Introduction:
It is no longer possible to take for granted the Christian presence in the Holy Land. In fact, now more than ever before, the actual existence of indigenous Christians is at stake. The threat comes not from the Muslim community, as some would lead us to believe, but from the Israeli military occupation and the double standards used by the West.
It is no secret that Palestinians live within a tribal culture. This reality implies that personal security and protection depend exclusively on the tribe in all sectors of society. Very frequently, even the most "democratic" political parties are based on this very concept. A cursory glance at the names of leaders of specific parties reveals that many members and leaders have the same family names. People sometimes join a particular party not because they are convinced by it's ideology but because it fits into the system of tribal support and protection. The same is true of religious affiliation. A consequence of this reality is that one may become an easy target if the tribe or political party or religion to which he/she belongs is considered weak. It is indeed unfortunate that in certain cases, especially now as the Palestinian Authority lacks real authority and as many people are questioning the role of law, the only protection available is that of the tribe or political party.
The emigration of Palestinian Christians:
Many Palestinian Christian families have emigrated. Unfortunately there are no concrete and reliable figures available. Regardless of the reasons, this reality has weakened the Christian community as a whole and has made them extremely vulnerable. Very often, those who are strong and enjoy the support and protection of a powerful tribe or political party are unable to understand the vulnerability of those who lack this type of support or to recognize the consequences of their actions. Within Palestinian culture, people tend to side with those who are strong even if it brings harm to those who are weak. In this regard, Christians have two options, either they become themselves active in the political and social life to become more involved in changing this reality and building a democratic state, or to become isolated and marginalized and support those elements within society they consider strong.
The Islamic Fundamentalism:
Another concern for Christians is the emergence of Islamic fundamentalist movements, although the concern has no correlation to security of Christians. In general, the members of these movements are not even aware of the existence of Palestinian Christians. They are as ignorant as many Western Christians in this regard! Most of the members of these movements are ordinary people who know nothing of bigotry or prejudice. Unfortunately, however, they are frequently led astray by the harmful teaching of a few dubious leaders or activists. It is important to mention that these teachings are often directed against democratic or liberal ideas in general, including Christian ideas and their ways of life, though not against Christians as such. As Christians we must neither fear nor ignore fundamentalists. Rather our energies must be directed to creation of a new society where democratic rights are respected and harmful traditions are challenged. Muslim fundamentalism, as a religious revival, must be able to accommodate non-Muslims fully if it is to become a revolutionary revival as opposed to a reactionary one. This occurred once at the end of the 19th century and there are signs of the same thing happening within the Hizbollah Party in Lebanon. It is still too soon to make a judgment until; of course, these movements end up becoming primary ruling powers. In order to understand the fundamentalism of Islam we need to study and understand the fundamentalism of Jews represented by the extremists' settlers and many of their political and religious parties and the fundamentalism of Christians represented by the Christian Zionists because I really believe that the Muslim fundamentalism is a reaction and response to these movements. It is also founded on a sense of humiliation and helplessness.
The long and short of this is this: Arab Muslims have a big challenge because they must be able to look upon their Arab Christian neighbors as compatriots; and Christians must reciprocate but also a reflection of the principles and values of Christ and Mohammed.
The Christian Fundamentalism:
There are many external factors that influence the relations between Christians and Muslims. Local Christians have little or nothing to do with these factors but they have created much damage. The actions of Christian fundamentalists in USA and Europe who use the name of Christ to justify their wars on the Arab World and on Islam itself are major factors that create cleavages between Christians and Muslims. Local church leaders have long been aware of the importance of enhancing relations with Muslim clergy and this is an important thing. Dialogue that takes place among leaders is obviously significant, but dialogue at the grassroots level of society is equally vital. Any dialogue that is initiated, however, must take place within an atmosphere of tolerance - a concept not often found these days in the world including our society. The fear of difference, of the "other" is rooted deeply in the Palestinian psyche. It is precisely this fact that must be challenged if fruitful dialogue and principles of tolerance are to be integrated into society. The spirit of tolerance in our land, under this extreme political and cultural situation, is being eroded. Dialogue and normalizing programs between Christian and Muslims prove to be inadequate because these programs operate outside the context of the ordinary person and center on high-ranking officials who shake hands in front of cameras but never touch the reality of the people.
