Christian Zionism

Since my return from Israel and Palestine I have had the opportunity to have lots of visits with people about my experiences as an ecumenical accompanier with the World Council of Churches.   Most people are very surprised when they hear what I share with them.  Many of them respond something like this:  “I never knew” or “we never hear about the kinds of things that you observed.” 

What is clear to me is that the news which reaches the United States is “laundered”, so to speak, in regards to what is happening in Israel.  Europeans receive a much more balanced version of events in Israel.  Members of my team from Sweden, Norway and Switzerland were much more informed upon arrival about the political realities of Israel and Palestine than I was.   I recently read an article written by an author, Grace Halsell, who wrote a book on Israel some years ago.  She writes in this article about the roadblocks she encountered in trying to get the book published because she was critical of Israel.  I recommend it to you.  It is entitled, “What Christians Don’t Know About Israel.”

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/halsell.html

Many of my friends and acquaintances I have spoken with since my return are quite confused about Israel and Palestine.  And their confusion stems from a blank acceptance that the “Holy Land” should belong to the Jews.  After all, the Bible describes a narrative in which God’s “Chosen People” are given land. 

Sign on a building in Hebron which was
illegally occupied by Israeli settlers

I think that most people that I grew up with have accepted this simple rationale for supporting the present situation in Israel.  The return of the "holy land" has been promoted by the Zionist movement which began in England in the late 19^th century.  After World War II there was a concerted effort to establish a “homeland” for the Jews which was reinforced by feelings of guilt as the horrors of the holocaust became known.  But what I have discovered, after having been there, is that the present situation in Israel and Palestine has very little to do with religion.  It is mostly an economic and political exercise which is often couched in religious terms.

There has also developed an understanding of Zionism which has been described as “Christian Zionism” which supports a political regime in Israel based on apartheid and discrimination.  This has largely been formed by a belief about the “end times.”  This has been popularized in the United States by television evangelists who use the writings and movies of Hal Lindsay and Tim LaHaye as a basis for believing that the end of the world is imminent and will happen in Israel.  They see the development of a strong Israel as a fulfillment of Biblical prophesy.  And as such there is little incentive to challenge what is happening, much less to give any credence to the plight of the Palestinians.

Barbara Rossing, a Lutheran theologian,  has written an interesting book which challenges the theology and understanding of those who promote this view.  The book is entitled:  The Rapture Exposed:  A Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation.

Christian Zionism is essentially a kind of blind support for Israel’s actions in relation to the Palestinians.  Mike Huckabee, who is a possible Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency, recently toured settlements in East Jerusalem.  ( as has Sarah Palin)  These  settlements were built by Israelis on land confiscated from Palestinians .   He remarked that Jews should be able to build wherever they want because it is their land.  This notion is not only held by Christian Zionists in the United States, it is a growing phenomenon around the world.  For instance, there is an “International Christian Embassy” in Jerusalem which has been actively involved in promoting Zionism for over thirty years.  I encourage you to check out their website:

http://int.icej.org/

I recently became aware of another website that can provide more information about Christian Zionism.  It is important for Christian people around the world to understand and challenge the fallacies around the Christian Zionist movement.  Will the U.S. stand alone among the nations of the world in their blind support of what the Zionist movement stands for?

http://www.christianzionism.org/

The United Nations has defined “Zionism” as a form of racism and apartheid.  What I observed happening in Israel is almost a re-enactment of the holocaust with the Israelis as those who are perpetrating injustice and torture.  The Palestinians are experiencing a gradual development of a prison camp in which they are enslaved by barbed wire and very high concrete walls.  

Guard tower on wall in Bethlehem

"Prisoners" in Tulkarm waiting to be "let out" so
that they can get to their day jobs beyond the
"prison" wall

The prison guards are not only perched on towers, they are spread though-out the prison.  Israeli settlers have been incentivized to occupy land within the prison and are armed with automatic weapons to protect them from the prisoners.  Within the prison, movement of prisoners is restricted by roadblocks and checkpoints.  And of course there is the prohibition of any meaningful economic development within the prison.

One of the persons  of the current EA  team 39 in Tulkarm has had an article published in a newspaper in Belfast, Ireland.  Sean compares what he has observed to a soccer game in which the rules are totally arbitrary.  I recommend it to you for your reading.

http://belfastmedia.com/columnists_article.php?ID=1051

My husband and I will be heading to Alaska soon for the summer.  I will be bringing some pictures along and hope I have opportunities to share my experiences with my Alaskan friends. 

