WAWA/WeAreWideAwake is my Public Service to America as a muckracker who has journeyed seven times to Israel Palestine since June 2005.
WAWA is dedicated to confronting media and governments that shield the whole
truth.
We who Are Wide
Awake are compelled by the "fierce urgency of Now" [Rev MLK, Jr.] to raise
awareness and promote the human dialogue about many of the crucial issues of our
day: the state of our Union and in protection of democracy, what life is like
under military occupation in Palestine, the Christian EXODUS from the Holy Land,
and spirituality-from a Theologically Liberated Christian Anarchist
POV.
"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils." George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796
"My aim is to agitate & disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast." Unamuno
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World." John Lennon
"If enough Christians followed the gospel, they could bring any state to its knees." Father Philip Francis Berrigan
"You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." Tom Petty
"If I can't dance, it's not my revolution." Emma Goldman
"We have yet to begin to IMAGINE the power and potential of the Internet." Charlie Rose, 2005
Only in Solidarity do "We have it in our power to begin the world again" Tom Paine
"Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
DO SOMETHING!
Photo of George shown here and in web site banner courtesy of Debbie Hill, 2000.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence
A few of my SABEEL experiences and related articles follow.
On November
3, 2006, Reverend Naim Ateek, a modest soft-spoken man, 21st century
prophet and the Founder and Director of Sabeel/The Way Ecumenical
Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, addressed over 330
international ecumenical Christians who had gathered in Jerusalem in
the Notre Dame Conference Center for Sabeel’s 6th International
Conference: The Forgotten Faithful.
He sent chills through me
when he stated, “Israel will not survive unless it does justice! The
situation is deteriorating and we must frustrate Israel’s plans and
actions because they are not built on justice. All we are asking for is
that they honor International Law! Israel is afraid of International
law and this proves something is very wrong with Israel. We want Israel
to live in peace and with security. The only way is honoring
International law. That is the bottom line and what we work and pray
for.”
Reverend Ateek’s classic Justice and Only Justice
laid the foundation of a theology that addresses the conflict over
Palestine and explores the political as well as the religious, biblical
and theological dimensions. From a position of faith, Reverend Ateek
seeks solutions based on justice, peace, nonviolence and reconciliation.
On
November 8, 2006 Reverend Ateek spoke again, “In Israel officially
speaking of Palestinians is taboo: we are referred to as Arab
Christians. When I say the Holy Land I include both Israel and
Palestine. Ultimately only God knows about the future of Christianity
in this place. We live in the scientific world and God has given us
wisdom, knowledge, technology to be used for good and our future and
destiny are in Gods hands.
“There are many red lights;
external and internal dangers. What can we do at the grass roots level?
The Palestinian Christian community must rise above petty
denominational differences. The impending dangers force us to ask what
can we do, what must we do?
“There is no future in isolation or
passivity. Our futures are all linked together. There is an urgent need
to articulate and work with other faiths, especially Islam. Our future
depends on good relations with all our brothers and sisters. We need a
Committee of Christian and Muslim leaders to dialogue and work together
to confront militant extremist fundamentalism.
“Our relation
with Israel is the most important issue for there can be no peace
without justice. There can be no effective policy without ending the
occupation in accordance with all UN Resolutions. The city of Jerusalem
must be shared and there must be a just solution for refugees.
“Pressure
on Israel must be done with nonviolent needs and the way is the way
Christ taught: nonviolent and forgiving. The achievement of peace is
not the end; but the beginning of reconciliation. The survival of
Christianity in the Holy land is through true democracy. We must avoid
the minority complex. We cannot depend on the good will of people in
power. We want to be protected by a constitution with full citizenship
and nationality must be combined. Only in Israel is there a distinction
between nationality and citizenship. Only good democracy can guarantee
all citizens are treated equally under the same law.”
“What can
the West do? There is an urgent need for education about the roots of
Christians in Palestine and to challenge the myths. Seek out
Palestinian Christians in your midst and relate to them. Be aware of
Palestinian concerns for justice and human rights. Work for a just
solution of the conflict which is equal human rights for all. Support
projects to increase the Christian witness: visit the Holy land and
meet with Palestinian Christians. Forge closer links with churches in
the West and in the Holy Land. Challenge Christian Zionism. Think
Creatively!
“In the beginning the Jesus movement was very small.
It began with 12 committed citizens. It began with love and Christ
addressed his followers: FEAR NOT little flock! You are the salt of the
earth and the light of the world. To capture the essence of what
Christians should be is to be salt and light. You don’t need a lot of
salt to add flavor and even a small light can illuminate the way for
many.
“To be salt and light is to be truthful, honest, have
integrity and to be of service and do it with humility. Salt affects
change: it is active, never passive. To be a light is a global
challenge and when the light is seen clearly so is the glory of God.
Sabeel means the way, and the way is to love all your neighbors and
labor on with God.”
Every birth begins with labor and pain
but joy and love follow. Only when there is justice for Palestinians
will there be security for Israelis and that will be the beginning of
the way to win the “war on terrorism.”
The morning of
March 18, 2006, began with a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem.
A
sacred hush filled the cypress canopied stone streets of The Noble
Sanctuary that lead us to the Dome of The Rock, the site where Abraham
offered to sacrifice his son and where it is reported Mohammed ascended
to heaven.
We all removed our shoes and all the women covered
their hair with scarves, then we silently tread the crimson carpet
inside the Mosque.
I was awed by the domed mosaic ceiling,
geometric designed stained glass and massive crystal chandeliers above
my head and the silence although the mosque was filled with people.
Our
group was split into two: some took the basic tour but a few Dutch,
Japanese, Canadians, two Brits and I went the political route.
Our guide is Mahmoud whose father was from Chad, his mother Palestinian and he was born in Jerusalem.
Mahmoud
tells us with a smile, “I was at the Ambassador Hotel for the public
meeting the other day and was arrested and detained for eight hours.
The Israelis will not allow Hamas and the PFLP to have public meetings
at all. At that same time they claim this is a democracy, but how can
that be if they do not allow political groups to meet and discuss the
situation and search for solutions?
“When I was nineteen I
was arrested for being a member of the PFLP/Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine and spent the next 17 years in jail. I was
nervous when I got there and I was tortured for months. Then a strange
thing happened. They gave me a shower, clean clothes, then put me in a
clean room and spoke to me like a human being. Then the French
Ambassador came in and told me he could get me out because my father
had French citizenship. He asked me where did I want to go and I
answered; Jerusalem! He said it was impossible, I was not allowed. I
told him I would rather remain in prison if I could not go home and so
I spent 17 years and that is where I learned there is no justification
for anyone to take another life. Those who kill are not Muslims.
