Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 1998, Pages 97-98

Christianity and the Middle East

The Biblical Jubilee: When God Rights Wrongs

By Rev. L. Humphrey Walz

Leviticus 25 suggests a Jubilee year when appropriate for marking the 50th anniversary of a given important event. The Israeli government considers the establishment of Israel as a state in 1948 to be such an event and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is encouraging a 1998 series of "Jubilee" events designed to attract paying guests from abroad to join in the festivities.

Cornerstone, published by the Sabeel Christian Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, notes of the Levitical jubilee that "it was the time in which God would set right what has gone wrong throughout the previous years. Among other things, slaves were to be set free, debts of the poor were to be forgiven and the land was to be returned to its original owners.

"There were at least two important messages of the biblical jubilee. It was to remind people that God is a God of justice....Yet due to evil and sin, injustice seemed always to creep in and change God's just order of things...so, in the jubilee year, God steps in to demand that things be set right again in the community." It will be interesting to see the extent to which Israel uses its jubilee to set an example for the rest of us.

Sabeel's Third International Conference, Feb. 10-15, is dedicated to following the biblical jubilee challenge to "proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants" (the words from Leviticus 25:10 included on our U.S. Liberty Bell which most Christians read in the context of Luke 4:18 and 19.) The Sabeel conference will try to answer the questions of fellow Christian residents in Israel which include: "We have lived under occupation for 50 years. What do we have to celebrate?"

In announcing the 1998 conference Sabeel says, "It is our sincere desire not only to enlighten those who are unfamiliar with the local events and circumstances but also to spark new ideas from among those who have become all too familiar with them."

For further information, write Friends of Sabeel, P.O. Box 4214, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-4214.

Bethlehem Bible College Refutes Binyamin Netanyahu's False Report of PNA Persecution of Christians

"A few weeks ago," says the latest quarterly newsletter from Bethlehem Bible College, "a friend sent us an article which originated from the office of the Israeli prime minister. The article reported that there were allegations of persecution of Christians under the Palestinian Authority. We were surprised at the accusation because if this were taking place we who live here would be the first to know about it."

"An Israeli resolution would make it illegal for Christians to share their faith."

By contrast, the BBC newsletter reports: "The complaints of most Christians here are related, rather, to Israel's closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip denying Palestinian Christians the right to worship or do any business in Jerusalem." The closure is one of the factors that are "encouraging many Christians to leave and seek a better life abroad."

"Yasser Arafat and his officers," it adds, "may have many faults, but persecuting Christians is not one of them. Unfortunately, once a rumor is started, it is very difficult to refute. By spreading such rumors the office of the prime minister undermines the Palestinian Authority internationally and distracts attention from an Israeli resolution which, if passed in the Knesset, would make it illegal for Christians to share their faith or to possess evangelistic literature."

In a separate section titled "Reconciliation Ministries on the Increase" we read: "Bethlehem Bible College encourages staff and students to be involved in reconciliation ministries. In November several of them and a group of Messianic Jewish leaders joined in a visit to Deir Yassin, the site of a Jewish massacre of Palestinians in 1948, and to Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem Holocaust Museum. The experience was emotionally and spiritually powerful for both Jew and Palestinian as they sought to identify with each other's hurts. Fellowship between Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews is becoming more frequent."

Venture Middle East Is Campaigning For Iraq's Children

In the Middle East as elsewhere there are official, fully accountable denominational educational, medical and relief missions. There are also non-denominational, independent missions, some of which compete with rather than re-enforce denominational activities. Venture Middle East, however, aims to supplement the work of denominational missions in a way that strengthens them where they are up against unusual odds.

Its work on the plight of Iraqi children is a particularly telling example of this approach. During this month more than 6,000 Iraqi children will die of preventable disease, says Leonard Rodgers, who co-founded VME in 1963. "There is no law preventing humanitarian goods from reaching those children or any of the people of Iraq," Rodgers says. VME plans to send another million dollars worth of medicine and medical supplies to Iraq in partnership with Conscience International and to send an 11-member medical team to Iraq to help stem the infant deaths being suffered by Iraq's people for the past seven years.

For further details, contact VME at P.O. Box 15313, Seattle, WA 95115 or phone (800) 421-2159 and be sure to ask for a copy of its heartwarming little newsletter, The Bridge, which seeks to be "a bridge between those in need and those who want to help."

Bosnians, Muslim and Christian, Jointly Appeal For Religious Freedom

Climaxing a three-day Muslim-Christian gathering in Zenica, Bosnia, participants appealed on Dec. 14 for stronger protection of freedom of belief and worship for all people throughout the Balkans. The gathering, which brought together 35 Muslim, Roman Catholic, Serbian Orthodox and Protestant participants, was organized by the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Also included were participants from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Croatia and neighboring countries.

John Taylor, CEC's special consultant for former Yugoslavia, observes that, although there had previously been "top level" inter-faith meetings there, the Zenica gathering was one of the region's first internationally sponsored interfaith meetings with grassroots participants, including journalists, educators, social workers, lawyers and others, mostly lay folk. Zenica had been chosen for the meeting, he said, because it was still a "pluralist community with an active Serbian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church and mosque."

He added that the appeal, issued after the gathering, was a "challenge to the increasingly separatist approach in such areas as education and public health" in the regions of Bosnia controlled by Serbs, Croats or Muslims. He noted that strong separatist and nationalist forces are trying to polarize and divide people, and pointed out that this tendency was infiltrating new school textbooks.

