Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2000, pages 66, 113

Bethlehem Bulletin

Sabeel Conference in Bethlehem Encourages Local Ecumenical Movement

By Sr. Elaine Kelley

An ecumenical version of the Lord’s Prayer read by Archimandrite Attalah Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem served as an opening for the local conference of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center held at Bethlehem University on March 11. Sabeel (Arabic for “the way” and “spring of life-giving water”) is an ecumenical grassroots movement among Palestinian Christians based on the concepts of liberation theology and reconciliation for the various national and faith communities in the Holy Land.

The organization has sponsored three international conferences: the first in March 1990 on “Faith and the Intifada”; the second in January 1996 on “The Significance of Jerusalem for Christians”; and the third in February 1998 on “The Challenge of Jubilee”—all held in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The local conference of Sabeel was conducted in Arabic and followed the first Synod of the Catholic churches Feb. 8 through 12 in Bethlehem, the first ever to be held in the Holy Land (see March Washington Report).

Sabeel director Rev. Naim Ateek in his opening remarks referred to the gospel of John 13:35 and the Christian call to unity which “must come before anything that separates us,” he said. He addressed the gathering of leaders of the Christian ecumenical movement in Palestine, clergy and laity with a vision for revitalizing the local Christian community. These included addressing the tradition of celebrating Christmas and Easter on different days, and for sharing scarce financial resources, church and school buildings and coordinating projects in education and community service.

Samira Wahbeh from Nablus, a recognized lay leader for over 20 years within the ecumenical movement, set the tone of the conference with a personal testimony of faith. She was followed by Dr. Nader Abu Ghattas of the Al Ihsan Orthodox Association in Beit Jala who said that “petitions are being signed by the people themselves,” to encourage their priests and bishops to work on uniting religious services. “There is no reason not to pray together,” he added.

A session on the practical ways to promote unity and co-existence included a presentation by Sr. Hortense Nakhleh of the Rosary Sisters in Jerusalem. “Our order is indigenous,” she began. She explained that in the Latin schools in which Rosary Sisters serve as administrators and teachers she encouraged her sisters to take students to different churches and to teach them about the variety of traditions. She said that her school in Beit Hanina in the northern area of Jerusalem consists of 90 percent Muslim students and spoke of the difficulties in recognizing all Christian and Muslim feast days. She said she is now “keeping to the main holidays” because if she closes school for every feast “it would be closed all the time.” She said another problem she is facing is the lack of support among parents for co-educational schools.

Jack Khazmo of the bi-monthly pro-Fateh magazine, Al Bayader al Siyasi, echoed concerns that money from outside private sources and targeted for the Christian community was not reaching them, and that a proposal considered by a five-member ecumenical council to charge pilgrims an entrance fee for the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was opposed only by the Orthodox member. He called for a bigger volunteer commitment from members of the Christian community to fill the void of inadequate paid staff in churches and schools.

Sabeel treasurer Samia Khoury, who is also the president of the Rawdat Al Zuhur School in Jerusalem, addressed the role of women, stating that “It’s not the fault of the occupation if we don’t take care of our own place, keep it neat, follow the rules, respect ourselves, our environment and work for the benefit of all.” She cited the example of her aunt Elizabeth of Birzeit’s Nasser family who started a girls’ school in her house 20 years ago because she saw a need, and that her initiative evolved to become the Rawdat Al Zuhur School. “We need leaders,” she concluded. “As Palestinians we can change the circumstances around us through our institutions and NGOs.”

In a joint presentation, Dr. Mustapha Abu Sway of Al Quds University and Fr. Rafiq Khoury of the Latin Patriarchate spoke on the “Qur’anic Tribute to Jesus on His 2000th Birthday” and on “The Living Muslim-Christian Dialogue,” respectively. The session was moderated by Jean Zaru of the World Council of Religion and Peace.

Sway, who holds a doctorate in Islamic philosophy, said the Qur’an has an entire chapter on the mother of Jesus and that, unlike many Christians, Muslims believe in “the immaculate conception of Mary” and that “some Muslims say Mary is a prophetess.”

Fr. Rafiq Khoury, who served as secretary-general of the Catholic Synod in Bethlehem in February, spoke of “the dynamic continuous relationship” between Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land for over 300 years. He said that Christians and Muslims were now at a crossroads. “We are all Palestinian,” he concluded. “We are all human.”

The day-long conference continued later in the evening with a dramatic performance and songs and closed with an ecumenical worship service the following day at the Greek Orthdox Church Hall in Beit Sahour. Nora Carmi, coordinator of local programs for Sabeel, said that the conference accomplished its purpose in bringing people closer together and to come up with means of cooperation.

The Fourth International Sabeel Conference will be Feb. 21-24, 2001 in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Book Launch in Jerusalem

At a book launch held at the YWCA in East Jerusalem on March 17, Afif Safieh, the Palestinian general delegate to the U.K. and the Holy See, spoke about two books being publicized at the Sabeel event. Our Story: the Palestinians, in which Safieh has written the forward, is edited by Naim Ateek and Hilary Rantisi. It contains photographs documenting 50 years of Al Nakba (The Catastrophe in Arabic), the 1967 War, refugees, military occupation, the intifada and the peace process. The second book, entitled The Complete Works of Amin Nasser, contains his nationalistic songs and other works which he adapted from writings of Palestinian poets. Tania Nasser, whose husband Hanna Nasser is the president of Birzeit University, read The End, a poem by the late Palestinian poet Kamal Nasser, who was gunned down and killed in Lebanon by Israeli military personnel in April 1973. In the poem Kamal, a Christian, expresses the feeling that his life is coming to an end and at the same time a beginning. Following the reading, Amin performed a composition that he wrote 40 years ago.

Sr. Elaine Kelley is a development officer and ESL teacher at Bethlehem University.