Continue to pray for the people of Israel and Palestine.  I believe that the unrest in the rest of the Middle East may provide some incentive for positive steps to be taken in Israel between the Palestinians and the Israelis.  The rest of the world stands poised to recognize Palestine as a nation.  I can only hope that my fellow Americans can begin to get a clearer picture of the futility of blindly supporting Zionism.

Susanne

Checkpoint Duty: A Retrospective

I have started giving presentations about my experience in Palestine.  I think it is important to give people here at home details of what I actually did during my time in Palestine.  Checkpoint duty was one of the responsibilities of the accompaniers placed in Tulkarm.  The pictures I show that were taken at the checkpoint gives my audience some idea of what a checkpoint looks like.    

Taybe Checkpoint--before sunrise

Oftentimes people ask me why it was so important for us to be at the checkpoints so early in the morning.  Talking about it always brings back a flood of memories.  I remember it was always very dark and oftentimes cold/rainy when we arrived at the checkpoint.   Many people had already gathered and were patiently waiting.  The wait seemed interminable to me and this was just beginning of their daily screening process to get to work in Israel or to get to their olive trees if we were at an agricultural gate.  We were all dependent on the light at the turn style going from red to green. 

This was operated by the management inside the building and we never saw a human face.  As soon as it turned green there was a scramble to get through but very soon it was red again.  There was never any predictability as to how long it would be before it turned green again.   We would stand by the first turn style and greet the people standing in line.   We were never allowed to go into the next area where screening, finger-print identification and further interrogation took place.  The voice over the loud speaker giving commands when people were starting the 2^nd phase of security check sounded harsh and demeaning. 

I often wondered how much it was about security and how much it was about control and harassment of Palestinian people.  Since there was a waiting time, I found myself reminiscing about my experiences as a child growing up in Montana.  Growing up in a rural area there were plenty of opportunities to watch cattle being herded.  It  occurred to me that the herds of cattle going through cattle gates had been treated with more dignity and respect than what I was witnessing at the checkpoints.  

Our team also had a clicker to count how many men and women go through each checkpoint on a daily basis.  The numbers in this checkpoint alone were over 3,000.  It was important for us to gather exact information as this was sent to the office of Humanitarian Affairs.

We knew we could engage the assistance of a very helpful and dedicated women’s organization from Israel called Machsom Watch.   Machsom means “checkpoint” in Hebrew.  Their purpose is to monitor the checkpoints at the border crossings and other checkpoints placed in between places in the West Bank of Palestine.   All the women are Israeli citizens who are strongly in opposition to the treatment of Palestinians by their government.  I will post a url for their website which will give you an idea of what they do on a daily basis.

http://www.machsomwatch.org/en

Our responsibility as EA’s was to problem-solve, put a human face on this degrading process and give direction if a person was denied access.  We called Machsom Watch to request their assistance by providing  names and numbers if  further advocacy was requested.  It was reassuring to have their consistent assistance for follow-up.  Since they were Israeli citizens they were able to problem-solve in a more effective manner. 

I have been made aware of a series of six short utube film clips made about the activities of Matchsom Watch which I found to be very helpful in understanding what they do and more importantly, why they are involved in Checkpoint watch.  This information was sent to me by one of the Palestinian friends I met in Tulkarm.  I viewed them today and they stirred up a lot of emotions that I experienced while I was on checkpoint duty.

I urge you to watch them.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDcVLF32UY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVAwVwpHNR0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIYw4ud1Dgs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbV0tuJWjYg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3nermpwvug&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzhbFuXjV3Q&feature=related

I wish all of you a very blessed holy season.

Susanne

Juliano Mer-Khamis Assassinated Today

I was greatly saddened to learn that the founder of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Juliano Mer-Khamis, was murdered today outside of the theatre. 

Picture I took of Juliano Mer-Khamis in February
He (3rd from left) and his wife (2nd from left) met
with the EA team after Freedom Theatre performance

One of the highlights of my recent sojourn in Palestine was the day in February when he invited members of our EA team from Tulkarm to visit Freedom Theatre for a performance of "Alice in Wonderland".  The theatre is located in a refugee camp in Jenin.

