Hebron & the Settler Issue

Since today was Sunday, I thought I'd mark my visit to Jerusalem by going to church, so I went to St. George's Cathedral, an Anglican church close to my hotel.  Very nice service in a beautiful church!

Then it was on to class.  From Professor Marc Gopin:

• There were 10 million Jews in year one, and only 18 million by the 20th century.  There should be 500 million Jews by now.  Why not?  Christian persecution.
• Regarding the anti-Semitism that is a part of Christianity:  Perhaps some Jewish leaders were against Jesus, but many Jewish people were for him.  Christians ended up moving on outside of Judaism, and this has resulted for many in the history of the church in a kind of encrusted anti-semitism - i.e. that Jews are destined forever to be a small band of pilgrims wandering the earth.  Instead of blaming Jews for what has happened to them, we should be looking at Christian kings and bishops.
• In rabbinical teaching one strand has said that you should love your neighbor, because he is literally you (i.e. love your neighbor as your self).  Another strand suggests that you should treat your neighbor well because he/she is a human being made in the image of God.  This latter tradition is a better one to base human right on, because it is not dependent on good relations with your neighbor.  Better to base things on the unshakable notion of every human being in the image of God.

Then we headed to Hebron, flashpoint for the settler issue.  We met first with Barya Schachter, son of famous Jewish Renewal Rabbi, who heads an American football team made up of Israelis and Palestinians.  He is making the case for unifying people through violent sports!  There team won the championship with the colors orange and green - orange is the settler color, and green represents Palestine!

Then it was on to the tombs of the Patriarchs - where we saw the graves of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Leah, Isaac & Rebekah, & Ishmael.  This is an incredibly important spot for both Muslims and Christians.  There are caves below this monument (build originally by King Herod - so yes, the building is @ 2000 years old), where the bones are said to lie, even those of Adam and Eve.  This is the spot that Abraham bought as a place to bury his descendants in the Bible, so this place has big significance for Jews in terms of the land.  If you are a Palestinian you cannot go in the Jewish side, and can only visit Isaac and Rebekah's cenotaphs (symbolic tomb markers).  If you are Jewish, you cannot visit the Muslim side and can only see Abraham & Sarah, Jacob & Leah, and Ishmael's cenotaphs.  Its an amazingly complicated situation!  Half of our group went to one side and half of our group went to the other side and we said a united prayer for peace shouting through the walls at one spot where you can actually see the other side.

Then it was on to Hebron.  The Tomb of the Patriarchs is close to the old city of Hebron, which is now under Israeli control.  It used to be a Palestinian area, but the streets are now deserted, save for one Jewish settlement.  This settlement has been the scene of much violence and reprisals.  The settlers are protected by the Israeli army in a kind of ghost town.  It is surreal to walk through the area that is full of tense soldiers protecting one settlement.  Then as you keep walking you pass through another checkpoint to the Palestinian-controlled area of Hebron.  It is a vibrant area with cars, peoples, taxis, and skyscrapers.  What an amazing difference!  The settlers are obviously thumbing their nose at the Palestinian control by having their settlers there (there is a dispute over a massacre that happened in 1929 that attempts to explain the Jewish claim on the area).

We then met with the mayor of Hebron, a bustling industrious town of 250,000.  He answered some questions and gave us some cool gifts.  He just wants the people to be able to live their lives.

We were joined on this trip by Eliyahu Mclain a Jewish leader who coordinates interfaith leaders working for peace.  I had some good introductory discussions with him and hope to connect with him about our work at NVP.  He had a magnificent quote:  "Everything requires faith in the Middle East."

Then it was on to the Gush Etzion Settlements to meet with Myron and his "Settlers for Peace" group, which was very interesting!  In this settlement, these people are reaching out to a neighboring Palestinian village with help and relationship-building.  This village - Zachariaz - hosted us and we watched a fascinating debate between some conservative settlers and some Palestinian village leaders.  The settlers sounded like crusty old people - i.e. we should probably care about the "other" but our primary job is to settle Israel for the Jews.  It was good to hear that voice because it represents the majority view of Jews here in Israel and probably half the viewpoint in the U.S.

Home to Jerusalem, after dropping various people off to avoid certain checkpoints.  Pizza at a little restaurant.  Now off to bed!