The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb has edited a new book called The Biblical Text in the Context of Occupation: Towards a new hermeneutics of liberation.  A wide variety of scholars write on the importance and meaning of the biblical narrative in the midst of occupation and the need for liberation in the Palestinian context.  Read more about it and find it soon on Amazon.com.

Here is the table of contents:

1. Toward a New Hermeneutics of Liberation : A Palestinian Christian Perspective    Mitri Raheb

2. Engaging the Palestinian Theological-Critical Project of Liberation: A Critical Dialogue   Fernando F. Segovia

3. Palestinian Theology: Between Construction and Identification: A Comparative Analysis of the Theology of Naim Stifan Ateek and Mitri Raheb      Peter Lodberg

4. Toward an Emancipatory Palestinian Theology: Hermeneutical Paradigms and Horizons   Luis N. Rivera-Pagán

5. (Home)Land, Diaspora, Identity, and the Bible in Imperial Geopolitics:   What does the Asia-Pacific Region have to do with Israel-Palestine?    Eleazar S. Fernandez

6. Interpreting the Bible, Interpreting the World:  Anglo-American Christian Zionism and Palestinian Christian Concerns Robert O. Smith

7. The Hermeneutical Predicament: Why We Do Not Read the Bible in the Same Way and Why it Matters for Palestinian Advocacy    Julia M. O’Brien

8. Talmudic Terrorism in Bethlehem   Santiago E. Slabodsky

9. One Text, Many Meanings: Reading a non-Zionist Judaism from the Hebrew Bible   Steven Friedman

10. The Contribution of Hermeneutics to Peace and Reconciliation     J.H. (Hans) de Wit

11. Arab Christian Fundamentalist Reading of the Book of Daniel:  A Critique     Munther Isaac

12. Biblical Hermeneutics in the Kairos Palestine Document     Jamal Khader

13. The Context of the Christians of the Arab World as a Key to Biblical Interpretation according to the Six First Pastoral Letters of the Eastern Catholic Patriarchs      Rafiq Khoury

14. I Am a Presbyterian Christian: Toward a Dialogical Contextual Hermeneutics   Patricia K. Tull

15. What has the Bible to do with us?   Erik Aurelius

16. The Theological and Historical David: Contextual Reading     Samuel Pagán

17. The Ambiguity of Identity and Responsibility toward the Other       Dexter Callender, Jr

18. “Contact Zone”: Exploring Land, Liberation, and Life      Yak-Hwee Tan

19. The Dignity of Resistance in Solidarity:   The Story of Rizpah   Allan Boesak

Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day on Sunday, which commemorates the “unification” of Jerusalem after the 1967 war.  An editorial in Haaretz, called the Lies of Jerusalem, argues that Jerusalem is anything but united:

The wall that divides statements such as “We come with a united government to a united Jerusalem,” which was issued on Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from the facts on the ground, is growing ever higher.

The article cites  a report released by the Association for Civil Right in Israel (ACRI) that outlines the economic and practical disintegration of East Jerusalem due to the discriminatory policies and neglect of the Israeli state authorities and the Jerusalem Municipality.  There is also a short film that details these conditions: 

httpv://youtu.be/Wgo2XI6CfPw

These policies, according to the report, have resulted in an unprecedented deterioration in the state of 360,882 Palestinians in Jerusalem: 78% of the total Palestinian population in the Jerusalem District live below the poverty line, including 84% of the children, according to the Israeli National Insurance Institute.  

See more statistics about life for East Jerusalemites.  |  Read more  about the background issues of Jerusalem.

It was December of 2002 when I first encountered the very beginnings of the separation barrier.  I was visiting the Holy Land on an interfaith peace trip, and in order to reach a friend’s house for dinner in Abu Dis (a town right next to Jerusalem), which should have taken 10 minutes, we had to go a completely circuitous route that took 45 minutes.  Then, in 2003, as an Ecumenical Accompanier with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, I marched with others down the main boulevard connecting Ramallah and Jerusalem protesting the plans for the separation barrier to go right down the middle of this big road, which would separate not Israelis from Palestinians but Palestinians from Palestinians, their families, schools and work.  I remember being convinced that the world would not let this happen.  I was wrong.

