Middle East Evangelical Concern

www.meec.org.uk

Sanctions

Sounds like ‘Alice’ in her ‘wonderland’.  It’s OK for sanctions to be applied to Palestinians, by Israel & USA.   But it’s not OK for sanctions to be applied to Israel, historically the greatest offender in this conflict, (by whatever criteria you want to use – Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israel outnumber the opposite at the ratio of better than 4 to 1 over the period from 1980).

Perhaps we should be discussing boycott of USA?

Peace (?)

BDS

Boycott – Divestment – Sanction.  BDS

So, are we for it or against it?

The arguments against I’ve heard include:  it won’t work.  OK, but that being so, why do we use Sanctions against e.g. Iran, Zimbabwe…?

They’re ‘inappropriate’, so why do we…..?

Or; ‘Boycott of Israeli Universities is a blow against academic freedom’.  Which sounds OK until you examine the academic freedoms of Palestinian academics.

Divestment.  OK if you own shares. I don’t & I bank at the Co-op, so I hope I’m OK. I’m sure someone will tell me if I’m wrong.

what do you think???

clash of empire

‘Palestinian Christians live on the front line of a clash of empires. Portrayed in the West variously as a clash of civilization, or culture, or religion, the ‘Christian’ west is the ‘good guy’ holding the fort against the ‘baddies’, the Islamic Fundamentalist East. It makes a good movie but it’s poor history and even worse Theology.
In reality these empires; there may be more than two; share at least one feature: they are all, to a greater or lesser extent, evil. During much of the latter half of the last century the great fear was of communism and the possibility of nuclear annihilation, with Soviet Russia as the ‘anti-Christ’. Their fear, now largely realised, was of capitalist domination. Today the global fear from the western perspective is of militant Islam, yet the greatest worldwide impact has been from the financial melt-down.
An objective observer, (from Mars?) could conclude that neither system, communism nor capitalism, is fit for purpose. Which begs the question, ‘what purpose?’ This is the point where Christians must part company with advocates of either system. It is not that they have nothing to contribute, there are good and bad aspects of each. But both require a broad (world-wide?) system controlled by an elite on behalf of the subjects – empire.
Christians, however, are not empire people. It is a Kingdom to which we belong, for which we pray, and into which we invite people. It is unique; there are no subjects, only family – and not even cousins or uncles or grandparents. We enter and remain on an equal base, we are all children of the King, and sisters and brothers of Jesus. What can empire offer compared with that?
The children of the King should live in the Kingdom now, here: that is good news. For Palestinians in general and Christians in particular, the bad news is that many Christians in the West find the power and glory of empire so attractive that they have deserted the gospel of love, joy and peace; of self-sacrifice and forgiveness and embraced the language of hate, of fear, and of nationalism. Worse, they are encouraging Christians in the developing world to join them in this idolatry

Collateral Damage

a phrase we’ve become used to in recent years.  What it usually means is non-combatants getting killed or wounded ‘accidentally’; as if we didn’t know the effect being in the way of a rocket might have.

Thre has been increased military activity in the Sinai-Gaza area since an attack on a bus some days ago.  The reporting suggests, because we are so easily distracted, that not much has been happening there until this event.  That’s not the experience of the families who have lost loved ones as ‘collateral damage’ of a conflict that has continued, with troughs and peaks for over 80 years. No, I have not mis-counted. Those who believe that the conflict in Palestine started in 1948 (or even 1947) need to acquaint themselves with history.  1946/7 is certainly key to what has happened subsequently but the action and, noitably, the planning were being set in place in the 1930′s.

What has this got to do with collateral damage?

Consider the malign influence this conflict has had on western, and on Christian, relations with the Arab and Islamic worlds.  The ‘clash of cultures’ is a post 9/11 invention. Left to our politicians there is little hope of progress. People of faith and people of goodwill have a shared interest. Can we work cooperatively to repair some of the damage?

moral certainty

in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to UN resolutions & the war of 1991. In 1967 Israel invaded Egypt, Syria & Trans-Jordan (West Bank & E.Jerusalem) leading to UN Resolution 242 adopted unanimously and…… nothing!
What has the UN & the international community done to secure justice for Palestinians? Apart from the killing of 000′s of unarmed civilians, the creeping ethnic cleansing of Palestine (Settlements) & 7m+ refugees or stateless people? To be fair, we’ve poured millions into the PA to be used as target practice or sweeteners. Our ‘moral high ground’ is a stinking pit!