The War on Iraq and before that on Afghanistan, blind Western support for Israel, and factors emanating from such positions and policies combine to jeorpadise the Christians presence in the Middle East and threaten their very existence. On the other side, the recent position of churches everywhere in the world taking sides against the war on Iraq was a very good step to help the local Christians getting their message through. One still hopes that the churches in the west will take more progressive positions in relation to the Palestinians and their cause for a just peace. But all these good steps are not going to suffice; these relations should be manifested in joint work and activities. We should encourage and motivate our youth to be together, we should open our schools, institutions, and clubs to accommodate both. Above all we should quickly abandon the double-face, two-discourse attitude that has no value except as a public relations exercise. In their essence, such attitude is simply the exertion of isolationism and racism.
The Israeli military occupation:
Muslims and Christians alike live under the same Israeli military occupation. They both suffer from the daily harassment, the killing, confiscation of lands, destruction of infrastructure and properties, and above all the demolishing of their hopes and aspirations. Since its creation in 1948, Israel has deposited severe pressures on the Palestinians designed to frustrate their dreams and prompt them to quit their land. The influx of refugees at that time changed the demographic fabric in the country and in the neighboring countries as well. The Jews grew rapidly in numbers, while the Palestinians contracted and became a minority, whose rights are violated and abused. And as in any military occupation, the occupier's adopted the classical "divide and rule" policy to conquer and maintain their stranglehold on power. While Israel's role in dividing Muslims and Christians cannot be minimized, as the latest incident in Nazareth shows, we must be careful not to place all the blame on the occupation. We need to open our eyes to important facts and happenings in our area starting from the Gulf War right through to the phenomenon of Bin Laden. The Israeli occupation of Palestine has proven to be one of the most significant contributing factors to problems in general for Christians, not least of all, the problem of emigration. Christians have been subjected to harsh measures because they are often more capable of advocating in the West on behalf of Palestinians.
The Role of the Palestinian Christians:
The volatility of the political situation is played out in a variety of arenas within the region. The powers involved, whether they are external or internal, have contributed in various ways to war in the region and untold suffering for countless people. Britain, France, Germany, and Italy are some examples. However, the creation of Israel is the most significant factor in regional instability and violence. Arabs Christians are in the forefront of the defense of their countries and societies. At the beginning of the last century, Christians were pioneers in introducing new ideas and, in fact, had a role in leading the Arab World. This, however, is no longer the case. Christians have lost their historical role in the Arab National Movement and have lost the ideological war on this front. Nationalism and Socialism - created out of Christian initiatives have been lost. In other words, our fundamental projects have been lost. Christian role as a bridge between West and East has proven to be an empty dream - one that was visualized in detail, but never carried forward to its logical conclusion. It seems to Christians have in fact even lost their capacity to play this role. Whether or not this role should be a Christian one is open to question. Why? Simply, because Christians have got stranded in rhetoric discourses and dreams and never actually sought out the wherewithal to actualize them. The reason for this is that there has never been a solid ground from which to work. Christians remained torn apart in our divided enclaves of church divisions led and/or funded mainly by the West.
Theological formulations remained stagnated in meditative ways rather than in transformative ones. Thus, Christians never really rooted themselves in the cultural ethos of the region and to understand and claim their identity. The bride role between the East and West was far too superficial and devoid of substance to give the Christian an identity. Instead, it seemed as if Christians were more concerned about and involved in the external environment rather than in the internal social and cultural formations. Perhaps this is why ordinary people are confused. To whom do Christians belong? Do they belong to the Vatican, Germany, England, Greece, Russia, the US, or Palestine? Christians have relinquished their responsibility for this mission and instead allowed other structures to take over this precious space. This is nothing short of an abdication of responsibility, which Christians have carried out with efficiency and integrity in the past and gained recognition for. This is a loss of a role and function through which Christians made a contribution to social advancement and, thus, attained a place and recognition.