EMEU 1998 Pilgrimage Includes Turkey, Syria and Lebanon

Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding emphasizes group visits to the churches and peoples of the Middle East to grasp both the history of, and the present challenges to, Christians both there and here. This year's pilgrimage, May 8 to 27, will feature Turkey, Syria and Lebanon and the legacy of their churches to Christians of today. The Reverend Dr. Donald E. Wagner, director, with offices at North Park University, Box 52, 3225 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, IL 60625 is, as usual, coordinator and developer but as always with top authorities in harness with him. The Ecumenical Patriarch will host them in Istanbul. Father Elias Chacour (whose works are among the more popular titles in our Book Club, see pp. 108, 109) with Dr. Ray Bakke of International Urban Associates and guides from local churches will accompany the pilgrims to New Testament sites and historic spots at their successive stops.

Israeli State Radio Drops Most Christian Programming From Its Arabic Service

Agence France-Presse in December reported that a prominent Catholic prelate in Nazareth had accused Israel's state radio of discrimination and demanded the reinstatement of the Christian programming recently dropped from the broadcasting schedule of the Arabic service. "They have cut off an entire community. This is evident religious discrimination and we want the situation to be changed," said Monsignor Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of the Latin Patriarchy. He added: "Our citizens have the right of all citizens to have their own programs. The cancelling is evident discrimination."

Israeli radio dropped regular monthly programs by all Christian churches in September 1996 and reduced the number of special seasonal services, citing budget constraints. There have been a few Greek Orthodox holiday services on the air, but very few. And Catholic services have been completely cancelled.

Three Women of Jerusalem Address American Audiences

Partners for Peace, 1511 K St., NW, Washington, DC 20005, continues its efforts to spread the truth about the real issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These efforts have been enhanced by the January appearances of three women, all from Jerusalem and all concerned for peace, but from three different religious traditions that count Jerusalem as a holy city: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. More specifically:

Nahla Asali was born in Jerusalem to a Muslim family which traces its roots there back 500 years. She earned her B.A. from the American University of Beirut and her M.A. in English Literature from Indiana State University. She chairs Project Loving Care, which she co-established in 1968 as a child sponsorship program. She is a lecturer at Birzeit University, just north of Jerusalem, in its Department of Languages and Literature.

Michal Shohat was born on a kibbutz to Eastern European Jewish parents. She migrated to Israel in 1948. In 1971 she joined the Israeli army and served as an officer aide to its vice chief of staff. After the Lebanon war she entered politics and currently serves on the Municipal Conference of Jerusalem. As administrative manager of the Meretz Pro-Peace Party, she is responsible for its labor-related activities.

Claudette Habesch was born in Jerusalem to Christian parents whose families have been in the Holy City for at least three centuries. She is secretary-general of Caritas Holyland, an international Catholic refugee organization. She is also on the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and the Refugee Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches.

The three appeared together from Jan. 7 to the 23rd before audiences in Washington, DC, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Roanoke, Baltimore, Princeton, Philadelphia and Trenton, in that order. (See Partners for Peace advertisement on pp. 92 and 93 in this issue.)

Presbyterian U.N. Seminar on "Peace in the Middle East" Fully Booked

The Presbyterian United Nations Office can accept no more applications for its seminar, "Peace in the Middle East: A United Nations Agenda," in New York, March 4-6. One explanation for its popularity lies in the appeal of its promotional announcement:

"The Middle East is the source of the religions of the book. Three major religious faiths have lived there and struggled together. Throughout history, empires, crusades, colonial impositions and wars have shaped the psyches of peoples and religious communities. Until recently the Middle East was caught between the competing ideologies and designs of the superpowers. Subsequent pressures for democracy and development have raised new complications, often cast as a conflict of civilizations. Thus, for decades the Middle East has been in turmoil. Violence and suffering are widespread and the issues involved are complex.

"Since the founding of Israel in 1948, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a dominant factor, influencing all else in the region. The unique U.S. relationship with Israel has also been a shaping force.

"Seminar participants will examine the broad issues of the Middle East, particularly as they are impacted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through briefings by U.N. and mission personnel, participants will also explore the roles of the United Nations, the United States and other parties involved in the conflict, and will strategize for education and advocacy on the basis of the positions established by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

Bombing Revives Concern for Ecumenical Patriarch

The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul has announced that the midnight bomb detonated by unknown perpetrators in December caused extensive damage to the patriarchal church and slightly injured Deacon Nektrios of the patriarchal staff. Though the damage was minimal the fact that it came as the latest in a series of such attacks—including a 1996 explosion and the 1994 discovery of two planted time bombs—was worrisome.

The patriarchate promptly called upon—and expressed thanks to—the Turkish government for "protection by the legal system of the country in which and from which we peacefully conduct our spiritual activities." It also expressed comfort from the official condemnation by the World Council of Churches and the Council of European Churches of such "acts of violence" as "repugnant to people of all faiths who believe in a holy and merciful God."

Both councils appealed jointly to "the Turkish authorities to make every effort to bring the perpetrators of these violent acts to justice."

Constantinople (time-slurred to "Islamabad") is the self-honoring new name the first Christian Emperor Constantinople gave to old Byzantine when he moved his capital there from Rome in the early fourth century. That move led to the designation of the top local church official there as the "Ecumenical Patriarch, first among equals," a title and status still widely honored.