December 1989, Page 39

Religion

Catholic Bishops Press US On Mideast Peace

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

A draft statement entitled "Toward Peace in the Middle East: Problems and Principles" was submitted to 300 prelates at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore Nov. 6 to 9. The 41-page draft was prepared by a special committee of three archbishops, Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles (chairman), William H. Keeler of Baltimore and John (Cardinal) O'Connor of New York.

Individually or together they had held consultations with the Vatican, national religious leaders in the Middle East and leaders of major US organizations.

These contacts enhanced their special concern for US governmental responsibility in negotiating a peace to, in the words of their statement, meet the "long-denied rights" of Palestinians and provide for the security of Israel.

Another basic concern of the archbishops is for the local Christian communities in the Middle East, including Catholic institutions and individuals who have suffered extensively in the Lebanese and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts. O'Connor is president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which provides goods and services for Palestinian refugees and maintain orphanages, schools, clinics, hospitals and homes for the aged throughout the Middle East. Closely related is Bethlehem University-administered by the Catholic Brothers of the Christian Schools-which, after years of harassment of its students, faculty and administration by the occupation authorities, was closed down more than two years ago by Israel occupation authorities.

Thus it is from first-hand observation that the Bishops' statement urges an end to Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights and cites Israeli responsibility for the beating deaths of Palestinians (including people not involved in the intifada), for the demolition of homes and arrests and imprisonments without trial.

By way of establishing conditions of normalcy, the statement calls upon Israel to negotiate with Palestinian representatives selected by the Palestinians. (The Bishops' 1978 statement had already asked the Palestinians to acknowledge Israel's right to exist in accordance with UN Resolution 242.)

"The key to successful dialogue," the new statement asserts, "will be Palestinians willing to discuss secure boundaries and stable political relations with Israel and Israeli willingness to discuss territory and sovereignty with Palestinians."

Regarding the Lebanese tragedy, the Bishops' statement calls for ending the Syrian occupation and a greater US diplomatic and humanitarian role, but not a military presence.

"As Christian leaders we have a responsibility to . . . pull factions that have been in conflict together, to be instruments of peace," Mahony said in explaining the purpose of the statement. "We see this as a moral challenge. There is a better way to live." Details of the statement were discussed in executive session of the National Council of Catholic Bishops, with the adopted text to be released at the conclusion of the conference.

Episcopalians Challenge Israel on Human Rights

In reaction to a protest from the Executive Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan over "human rights abuses by Israel of Palestinians," Moshe Aumann, the Israeli Embassy's minister-counselor on church relations in Washington, has accused that body of speaking "without having made any attempt to learn the facts."

Bishop H. Coleman McGehee's nine-page single-spaced reply welcomed "the opportunity to explain to you more fully our position." With it he enclosed 34 photocopied pages of authenticated documents and added a wide-ranging list of sources of other materials the council had found supportive and readily available: These included the annual State Department report, which issues a yearly survey on human rights worldwide, and studies by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Lawyers Guild, the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights, the Database Project on Palestinian Human Rights, the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights, the West Bank Data Base Project, Human Rights Watch, Al Haq/Law in the Service of Man, various UN units, Amnesty International and delegations from other international bodies.

A Plea for Peace Through Truth

The Bishop took particular pains to fill in the gaps and correct errors in the minister-counselor's allegations specifically against Anglican (Episcopalian) Palestinians and their colleagues.

The ninth page of the Bishop's letter pleads: "Please help us in our struggle to better understand both sides of this continuing and tragic conflict. We yearn to be instruments of peace, bringing. . . light where there is darkness. . . We look forward to hearing from you on these matters."

The Bishop added: "We in our diocese feel it is terribly important to ascertain the truth, and to speak the truth, and we strive imperfectly to that end. We do not think that harassment of religious expression and institutions nor abuses of human rights is good for the Palestinians or for Israel. We would like to see peace based on justice so that both communities will have the right to develop without the shadow of violence."

Harassment of Religion

The Bishop's documentation focuses on details of such violence as is within the power of Aumann's government to bring safely and swiftly to an end. It includes general deportations, beatings, shootings, killings, tear-gassing, detentions without charge or trial, curfews, coerced confessions, unsanitary prisons, sealing or demolishing homes, expropriating property for Jewish-only use and destroying some 67,000 Palestinian-owned fruit trees. His major concern, however, is with enhancing Aumann's understanding of instances of Israeli interference with normal religious life and practices, Christian and Muslim, individual and institutional.

He reports enough examples to give a human face to impersonal statistics. For example:

Major West Bank churches are surrounded most Sundays by soldiers who demand ID cards from all worshippers. In Ramallah: Soldiers invaded a Catholic mass and beat up Father Faysal Hijazin. Others shot Anglican Rev. Khalil Duaybis in the leg.

In Gaza: Soldiers fired into Sheikh Radwan Mosque, killed one worshipper. At Othman Ibn Affan Mosque they injured 30 people. In Kfar Salem, troops entered the mosque, beat the 75-year-old imam and shot his son, and others including children.

The Bishop leaves it up to the Israeli minister-counselor to check on the degree of official complicity in these and other similar events.

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.