Lest it be misunderstood that Christians are alone in misunderstanding their identity, it is crucial to point out that many Muslims as well, through their experience of colonialism, imperialism, and neo-imperialism, have equated Christianity with the tyrant or the occupier. This is certainly unfortunate, but a fact that must be addressed if anything is to change.
Christians in Palestine lack leaders and have suffered long years as a consequence of this reality. Whether as a result of emigration or of lack of interest, Christians have ceased to develop new leadership. The dilemma is best described by Christians themselves thus: "Either we have good church leaders who lack a base within the local community, or we have strong Christian leaders totally unconnected with the church". This fact has been instrumental in creating an embarrassingly weak church that has little or no decision-making capacity. What adds to the misery is the Quota system, which was followed in the first and the only Legislative Council election. By contrast, Egypt's Copts, for instance, have refused this system and emphasized the notion of a co-equal citizenship. The quota based election system brought a good number of Christians into the council. These members can barely claim to be the legitimate representatives of the Christians. It is shocking to know that most of them have almost never held any meetings with what are supposed to be their constituencies. This system only goes to reveal the bankruptcy of the claim that Christians are truly Palestinian. Indeed, Christians have floundered in the political wilderness because they look like people who are anything but integral to the community. Rather, they have chosen to be a group with a minority complex. Christians should have chosen to be represented either by political parties or by individuals. Palestinian Christians must never internalize the attitude of a religious minority and tend to leave political life to others; on the contrary we should be active and involved in the political and social life of our community.
The role of the Church:
In this regard, the role of the church has often been criticized for its weakness. While it is true that the church is weak, we need to realize that the church is simply a microcosm of the people as a whole. A major factor in its weakness is the lack of value placed on the role of Christians in public life. Authentic faith leads one to participate in the political life of society. It is worth mentioning that Christian participation in the Arab societies of the region is a reflection of the general lack of political participation in the Arab World at large.
The weakness of the church is reflected in some of its mistakes over the years. For example, while there is an abundance of respected church literature available in English or German, there is next to nothing in Arabic. This literature could be a clear message in itself not only for Christians, but for Muslims as well. The church has failed in its mission to strengthen the sense of unity and confidence within its communities and to help its communities understand more deeply their faith and witness in society. It has also failed in finding ways to encourage its people to remain in the region and make a positive contribution in the creation of a new and better future for all Palestinians.
The church has often been afraid to provide any special services to Christians for fear of being labeled biased against Muslims. The presupposition is that we are guilty until proven innocent. Rather than addressing this issue directly through initiatives that build mutual respect and understanding between Christians and Muslims, the church has remained aloof and has engaged in dialogue only at hierarchical levels, excluding the common people. This neglect has left grassroots endeavors to a few church-related organizations - a tremendous loss for the church and its mission here.
The potential for the church to act as a real bridge between people of different faiths has been greatly diminished. Even when the meeting between a number of church leaders and the spiritual leader of Hamas, Ahmad Yasin, happens, Christians suspiciously ask if it merely a public relations ploy. Ordinary church community members were not even aware that this historic meeting neither took place nor was there any follow-up to the meeting- another in a series of missed opportunities for the church.
Until very recently, the church failed to play a major role in Palestinian political life or even in standing up for issues of justice and peace. Its message to the international community was not communicated well locally, especially when the message was one of reconciliation and peace. The church has become more "professional" and less people-oriented. Now and in the midst of talking about negotiations and the Road Map or whatsoever, there is a golden opportunity for the church to play a vital role in this struggle. The church needs to be there not to defend the Christians interests but to participate in defending the national cause and national home.
Conclusions:
Based on all this, there are some expectations in relation to the Palestinian Christian presence and role in this area. Some of these expectations are realistic but some are not. Palestinian Christians need to increase their analysis capacity in order to learn from their history and the history of the region to draw up their vision and directions in life.
The expectations of the Palestinian Christians:
1. from Palestinian Muslims:
a) Palestinian Christians want to be recognized as blood brothers and sisters and not as a protected minority or 'ahl el thimma'. We should have the same rights and obligations as any other citizen. Religion affiliation should not make a difference.
b) Palestinian Christians need to be recognized as important contributors to past and present Arabic history.
c) Palestinian Christians must be helped to overcome their fears and anxieties. This could be done through creating an open joint forum to tackle various and important topics which affect their lives.
d) Palestinian Christians must be trusted as an integral part of society.