“I
was an eyewitness on October 8, 1990 when a group came to put a
cornerstone where they want to rebuild the Temple. The Dome of The Rock
is also what the Israelis call The Temple Mount, [the site where
Abraham went to sacrifice his second born son, Isaac]. They want to
destroy our Holy site but no archeologist has been able to say exactly
where The Temple had originally been and they have been digging for
seventy years.
“On that day they came I heard women shouting
and crying. They were fainting from the tear gas! People got angry and
threw stones at the soldiers and guards. Then hundreds of guards came
onto The Noble Sanctuary and started shooting and 17 people were killed
and 1,500 injured. They claimed we were throwing stones at the Wailing
Wall but a Rabbi who had been over there said it wasn’t true at all.”
We
walked the narrow stone streets that wind around and into an alley and
come to a site known as the “Little Western Wall”, which is in the
heart of the Muslim quarter. Construction had begun for a synagogue for
women that will also prevent access in and out of the inner area, which
is an apartment building where two or three Muslim families share one
toilet.
Throughout the tour of the Muslim quarter Mahmoud
points out the many cameras on the ancient stone walls and where the
colonists/settlers have illegally confiscated Palestinian homes.
“Within
the Muslim and Christian quarters there are 70 locations where 1,000
Jews now live. We are under occupation and trying to have a better life
and we have had some success. Before 1967 we had no universities and
now we have twelve in the West Bank. I am a citizen of the Universe,
but I live in Jerusalem.”
We climbed to the roof of Al Quds
University in Jerusalem where short courses in Arabic are taught. The
ancient stone buildings are marred by satellite dishes and lookout
towers.
After saying goodbye to my Sabeel group at our final dinner at The Tent Restaurant on March 20,
2006, I traveled alone three hours away from the Little Town in
Occupied Territory of Bethlehem to the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel.
This awe inspiring site sits above the shimmering Sea of Galilee where
Christ preached the Sermon on the Mount. The Sabeel Reality Tour had
concluded and I needed to be alone and silent.
But I ended up delivering my own Sermon on the Mount!
Four
Franciscan Sisters, one each from Syria, Jordan, Malta and Italy care
for the shrine and the pilgrim guests at the Hospice Center where I
spent two nights and a day of silent reflection of all I had witnessed
the previous nine days.
At dinner a Catholic Pentecostal from
Scotland introduced himself and asked me why I was there and what
church I was from. I responded I have Irish Roman Catholic, Polish Jew,
Russian Orthodox and Episcopal roots but that my rock is The Beatitudes.
He
looked even more perplexed when I told him I came to the Mount of
Beatitudes to decompress and reflect upon my nine days in Occupied
Territory. I asked him if he were aware of the work of Sabeel, the
Palestinian founded organization that promotes a theology of liberation
based on justice, peace, non-violence and reconciliation for all,
regardless of faith path or nationality.
He sternly admonished
me, “God gave this land to the Jews! The Bible never mentions
Palestine, and that is that! God gave this land to the Jews and that is
that!”
I responded just as fervently that the Palestinian
Christians are the descendants of those who first followed Christ and
they have been denied inalienable human rights by the Israeli
government. I told him the Christians in the Holy Land have shrunk from
20% of the total population to less than 1.3% since 1948 and if things
don’t change soon, there will be no Christian witness in the land where
Christ promised that it is the peacemakers who are the children of God.
He sputtered, “But the Jews have suffered! God gave this land to the Jews and that is that!”
This
really got my Irish up and I retorted, “Yes they did because good
people did nothing for far too long, and now the oppressed have become
the oppressors. In the 21st century good people are unaware, ignoring
or are in total denial of the injustice in the Holy Land. And what
about all the Hebrew prophets, such as Micah who reminded the Jews of
what the Lord requires: To be just, to be merciful and to walk humbly
with your God!”
I could NOT shut up although I knew that
that Scotsman was trying to get away-he also looked a bit terrified!
But, I was on a tear and barely took a breath as I told him that
instead of staying in Israel for his entire visit, he should go and
witness life in the occupied territories; go and see the effects of The
Wall on his spirit and see what it has done to the Palestinian economy.
I told him he should go and tour some of the 58 year old refugee camps
and see the ruins of all the uncompensated home demolitions. I brought
it on home by telling him that I also doubt that God was ever in the
real estate business!
His eyes had bugged out and his mouth had
dropped open while the torrent of words spewed out of me. After I
finally shut up, he stammered, “But there is suffering everywhere!”
“Yes
there is and Christ always stood up for the poor and the oppressed. And
he told us what ever we do or don’t do for the least and the outcast;
we do it or don’t do it unto God.”
He shook his head and turned
and walked quickly away and never again looked my way. Nobody else
spoke to me the rest of the evening or the next day. That was fine with
me, for I was listening to the voice within and what I kept hearing was
Luke 23:34: “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are
doing.”
But when you know, if you are of good will, you
must do something. The fastest growing cult in the USA-and also perhaps
in Scotland: is the cult of Christian Zionism.
What is Christian Zionism?
Christian
Zionism is an extremist Christian movement which supports the claims of
those who believe that the State of Israel should take control of all
of the land currently disputed between Palestinians and Israelis. It
views the creation and expansion of the modern state of Israel as a
fulfillment of biblical prophecy toward the second coming of Jesus.
Christian
Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces
the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming
detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. The Christian
Zionist program provides a worldview where the Gospel is identified
with the ideology of empire, colonialism and militarism. In its extreme
form, it laces an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading to the end of
history rather than living Christ’s love and justice today.
What is the Christian Zionist connection with the Holy Land?
Believing
that God fights on the side of Israel, Christian Zionists call for the
unqualified support for the most extreme political positions related to
the Holy Land. Christian Zionist spokes persons have attributed
Hurricane Katrina to God’s wrath over our failure to stop Israel from
pulling out of Gaza. They consistently oppose any moves towards a
solution to the conflict which would validate the political aspirations
of both Palestinians and Israelis.
Who Supports Christian Zionism?
Christian
Zionism has significant support within American Protestant
fundamentalists, who number between 10 and 20 million. Its reach is
broad, by virtue of its favorite themes related to the “End Times” and
an Israel-fixated Christian media. Christian Zionism is both a
political movement and a way of interpreting current events. Its focus
is on Israel and the Middle East, as much an ideology as a “movement.”
Its promoters share many beliefs but are not organized through any one
institution.
Throughout history Christians have at times twisted
scripture to justify violence: for the Crusades, for Anti-Semitism, and
for slavery. Too often the church has been slow to respond to these
biblical distortions with disastrous results.