Curtain Call after "Alice in Wonderland"

Mr. Mer-Khamis is one of Israel's foremost actors and  playrights.  His acting career began in 1984 when he appeared in "The Little Drummer Girl", starring Diane Keaton. A citizen of Israel and born to a Jewish mother and a Palestinian Christian father, he established the Freedom Theatre in Jenin in 2006 and lived there.  The theater is a tribute to his mother, Arna, who was tireless in her opposition to the Israeli Occupation. She established a children's theatre group in the refugee camps in Jenin in the 80's.  In 2003 Juliano produced his first documentary film entitled, "Arna's Children," a year after Jenin had been bombed during the Second Infitada.

See this article to learn more:  http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1108/juliano-mer-khamis

We spent the entire day with Juliano and his staff.  They hosted us for a wonderful meal after the performance during which we had a lengthy conversation about the plight of children who had experienced so much trauma.  He felt that theatre was a good way for people to begin to heal from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

We also visited with his wife, who was pregnant and carrying twins.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of his young son who is pictured below on the right. 

Future Actress and Actor

It was especially fun to see all of the children line up for the performance.  They were transported from Jenin and surrounding villages for the play.  It is a memory which I will treasure.

School Children Waiting to Enter Freedom Theatre

April 4th is the anniversary of the death of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.  On the National Public Radio today, there was an interesting story about the events surrounding his death.  He was a tireless advocate for the poor and for non-violent protests against discrimination.  It is so ironic that Mel-Khamis was also assassinated on April 4th.  This day will be etched in my memory for the tragic loss of these two great men.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to meet Juliano and his wife.  I urge you to pray for his wife and family as well as the people of Jenin and Palestine as they mourn another loss.

Susanne

Thoughts From Prague

March 7

I am writing this from Prague in the Czech Republic.  Obed and I flew here Sunday from Tel Aviv.  It has been a whirlwind three months and we are going to unwind in Europe before heading home.

Last Friday evening we gathered in Jerusalem as an EA team for a final dinner together.  It was a wonderful evening and gave us a chance to say farewell.  Obed took some pictures of our team so that I can remember the event and recall the significant times spent with a wonderful group of new friends.

Ann (UK), Cynthia (Swi), me, Katariina (Fin)

Petter (Nor), Mats (Swe), me, Elin (Swe), Johanna (Swe), Maria (Swe)
below:  Anne (Nor)

Helen (UK), me, Jan Erik (Swe), Christoph (Austria)

Vidar (Nor), me, Nicolai (Nor), Hanna (Fin), Abigajil (Ger)

I have already written about how richly blessed I feel to have spent time with the Palestinian people who have demonstrated such patience and perseverance.  I also feel fortunate to have met so many wonderful EAs.  They have helped to enlarge my world view.  As a group they brought an impressive array of personal and professional skills.  I am grateful to have shared the often challenging experiences with them.  And  I know that my life will not be the same. 

Elin and Susanne

In reflecting on the three months spent in Palestine I have learned to appreciate how complex the issue is.  Yet the yearning for justice and fairness on the part of those living under occupation is quite plain to see.  The question that I must now confront is this:  what can I do to begin to make a difference?  What can my friends in the United States and around world do to influence the situation to some degree?

Perhaps we can begin with the acronym PEACE.

·         Pray:  Pray for the Palestinian people.  Pray for the Israeli Occupiers.  Pray for those in positions of power.  Pray for all people who live in poverty and without justice.

·         Educate:  All of us need to be intentional in learning more about the plight of the Palestinians and all those who suffer from injustice.

·         Advocacy:  The call to advocate for the poor was made by the Old Testament prophets and was repeated forcefully by Jesus.  As Christian people all of us need to speak out for those whose voices are muffled by unjust policies and economic disparity.

·         Communication:  Perhaps the most important thing we can do as Americans is to let our elected officials know how we feel about policies that allow Israel’s land grab and inhumane treatment to continue unchecked.

·         Economic Measures:  For one, Obed and I have decided to boycott Israeli products in terms of our own purchases.  Any item that begins with 7 29 on the bar code is made in Israel.  Apartheid in South Africa was finally brought to its knees after economic pressures were asserted, including divestment, by people of conscience around the world.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have been reading this blog and supporting me with your prayers.  It has meant a great deal to me.  I will continue to blog occasionally to share some of my ongoing efforts and thoughts.  God bless you.  Please continue to pray for justice and peace.