2. from their sisters and brothers in the West:
a. Change the colonial-missionary-evangelistic mindset toward Palestinian Christians.
b. Help strengthening the churches structures and help them fulfilling their mission.
c. Offer moral and financial support and encouragement to Christians with the aim of helping them remain in their home country and become authentic witnesses within society.
d. Stop making erroneous accusations that Muslims persecutes Palestinian Christians.
e. Participate in the struggle to end the Israeli occupation.
f. Visit Palestinian Christians to learn about their problems and to help them find solutions.
g. Work alongside Palestinian Christians in their attempt to rectify the misinterpretations of the Bible, especially on the part of so-called Zionist Christians.
h. Initiate and strengthen various levels of partnership with Palestinian Christians.
I. Try to understand the reality and the strength that Palestinian Christians are Arabs and they have been living in an Islamic culture for about 1,500 years.
3. from the Church:
a. Support in being united as Christians in front of the Israeli occupation.
b. Greater involvement in Palestinian political and social life.
c. Greater efforts to improve relationships between the different congregations and to work more on Christian unity.
d. Greater efforts to strengthen the alliance with Muslims in order to support the national leadership.
e. A commitment to stop selling or renting Christian properties that could be used as a tool to strengthen the Israeli occupation.
4. from themselves:
a. Be more involved in the political and social life.
b. Get involved and participate in the church life.
c. Create a strong network between the Churches and the Churches related organizations in the framework of the Palestinian context; this will influence progressively the Christian message to the World and help the Palestinians achieving their national goals.
"Salvation for a race, nation, or class must come from within. Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted. Freedom and justice must be struggled for by the oppressed ... and the struggle must be continuous."
Quote from Mr. A. Phillip Randoph (1889-1979), African American, Civil Rights leader, and one who inspired Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr
Rifat Odeh Kassis
Article reprinted courtesy of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation:
http://www.hcef.org
It is no longer possible to take for granted the Christian presence in the Holy Land. In fact, now more than ever before, the actual existence of indigenous Christians is at stake. The threat comes not from the Muslim community, as some would lead us to believe, but from the Israeli military occupation and the double standards used by the West.
It is no secret that Palestinians live within a tribal culture. This reality implies that personal security and protection depend exclusively on the tribe in all sectors of society. Very frequently, even the most "democratic" political parties are based on this very concept. A cursory glance at the names of leaders of specific parties reveals that many members and leaders have the same family names. People sometimes join a particular party not because they are convinced by it's ideology but because it fits into the system of tribal support and protection. The same is true of religious affiliation. A consequence of this reality is that one may become an easy target if the tribe or political party or religion to which he/she belongs is considered weak. It is indeed unfortunate that in certain cases, especially now as the Palestinian Authority lacks real authority and as many people are questioning the role of law, the only protection available is that of the tribe or political party.
The emigration of Palestinian Christians:
Many Palestinian Christian families have emigrated. Unfortunately there are no concrete and reliable figures available. Regardless of the reasons, this reality has weakened the Christian community as a whole and has made them extremely vulnerable. Very often, those who are strong and enjoy the support and protection of a powerful tribe or political party are unable to understand the vulnerability of those who lack this type of support or to recognize the consequences of their actions. Within Palestinian culture, people tend to side with those who are strong even if it brings harm to those who are weak. In this regard, Christians have two options, either they become themselves active in the political and social life to become more involved in changing this reality and building a democratic state, or to become isolated and marginalized and support those elements within society they consider strong.
