September 1989, Page 20A.

Religion

Palestinians Host Jews for Sabbath

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

At dusk on a West Bank Friday, some 70 Orthodox Jews slipped quietly into the largely Christian Arab village of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. There the Israelis were to stay as guests over the Sabbath in the homes of Palestinian villagers, who welcomed the kosher food they brought and prepared it for the scheduled community dinner. Together, in the light of Sabbath candles, hosts and guests participated in a "peace kiddush." After dining they conversed far into the night about attaining a more inclusive peaceful coexistence.

Thanks to back roads and the cooperative secrecy of Israeli peace activists, the visitors had evaded military interception en route to their clandestine rendezvous. However, on the following morning as they were walking with their hosts to the adjacent Shepherds' Field-traditional site of the angelic proclamation "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth"-Israeli soldiers spotted them. Knesset member Ron Cohen of Ratz (the Citizens' Rights Party) did not have time to stand under a Palestinian flag, express thanks for the help Arab neighbors had provided his family in Iraq, and protest as hypocritical Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's doubletalk about peace negotiations.

Then, as they all were returning to the village to meet with Mayor Al-Atrash, the soldiers stopped them, declared the area a closed military zone, and ordered everyone to go home. The foresight of making the visit on the Sabbath-when the Israeli government honors Orthodox Jewish bans on travel-became immediately apparent. All of the Israeli visitors could insist on being allowed to stay for a prearranged kosher picnic with the villagers in the churchyard.

There, however, other soldiers surrounded the entire group with guns and teargas cannisters while Cohen negotiated with the area commander to lift the closure order. The visitors eventually were permitted to return to their hosts' homes until sundown when, by Orthodox Sabbath rules, they could again travel.

From the Jewish side, the protagonists for that Palestinian-Israeli meeting were from Peace Now, Israelis By Choice and the Rabbinic Human Rights Watch. Though the event took place on Good Friday and Easter Eve, Israeli participants remain as determined as their Arab hosts to keep it fresh in the consciousness of their countrymen as evidence of what might be. They cite it in support of their contentions that (as summarized in the Middle East Council of ChurchesNews Report): "The intifada is not directed against Israelis but against the occupation. . .Dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians is possible when the government and the army do not interfere. . .Palestinians prefer nonviolent means to seek their independence, if not blocked by the army from carrying them out."

UU's Views on Mideast

At the annual Unitarian Universalists (UU) General Assembly-held for six days this summer on the Yale campus-aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli situation surfaced in several settings. All Souls Church in Washington, DC, introduced a broadly supported "Resolution of Immediate Witness on Ending Human Rights Abuses in the Occupied Territories of Palestine." Citing the State Department's 1989 human rights report of Israeli killings, beatings, detentions and torture, which violate the terms of eligibility for US foreign aid, the resolution's 27 lines called upon the US government to demand Israeli compliance with international standards of human rights, along with accountability for its use of US grants.

Although UU resolutions do not represent official denominational policy, they can feed the process of plenary debate and parish polling that lead in that direction. The way has thus been cleared for consideration of a longer resolution on "Supporting the Mideast Peace Process" for submission to next summer's General Assembly in Milwaukee. It notes, among other factors, the Palestine Liberation Organization's move "toward recognition and reconciliation with the state of Israel," and the Israeli citizen movements for ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip and for negotiating for the establishment of a Palestinian state. To help generate momentum toward those goals, it "urges the government of the US to contribute one percent of its aid to Israel in the form of contributions to the groups in Israel. . .working for a solution of peace with justice and security for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples."

UU's committee for justice in the Middle East sponsored two events at the Assembly. One was Jerusalem-born, Syracuse University (Utica College) Professor Shaw Dallal's compelling lecture on "Human Rights: The Key to Israeli-Palestinian Solutions." (Audio tape available for $2.50 from Ruth Heiss, 2818 Greenwood Ave., Rockford, IL 61107). Dr. Robert Alpern, director of the UU Washington Office, presented slides and commentary on present developments in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

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