A new series, called 10 Years On, examines how things have developed during these 10 years since Ariel Sharon announced plans for the barrier in April of 2002, after the Passover suicide bombing and many others.  The Israelis said they were building it in order to protect Israelis from suicide bombers.  Many Palestinians, however, question the route of the barrier, which is twice as long as the Green Line and cuts deeply into the West Bank, appropriating around 10% of West Bank land within the Israeli side of the barrier.  Palestinians question why, if the barrier is for security of Israelis, the barrier results in thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side of the barrier and why the route follows settlements and allows plenty of room for their growth while cutting off areas of growth for Palestinian towns. Israelis believe the barrier has saved many Israeli lives, as suicide bombings have reduced in number since the beginning of the wall, while others point to other reasons, such as truces by Palestinian extremist groups and a general lack of support for suicide bombing. 

The series is in seven parts, with interesting comments and debate about the effects, cost and benefit of the barrier.  The link goes to part 7, and at the bottom there are links to the first 6 parts.  Several slide shows by Active Stills and maps  illustrate the series.

In a new report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNOCHA) details the increasing settlement activity in Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem, especially the increasing evictions of Palestinians from their homes.

According to the report, ” Israel, as an occupying power, has an obligation to protect the Palestinian civilian population. International law prohibits the forced displacement of civilians and the transfer of settlers into occupied territory, as well as confiscation or destruction of private property, except when such destruction is absolutely necessary for military operations. The application of the Israeli legal system to accommodate claims over property rights in an occupied territory is also unlawful under international law, and it involves discrimination against Palestinian refugees, who are not allowed to reclaim their property in Israel.”

A map showing the increasing Jewish settlement activity and homes being taken over against international law in the Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem.

A new report by the Ma'an Development Center details the unequal treatment and conditions for Palestinians compared with Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley.

A new report by the Ma’an Development Center describes the vast difference in treatment and development of Palestinian villages and illegal Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley.  From the report:

“The Jordan Valley is approximately 15-20 kilometers wide and, at 1,700 square kilometers, covers around 28.5% of the West Bank. The rich agricultural land, temperate climate, and abundant water resources offer enormous agricultural, economic and political potential for the Palestinian people.

However, this potential has been denied to the Palestinian citizens of the Jordan Valley by the policies of the Israeli military occupation and the continuing illegal expansion of Israel’s civilian settlements. In fact, the first civilian settlements in the West Bank were built in the Jordan Valley. Throughout the years of occupation, the Israeli government began actively promoting the settlement enterprise by offering a number of far-reaching economic and social benefits to those Israelis that emigrated to the illegal settlements.

Consequently, Jordan Valley settlements have grown at a steady rate, aided by governmental aid that expanded important settlement infrastructure and enriched many individual settlers. In 1993, the implementation of the Oslo Accords allowed Israel to strengthen its means of oppression in the region; the Oslo Accords designated 95% of the Jordan Valley as Area C, temporarily legitimizing full Israeli military and civil control for the inhabitants of the region.

Although there are currently 56,000 Palestinians and only 9,400 Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley, the living standards of the latter group are vastly superior. While the Israeli settlers benefit from generous aid from the Israeli government, Palestinians are nearly completely prevented from any sort of development in 95% of the Jordan Valley. Consequently, neighboring Palestinian and Israeli settler communities provide a stark and telling juxtaposition that demonstrates the racial discrimination that guides Israeli policy in the Jordan Valley. By directly subsidizing settlements’ growth, expansion, and development while completely prohibiting even the most basic of services to Palestinians, Israel has ensured that the Palestinians cannot overcome the discriminatory gap in the quality of life between the two populations.”