Today Christian
Zionists - particularly those with dispensationalist leanings - are at
it again. Although their motives are couched in terms of compassion
toward the Jewish people based on a literal reading of scripture the
political agenda of territorial expansion advocated by Christian
Zionists has given rise to injustice against Palestinians and added
fuel to the fire of conflict in the Middle East. For some time,
individuals, and theologians have spoken out against Christian Zionism.
In the past few years, whole church bodies are adding their official
voices to the distortions and injustices perpetuated by Christian
Zionism.
The GOOD NEWS is that some mainstream churches have
spoken out against this inherently anti-Semitic theology. What follows
are but a few words from some of those who have.
The
Presbyterian Church in the USA at its July 2004, National General
Assembly issued a statement on Confronting Christian Zionism:
“Christian Zionism promotes a theology that justifies grievous
violations of basic rights of people who are also made in the image of
God, and is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The
United Church of Christ in July 2003, at its National General Synod
offered An Alternative Voice to Christian Zionism: “We believe that the
tenets of Christian Zionism neither reflect the intention of the
teachings of Jesus and the prophets, nor promote peace in the Middle
East, and respectfully recommend …an alternative voice to this
theology.”
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in June
2005 at its Chicago Metropolitan Synod issued a Resolution to Encourage
the Study of Christian Zionism: “the movement of Christian Zionism
based on these biblical interpretations seeks to influence U.S. policy
toward Israel in a manner that would arguably facilitate mistreatment
of Palestinians, continued occupation of the land, opposition to a
two-state solution, and exclusive Israeli control of Jerusalem.”
The
United Methodist Church, in June 2005 at its Illinois Conference on
Unwrapping the Rapture warned, “Every household should give prayerful
consideration as to how God will actually judge us for our silence
about and complicity in the crushing of the Palestinian people.”
The
Episcopal Church, in November 2004 at its Diocese of Chicago Confronted
Christian Zionism: “A partial response to Christian Zionism would be to
say that we read Scripture in light of [Jesus’] two great commandments
- to love God and our neighbor.”
In 2006, The Nation reported
that Christians United For Israel/CUFI pressed White House officials to
adopt a more confrontational posture toward Iran, to refuse aid to the
Palestinians and to give Israel a free hand as it ramped up its
military conflict with Hezbollah.
The White House has not
revealed the names of the officials who met with the CUFI lobbyists,
which is a venomous tentacle from the Armageddon-based foreign-policy
view of its founder, John Hagee. Hagee is a fundamentalist,
fire-and-brimstone preacher and a leader of the fastest growing cult in
America: Christian Zionism, which is inherently anti-Semitic.
While
Jewish Zionism began with the hope that all Jewish people would have a
safe and peaceful dwelling place, these corruptors of the gospel Christ
preached, adhere to a 200 year old convoluted interpretation of
disparate scriptures that they have chosen to weave together to support
their fear based judgmental narrow minded doctrine.
Hagee has
mesmerized nearly 18,000 misled Christians at his Cornerstone Church
with his take on whom the anti-Christ is. He also hosts a major TV
ministry where he explains his views of how the end times will unfold.
He blatantly corrupts and denies the message that Christ preached.
Hagee, Hal Lindsay and the Left Behinder’s are doomsday false prophets
who believe that the only way to defeat-what they and the Bush
Administration refer to as- “Islamist fascists” is with a full-scale
military assault.
The cult of ‘Christian’ Zionism is what the concept of the Anti-Christ is all about.
This
heretical theology of Premellenial Dispensation worships a god of
Armageddon and not the God of love, forgiveness and compassion that
Jesus/AKA The Prince of Peace modeled even while being nailed to a
cross.
The Left Behind series of fiction is the epitome of
what millennium of theologians have always understood to be what the
term anti-Christ is truly about.
The term “antichrist” only
appears five times in the Bible, but a cult not based on sound theology
has created an urban legend that seeks Armageddon. The term
“antichrist” never appears in John’s Revelation or Daniel, two
disparate works of literature written three centuries apart and under
very different circumstances, yet the Left Behinder’s weave them
together.
The small texts that mention the “antichrist” were
written to attack the Gnostic understanding of who Christ was. A
Gnostic relies on intuition and not on dogma and doctrine. Gnostic’s
were most certainly free spirits and most all of the writings we have
about Gnostics, have been the attacks upon them. That all changed when
the Nag Hamadi Library was translated and published, for what had been
deemed heretical by those in power in the fourth century can now be
read in most every language.
LEARN MORE: Have you heard the true tale of the Bedouin named Mohammed Ali?
Read more...
Biblical
scholars today agree that many books of the Bible were written by
others in the name of an apostle, for the quickest way to gain
credibility is to trade on another’s reputation. We may never know if
the author who coined the term “antichrist” was actually the apostle
John who wrote I John and 2 John-the only sources where the term
appears.
John also say’s much more: “Dear Children, as you
have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many have come.”- I
John 2:18
“This is how we know who the children of God are not:
anyone who does not do right; nor anyone who does not love his
brother.”-I John 3:10
“If anyone has material possessions and
see’s his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of
God be in him? Let us love with actions and in truth.”-I John 3:17
“God
is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. There is
no fear in love. Perfect love drives out all fear because fear has to
do with punishment [and God is love].”-1 John 4:18
The theology
promoted in the Left Behind fiction is a theology based on fear and
punishment. These misinformed Christians worship a punitive father as
God. They do not have eyes to see that nature is God’s primary temple,
and war the greatest abomination.
During the time when John was
writing about the spirit of antichrist, Gnosticism was still in its
evolution and far from the intricately developed system of the second
and third centuries when the church and its institutional hierarchy
became firmly established. During the time John was writing against
false teachings, the Gnostics were by and large libertines who denied
Christ’s humanity. Some Gnostics claimed that Christ only appeared to
have a body; others said the divine Christ joined the man Jesus at his
baptism and left him when he died.
The Gnostics left no
testimony in their behalf, so all we have to go on is what was written
against them until the discovery of the Nag Hamadi Library. These
Gnostic texts offer no new information, they provide no answers, but
they do illuminate us to the fact that 2,000 years ago that follower’s
of Christ were very diverse and engaged in lively debates on who he was
and what was his purpose.
The Armageddon groupies believe they
will be lifted out of the misery of the world, and neglect to reflect
upon the antichrist within their own heart. The term anti/against
Christ means to be anti/against his teachings. A neglected and ignored
fact is that Christ is quoted in fact Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29,
and Luke 12:10 which are all simpatico with the Gnostic gospel of
Thomas saying 44:
Jesus said: “Whoever blasphemes against the
father will be forgiven, whoever blasphemes against the son will be
forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven either on earth or in heaven.”
