For our biblical visit today, we visited the Via Dolorosa and entered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was crowded and touristy, but there was beauty in the traditions and the stones that moved some of us. Others were mainly turned off by the noise, rush, and ornamentation.
We also listened and asked questions of Danny Seideman, an American-born, Jewish, Israeli attorney who is an influential expert on the politics of Jerusalem. Overall we were very impressed with his pragmatic, approach and his vast knowledge of East Jerusalem. I want to compare notes and return with a summary of his points... so that will be a later post.
I do want to share this interview in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz with former Knesset member and Jewish Israeli peace activist, Uri Avnery. His comments on Netanyahu's handling of the raid on the aide boats last week are enlightening. I also take heart from his statement of hope for the future of the Israeli peace movement. Disclaimer: I am relatively new to these issues. I am sharing this article and one the other day as a novice. If there is something terribly problematic about any of the articles I'm sharing, please let me know.
Showing posts with label gaza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gaza. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Worship Service to End the Siege
Craig, Larry, and I went to the service I mentioned last night. Sabeel organized priests and laypeople from a variety of Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran congregations to collaborate in a beautiful, moving service. Prayers in Arabic, Armenian, English, French, Swedish, Italian, Czech (maybe) were offered up for a lifting of the siege. The unity in diversity and the sense of spiritual calling for justice were deeply moving.
We also met with Tom Neu of the Carter Center here in Jerusalem today. Here is a link to a description of some of what the Carter Center does here. Dr. Neu really helped illustrate that lifting the siege on Gaza should be a priority for Israel and for the United States. The use of the Gaza strip as a large prison is putting unsustainable pressure on Gazans. He goes there regularly and reports that Gazans want to work, but unemployment is so high, that a generation is coming up that is losing any familiarity with normal self-sustaining work. We as US citizens are subsidizing the wall, the blockade, and every action that Israel takes. We have the bargaining chips to help convince Israel to make just, responsible decisions to remove the siege, freeze settlements (including those on the drawing board) and stop house demolitions.
Those moves are not popular here or in the US right now. I don't pretend to understand how to convince people in any country that providing justice, freedom, and voice for their oppressed and disenfranchised populations will promote security. It's a hard sell to any powerful people to risk providing justice for the powerless of its number.
It brings to mind problems in the US. We have a long way to go in realizing our obligations and debts to immigrants, regardless of their documentation. In our war efforts, we are mainly silent as some of our military actions create enemies and hurt our security and our moral standing (the drone attacks in Pakistan seem to be the most apparent breach of international law at the moment).
I am very motivated to engage our legislators and executive on these issues when I get back to the states. If you want to get a head start on me, by all means go ahead! If you disagree with something I have said or want to add something, please do as well.
A quick disclaimer: My postings only represent my thoughts, not the other members of the trip. We will do some reflections and planning for how we may respond to what we have learned and seen. Then we will have something that can represent all of us. I expect we will come to consensus and share our plans on this Blog.
We also met with Tom Neu of the Carter Center here in Jerusalem today. Here is a link to a description of some of what the Carter Center does here. Dr. Neu really helped illustrate that lifting the siege on Gaza should be a priority for Israel and for the United States. The use of the Gaza strip as a large prison is putting unsustainable pressure on Gazans. He goes there regularly and reports that Gazans want to work, but unemployment is so high, that a generation is coming up that is losing any familiarity with normal self-sustaining work. We as US citizens are subsidizing the wall, the blockade, and every action that Israel takes. We have the bargaining chips to help convince Israel to make just, responsible decisions to remove the siege, freeze settlements (including those on the drawing board) and stop house demolitions.
Those moves are not popular here or in the US right now. I don't pretend to understand how to convince people in any country that providing justice, freedom, and voice for their oppressed and disenfranchised populations will promote security. It's a hard sell to any powerful people to risk providing justice for the powerless of its number.
It brings to mind problems in the US. We have a long way to go in realizing our obligations and debts to immigrants, regardless of their documentation. In our war efforts, we are mainly silent as some of our military actions create enemies and hurt our security and our moral standing (the drone attacks in Pakistan seem to be the most apparent breach of international law at the moment).
I am very motivated to engage our legislators and executive on these issues when I get back to the states. If you want to get a head start on me, by all means go ahead! If you disagree with something I have said or want to add something, please do as well.
A quick disclaimer: My postings only represent my thoughts, not the other members of the trip. We will do some reflections and planning for how we may respond to what we have learned and seen. Then we will have something that can represent all of us. I expect we will come to consensus and share our plans on this Blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)