The Islamic Fundamentalism:
Another concern for Christians is the emergence of Islamic fundamentalist movements, although the concern has no correlation to security of Christians. In general, the members of these movements are not even aware of the existence of Palestinian Christians. They are as ignorant as many Western Christians in this regard! Most of the members of these movements are ordinary people who know nothing of bigotry or prejudice. Unfortunately, however, they are frequently led astray by the harmful teaching of a few dubious leaders or activists. It is important to mention that these teachings are often directed against democratic or liberal ideas in general, including Christian ideas and their ways of life, though not against Christians as such. As Christians we must neither fear nor ignore fundamentalists. Rather our energies must be directed to creation of a new society where democratic rights are respected and harmful traditions are challenged. Muslim fundamentalism, as a religious revival, must be able to accommodate non-Muslims fully if it is to become a revolutionary revival as opposed to a reactionary one. This occurred once at the end of the 19th century and there are signs of the same thing happening within the Hizbollah Party in Lebanon. It is still too soon to make a judgment until; of course, these movements end up becoming primary ruling powers. In order to understand the fundamentalism of Islam we need to study and understand the fundamentalism of Jews represented by the extremists' settlers and many of their political and religious parties and the fundamentalism of Christians represented by the Christian Zionists because I really believe that the Muslim fundamentalism is a reaction and response to these movements. It is also founded on a sense of humiliation and helplessness.
The long and short of this is this: Arab Muslims have a big challenge because they must be able to look upon their Arab Christian neighbors as compatriots; and Christians must reciprocate but also a reflection of the principles and values of Christ and Mohammed.
The Christian Fundamentalism:
There are many external factors that influence the relations between Christians and Muslims. Local Christians have little or nothing to do with these factors but they have created much damage. The actions of Christian fundamentalists in USA and Europe who use the name of Christ to justify their wars on the Arab World and on Islam itself are major factors that create cleavages between Christians and Muslims. Local church leaders have long been aware of the importance of enhancing relations with Muslim clergy and this is an important thing. Dialogue that takes place among leaders is obviously significant, but dialogue at the grassroots level of society is equally vital. Any dialogue that is initiated, however, must take place within an atmosphere of tolerance - a concept not often found these days in the world including our society. The fear of difference, of the "other" is rooted deeply in the Palestinian psyche. It is precisely this fact that must be challenged if fruitful dialogue and principles of tolerance are to be integrated into society. The spirit of tolerance in our land, under this extreme political and cultural situation, is being eroded. Dialogue and normalizing programs between Christian and Muslims prove to be inadequate because these programs operate outside the context of the ordinary person and center on high-ranking officials who shake hands in front of cameras but never touch the reality of the people.
The War on Iraq and before that on Afghanistan, blind Western support for Israel, and factors emanating from such positions and policies combine to jeorpadise the Christians presence in the Middle East and threaten their very existence. On the other side, the recent position of churches everywhere in the world taking sides against the war on Iraq was a very good step to help the local Christians getting their message through. One still hopes that the churches in the west will take more progressive positions in relation to the Palestinians and their cause for a just peace. But all these good steps are not going to suffice; these relations should be manifested in joint work and activities. We should encourage and motivate our youth to be together, we should open our schools, institutions, and clubs to accommodate both. Above all we should quickly abandon the double-face, two-discourse attitude that has no value except as a public relations exercise. In their essence, such attitude is simply the exertion of isolationism and racism.
The Israeli military occupation:
Muslims and Christians alike live under the same Israeli military occupation. They both suffer from the daily harassment, the killing, confiscation of lands, destruction of infrastructure and properties, and above all the demolishing of their hopes and aspirations. Since its creation in 1948, Israel has deposited severe pressures on the Palestinians designed to frustrate their dreams and prompt them to quit their land. The influx of refugees at that time changed the demographic fabric in the country and in the neighboring countries as well. The Jews grew rapidly in numbers, while the Palestinians contracted and became a minority, whose rights are violated and abused. And as in any military occupation, the occupier's adopted the classical "divide and rule" policy to conquer and maintain their stranglehold on power. While Israel's role in dividing Muslims and Christians cannot be minimized, as the latest incident in Nazareth shows, we must be careful not to place all the blame on the occupation. We need to open our eyes to important facts and happenings in our area starting from the Gulf War right through to the phenomenon of Bin Laden. The Israeli occupation of Palestine has proven to be one of the most significant contributing factors to problems in general for Christians, not least of all, the problem of emigration. Christians have been subjected to harsh measures because they are often more capable of advocating in the West on behalf of Palestinians.