The report compares Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements and describes the legal procedures governing both.  It highlights the unequal treatment given to Palestinians compared with the Israeli settlers and concludes:

“The shocking differences between the quality of life in Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley are obvious manifestations of the decades-old Israeli policy to remove Palestinians from their own land. By refusing to care for the Palestinians under military rule while also refusing to allow the PNA access to these vulnerable communities, Israel is forcing Palestinians to depopulate an important piece of land that is essential to the viability of a future Palestinian state.

At the same time, the Israeli government has ensured the viability and sustainability of the settlements in the Jordan Valley by directly subsidizing their infrastructure, employment, and social services. All of this brings one to the conclusion that the State of Israel, through its settlement enterprise, is actively protecting the extravagant lifestyle of Israeli Jews in the occupied territories at the expense of the basic human rights of Palestinians. Only a complete reversal of policy with appropriate reparations for lost economic activity and community services will begin to adequately address the gross injustice that has continued for over forty years.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently announced that she would override the decision by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, to continue to hold part of the $147 million congress appropriated to the Palestinians last year.  Ros-Lehtinen recently agreed to release her hold on part of the funds – $88 million – with some restrictions:  Ros-Lehtinen stipulated that the money not be used for assistance in Gaza or for road construction projects in the West Bank, except if directly related to security.  She also denied use for trade facilitation, tourism promotion, scholarships for Palestinian students and other aid for Palestinian Authority agencies and ministries. 

According to an unnamed State Department official, “the funds deliver ‘critical support to the Palestinian people and those leaders seeking to combat extremism within their society and build a more stable future. Without funding, our programs risk cancellation,’ the official, who was not authorized to speak about the issue, said in an e-mail. ‘Such an occurrence would undermine the progress that has been made in recent years in building Palestinian institutions and improving stability, security, and economic prospects, which benefits Israelis and Palestinians alike,’ the official said.

The move drew criticism from some, who said it was an abuse of executive branch power, and praise from others who said that one or two people should not be able to inhibit the will of a congressional vote.

Last year, Congress approved $147 million in aid to the Palestinians which should have been spent last year to rebuild infrastructure and generate economic growth.  Two congresswomen, however, have delayed those funds for 8 months.  Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian journalist, comments on the recent release of some of these funds.

Congresswoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, announced on March 23 that she was ending her restriction on the funds.  The second congresswoman, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, agreed recently to release her hold on part of the funds – $88 million – with some restrictions that Kuttab says potentially inhibits the growth of Christian tourism in the Holy Land. 

Ros-Lehtinen stipulated that the money not be used for assistance in Gaza or for road construction projects in the West Bank, except if directly related to security.  She also denied use for trade facilitation, tourism promotion, scholarships for Palestinian students and other aid for Palestinian Authority agencies and ministries.  Kattub comments:

It is hard to understand why a member of Congress would set such conditions over the recommendations of USAID. The USAID money for reconstruction of Gaza was pledged by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and doesn’t go to the Hamas-led government but to the people of Gaza, who suffered tremendous hardships during the Israeli war in 2008-09. Road construction and trade facilitation projects in the West Bank fit perfectly with the two-state solution, which Israel’s prime minister supports.

He also thinks that this move contradicts a request for proposals from USAID, in which the U.S. government was looking for contractors able to help in rebuilding the following Christian sites in the occupied West Bank:

• Burqeen church near Jenin, a Christian sanctuary dating to the early Byzantine era. The current structure dates to the 12th century.
• Sabastia/Samria. The biblical capital of the Northern Kingdom of Ancient Israel, the current ruins date from the Roman period.
• Tell Balata Archaeological Park in Nablus, which is listed as an archeological biblical site. It’s the site of the Canaanite and biblical city of Shechem.
• Jacob’s well, reputed to be the site of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. The site is also associated with the biblical patriarchs.
• Shepherd’s field in Beit Sahour, which is a Christian site near Bethlehem.

