Archbishop of Canterbury Fears Holy Land Could Become Christian Disneyland
Episcopal News Service. January 10, 1992 [92003]
Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey returned January 8 from a six-day trip to the Middle East with cautious optimism for the prospects of peace -- and deepening fears that the Christian presence in the area is disappearing.
During a stop in Amman, Jordan, Carey said that he hoped and prayed that "the peace process will be crowned with success." He added that "the whole world is longing to see a new order of mutual respect -- of each others' beliefs, of each others' histories, and of each others' hopes."
After conversations with Palestinian and Israeli leaders in Israel and the occupied West Bank, Carey said that a solution to the conflict might be possible because both sides seemed committed to the peace process. He did, however, criticize the "rough justice" of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Shamir in seeking the deportation of 12 Palestinian activists.
"Because of the political situation, many, many Christians are now moving to the West," Carey added. "They feel a sense of despair."
The emigration could prove disastrous for the Christian presence in the Holy Land, according to Carey. "My fear will be that in 15 years' time Jerusalem, Bethlehem -- once centers of strong Christian presence -- might become a kind of Walt Disney theme park. We mustn't allow that to happen," he told reporters.
The Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, the Rt. Rev. Samir Kafity, said that 70 percent of the Christian population of Jerusalem has left since the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. He said that the largest emigration followed Israel's occupation of Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 war.
An estimated 130,000 Christians, mostly native Palestinians, live in Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza. According to most observers, the Christians are feeling pressured by the increasing nationalism that is developing among more than 4 million Jews and 2.5 Muslims. "It is a future without promise," said one church leader.
Carey said he found himself "caught up in the pain of different communities. I think of the Jewish people, who have passed through so much and who have returned to the home of their faith but who still fear for their security. But I also think of the Palestinian community, often ignored and overlooked. This is their home too. Both communities have a right to belong here -- and each community should recognize that right in the other," he said.
Carey's trip was part of a celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, one of the provinces of the Anglican Communion.