July 1989, Page 19

Religion and the Middle East

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

Palestinian Clergy Appeal to International Community

Wearied by years of rebuffed individual approaches to Israeli authorities, the bishops, patriarchs and other clergy of the region have turned to the international community and the United Nations with a joint appeal to "give urgent attention to the plight of the Palestinians, and to work for a speedy and just resolution of the Palestinian problem."

Speaking for their Eastern Orthodox (Greek), Catholic (Latin, Melkite, Syrian and Franciscan), Oriental Orthodox (Armenian and Syrian), Anglican and Lutheran constituencies, they refer to "the tragic and unnecessary loss of Palestinian lives, especially among minors. . . by the unwarranted use of firearms and ... the excessive use of force by the Israeli military; mass administrative arrests, and continuing detention of adults and minors without trial; and collective punishment, including demolition of homes and depriving whole communities of basic services like water and electricity. . "

Specifically, they appeal to the world community to support two demands: First, for the reopening of schools and universities, closed for the past 16 months, so that thousands of children can enjoy again their basic rights of education; and secondly, for the authorities to respect the right of believers to enjoy free access to all places of worship on the holy days of all religions.

Israeli interference with Christian worship had escalated during Lent and was followed by enhanced restrictions on Muslim worship during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Finally, the announcement of the Israeli government plan to ban West Bank Muslims from worshipping in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem triggered the joint protest.

World Council of Churches General Secretary Emilio Castro's response was: "We admire your courage to witness to the peace of Jesus Christ against all oppression ... The withdrawal of the occupiers and the opening of negotiations for a solution which would give satisfaction to both Israel and to the Palestinian nation will bring about a new era of reconciliation for the whole region."

Meanwhile, on the US political scene, Congressman Howard Neilson (R-UT) has been pressing for the school reopenings. Secretary of State Baker agrees and has appealed to American supporters of Israel to urge that country to replace its expansionist dreams with willingness to negotiate with its neighbors.

Jews from Iran Bypass Israel

Citing Austrian Foreign Ministry statistics for the past five years, Vienna's Die Presse reports that 98 percent of some 9,000 Jewish emigrants checking in there from Iran have opted for ultimate destinations other than Israel. The Austrian newspaper does not comment on religious considerations as possibly involved in their decisions or indicate whether or not they have deliberately rejected the religious Zionist doctrine that a full Jewish religious life is impossible in nonJewish territory. Apparently, for them the lure of Israel has been dimmed chiefly by accounts of its deteriorating economic and political circumstances and of its discrimination against Asiatic Jews already there.

Taylor-Made Mideast Compilation

Indiana's Taylor University has spent a significant portion of its 143 interdenominational years exploring and applying an "evangelical" understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From that vantage, 10 articles in its current alumni-and-friends quarterly focus on what it calls the "Cousin Conflict" between Arab and Jew. Palestinian and Israeli flags unfurled on the cover, their poles intertwined by an olive branch struggling to bind them together, foretell the common emphasis of its contents.

A limited overprinting makes copies available free (although you might want to enclose a donation). Write to Taylor University Magazine, Upland, IN 46989.

Solidarity with Palestinians: A Jewish Theological Perspective

The Palestinian uprising has shattered many widespread assumptions. Among these is the credibility of the "holocaust theology" popularized by Elie Wiesel and others. Perceiving Jews as persistently, interminably threatened in a world dominated by hostile non-Jews, it considers a powerful state of their own as the one fair and practical climax to "the dream of Jewish redemption." However, Mary knoll Professor Marc H. Ellis has told his fellow Jewish New Outlook (Tel Aviv) readers, the conditions spotlighted by intifada coverage have changed all that. Under the heading, "Solidarity with the Palestinian People: A Jewish Theological Perspective," he writes: "Our sense of ourselves as a suffering and justice-oriented people is blown away by the beatings and torture" of unarmed civilians by Israeli troops. "Our identity, so recently and effectively built around the state of Israel, leaves us with little to define ourselves except in a way that is clearly unacceptable in the ethical realm and clearly counterproductive in the political: as a warrior people... [with) power but not clear values to tame or steer it in the direction of justice. . What is at stake is our very witness—the ethical center which is the essence of what it means to be Jewish."

The overall framework from which this thinking emerged is available at length in Ellis' Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation (Orbis, 1987). His further application of his ideas appears in the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 1988 lecture on "Creating a Theological Framework for Peace in the Middle East. " This is available in a collection of scholarly Muslim, Christian and Jewish essays in The Role of American Religious Leaders in the Middle East Peace Process. To purchase this collection, send $5 to the American-Arab Affairs Council at 1730 M St., NW, 512, Washington, DC 20036.

IMPACT and Churches for Middle East Peace

"That was the meatiest day-long talk-fest I ever attended. " Such was the judgment of one seasoned conventioneer as he emerged from the final crowded session on "Palestine and Israel" at the national United Methodist headquarters building in Washington, DC.

The "meat "—provided by the sponsoring Churches for Middle East Peace (C-MEP)—was mainly a deliberately mixed diet of the contrasting but equally vigorous convictions of four key panelists deeply, personally involved in the subject: Anglican Jerusalem Bishop Samir Kafity and Hassan Abd-el Rahman, Palestine information officer in Washington for the League of Arab States, gave respectively the perceptions of Palestinians still resident in, and those barred from, their native land. Hillel Schenker of the dovish New Outlook provided an overview of peace-and-war planks in various Israeli party platforms. And American Zionist Hyman Bookbiner (see AET Book Club listing) spoke up for Israeli militancy.

The problem of US churches in dealing ecumenically with Christians and Christian issues in the Middle East has been partially resolved by the 1984 creation of C-MEP (110 Maryland Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20002). In C-MEP, 10 church bodies have joined the Mennonites and Brethren in confronting Middle East issues. Their main joint concerns include human rights, terrorism, the peace process, arms transfers and the unique status of Jerusalem. They consider the US government's role as crucial for bringing together Israeli, Palestinian and all other involved parties to work out negotiations for lasting peace in "the region where the Prince of Peace blessed the peacemakers."

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. 

SIDEBAR

All About Iraq

A funny thing happened on the way to the printer, twice. In June we planned a special issue on Iraq, but events in Lebanon intervened. In July there were PAC charts that wouldn't wait. So, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs is presenting in this issue articles on political changes and on women in Iraq. Subsequent issues will present articles on Iraq's economy; human rights and minorities; Iraq's remarkable historical record that extends, unbroken, to the Sumerian invention of writing; and the origins, costs and possible solutions for the dispute with Iran.