News & Views
News & Views
Thoughts from Jerusalem by Bridget Tighe fmdm
Around Jerusalem religious symbols of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are evident in dress, ritual and public prayer. Two bus companies - one Israeli, the other Palestinian run similar routes. Foreigners use both. In a mixed Israeli/Palestinian suburb, water to Palestinian homes is severely rationed while there is no rationing to Israeli homes. Israeli army personnel, police, and Jewish settlers are heavily armed while Palestinians and foreigners can be asked to produce identity papers several times in the course of a short bus ride. One can enjoy an excellent meal in a local restaurant while in the occupied territories there are gun battles and curfews. Ordinary Israelis go about their daily business apparently unconcerned for the plight of Palestinians imprisoned behind the 10 meter high “security wall” that cuts many off from their land, medical care and schools, while Israeli taxi drivers are afraid to enter Palestinian areas. Israeli parents who teach their children that all people are worthy of equal rights and respect, see their teenage sons and daughters change when they begin their compulsory army service.
Throughout the country the economic advancement of Israelis in terms of buildings, infrastructure and business contrasts sharply with the impoverishment of Palestinians who are routinely denied planning permission. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are enclosed by electrified fences and connected by “settler only” roads, while Palestinians cannot travel between West Bank cities without permits and long delays at numerous checkpoints. Contrast and contradiction are everywhere while people from both communities long for peace though they differ on what political process or outcome would ensure justice and security for both peoples.
In west Jerusalem and within the pre-1967 borders, Israeli lifestyle is comparable to any prosperous western country and was described by one of my fellow pilgrims as “little America”. In Gaza, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and other parts of the West Bank the picture is very different. These major cities, that are supposed to form a future Palestinian state, are surrounded by walls, electrified fences and trenches, communities are isolated from each other, students find it difficult to attend university, business is stifled. A city or a whole area can be, and often is, closed instantly “for security reasons” and nobody can enter or leave, even for medical care. This situation, that merits the term Apartheid, generates frustration and anger even among moderate, peace-loving Palestinians. Predictably, the “pressure-cooker” explodes in the form of suicide bombs or attacks on military or civilian targets, Israel retaliates, and the cycle of violence continues. Yet I believe there is hope.
Editorials and thoughtful articles in the Israeli press show that the Israeli public is waking up to the consequences of demographic change and realising that its government policies will not lead to long-term security. Individuals and peace movements are calling for change. I talked to an Israeli policeman who believes that the 1967 boundary should be the international border between Israel and a future Palestinian state, with all Israeli settlers being withdrawn from the West Bank and all Palestinians being transferred to the new Palestinian state. His reason: changing demography and desire for a pure Jewish state. Others propose different solutions such as two states within agreed secure borders with Israeli settlers and Arab Israelis choosing in which state they wish to live as ordinary citizens.
Among Palestinians I found equally pragmatic and thoughtful reflection and everyone with whom I spoke accepts the existence of the State of Israel. I was particularly struck by the enthusiasm and vibrancy of Palestinian youth. In Gaza I visited kindergartens that, in the middle of squalid refugee camps, are bright and cheerful and include English in the curriculum for three to six year olds. In Birzeit I visited the parish. We were warmly greeted by Fr Aziz Halaweh who showed us his Church and school that are modern and well maintained. The children are exuberant and friendly with hopes and dreams like children anywhere — to be doctors, teachers, astronauts, footballers, nurses. In Hebron we met trilingual young women university students who accept the need to live peacefully alongside the State of Israel, in a Palestinian state that would have control of its borders, natural resources and destiny. In Bethlehem I had dinner with a Muslim family who, in addition to their own four children, support the family of the husband’s deceased brother. The parents worry about money and how to survive, the “security wall” discourages tourists from coming to Bethlehem and their business is failing, but the children, some in their teens, talk of going to university and having a career. None of these young people are terrorists, nor do they condone terrorism, but they must be given freedom, hope and opportunities to pursue normal lives.
Currently they are denied these basic human rights. They see their parents and elders humiliated and abused by young, heavily armed Israeli soldiers, they queue at checkpoints on their way to school or unive sity, they are subject to curfews, and they contrast their lives and opportunities with those of young Israelis. Unless they are given hope and justice some will be lured along other paths.
Since I returned from Jerusalem Prime Minister Sharon had a massive stroke that ended his political career and Hamas won the Palestinian elections. With the political scene so radically changed I am hopeful that, despite the rhetoric on both sides, there is now a window of opportunity to work for peace. My hope is that Israelis and Palestinians, with strong American and European support, will not let this opportunity pass. The consequences of inaction, or of either side retreating to hard-line positions, are too great.
Can we help? Palestinians, particularly Christians, need pilgrims to visit not only Jerusalem and Galilee but Bethlehem and other West Bank sites, to stay in their hotels, buy their goods and help revive their economy. This will also help Israelis to be confident and less fearful of a future alongside a viable Palestinian state.