The Role of the Palestinian Christians:
The volatility of the political situation is played out in a variety of arenas within the region. The powers involved, whether they are external or internal, have contributed in various ways to war in the region and untold suffering for countless people. Britain, France, Germany, and Italy are some examples. However, the creation of Israel is the most significant factor in regional instability and violence. Arabs Christians are in the forefront of the defense of their countries and societies. At the beginning of the last century, Christians were pioneers in introducing new ideas and, in fact, had a role in leading the Arab World. This, however, is no longer the case. Christians have lost their historical role in the Arab National Movement and have lost the ideological war on this front. Nationalism and Socialism - created out of Christian initiatives have been lost. In other words, our fundamental projects have been lost. Christian role as a bridge between West and East has proven to be an empty dream - one that was visualized in detail, but never carried forward to its logical conclusion. It seems to Christians have in fact even lost their capacity to play this role. Whether or not this role should be a Christian one is open to question. Why? Simply, because Christians have got stranded in rhetoric discourses and dreams and never actually sought out the wherewithal to actualize them. The reason for this is that there has never been a solid ground from which to work. Christians remained torn apart in our divided enclaves of church divisions led and/or funded mainly by the West.
Theological formulations remained stagnated in meditative ways rather than in transformative ones. Thus, Christians never really rooted themselves in the cultural ethos of the region and to understand and claim their identity. The bride role between the East and West was far too superficial and devoid of substance to give the Christian an identity. Instead, it seemed as if Christians were more concerned about and involved in the external environment rather than in the internal social and cultural formations. Perhaps this is why ordinary people are confused. To whom do Christians belong? Do they belong to the Vatican, Germany, England, Greece, Russia, the US, or Palestine? Christians have relinquished their responsibility for this mission and instead allowed other structures to take over this precious space. This is nothing short of an abdication of responsibility, which Christians have carried out with efficiency and integrity in the past and gained recognition for. This is a loss of a role and function through which Christians made a contribution to social advancement and, thus, attained a place and recognition.
Lest it be misunderstood that Christians are alone in misunderstanding their identity, it is crucial to point out that many Muslims as well, through their experience of colonialism, imperialism, and neo-imperialism, have equated Christianity with the tyrant or the occupier. This is certainly unfortunate, but a fact that must be addressed if anything is to change.
Christians in Palestine lack leaders and have suffered long years as a consequence of this reality. Whether as a result of emigration or of lack of interest, Christians have ceased to develop new leadership. The dilemma is best described by Christians themselves thus: "Either we have good church leaders who lack a base within the local community, or we have strong Christian leaders totally unconnected with the church". This fact has been instrumental in creating an embarrassingly weak church that has little or no decision-making capacity. What adds to the misery is the Quota system, which was followed in the first and the only Legislative Council election. By contrast, Egypt's Copts, for instance, have refused this system and emphasized the notion of a co-equal citizenship. The quota based election system brought a good number of Christians into the council. These members can barely claim to be the legitimate representatives of the Christians. It is shocking to know that most of them have almost never held any meetings with what are supposed to be their constituencies. This system only goes to reveal the bankruptcy of the claim that Christians are truly Palestinian. Indeed, Christians have floundered in the political wilderness because they look like people who are anything but integral to the community. Rather, they have chosen to be a group with a minority complex. Christians should have chosen to be represented either by political parties or by individuals. Palestinian Christians must never internalize the attitude of a religious minority and tend to leave political life to others; on the contrary we should be active and involved in the political and social life of our community.
The role of the Church:
In this regard, the role of the church has often been criticized for its weakness. While it is true that the church is weak, we need to realize that the church is simply a microcosm of the people as a whole. A major factor in its weakness is the lack of value placed on the role of Christians in public life. Authentic faith leads one to participate in the political life of society. It is worth mentioning that Christian participation in the Arab societies of the region is a reflection of the general lack of political participation in the Arab World at large.
The weakness of the church is reflected in some of its mistakes over the years. For example, while there is an abundance of respected church literature available in English or German, there is next to nothing in Arabic. This literature could be a clear message in itself not only for Christians, but for Muslims as well. The church has failed in its mission to strengthen the sense of unity and confidence within its communities and to help its communities understand more deeply their faith and witness in society. It has also failed in finding ways to encourage its people to remain in the region and make a positive contribution in the creation of a new and better future for all Palestinians.