The Holy Spirit has
always been understood to mean the spark of the Divine within all
beings, for the spirit of God is within all created things. One should
wonder what spirit is driving those that want to bomb another, for just
who would Jesus bomb? Just who would Jesus torture?
Jesus has
been hijacked by right wing fundamentalists and the time has come
to liberate him!
Christ was no Christian, in fact, that term was not even coined
until three decades after Jesus walked the earth.
Jesus was born, lived and died under a brutal military occupation and remained a NONVIOLENT Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior.
Jesus was a social
justice radical revolutionary who rose up[intifada in Arabic] and challenged the job security of the temple
priests by teaching the Hebrews they did NOT need to pay the priests for ritual baths or for performing animal
sacrifice's to be OK with God; for God already loved them just as they were:
Poor, oppressed, diseased, widows, orphans, prisoners and refugees all enduring under a brutal military occupation.
Jesus was crucified for disturbing the status quo of the occupying forces of Rome by teaching subversive concepts such as: all people are equal and that God preferred thepoor, oppressed, diseased, widows, orphans, prisoners and refugees above the elite and arrogant!
Christ
taught that to be his sister and brother one must forgive to be
forgiven and that one must love ones enemies.
He modeled that one must
always work for peaceful resolutions, even to the point of returning
violence with forgiveness and compassion as he did while being nailed
to a cross.
Christ always dealt compassionately with sinners and
outcasts, but hypocrites received his wrath.
Compassion, which is
sorrow for the suffering of others accompanied by the urge to help, is
what should define the Christian attitude.
If there is no
compassion within a Christian, then it is the spirit of the antichrist
that rules. Christian Zionists desire to convert the Jews to
Christianity or leave them behind to perish in a nuclear holocaust, for
they believe that is Gods desire.
A short history on where this corruption of Christ’s message came from:
In
1891, Christian fundamentalist and lay-preacher, William Blackstone
appealed to President Benjamin Harrison to help establish a Jewish
state in Palestine. Blackstone was a disciple of Dwight L. Moody and
they both were influenced by the father of premillenial
dispensationalism, John Nelson Darby.
Darby had great success
in connecting with the post-Civil War survivors and was able to
transmit his new heretical theology into the heartland of America.
Despite the horrifying news of Czarist pogroms that could have been the
catalyst to establishing a Jewish state before the Holocaust, the
Christian fundamentalists moved onto the Scope’s Trial and forgot about
the Jews for a while. OIY!
Fifty years later and after six
million innocents were cold bloodedly murdered because good people did
nothing for a very long while-and only after the British Mandate ran
out, Israel was born.
Most evangelicals interpreted the
establishment of Israel to be the fulfillment of -how they understood
and interpreted- certain prophetic scriptures. They interpreted the
Israeli victory in the 1967 War and the capture of Jerusalem, the West
Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights to be an act of God and never
considered the fact of Israeli superior military might and USA
Intelligence.
The American Bi-Centennial in 1976 was a
watershed year for the religious right. While mainline churches
declined evangelical fundamentalist churches became the fastest growing
sector of American Christianity. TIME magazine named 1976 as The Year
of The Evangelical and suddenly they became a legitimate political and
religious force.
Following the War of 1967, Israel gained an
increased portion of USA foreign aid and military budgets, becoming the
‘western pillar’ of the USA strategic alliance against Soviet incursion
into the Middle East...During this period AIPAC and other pro-Israeli
lobby agencies began their ascent to power in shaping USA foreign
policy. The Roman Catholic Church and mainline Protestant denominations
began to develop a more balanced approach to the Middle East, bringing
them closer to the international consensus on the Palestinian question.
Pro-Israel organizations interpreted this shift as being Anti-Israel
and in turn began to court the conservative Christians.
In 1977,
when President Carter stated “The Palestinians deserve a right to their
homeland,” the Christian fundamentalists and Israeli lobby responded
with full page ads stating: “The time has come for evangelical
Christians to affirm their belief in biblical prophecy and Israel’s
divine right to the land...and affirm our belief in the Promised Land
to the Jewish people.” [Ibid]
The Reagan White House hosted a
series of seminars from the Israeli lobby and Christian right. This was
when Hal Lindsay, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the Moral majority
infiltrated the West Wing.
Falwell received a Lear Jet from
the Israeli government for his personal travel...When Israel bombed the
Iraqi nuclear plant in 1981, Prime Minister Begin called Jerry Falwell
-before he called Reagan- to ask him ‘to explain to the Christian
public the reasons for the bombings.
In 1996, Netanyahu and
Likud ideology dominated Israeli policy and 17 evangelical USA pastors
pledged their support of the illegal colonies in the West Bank, Gaza,
the Golan Heights and full support for a Jerusalem under sovereignty of
Israel.
The Christian Zionists launched a PR campaign under
the banner: “Christians Call for a United Jerusalem.” They ignored
the fact that they were in conflict with American policy and the Oslo
process as well as a direct attack on Roman Catholic and mainline
Protestant unity with the Churches for Middle East Peace that called
for a Shared Jerusalem.
“The coming nuclear showdown with
Iran is a certainty,” Hagee wrote in 2006, in the Pentecostal magazine
Charisma. “Israel and America must confront Iran’s nuclear ability and
willingness to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons. For Israel to wait
is to risk committing national suicide.”
The theology of the
fictional Left Behind series is the epitome of the spirit of the
anti-Christ: which is the evil within ones own heart that leads one to
fear “the other” and compels them to violence.
Thomas Jefferson did America and the world a great service when he penned The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth which illuminates just how far these Christians have strayed from the message Christ delivered and modeled with his life:
Which was consistently compassionate and nonviolent and to be just: for justice comes from virtue which comes from the heart.
To treat people the way we want to be treated.
To always work for PEACEFUL resolutions, even to the point of returning violence with COMPASSION.
To consider valuable the things that have no material value.
Do not judge others, do not bear grudges, be modest and unpretentious.
To
give out of true generosity, not because we expect to be repaid and
that being true to ones self is more important than being loyal to ones
family,
And those who think they know the most are the most ignorant.
According
to Christ, to be his follower, one must do what the Father requires.
The Hebrew prophet Micah summed it up best: “What does the Lord
require? He has already told you o’man: Be Just, Be Merciful and walk
humbly with your God.” -Micah 6:8:
To be just is to be fair and reasonable.
To be merciful means to treat all people the way we want to be treated.
To be humble is knowing oneself; the good and the evil, for both cut through every human heart.