It is interesting that one or two people can counteract the will of congress, our democratically-elected means of governing.

httpv://youtu.be/-PujjHkFjyA

“Joy is one of the pillars of our resilience,” says one Palestinian Christian in Bethlehem celebrating Palm Sunday.  The Israeli government does give churches special permits for their people to go to Jerusalem during these Holy Days, but the permits are limited, and can be cancelled by the soldier at the checkpoint at his or her discretion.  Sometimes, they just close down the checkpoints anyway, dependent upon the mood of the moment.  This despite the fact that freedom of worship and access to holy places is a right under international law. It is so ironic to stand in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and watch the thousands upon thousands of Christians who have come from all over the globe to worship in Jerusalem when you know that fellow Christians living 5 miles away are not allowed the same right.

But these families in this video celebrate Palm Sunday in Bethlehem, and are proud and joyful because of it.  Resilience and resistance come in many forms.

This Holy Week, we invite you to read along day by day with pilgrims who have been in the Holy Land who are blogging a mix of historical, holy occaisions and current day realities.  There is a wealth of ideas, stories, photos, videos and important information about the situation today:

Pastor Loren McGrail, who served as an Ecumenical Accompanier (EA) in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel (EAPPI),  focuses her writings on Jerusalem at http://agarmentofdestiny.blogspot.com/;  

Pastor Jan Miller, at http://www.alentengeography.blogspot.com/,  links to vital current information about the situation there.

Seminarian Chris Cowan, also a former EA in Hebron, shares detailed information about the recent exponential growth in threatened and actual home/structure/energy facility demolitions, especially in the Southern Hebron Hills area, and talks about the double whammy Palestinians are experiencing from ongling demolitions and expropriation of their land.  Read her posts at http://christiarts.wordpress.com/.

Find other Holy Week resources at www.elca.org/peacenotwalls.

May we all strive and struggle for the things that make for peace with justice, just as we weep for those actions and policies that crucify it.

Israel decided Monday, March 26, to sever all contact with the United Nations human rights council and with its chief commissioner Navi Pillay, after the international body decided to establish an international investigative committee on the West Bank settlements.

The Foreign Ministry ordered Israel’s ambassador to Geneva to cut off contact immediately, instructing him to ignore phone calls from the commissioner, a senior Israeli official said.  They also decided that they will not permit any officials related to this initiative into the country.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the move “diplomatic terror,” and Israel was reportedly considering sanctions against the Palestinians for supporting it.  Read more   

It is interesting that these events happened just after a report by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released a bleak report on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, stating that the largest human rights violations are precisely because of the settlements: The report states:

The picture is harsh – not because of dramatic events or a sudden deterioration, but precisely because of the routine. This year, we enter the 45th year since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip. What was supposed to be a temporary situation appears firmly entrenched with no change in sight.

In the West Bank, two and a half million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation while settlers live in enclaves of Israeli law within the same territory. Individual acts of violence by extremist settlers periodically capture the headlines, and discriminatory and inadequate law enforcement is indeed a concern. However, the major human rights violations result from the settlements: their extensive exploitation of land and water, the massive military presence to protect them, the road network paved to serve them and the invasive route of the Separation Barrier, which was largely dictated by the settlements. Israeli civilians living in the West Bank are also subject to violence. This year, five members of the Fogel family were shot and stabbed to death in their home in the Itamar settlement, and a father and his infant son were killed when their car crashed after rocks were thrown by Palestinians.

The conversation about who speaks for Palestinian Christians continued this week, as Kairos Palestine responded to Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.   In the Kairos response , they said:

As Kairos Palestine, we refuse to be marginalized in the way Oren defines our marginalization; we refuse to be pitted against our Palestinian Muslim neighbours and friends; and we refuse to let our collective oppression be manipulated in a way that fragments us, obscures us, or masks the oppression’s true cause, which is the Israeli occupation.

Kairos Palestine, a group of Palestinian Christian leaders,  issued A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering in 2009 from Bethlehem.