|
Frans
Bouwen, M. Afr. II. Relations with Jews As to the second part of this presentation, namely the relations of the Palestinian Christian community with the Jews, this issue may be even more sensitive and the task to present it, more complex. The main reason is obviously the general political situation, with its many ramifications. Surely, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essentially a political and not a religious one. However many religious dimensions and connotations are inextricably linked up with it. For instance, in the course of the last century the numerical proportions between the three main religious communities in this country have drastically changed through the massive arrival of Jews from abroad: from a relatively small minority, the Jews have become a large majority. As a consequence the traditional pattern of relationships between these communities is no longer functioning. This is particularly true for the relationships between Christians and Jews. Adjusting to such a totally new situation takes time. Because of the present political configuration of this country, the differences in situation and relations will still be much bigger between Israel proper and the Palestinian territories. My personal knowledge of the situation inside Israel is rather limited, so what I am going to say will apply more directly to the Palestinian territories. Developing relations For the Catholic Church, the second Vatican Council (19621965) was a turning point in the relations with the Jewish People. Moreover, the Vatican II decree "Nostra Aetate" has become a reference point far beyond the Roman Catholic Church and the starting point of different promising developments. However, it can be said, without offending or criticising anyone, that such theological reflections are less advanced within the Palestinian Christian community. The reasons for that are varied. In the first place, many of these developments are profoundly marked by the Western European and North American historical and cultural context. The historical and critical approach, a result of the Age of Enlightenment, has not made the same impact on the culture and the society in the Middle East, of which the Palestinian society is part and parcel. This is also true for biblical and theological studies. If we want to be open to diversity and pluralism, we can accept this difference, even without necessarily terming it as retrograde. Furthermore, the unfathomable event of the "Shoah", which has marked profoundly the history and the thinking in the West and has been at the heart of the Jewish Christian dialogue for several decades, is not in the same way part of the experience of the Middle Eastern society. The Middle East needs time and reflection to come to terms with it. The more so, because the period following the Second World War witnessed radical changes in this part of the world. The events leading to and following the establishment of the State of Israel completely changed the face of this country and the relationships existing between the ethnic and religious groups that lived in it. If we do not have the courage to recognise this with clear-sightedness and without passion — however painful it may be — and if we are not ready to let these events be part of the dialogue, it seems impossible to look forward to a future of new coexistence. In the events around 1948, many Palestinian Christians lost their homes and their land and became displaced persons or refugees in their own country or in other parts of the region. Some of these events have at times been religiously tainted and justified. Some claims on this land have been made in the name of the Hebrew Bible, the text Christians also read, and which they call the Old Testament. So, for many Palestinian Christians, these events lead to some kind of crisis in their religious identity and faith. How can Palestinian Christians continue to read the Hebrew Bible, if that text is used to justify the fact that they are dispossessed of what they consider to be their rights in their own country? It seems to me impossible to have a true insight in the attitudes of Palestinian Christians towards Judaism and the Jews, without taking seriously into consideration this central factor. It is only with the recognition of this factor, that serious efforts for a new reflection, a new dialogue and new relations can start. Several attempts have been made within the Palestinian Christian community to overcome these obstacles. One of the best known initiatives in that direction is the pastoral letter written by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, in 1993, under the title: "Reading the Bible Today in the Land of the Bible". However, past events, as well as the present situation in this country make the relations between Palestinian Christians and Israeli Jews not at all easy. Once more, we have to see the situation as it is, even if we do not want to condemn anyone. In the Palestinian territories, the Jews that Muslims and Christians meet most of the time are the Israeli army and police forces. This does not facilitate a positive approach. Of course, there are some more positive encounters: doctors and medical personnel Palestinians may encounter in hospitals and health care, contacts in the framework of peace groups, or cultural encounters and collaboration in the fields of music, theatre and sometimes sports. In many of these contacts, however, the religious dimension is hardly present. At the same time, there is a lot of good will on the side of the Palestinian Christians. There is no hostility towards the Jewish religion or to the Jews as believers, although there is still a considerable lack of personal knowledge. In many places you can find a sincere desire to know more about Judaism. Serious efforts are made in that sense. For instance, the Jewish religion is taught at the Seminary in Beit Jala where the future priests of the Latin Patriarchate are educated. And in that framework Jewish professors have been invited and some meetings with Jewish students have been organised. The new Catholic understandings of the Jewish religion are also taken into account in the preparation of the new textbooks in Arabic used for religious education in the Catholic Schools. There is also a course on Judaism at the Catholic University in Bethlehem. Certain cultural events at this University, like concerts and exhibitions, have brought Israeli Jews and Palestinian Christians and Muslims together, but these meetings have almost stopped in the midst of the present events. Ways of Dialogue Besides these different attempts and encounters, is there any form of dialogue between Palestinian Christians and Jews? Direct dialogue remains a very sensitive issue as long as there is no real peace initiative, because of possible ambiguities. Before there were some official contacts between Palestinians and Israelis, every attempt at direct dialogue could have been misunderstood as a political initiative that was not authorised. With the beginning of a mutual recognition and direct contacts between Palestinians and Israelis, new ways of encounter and dialogue opened. Some Palestinian Christians started taking part in the already existing dialogue with the Jews, a dialogue in which almost exclusively Western expatriate Christians were involved. However the methodology and the main topics of this dialogue were often seen as foreign to the real concerns of the Palestinian Christians. So little by little the need for a specific dialogue between Palestinian Christians and Israeli Jews was felt, taking into consideration both theological issues and concrete experiences close to the life of the two communities. Different groups have started in this sense, at different moments and in different places. Some of them managed to continue even during the present second intifada. Some groups comprise rabbis and ordained ministers from different Christian Churches. Most of the time, these encounters happen without publicity, and are built on mutual trust between the participants, who have often known each other for several years. These are fundamental conditions for being able to do serious work in the present circumstances. However, we must recognize that these meetings constitute only a humble beginning and hope that one day they may be officially adopted by the religious leadership on both sides, Christian and Jewish. Conclusion Let me conclude by one last important remark. I presented separately the relations of the Palestinian Christian community with the Muslims and with the Jews. Such distinctions are necessary, if we want to come to some deeper insights. Nevertheless, for the Palestinian Christians in this country it is extremely important that those two relationships or dialogues are not separated from each other, and above all that the one is not privileged at the expense of the other. True dialogue and mutual understanding can never be exclusive, especially in Jerusalem and in this country, because of their religious significance for the three monotheistic religions. If we want to make it possible for Jerusalem and for this country to play truly its symbolic role of promise and meeting place for the whole humanity, then we have to realise that we can only do that all together.
Ref.: PETIT ECHO (English Edition), 2002/4, n. 930.
|