Christ
taught that the only way to resist evil is with good and he modeled
that one must always work for peaceful resolutions, even to the point
of returning violence with compassion and forgiveness. Jesus did just
that, even after being mocked, whipped and nailed to a cross for he
prayed: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
A Review of A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliationby Rev. Naim Ateek
Dwight Eisenhower understood that "people
in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our
government. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of
these days, governments had better get out of their way and let them
have it!"
One of those people on the forefront is the
Anglican Reverend Naim Ateek, who has been seeking peace and
reconciliation in the Holy Land by seeking justice; an end to the
illegal occupation of Palestine and equal human rights for all people.
The
Palestinian Ateek, became a refugee in 1948. He founded the Jerusalem
based and internationally supported SABEEL organization in response to
his experiences in 1948, the 1967 War and the first intifada
[translates to: rise up and cast off] that erupted on December 9, 1987.
The
theology of Sabeel is a theology that arose from the oppression of
Palestinians under the state of Israel and also a theology of
liberation from the watered down theology that keeps many Christians
too comfortable.
Sabeel's liberation theology is rooted in righting the injustices inflicted upon the indigenous people of the Holy Land.
Sabeel
offers an ecumenical and interfaith theology that seeks to unite the
World Wide Body of Christ to the suffering of their sisters, brothers
and cousins in the family of Father Abraham in Israel Palestine.
Sabeel
is supported by Christians, Muslims and Jews who work together for
peace in the Holy Land by seeking justice; equal human rights for all
and an end to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.
Rev. Ateek
speaks of how-when the Bible is correctly read- points to a God of
justice. Ateek seeks the liberation of all people, in particular those
Christians who have been misled and misinformed by the heretical and
anti-Christ theology of Christian Zionists who seek Armageddon and who
support the illegal settlers but not their sisters and brothers in
Christ: the forgotten faithful, the Palestinian Christians.
Jesus
promised it is the Peacemakers who will be called the children of God
and not those that starve, bomb, torture or occupy others.
Sabeel's
theology is based on Jesus' example of non-violence and on what he
taught; that one must forgive to be forgiven, one must pray for and do
good towards ones enemies; and NOT to impose sanctions upon innocent
people, not to starve, bomb, torture or occupy any other-but to see The
Divine in all people and all situations.
When Jesus went to the cross he was saying: ENOUGH! The violence of man against man stops here with my broken body!
Over a thousand years prior, in Genesis 9: 5-6, it was written:
"And
from each man, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow
man. If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God has man been made."
"You shall not murder."-The 6th Commandment
"From
Moses to Jeremiah and Isaiah, the Prophets taught...that the Jewish
claim on the land of Israel was totally contingent on the moral and
spiritual life of the Jews who lived there, and that the land would, as
the Torah tells us, 'vomit you out' if people did not live according to
the highest moral vision of Torah. Over and over again, the Torah
repeated its most frequently stated mitzvah [command]: "When you enter
your land, do not oppress the stranger; the other, the one who is an
outsider of your society, the powerless one and then not only 'you
shall love your neighbor as yourself' but also 'you shall love the
other.'" - Rabbi Lerner, TIKKUN Magazine, page 35, Sept./Oct. 2007
Sabeel reminds us that God is not a racist; God does not play favorites, chooses or loves any ethnic group over any another.
Sabeel
sees Jesus in his divinity and in the fullness of his humanity as a
Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior, who was born, lived and died
under the brutal Roman Military Occupation and who only responded to
evil with good.
"Sabeel develops an anti-imperial
theology. It stands in the tradition of the anti-imperial theologies of
Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament, and applies this critique of
ancient empire to modern empires, such as the American empire. It
rejects a Son of David imperial Christology, rooting itself in a
Suffering Servant Christology of the early Church, in its non-violent
way of the cross. It is a theology that aims at reconciliation and
peace, through a social, economic and political transformation of
relationships between Israel and Palestinians that makes it possible
for these people to co-exist in genuine justice." –Author and Feminist
Theologian, Rosemary Radford Ruether
In November 2008, I attended SABEEL's [Arabic for The Way] 7th International Conference in the Holy Land: THE NAKBA: MEMORY, REALITY AND BEYOND,Read
more...
Reverend
Ateek shepherded my group through his boyhood village and told us how
the Zionists came and forced all the Palestinians to flee under threat
of death.
His father the town's only and very successful Jeweler
response to the Israeli soldiers who ordered all the townspeople to
vacate their homes and board a bus that would make them into refugees,
"Naked I came into this world and naked I will leave it."
That
spirit without any bitterness was also expressed by Rev. Ateek and his
family members who walked my group through the streets of their once
thriving Palestinian neighborhood that had become 100% Israeli in 1948.
It
is Reverend Ateek's faith that enables that spirit to rule and fuel his
desire for justice and reconciliation between the cousins in the
dysfunctional family of Father Abraham via a paradigm shift:
"The
Christian faith…points to two superior levels that can lead to
reconciliation and forgiveness…repentance is a precondition; it must
precede reconciliation and forgiveness…Repentance calls for the
admission of guilt, crime and injustice…In the conflict between Israel
and Palestine, repentance would correspond to an admission of guilt by
the government of Israel of the injustice it has dealt to the
Palestinians in its confiscation of land, violation of human rights,
and its systems of domination and oppression…there is the divine
paradigm of revolutionary forgiveness even when no admission of guilt
[is expressed]. Christians are suppose to practice forgiveness of
others because it is how God deals with us: as God forgives
continually, we must forgive others." [Ateek, Page 183-184]
That
kind of forgiveness is radical and revolutionary and exactly what Jesus
demonstrated as he hung upon the Roman Empire's Cross of Corporal
Punishment.
After he quoted from Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?" Jesus ended with a plea for reconciliation:
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing." [Luke 23:34]
For
decades, Naim Ateek has been crying out for JUSTICE and only JUSTICE as
the only way to peace and security for all the people of the Holy
Land.
"Justice is done when international law is
implemented…So long as the injustices persist, hate and its derivatives
have the upper hand…justice and peace begins when the oppressor becomes
aware of its violations of the other's humanity. Justice is done when
the international community, through nonviolent methods, forces Israel
to put an end to its injustice…justice tempered by mercy and
compassion. The doing of justice must not crush the enemy but hold the
enemy accountable…no hope for change is possible until the occupation
ends." [Ateek, Page 185]
Israel has no constitution but does have a Declaration of their Establishment:
"On
the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength
of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will
be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of
Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights
to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee
freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the
Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948.
Imagine what a world it would be, if Israel held to its own declaration.
The
ancient Hebrew prophets were never valued in their day, for they
provoked the people to remember God as they pointed out danger.
