Reports from Israel-Palestine: Peter Makari
UCC delegation witnesses ‘segregation’ in visit to Palestine and Israel
Peter Makari
Area Executive for Middle East and Europe
Global Ministries (UCC/Disciples)
Nov. 23, 2005
UCC delegation witnesses ‘segregation’ in visit to Palestine and Israel
Peter Makari
Area Executive for Middle East and Europe
Global Ministries (UCC/Disciples)
Nov. 23, 2005
They come through on tractors, with donkey-drawn carts, and on foot after spending the day in the olive orchard on the other side. Israeli soldiers check their papers and control the traffic—light on this day as it is still `Id al-Fitr, the feast marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting during which the first revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad is marked. All but one home is on the town’s eastern side of the barrier; a single home is cut off from the town and is on the western side. The olive groves, greenhouses, and sources of water on which the town’s agricultural economy depends are on the western side as well. “It’s hard to describe the oppressive presence of Israel’s separation barrier and the devastating impact on daily life for Palestinians,” commented John Thomas, the UCC’s General Minister and President. In Jayyous, the gate is open for one hour at dawn, noon, and dusk. An international presence of participants from the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel monitors the treatment of Palestinians at the gate. Thomas, accompanied by Central Atlantic Conference Minister John Deckenback, Ecumenical Officer Lydia Veliko, and Middle East executive Peter Makari, listened to Accompaniers and village residents describe how their lives have changed as a result of the barrier’s construction.
Thomas and the small delegation recently spent nearly six days in Palestine and Israel, arriving on November 4. The visit was an opportunity to visit with Common Global Ministries’ Palestinian Christian partners to witness the work they are doing and offer support through presence, to engage with Jews and Muslims to hear their stories and perspectives, and to engage first hand with the issues raised by two resolutions on the Middle East adopted by General Synod this past summer—one calling for Israel to tear down the wall, and the other concerning the use of economic leverage to end violence and promote peace in the Middle East.
The group began their visit in Bethlehem. Crossing from Jerusalem meant experiencing the separation barrier as a massive wall. A reality that Israel describes as temporary, many Palestinians must cope with its presence. Throughout the visit, the barrier and the segregation it represents were evident, and a point of reference for most everyone with whom the group engaged. As a Jewish peace and human rights activist told us, “The discourse in the Israeli left has shifted from opposing the wall to accepting its presence. It is essentially complete, with some exceptions.” Palestinians have responded in different ways, including opposition and resistance, accommodation, and acceptance.
Even in the context of greater limitations, Palestinian Christian partners make efforts to bridge gaps and create opportunities. At Rawdat At the gate in the separation barrier in the northern West Bank town of Jayyous, Palestinian farmers cross back into town at dusk. El-Zuhur, a primary school with which Common Global Ministries shares in the child sponsorship program, Palestinian children learn with enthusiasm and are helped to cope with the experiences of their daily lives in positive ways. The YMCA and YWCA offer many programs of training, empowerment, and participation. The Middle East Council of Churches continues to work with Palestinian refugees—the largest refugee population in the world. The local churches offer educational, health, and other services, as well as caring for the spiritual needs of the faithful.
Arriving less than three months since Israel implemented its Gaza Disengagement plan, the delegation was scheduled to spend a full day in Gaza to visit partners and projects the UCC and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have supported there. Despite persistent efforts to secure the appropriate permission from the Israeli government, the group was denied permits and was thus unable to visit. Frustrating for the delegation, the episode raised questions about the extent and nature of Israel’s disengagement. Beyond that, however, it gave the group a taste of the difficulties Palestinians experience on a daily basis as they seek permits to travel in and out of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza to worship, to study, to work, to seek medical treatment, or to visit family.
One young woman —a primary school teacher and resident of Jayyous— engaged us in conversation at the gate between the town and the olive groves. She asked how long our group would stay and where we would go next. Answering that we would stay only a few more days before traveling to Berlin, she lamented that travel restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities prohibit her from visiting Jerusalem, let alone Europe or the United States. The separation barrier is the most visible aspect of restrictions that impact Palestinian society as a whole. Thomas observed, “Whatever short term gain this may have for Israeli security will pale in comparison to the rage it is creating among those who are cut off from their land, their schools, their jobs, their families.”
At the entrance to Bethlehem, only a few tour buses were headed back to Jerusalem. In years past, large numbers of Palestinians would go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to work for the day. Now, such opportunities are no longer available, and unemployment is increasing. Israelis and Palestinians are neighbors, but have less and less of a chance for positive encounter. “The wall destines Israeli and Palestinian alike to a segregated society as harsh and unfair as the segregation we knew in the United States,” reflected Thomas. Lessons of history urge a different approach. Hope for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict depends on a future with peace and justice, not segregation and barriers.