Mideast Church Leaders Express Cautious Optimism Over Road Map for Peace
Episcopal News Service. July 3, 2003 [2003-156-A]
James Solheim
(ENS) As both Israelis and Palestinians take the first faltering steps to implement the international peace effort known as "the road map," Mideast church leaders are expressing cautious optimism that, with strong U.S. support, their hopes for peace might finally be realized.
President George W. Bush formally launched the road map--endorsed by a Quartet comprised of the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia--at a June 4 summit in Jordan in an effort to end 33 months of fighting that has escalated the violence and destroyed trust and cooperation on both sides of the conflict.
The road map offers a potential path out of the quagmire of violence. It calls for a series of reciprocal measures: a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism and a halt to Israeli land confiscation and demolition of houses; democratization of the Palestinian government and a progressive withdrawal of Israeli military forces; and creation of a viable Palestinian state by 2005. Hopes were bolstered with a ceasefire adopted by the four Palestinian groups responsible for armed resistance to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from northern Gaza and the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
A glimmer of hope?
"Generally, people are ready but they are fearful--and there is not much trust," said the Rev. Naim Ateek, director of the Sabeel Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem in an interview. "It's part of the climate here--but that could change if things move in a new direction." The only way the road map can succeed is for the Americans to get guarantees from the Israelis that they will comply.
"Sabeel's position is that, if there is honest monitoring, it has a chance of leading to a just peace and Palestinians will accept it, except perhaps the extremists," he said. "But both sides must see a change of life on the ground, some clear signs of progress."
The three-month ceasefire, which could be expanded, means "no incursions, everything stops," Ateek said. "If the U.S. pushes both sides to do that honestly, we have a chance but there is a deep fear among the Palestinians that Israel won't abide by the ceasefire because basically they don't buy the road map."
He said that his fear is that "if we lose this opportunity, if it is not implemented for any reason, I don't know what will happen. Things will get worse and the violence will increase. The road map is a glimmer of hope--but only if the U.S. stands firm against any changes. It's our chance--and the Palestinians are ready. If people tomorrow see change, an end to the demolitions and assassinations, some freedom of movement, then they will support it."
A golden opportunity?
That optimism is shared by Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and Jordan, who called the road map "a golden opportunity," citing the new level of involvement by the Americans. "This makes a difference," he said in an interview in his office around the corner from Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. And the endorsement by the Quartet "means that we have the whole world involved. For the first time they are endorsing a two-state solution with specific dates for implementation. That gives us hope--but of course there are also doubts. The test comes with implementations with big and painful responsibilities for both sides."
Describing himself as "an official refugee, as defined by the United Nations, with a card to prove it," Munib said that the right of return for Palestinian refugees will be a thorny issue "but it can be solved if someone will admit that there was an injustice in 1948" with the expulsion of over 700,00 Palestinians from their homes. "Both sides are exhausted," he said. "In their inner hearts the occupation is a pain for the Israelis who wonder why their children are being sent into the Army to be killed."
Leadership in such difficult times is also an issue, Munib said. "Unfortunately God has not sent us charismatic leaders to solve the issues-quite the opposite."
Lack of clarity
"The Palestinians are ready, they want peace," said Latin (Roman Catholic) Patriarch Michel Sabbah in an interview in his office in the Old City of Jerusalem. But he sees two major weak points in the road map.
Despite all his declarations, Sabbah is not convinced that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants peace so he will find ways to provoke Palestinians into violence, ending the ceasefire and implementation of the road map. "If they want peace they can make it now," he said. While somewhat encouraged by the new role for the U.S. and President Bush, "We must wait and see how serious they are, wait to see if they will be as bold as they were in Iraq."
Sabbah is convinced that the road map doesn't have a destination, that its endpoints are not clear enough, leaving open such important issues as the status of Jerusalem, borders of the Palestinian state, and the return of refugees. "They are the same weaknesses as the Oslo Accords--a lack of clarity," he said. The only solution is a shared Jerusalem and, on the issue of refugees, he said that it would be necessary to distinguish between the principle and the implementation since Israelis see it as a direct threat to the Jewishness of the state of Israel.
