June 1989, Page 34

Religion and the Middle East

Christian Clergy Focus on Israeli Palestinian Dispute and Lebanon

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

Christian Century editor James M. Wall has been visiting Israel and the occupied territories off and on since the occupation began and informing his readers of his experiences. His most recent venture there, this spring, was as leader of a US-Canadian travel seminar made up largely of veterans of the civil rights and anti-war struggles.

"Accustomed to rhetoric that wants desperately not just to convince but to convert," they were eager to have balance-in-depth in their contacts. Hence they divided their days "between those whose land is occupied and those who carry the burden of occupation. According to Wall, "This itself has an uneven aspect, for while the Israeli Jew has Yad Vashem, the memorial of a holocaust of the past, as a reminder of history, the Palestinians and their children face live ammunition in the present."

Wall's three resultant editorial reports reflect both his companions' wide range of interests and perspectives and his own long familiarity with the scene. They include impressions received not only from "Palestinians energized by the intifada," but also from a cross section of "Israelis, deeply divided by their reactions to their government's handling of the uprising."

If you are not a Christian Century subscriber, its titles are likely to lure you to your public library for the issues of April 26 and May 3 and 10. They are: "No Turning Back for the Palestinians"; "Nation-Building in an Occupied Land"; and "A Chance to Seize the Moral High Ground."

Developments in Dialogue

Some 620 lay and clergy commissioners to the 201st Presbyterian (USA) General Assembly, to be held June 6-14 in Philadelphia, vote on a proposal that "congregations, presbyteries, synods, ministry units, seminaries, and ecumenical partnerships" of the denomination's Global Mission Ministry Unit "give high priority to interfaith relations, including theological dialogue, especially but not exclusively with Jews and Muslims."

Part of the proposal's background is that for the six years beginning in June, 1981, a task force involving Presbyterian and Jewish theologians has struggled to devise a mutually satisfying statement on "A Theological Understanding of the Relationship Between Christians and Jews." (See Washington Report, May 1987.) Their document, extensively revised by the 1987 General Assembly, was sent, response requested, to all the denomination's parishes, to ecumenical partner churches, to major Jewish organizations, and to partner churches in the Middle East.

For adequate consultation with the latter, who have long collaborated with Presbyterian educational, medical, and pastoral ministries in the area, the General Assembly sent a blue ribbon deputation abroad last November. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopal, Evangelical, Lutheran, and Mennonite leaders came from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to meet with them, chiefly in Jerusalem and Cyprus Together they discussed the varied themes for dialogue recommended in the "Christians-Jews" paper.

Two convictions the members of the deputation brought home were that there are often greater divergences within than between the faith communities and that amidst the radical historical and spiritual changes occurring worldwide, Christians can benefit from improved understanding of developments in Jewish and Muslim circles. The deputation's findings, along with those of other groups, have been sent out by the Global Mission Ministry Unit for advance study by the General Assembly commissioners.

Churches and the New Crisis in Lebanon

Until March 14, the tragic civil war in Lebanon seemed to be simmering toward stability. Then General Michael Aoun, head of one of the two rival Lebanese governments, lit a fuse by moving to close down ports operated by independent militias—most of them backed and equipped by foreign interests: Israeli, Iranian, Iraqi, Soviet, Syrian, and others. The subsequent chain reactions—up to 3000 shells a night from all parties—was described by Maronite (Catholic) Patriarch Nusrallah Sfeir as "blind violence that has made victims among all confessions in all regions of the country."

By April 7, the escalation of destruction prompted Gabriel Habib of Beirut, general secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), to send out a four-page circular to churches and ecumenical organizations worldwide. In it he described shortages of food, fuel, water, medicines, and electricity, the overwhelming casualties, overflowing hospitals, unprecedented damage to homes, shops, cars, offices, and rehabilitation centers, the mounting exodus of both Muslims and Christians and the near total destruction of MECC's warehouses.

Humanitarian Aid Needed

So vast is the crisis that every bit of help that can come from abroad is urgently needed. He welcomes blankets, baby food, antibiotics, burn ointments, and other supplies that are coming in from Church World Services, Catholic Near East Welfare, the Red Cross, United Nations, and elsewhere—although more is still needed.

The moderator of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria-Lebanon asked the international community for more: to have governments work for the "withdrawal of all illegal forces from Lebanon as a preliminary step in paving the way for peace in, that country" Edmond Perret, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, added his belief that the shooting would not stop until "outside interests who exercise their political ambitions violently" were all removed.

American church officials, particularly those involved with Middle East and social justice matters, have conveyed these insights to President Bush and Secretary Baker. On April 14, Congressman Edward Feighan introduced House Resolution 128 (text boxed below) calling on the president to take action for the welfare of the Lebanese. Parallel legislation (S. 108) was introduced by Senators Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN), Claiborne Pell (D-M, and Robert Dole (R-KS), and passed the Senate unanimously within a week, Their inclusion of the United Nations and the League of Arab States as welcome partners for Middle East peacemaking startled many. While awaiting answers to the question, "Can this be real?" there are many very real channels by which your financial aid can quickly reach the Lebanese "Paradise Lost."

House Resolution 128

Resolved by the House of Representatives that it be the sense of the House that the President should

1. call for an immediate cease-fire among the parties in Lebanon and the removal of all foreign military forces and disbandment of all paramilitary forces in Lebanon, 
   
2. urge all parties in Lebanon to respond to the international call for an immediate cease-fire and to undertake immediate discussions regarding internal reconciliation, 
   
3. support international efforts, including the appointment of special emissaries by the United Nations and the League of Arab States, to work with the parties in Lebanon to implement a cease-fire and start a process of internal reconciliation in Lebanon; and 
   
4. support actions to encourage the fulfillment of the constitutional mandate to elect a new president in Lebanon.

The Reverend L. Humphrey Walz, D.D., retired associate executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast, is active in denominational and ecumenical peacemaking movements.