordan.  Prior to the Jordanian-Israel peace treaty this was a no-man’s land.  Since the peace treaty the Jordanians removed their military installations and have been feverishly excavating the area and encouraging Christians to build churches there.  The results so far of the excavations have been discovery of almost two dozen ancient buildings, including the remains of five churches which appear to have been constructed over a 700 year period.

In addition a cross shaped baptismal pool was found under one of the churches, which to some is evidence that this is indeed the site where Christ was baptized.

Covering its bases, a few yards away, just across the river, Israel is building its own tourist site out of beautiful Jerusalem stone, replicating much of what has made Yardenit such an attractive destination.

And not surprisingly both Israel and Jordan that Christ was baptized on “their” side of the Jordan River.

The only fly in this ointment: Just downriver from Yardenit, salty wastewater and emissions from a sewage plant have polluted the Jordan River, including the area at these new tourist baptismal sites.  And Israel faces at least one other problem it may wish to address: to get to their new baptismal site you have to drive through miles of minefields. 

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2009 September.  Is Mubarak's Son and Likely Successor Good for Egyptian Christians? Opinion is Divided.

The Christian community in Egypt is divided regarding Gamal Mubarak.  Mubarak is the son of current ruler Hosni  Mubarak and widely viewed as his likely successor. Hosni Mubarak is 81 years old.

Christians are estimated to represent between six and 12 percent of Egypt's population. Most Christians belong to the Egyptian Orthodox, or Coptic Church. Copts are Egyptians whose ancestors embraced Christianity in the first century.  In fact the word Copt means Egyptian.  The history of the Coptic Church traditionally begins with the visit of the Holy Family (baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph) to Egypt. They lived there for some time.

While leaders of Egypt's Coptic Christian Church have voiced support for Gamal Mubarak as the preferred candidate for president, some Christian activists are calling for demonstrations against what they see as official state bias (through Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party) against Christians. 

"Comments in support of Gamal Mubarak by church officials don't represent the opinion of all Egypt's Copts," says Youssef Sidhoum, editor-in-chief of Coptic weekly Al-Watani.  Meanwhile, he says “calls for strikes and demonstrations by online Coptic activists represent only the views of a small minority within the Coptic community."

According to Hafez Abu Saeda, secretary-general of the Cairo-based Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the church's apparent support for Gamal at least partly reflects longstanding Coptic fears of an Islamist government. But he also warns against making generalizations.  "In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the church instructed Copts to vote for the NDP," said Abu Saeda. "Nevertheless, those elections saw Copts voting for Muslim Brotherhood candidates in some cases."

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