In A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation, Ateek spins a few ancient stories of Hebrew prophets for the 21st century.
Ateek names Samson: The first Suicide Bomber and Jonah: The first Palestinian liberation Theologian.
The word martyr is understood as one who chooses to suffer even die rather than renounce their principals.
A martyr is also one who has given themselves up as a WITNESS!
The essence of Christianity is to bear witness to what Jesus was always on about; forgiveness and love.
"Christians
must condemn violence and terrorism whether it is recorded in legendary
stories or in history being written today…We condemn suicide bombings
as a crime against God. It is a crime to shed another's blood, it must
also be equally criminal, if not more so, to shed ones own blood…Those
who love God do not kill themselves for the sake of God…nothing
justifies the killing of people. "[Ateek, Page 123-124]
"Jonah,
an ardent nationalist who harbored deep contempt for the Assyrians,
wished for their total destruction. As an Israelite nationalist…Jonah
wished to celebrate [their] destruction…God had to teach Jonah the
great lesson of obedience…
[The book of Jonah's] "deeper meaning
emphasizes God's care and concern for Jews, but equally for non-Jews-in
other words the inclusive nature of God…radical and revolutionary…no
one can hide from God…there was no place in the universe where Jonah
could escape the presence of God…Gods love encompasses all of
humanity...The story of Jonah is a description of God that critiques
any narrow or nationalist understanding." [Ateek, Pages 69, 71, 72, 74]
"For
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper
you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."-Jeremiah
19:11
"HOPE has two children. The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine
"No
hope for change is even possible until the occupation ends...the first
step is to confront and analyze the roots of the conflict and its
development…to move toward a solution in Israel-Palestine, the illegal
Israeli occupation must come to an end and Palestinian violence must
stop…Justice [will be] done when international law is implemented…Once
justice is done, peace will not be far off." [Ateek, page 185]
Godspeed on that and God bless Reverend Ateek, a 21st century prophet.
"Love is not the starving of
whole populations. Love is not the bombardment of open cities. Love is
not killing......Our manifesto is the Sermon on the Mount, which means
that we will try to be peacemakers." -Dorothy Day
About
2,000 years ago, when Christ was about 33, he hiked up a hill and sat
down under an olive tree and began to teach the people;
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."
In
other words: it is those who know their own spiritual poverty, their
own limitations and sins honestly and trust God loves them in spite of
themselves who already live in the Kingdom of God.
How
comforted we will all be, when we see, we haven't got a clue, as to the
depth and breadth of pure love and mercy of The Divine Mystery of The
Universe.
God's name in ancient Aramaic is Abba which means Daddy as
much as Mommy and He/She: The Lord has said, "My ways are not your
ways. My thoughts are not yours." -Isaiah 55:8
Christ proclaimed more: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
The
essence of meek is to be patient with ignorance, slow to anger and
never hold a grudge. In other words: how comforted you will be when you
also know humility; when you know yourself, the good and the bad, for
both cut through every human heart.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled."
In other words: how comforted you will be when your greatest desire is to do what "God requires, and he has already told you what that is; BE JUST, BE MERCIFUL and walk humbly with your Lord."-Micah 6:8
"Blessed
are the merciful, they will be shown mercy."
In other words: how comforted you will all be when you choose to return only kindness to your
'enemy.'
"For with the measure you measure against another, it will be measured back to you" Christ warns his disciples as he explains the law of karma in Luke 6:27-38.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God."
In other words: how
comforted you will be when you WAKE UP and see God is already within you,
within every man, every woman and every child. The Supreme Being is
everywhere, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Beyond The Universe
-and yet so small; within the heart of every atom.
"Blessed are The Peacemakers: THEY shall be called the children of God."
And what a wonderful world it would be when we all seek peace by pursuing justice; for there can be none without the other.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires, theirs is The Kingdom of Heaven."
And one fine day the lion will lie down with The Lamb and man will make war no more and that is the Kingdom of God.
All
that remains of the Orwellian "PEACE BE WITH YOU" sign on the Jerusalem
side of The Wall that is choking Bethlehem are a few tatters at the top
edge of the thirty foot high concrete edifice. The Israeli Minister of
Tourism is replacing the image captured on the cover of my second book
with bland views of the Old City.
One
can even travel to Ben Gurion Airport and remain oblivious to the
concrete separation wall which is obfuscated from view in Israel by
faux painting and buildups of massive landscaping.
However,
The Wall is never out of my minds eye, even as I traveled at night from
occupied east Jerusalem to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport at 9 PM last
Sunday night, for my seventh departure since June of 2004. I cleared
SECURITY at 11:25; fifteen minutes before the doors were locked, but
due to a blown generator in one of the engines we waited on the run way
until 4 AM before repair and take off.
But,
I was still smiling as I approached the first SECURITY agent in the
queue who smiled back at me and then asked, "What was your purpose in
Israel?"
"To
get to Gaza, but I only made it as far as the Erez Checkpoint. For
eight days I was embedded with CODE PINK activists who had been invited
by the UN to see the facts on the ground and meet the people who try to
have a life there. A CODE PINK contingent got through from Egypt and
built three playgrounds in Gaza. Did you know that over half of the 1.5
million open air prisoners in Gaza, are kids younger than sixteen years
old? Did you know that?"
He shook his head negative and asked, "Do you have your Press Card?"
I
laughed, and replied, "I am not card carrying press! I am an Internet
Journalist, a member of the New Fourth Estate. My career began in 2005,
after my first of seven journeys to Israel and occupied Palestine.
Everything I write is published first on my site, and I am a feature
correspondent for Arabisto and The Palestine Telegraph, which by the
way was founded and is based in Gaza. I work with them and am also
published by The Peoples Voice, Oped News and other sites."
"Any American media?"
"All
are USA, except for The Palestine Telegraph. By the way, today I was in
occupied east Jerusalem meeting with Mordechai Vanunu-you know the
ex-Orthodox Jew who turned Christian in 1986 and provided the
photographic proof and told the truth about Israel's Weapons of Mass
Destruction Program twenty-three years ago. Did you know that the
democracy that you have in Israel actually sentenced him to three
months in jail just for talking to non-Israeli citizens, who happened
to be media back in 2004? Incredible but true, and Israel now does not
know what to do with him, so they keep rescheduling his Supreme Court
appeal. I am the reporter who has been following Vanunu's freedom of
speech trial since it began January 25, 2005, which by the way was the
same day Hamas was democratically elected. Did you know that?"