"I say to Israelis, we love you, we want your security but you are in a bad situation. Why all the killing?" Sabbah said. He suspects that today's leaders in Israel were around when the nation was formed in 1948 and that they may share the same dream "to have it all," a nation from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. "We need new leaders, new dreams. We need a newer generation of Palestinians who can act and react with Israelis, seeing what brings both sides together," he said.
Sabbah has consistently condemned the violence, the suicide bombers, the killing of innocent people on both sides. "Bombing night clubs and buses is not the answer and cannot be accepted. But condemnation is not enough to stop the violence. Ending the occupation would stop the suicide bombers," he said.
Wait and see
"What we need is not another feel-good plan, but a serious effort on the part of all players to seek peace and justice for all people who live in this land--Christian, Muslim, and Jew alike," said Bishop Riah Abu el-Assal of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East in a May statement following release of the road map. "This will require making political sacrifices," he said, wondering whether both sides are ready to make those sacrifices. "Just as Christ sacrificed his life for us to reconcile the world to himself, those who claim to follow him must make sacrifices as they carry out the work of reconciliation."
The return of refugees, the Israeli settlements on the West Bank and Gaza, and borders for a viable and independent state are serious obstacles, even though the road map "goes further than the Oslo agreement, laying out a firm Declaration of Principles." He said that "we must wait and see" what will happen in the coming months.
Riah said that Israeli politicians are finally beginning to realize that "settlements are the mistake of all mistakes" and there are three options: dismantle them, use them as compensation for refugees, or invite the settlers to remain as citizens of a Palestinian state.
"If Bush can force the issues, something could happen," added Dean Ross Jones of St. George's College in Jerusalem. He agrees with those who think that "this might be the last chance for the Palestinians," but he said that continuing U.S. aid for Israel could undercut implementation of the road map. "Economics is driving Israel to the table now but aid bails them out and removes the necessity of negotiating."
Hawaida Arraf of the International Solidarity Movement said, however, that the road map is "troublesome because nothing has stopped, the wall Israel is building is destroying some of the most fertile Palestinian land and, as the talk continues, the facts on the ground" are leading in a different direction. "Talk led to a fake hope in Oslo and the new intifada," she said. "It's Oslo recycled--a disaster."
Until the dream is fulfilled
"You are among those bearing the occupation so we wanted to come and say thank you for your witness and faithfulness in the midst of your suffering," said the Rev. Brian Grieves, director of the church's Peace and Justice Ministries in a homily at St. Andrew's Church in Ramallah. During his five-day visit, he met with Israelis and Palestinians who had been featured in a film produced by his office, "Voices from the Holy Land."
"We are committed to stand with you until justice comes to this place," Grieves said. The church's Office of Government Relations, he reported, has taken a message to Congress and the president that "this occupation must end, settlements must end, and there must be a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital of an independent, viable state. We will stand by you until that dream is fulfilled. Ultimately there will be justice" in this land where Abraham is the father of three faiths.
During his conversations, Grieves reported on efforts by the Episcopal Church to promote peace. In May, for example, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold joined other church leaders in an urgent appeal to Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers to take bold steps for peace. "Your bold leadership is required, now more than ever," said the letter expressing encouragement with release of the road map.
In letters to the president and members of Congress, coordinated through Churches for Middle East Peace, the church leaders expressed hope for the kind of strong leadership that will be necessary to "bring an end to the occupation and build peace and security." At the same time the letter warned, "It would be a mistake of historic dimensions if the Congress of the United States were to thwart progress toward peace by placing conditions on the implementation of the Road Map."
The film, "Voices from the Holy Land" can be ordered from Episcopal Parish Services.
A text of the road map and United Nations resolutions are available on the web site of Churches for Middle East Peace: "www.cmep.org/documents