Here is Ethan Bronner in today's Times, reporting the Pope's fears of a "dwindling and
threatened" Christian population in the Middle East, and specifically
Jerusalem. The reasons, Bronner says: bad economy, political violence, radical Islam.
With Islam pushing aside
nationalism as the central force behind the politics of identity,
Christians who played important roles in various national struggles
find themselves left out. And since Islamic culture, especially in its
more fundamental stripes, often defines itself in contrast to the West,
Christianity has in some places been relegated to an enemy — or least
foreign — culture.
I am sure Bronner is right. But not a word about the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and the West
Bank? I believe Bronner has left out an important part of the Christian reality.
On my one visit to the Holy Land, at the recommendation of my mother-in-law, who had visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem with a Christian group, I stayed in St. George's guest house in East Jerusalem. It is run by Anglicans. The bulletin board there was covered with critical/angry statements about the effects of the Israeli occupation on Christian life there. I visited Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. I was struck by how hard it was to make this simple trip into Occupied Territories. The place was empty.
Later I read Jimmy Carter's book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, and saw that the Israeli treatment of Christians, a theme in the book, concerned him.
"The wall ravages many places along its devious route that are important to Crhistians, In addition to enclosing Bethelehem in one of its most notable intrusion, an especially heartbreaking division is on the southern slope of the Mount of Olives, a favorite place for Jesus and his disciples…[there's a lot more]…Father Claudio Ghilardi [of Saint Marta Monastery, which is bisected by the wall] says, 'For nine hundred years we have lived here under Turkish, British, Jordanian, and Israeli governments, and no one has ever stopped people coming to pray. It is scandalous. This is not a barrier. It is a border…'
"Nearby are three convents that will also be cut off from the people they serve. These 2000 Palestinian Christians have lost their place of worship and their spiritual center."
Radical Islam didn't do that. Isn't the Times reflecting a pro-Israel bias? (Thanks to Bruce Wolman, who was amazed by the piece.)