The church has often been afraid to provide any special services to Christians for fear of being labeled biased against Muslims. The presupposition is that we are guilty until proven innocent. Rather than addressing this issue directly through initiatives that build mutual respect and understanding between Christians and Muslims, the church has remained aloof and has engaged in dialogue only at hierarchical levels, excluding the common people. This neglect has left grassroots endeavors to a few church-related organizations - a tremendous loss for the church and its mission here.
The potential for the church to act as a real bridge between people of different faiths has been greatly diminished. Even when the meeting between a number of church leaders and the spiritual leader of Hamas, Ahmad Yasin, happens, Christians suspiciously ask if it merely a public relations ploy. Ordinary church community members were not even aware that this historic meeting neither took place nor was there any follow-up to the meeting- another in a series of missed opportunities for the church.
Until very recently, the church failed to play a major role in Palestinian political life or even in standing up for issues of justice and peace. Its message to the international community was not communicated well locally, especially when the message was one of reconciliation and peace. The church has become more "professional" and less people-oriented. Now and in the midst of talking about negotiations and the Road Map or whatsoever, there is a golden opportunity for the church to play a vital role in this struggle. The church needs to be there not to defend the Christians interests but to participate in defending the national cause and national home.
Conclusions:
Based on all this, there are some expectations in relation to the Palestinian Christian presence and role in this area. Some of these expectations are realistic but some are not. Palestinian Christians need to increase their analysis capacity in order to learn from their history and the history of the region to draw up their vision and directions in life.
The expectations of the Palestinian Christians:
1. from Palestinian Muslims:
a) Palestinian Christians want to be recognized as blood brothers and sisters and not as a protected minority or 'ahl el thimma'. We should have the same rights and obligations as any other citizen. Religion affiliation should not make a difference.
b) Palestinian Christians need to be recognized as important contributors to past and present Arabic history.
c) Palestinian Christians must be helped to overcome their fears and anxieties. This could be done through creating an open joint forum to tackle various and important topics which affect their lives.
d) Palestinian Christians must be trusted as an integral part of society.
2. from their sisters and brothers in the West:
a. Change the colonial-missionary-evangelistic mindset toward Palestinian Christians.
b. Help strengthening the churches structures and help them fulfilling their mission.
c. Offer moral and financial support and encouragement to Christians with the aim of helping them remain in their home country and become authentic witnesses within society.
d. Stop making erroneous accusations that Muslims persecutes Palestinian Christians.
e. Participate in the struggle to end the Israeli occupation.
f. Visit Palestinian Christians to learn about their problems and to help them find solutions.
g. Work alongside Palestinian Christians in their attempt to rectify the misinterpretations of the Bible, especially on the part of so-called Zionist Christians.
h. Initiate and strengthen various levels of partnership with Palestinian Christians.
I. Try to understand the reality and the strength that Palestinian Christians are Arabs and they have been living in an Islamic culture for about 1,500 years.
3. from the Church:
a. Support in being united as Christians in front of the Israeli occupation.
b. Greater involvement in Palestinian political and social life.
c. Greater efforts to improve relationships between the different congregations and to work more on Christian unity.
d. Greater efforts to strengthen the alliance with Muslims in order to support the national leadership.
e. A commitment to stop selling or renting Christian properties that could be used as a tool to strengthen the Israeli occupation.
4. from themselves:
a. Be more involved in the political and social life.
b. Get involved and participate in the church life.
c. Create a strong network between the Churches and the Churches related organizations in the framework of the Palestinian context; this will influence progressively the Christian message to the World and help the Palestinians achieving their national goals.
"Salvation for a race, nation, or class must come from within. Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted. Freedom and justice must be struggled for by the oppressed ... and the struggle must be continuous."
Quote from Mr. A. Phillip Randoph (1889-1979), African American, Civil Rights leader, and one who inspired Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr
Rifat Odeh Kassis
Article reprinted courtesy of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation:
http://www.hcef.org