Susanne

Arab Christians Living in Israel

March 1, 2011

Two Christian families, who are actively involved with Friends of Sabeel in Nazareth, joined us for our evening meal at St. Margarit's Guesthouse.  Habib and his wife live in Nazareth with their two teenage children.  He is a software engineer and his wife works for an agency which is involved with human rights issues.  They are Anglican Christians and helped us to understand what it is like to be a Christian living in Israel.

Habib's wife can trace her family and their Christian roots to the fourth century and to land in a village near Nazareth.  Since Nakba, “the Catastrophe” in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were evicted from their homes and villages, her life has radically changed.  She is an Israeli citizen and carries an identity card.  Her father was educated in the United States.  She met her husband when they were young children at church events and camps near Nazareth.  They both attended college in the U.S.   After working in the United States for a few years they longed to be with their families again so they returned to Israel.

She said that before 1928 all people who lived in Palestine were called Palestinians.  There were three groups:  Christians, Jews and Muslims.  All of these groups were considered Palestinians.  With the advent of Zionism, Palestinian Jews disassociated themselves from being identified as “Palestinian.”. 

Since Nakba , Arabs who remained within the borders of Israel have become second class citizens.  They experience significant discrimination even though they pay the same rates of taxes as Israelis.  An Arab or Palestinian village receives about a quarter of the financial support of a Jewish village in funds returned to operate the municipality.  They have difficulty buying property.  Jews are encouraged not to sell land to them.  Recently, 100 prominent rabbis in Israel produced a document stating it was a sin to sell to Palestinians.

On job applications the first thing asked is the person’s army number.  Since the Arab/Palestinian young people are forbidden to join the Army, there is an immediate bias on hiring.  In education, young Palestinians entering college are forbidden to take certain classes. This is done by restricting classes by age.  Since Israeli young people must serve 2 or 3 years in the Army after high school, they are older when they start college.  Classes in higher professional education are restricted by age, making it difficult for young Palestinians to take certain courses.

In schools, the Israeli’s forbid any mention of the Nakba.  They are trying to wipe out the history of the brutal invasion of the Zionist forces in the 1948 which dislocated hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.  Large numbers of refugees fled the country to the United States, Canada, Jordan and other countries.  In fact, a recent law makes it illegal for teachers to even mention the Nakba in the classroom.  The penalty is that the school will lose government funding.  This is very ironic in light of the great efforts of Jews to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust.  The Palestinian families feel that the intent of the Israeli government is for Palestinian children to be unaware of their own history, thus tempering any resistance to Israeli policies.

Israeli policy also places limits on economic development of Palestinians.  One way they do this is through their ministry of tourism.  This is felt in Nazareth by the fact that roads are being built in such a way as to bypass Palestinian villages. Even in Nazareth, tour operators are advised not stay in Nazareth hotels as they are considered unsafe.  

In the last twenty years the Muslim population in Nazareth has become the majority after it historically was a majority Christian town.    Muslims and Christians have always lived together peacefully, but there have been recent efforts of local Israeli politicians to put a wedge between Christians and Muslims, encouraging more fanaticism among Muslims—something which is quite new to Nazareth. 

We were told that there are some Palestinian villages which have existed for centuries which are not listed on Israeli maps.  Those towns technically do not exist and the people who live there technically do not exist.  They live in constant fear of their towns being bulldozed as they cannot obtain any permits to build on their centurys' old property.

Habib showed us his Israeli identity card.  Until recently the term “Arab” was printed on it.  But after pressure from human rights activists the term Arab was removed, but it was replaced by a star.  (This reminded me of the star that the Nazi’s required of the Jews in the Warsaw ghettos prior to World War 2).  Israelis have two birthdates on their identity cards—one using the Western calendar and one using the Jewish calendar year.  Palestinians are always pulled aside and given a very thorough and harassing screeningat the airport.

When asked if they saw any hope for things changing, they said that the Israeli population is becoming much more rigid and to the right of center.  The peoples' influence appears to be waning in what used to be a larger group of the population that supported the plight of the Palestinians. They also think that the present Foreign Minister is very open in establishing racist policies against  the Palestinians or Arabs.

Clinging to faith that God will not abandon them like Christians of the first few centuries, they know that they face constant pressure and suffering.   They are very anxious that Christian people around the world learn the fact that there are Christian Palestinians who are not Muslim or Muslim terrorists.