The
SECURITY man backed away from me, but he kept his eyes on me as he made
a phone call. I was still smiling, but my buzz was not chemically
induced from the two vodka tonics I had sipped before I arrived at Ben
Gurion that night. I could not suppress a giggle at the surreal sight
of three twenty-something year olds wearing nearly identical suits and
similar ties who were rapidly approaching me as they studied me
intently, and when they arrived, the man in the middle asked me, "What
is the problem?"
"I
haven't any problems at all! In fact I am most happy to inform SECURITY
that I am an internet reporter meaning one who does not take
assignments from editors or paychecks from conglomerates. And by the
way, reporters like me cannot be censored or secured into silence and
we report from occupied territory."
They
all appeared dazed and confused but remained silent as I was led to the
front of the line at the luggage x-ray machine. I apologized to the
other travelers for cutting in and explained it was only because I was
a SECURITY risk for being a reporter from occupied Palestine. As I
waited for my luggage to pass the inspection, I began writing the
dialogue that had transpired between me and SECURITY ever since I had
arrived at Ben Gurion Airport. Within a minute one of the suits
reappeared and asked me what I was writing about.
"My experience's here."
"You cannot write about SECURITY!"
I
laughed, sighed and replied, "Sure I can. I have and I will. There is
no way any state or SECURITY machine can stop the free flow of
information. Nor can SECURITY deny people of their conscience."
He
walked away and I kept writing. My checked bag made the trip through
x-ray three times before I remembered what I had stowed among my dirty
laundry and reading material. As soon as I apologized to SECURITY for
what might look like a b-o-m-b to them- but in reality was only a
bottle of Russian vodka- I was then told where to take all my luggage
and stand and wait my turn to have all the contents of my luggage
examined, probed and swabbed. After that thorough inspection and
repacking, I was led to the same office I have been before where one is
"checked for metal."
Previously,
I had been told to remove my shirt and drop my jeans, but this
encounter I was allowed to remain fully clothed for my thorough pat
down and wanding.
Being
an American, I can never fully understand what every Palestinian must
endure daily from Israeli SECURITY; but I have heard enough of their
stories, seen enough of effects of The Wall and far too many eyes of
children who only know Israelis through the barrel of a gun, to ever
shut up in trying to educate and agitate the status quo; for experience
is all about what you do with what happens to you.
On
November 15, 2005, Senator Hillary Clinton stood on the Jerusalem side
of The Wall and was quoted in Ha’aretz, expressing support for The Wall
because it “is against terrorists” and “not against the Palestinian
people.”
On
New Years Eve Day of 2005, I visited a family who had just rebuilt
their home in Dasheish, one of three a 100% Muslim refugee camps in
Bethlehem.
The
Habib [not their real name] family had rebuilt on the very same spot
after the Israeli Forces blew their former home up without any reason
or compensation.
Since
1967, Israel has demolished over 18,000 dwellings [averaging eleven
people per unit] which were bulldozed by Israeli forces using USA made
caterpillar bulldozers and Israel attempts to justify their home
demolitions with three distinct categories:
1.
Collective Punishment: Homes of suspected terrorists-which in reality
is anyone who opposes the occupation of Palestine- and the families of
suicide/homicide bombers. These punitive actions amount to 15% of the
over 18,000 homes destroyed since 1967.
2.
Administrative Demolitions: For lack of building permits- which Israel
refuses to issue-account for 25%. In occupied east Jerusalem there are
now 22,000 more homes [one out of four Palestinian homes]with a
demolition order over them. 3. SECURITY: The blanket response to all of Israel’s injustices and illegal actions.
Mr.
Habib told me that in 2004, Israeli Forces banged on his door and
informed the family that their home would be demolished within fifteen
minutes. The family all got safely out, but their home was but a memory
a few moments later.
“No
one in our family had ever been in any trouble with the Israeli
government before and no family member had ever been arrested. They
picked us to be an example of the power and control that Israel has to
deny basic and inalienable human rights,” Mr. Habib informed me without
any bitterness. An
Uncle, who lived down the stairs from the Habib’s also, had his home
blown away on the very same day. Relatives took them all in, for the
poor in Palestine take care of the poor and don’t look to the
government to do what people of good will, will do automatically: care
for the ill, widows, orphans, refugees and prisoners.
When ever I need a taxi while in Bethlehem or Jerusalem, I usually phone Samir-but I always call him Sam.
Sam
can comfortably transport eight in his van and he has an excellent
sound system. Sam is an Orthodox Christian in the Syrian Church and has
a gorgeous wife and two beautiful kids. Sam has VIP papers which enable
him to chauffeur the Patriarchs around town without as much hassle as a
regular Palestinian would have to endure at the checkpoints.
Sam,
his wife and I rode to the Ben Gurion Airport, three hours prior to my
1 AM flight home on January 5, 2006, the final day of my second of
seven journey's to Israel and Palestine. We talked a little but mostly
we listened to the music of Bob Marley. When we arrived at the
checkpoint at the entrance of the airport, Sam rolled down his window
and smiled at the young soldier and said, “Shalom” but it sounded more
like “Salaam.”
Sam’s
VIP pass meant nothing to the soldier and we were all ordered to
disembark and pull out all of my luggage. My passport was demanded
without a smile and Sam was led into the interrogation room while his
wife and I remained out in the cold trying to laugh at the absurdity of
the situation. Another soldier examined and probed the van looking for
b-o-m-b-s and I wondered about the paranoia apparent in so many
Israeli’s. I have discerned that it is a holocaust hangover that has
blinded many to the fact that the once oppressed have now become the
oppressors.
After
Sam’s van was thoroughly examined for b-o-m-b-s, I received my passport
back marked with a red sticker upon it. Back in Sam’s van his wife
expertly removed the sticker and all the glue from my passport. The
sticker brands one as having come through occupied territory and Sam
informs me that my third degree would be by airport SECURITY.
Sam
smiled wryly as he told me, “This is what the Nazi’s did to the Jews
before the Holocaust when they made them wear the Star of David. They
marked them as the enemy. Now anyone who knows Palestinians or visits
occupied territory gets a sticker on their passport to label them as
friends of the enemy.”
Then Sam turned up the volume on his Bose system and Bob Marley and the Wailers erupted:
Get up, stand up Stand up for your rights Get up, stand up Stand up for your rights Get up, stand up Stand up for your rights Get up, stand up Don’t give up the fight.
My
luggage had been filled with Arabic nonviolent literature but Sam
cautioned me to leave it all with him to avoid the extra hassle it
could cause me during the routine questioning by airport security. So,
I left everything that I could get on the Internet except for books, a
CD and a DVD. Sam warned me on what I should and shouldn’t say when I
undergo my interrogation from the inquisitive employees at the Ben
Gurion Airport.