Peace process? what peace process

The Israel-Palestine peace process is a phantom: used by Israel as a cover for stealing more territory, and accepted by America & its allies as cover for their moral nakedness: truly the President has no clothes.

There will not be peace in the world until there is peace in this part if the Middle East. Which is not to say that peace between Israelis and Palestinians guarantees peace elsewhere. It is to say that without peace here there is no chance of peace elsewhere. The injustice and oppression faced daily by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians guarantees that the wider Arab world will have reason for their hate of the West.

When will our governments do what is right and just?  When ordinary people make it impossible for them to continue in denial!  And that’s us – Guys.

 

 

Israel’s ‘loyalty test

Israel’s PM. Netanyahu, has agreed to bring to cabinet an amendment to the Citizenship Law requiring a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a ‘Jewish and democratic’ state’.
Sounds reasonable doesn’t it; except being Jewish is not quite the same as being ‘British’ or ‘American’. What would it feel like for a Sikh in Birmingham to be required to declare loyalty to a ‘Christian’ state, or for a black American in New York to declare loyalty to a ‘Eurasian’ state?
Israel wants to be recognised as a ‘Western style’ democracy, the only one in the Middle East. That is far from being the case. More than one-third of the people over whom it has control cannot vote in Israel’s elections: they are in Gaza & the OPT. Even more to the point, the more than a million Arab-Israelis inside Israel, despite having Israeli citizenship are denied the same rights and benefits as the Jewish majority.

Gilad Shalit swap

Apologies for the gap – have been away  sailing on the Norfolk Broads. Great fun and managed to miss the motor cruisers!

Catching up, I see an item on the BBC News website, ‘Gilad Shalit march in Israel’.  20,000 + people are marching to Jerusalem to persuade Netanyahu to arange a swap for Shalit, who has been imprisoned in Gaza for over four years.  By coincidence I have a letter, a belated reply from the FCO.  Amid the usual stuff there is the line “We also call for the release of Gilad Shalit…..we deplore the continuing acts of rocket fire from Gaza….all those responsible must take immediate and concrete steps to cease and prevent such violence”

Well, of course! but ‘motherhood and apple pie’ language won’t bring about the desired result.  Of course Gilad Shalit must be restored to his family, (assuming he is still alive); there is talk of a 1000 prisoner exchange.   Israel has created a framework for detaining people:  ‘Administrative Detention’  (http://www.btselem.org/English/Administrative_Detention/Index.asp ) figures of Palestinians detained in May 2010 are 213; what of these people and their families? Rocket attacks on civilians are deplorable (except naturally, when conducted by UK/US against Iraqis, Afghans & Pakistani citizens who choose to live in the wrong place), as is the detention of Shalit, but unless we learn (FCO please take note – & I will write) to moderate our language success is unlikely.

And:  does the phrase “all those responsible” include Britain, America, Australia, etc.  After all, the mess is partly, if not largely, our making.

The final  para of my letter includes, “We want the next generation of Palestinians to grow up in hope, not despair….the next generation of Israelis to live free from the fear of rocket fire….”.   Whenever this conflict is presented as between equals we should shout,  “NO”.   Whereas all Palestinians are threatened by Israel’s practices and policies on travel, identity, education, housing, settlement, etc.. barely 5% of Israelis need fear rocket fire.  Even the much trumpeted threat of a nuclear strike from Iran assumes, contrary to evidence, that the Iranians are all barking mad.  Any gambler who takes on odds of over 200:1 is very stupid, (the ratio of Israel nuclear warheads believed to be operational to the one that Iran hasn’t yet produced).

The Palestinian leadership needs to hear that it doesn’t help their cause to fall into every trap Israel sets for them:  Israelis need to hear that the traps they are setting will also capture them.  Both need our help and all our leaders do is mouth platitudes and wait for things to calm down.  Don’t let them get away with it.

Silwan Demolitions

Ha’aretz reports 22 Palestinian homes to be demolished. If the aim is to improve the neighbourhood many of us, in our own towns, would not object. But when, in East Jerusalem those Palestinians will be made homeless; and when the plan contributes to the ongoing process of ‘judaization’, we should be concerned. The continuing oppression of Palestinians does damage to already poor relations between East and West. When will they get ‘a home of their own?’

Gaza Goods

I suppose it will boil down to what Israel defines as ‘for military purposes’.  Tony Blairs call to Hamas to release corporal Shalit is right & predictable, it is after all what Netanyahu has demanded.  No mention yet though of the 355 children held by Israel. Sad