Obed

Jordan Valley & Galilee

March 1--(continued)  Our Aluna bus headed north on the road from which you can see Jordan to the east.  It was amazing to see the agriculture of the Jordan Valley.  But the sad thing was to realize that in spite of the fact that this is entirely Palestinian territory, virtually all of the land in the valley has been claimed by the Israelis.  They use various means to do this.  They have designated some of it as military zones and they have allowed many settlements to be established who claim virtually all the farmland in the valley.  Our trip leader from Sabeel said that it is the unspoken Israeli policy that Palestinians not have any land that adjoins the Jordan River.

The entire length of the valley on the west side of the Jordan River consists of incredibly rich farmland, which through irrigation, yields a vast wealth of products, from dates to bananas and from farm produce to orchards. Spotted throughout the valley are Palestinian villages.  Since they are denied access to their land all that they can do to support themselves is to work as laborers for the Israelis.  How ironic it is to be forced to be farm laborers for those who have confiscated their land.  But unless they did this they would have no means to support themselves financially.

As we neared the northern end of the valley, the land became much richer.  And, as to be expected, this more abundant land was where we crossed though a checkpoint and entered Israeli territory. Soon we spotted the beautiful Sea of Galilee.  

Looking At Galilee From the Hill of the Beautitudes

We stopped at several sites, among them where Jesus preached the Beatitudes, where Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep, and where Mary Magdalene lived in Capernaum.  We passed through Cana on our way to Nazareth.  It was funny to see a shop advertising “The First Wedding Wine.”  We finally came to Nazareth where we visited the sites of the Annunciation of Mary.

Father Farah Teaches us about the Annunciation of Mary

We were led through the old section of Nazareth by Kamal Farah, an Eastern Rite Anglican priest, who was absolutely wonderful in his explanation of its history.  We were shown the developments on the hills east of Nazareth built by the Israelis housing about 60,000 new citizens, mostly Jewish.  It is given the name of Nazareth Elite.  We stayed in the St. Margarit’s Guesthouse, overlooking the city of Nazareth. 

View of Nazareth From St. Margarit's Guesthouse

It was a wonderful experience to walk were Jesus walked and to experience the hospitality of those who explained the history of this unique area.

Obed

Leaving Bethlehem

March 2, 2011

After Obed left on his tour and before leaving Bethlehem I decided to walk towards the separation barrier on my way up to the checkpoint.  It was memorable to walk past the Bethlehem Inn and reflect on the times I stayed there.  Since the Bethlehem Inn is located right across the street from the separation barrier, it was easy to walk along the barrier.  The barrier is ugly and imposing consisting of gray concrete slab.  It is a blatant way to force separation and this has caused enormous suffering in every area of life.  The artwork all along the barrier is a beautiful expression of the anguish of the Palestinian people.  A book that contains many such pictures and explains this art is:  "Against the Wall:  The Art of Resistance" by William Parry.

 

The following cartoon figure is named Handala.  It was created by an artist Naji al Ali who was assasinated in London in 1987.  This cartoon figure is a refugee child of ten and represents "bitterness".  If you would like to read about the history of this cartoon you may find it at the following web site:  http://www.najialali.com/

I stopped to have a bite to eat at a tiny café directly across the street from the Barrier.  As it turned out the owner is also a contact for the EA team in Bethlehem.  He shared with me his story about how the occupation has affected and continues to affect his family.  He said:  “the Occupation has been very hard on us and we continue to struggle because of it.”

I checked into the Lutheran World Federation guesthouse located on the grounds of the Augusta Victoria Hospital.  This is also where my spouse, Obed, will stay during his time in Jerusalem while I am finishing up with EAPPI.    

Upon checking into my room at the guesthouse I noticed beautiful hand- tied quilts on both of the twin beds.  This brought back a flood of memories of all the quilts I’ve seen made by people I have known. 

It’s nice to know that quilts made with loving hands all these years and sent to Lutheran World Relief are being used here.  Some may have been made by my dear cousin, Mimmie, who lived to be 102.  She sewed those quilts for her church in Webster, SD until she was 100 years old.  The quilts are a reminder of the work we do together. 

 I explored the facility and walked up to the Mount of Olives.  It was a beautiful day with evidence of spring bursting forth in this area and throughout the West Bank of Palestine.

Susanne