While
in Bethlehem I shared with many about my experience of having my
computer confiscated by EL AL employees at JFK Airport, during my
December 2005, pre-flight checking in process. Every Palestinian told
me “don’t worry about it.”
But
every American I spoke with during my time in Israel and Palestine,
freaked out when I told them about El Al confiscating my lap top for
over an hour before I boarded the plane at JFK for my second trip to
the Holy Land. Every American believed that they had downloaded my
files, read my emails and perhaps even injected a Trojan into my soft
ware.
I
had no fear of airport security and I always honestly and briefly
answer every question with a smile. Every employee I encountered smiled
back at me, except for one, and nobody asked me any ‘explosive’
questions that evening. Three different young women examined and
swabbed every item and surface in my luggage and then I knew frisson:
the chill in the thrill of the rush you experience in a moment of
delight, excitement or fear.
It
happened just as the unsmiling young woman examiner came upon the book
from the Holy Land Trust conference I had attended from December 27-30,
2005 entitled: "Celebrating Nonviolent Resistance."
She
never looked my way, but she read the cover and scanned all the pages
most thoroughly. She then walked away with the book and had a
conversation with another young woman, who returned with her. After my
luggage passed that inspection, the new SECURITY agent told me to
follow her. She led me to a small dressing room and I was told me to
strip down to my bra and panties. I kept a smile on my face and my pat
down and wanding was over a few moments later.
I
crashed for five hours out of the thirteen hour flight to JFK and when
I awoke, it was to vivid images of The Wall that remain brutally fresh
four years later. My mind's eye still see's a thirty foot high and
miles long wide concrete boa constrictor and barbed wire fence as
dividing, separating, humiliating, dominating, controlling and denying
inalienable human rights to every Palestinian in the so called holy
land which is in pieces; Bantustans.
When
I landed at JFK Airport, Terminal Two to wait three hours for my
connection home, all I could think about was The Wall and all the
injustice’s I had witnessed during my trip to the occupied territories.
Every local, taxi driver, would be terrorist, and I knew of ways around
The Wall which had gaps that led to the way to avoid the checkpoint
that divides the sister cities of Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
The Israeli government and Senator Clinton have all claimed that The Wall is all about SECURITY. The
International Court of Justice in The Hague deemed The Wall illegal and
that it must come fall where ever it lies on Palestinian property-which
is most all of it!
Just weeks after his FREEDOM OF SPEECH TRIAL began Vanunu sent this 1:19 minute message to Senator Clinton and USA Christians Excerpted from "30 Minutes with Vanunu" freely streaming @ VANUNU ARCHIVES: WeAreWideAwake
The
concrete boa constrictor and barbed wire fence is a Machiavellian
Orwellian Master Plan to divide, separate, humiliate, dominate, control
and deny inalienable human rights to the indigenous people of the Holy
Land so that they will give up, give in and leave. But, they never will
and although The Wall has destroyed over one million fruit bearing
trees on Palestine property and in the Palestinian/'Arab'-Israeli
Unrecognized Villages of Israel where ancient olive trees can still be
found, for olive trees will live for thousands of years- if they are
not plowed down.
Twenty
five olive trees can support a typical family in Gaza, the West Bank
and in the Unrecognized Villages of Israel, where every little child
knows the names of the trees-and they always be- names of mommies,
sisters and favorite aunts, for olive tree are a member of their family.
Upon The Wall from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, The Minister of Tourism had hung the Orwellian sign, “Peace be with you.”
By the 6th century the conflicts in the Middle East were already old news, and a prophet stated the obvious:
“Peace, peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace.”-Jeremiah 6:14
For
twelve days of Christmas in 2005, I lived in the Little Town of
Bethlehem: occupied territory. For twelve days of Christmas, I walked
“through streets that were dead” [Bob Dylan] in the morning, noon and
night and everywhere I did go, shops were closed, restaurants empty. A
few locals would be around and many tour buses did quickly come and go
for the pilgrims to snap photos at the Church of The Nativity. But
stores remained closed and restaurants empty because most people do not
want to see, hear or know about life in occupied territory.
On
July 28, 2007, I left occupied east Jerusalem at 8 AM in Sam's van but
this time, he did not have to leave his car and go into the
interrogation building. SECURITY did ask me politely for my passport
and to exit the van to identify my luggage that was in the trunk. I
did as I was told and then SECURITY returned my passport with a round
blue sticker and the number 78 pasted on the back cover. The sticker
marked me as being with a Palestinian and I told Sam, "I am not
removing the sticker this time. I am livid to the point of over boil at
all I have seen and heard these past two weeks and I will not shut up
until I get it all out. I will be writing for the next week about what
I have learned and I am going to tell airport security exactly where I
have been and that I have been reporting it all on the web. I am
flaming mad at my government and pathetic mainstream media who do not
tell the truth about what is really going down in the Holy Land, which
is all in pieces; Bantustans!
"Bush
and Olmerts concept of a contiguous Palestinian state means connecting
the unconnected enclaves with underground tunnels while the illegal
settlers; colonists; squatters get to use the well paved apartheid
roads and my tax dollars support this occupation and injustice! I am
totally pissed off and whipped and worn out with misery and grief at
all I have seen, heard and it has gone to my gut- my heart in other
words- and I will not be silent and I cannot shut up."
Sam
shrugged and remained silent as I fumed until I encountered my first
Ben Gurion employee. She was the very same young trainee I had crossed
paths with in November 2006. I didn't tell her that I remembered her
from eight months prior. She had been hesitant and apologetic in her
questioning then, but she had now mastered the routine, and there was
no joking around. She was most concerned if anyone had given me
anything that could be a bomb.
I
told her nobody gave me anything except coffee, tea, water, soda,
cookies, fruit, hummus and bread during my visits in Palestinian homes
in Ramallah, Bethlehem, and in the Dasheish, Aida and Jenin refugee
camps.
"How many times have you been to Israel?"
"This makes my fifth."
"Do you have family here?"
"Not blood family, but friends who have become like family."
"What was the purpose for your trip?"
"I am an Internet reporter and I came to investigate what my government and the USA media doesn't talk about."
"So, have all your trips here been for business?"
"You could say that."
She
then led me to the first x-ray machine, and after my bags passed
through, she returned to me accompanied by another young woman and a
young man in a suit.
He asked me; "How many times have you been to Israel?"
"This was my fifth trip and I spent all my time in occupied territory."
"Where have you been?"
"East
Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jenin. I am an Internet reporter and
you can read all about my journey on my website," I replied as I handed
him my card.
He looked at it carefully, smiled and replied, "Very nice, very interesting."
"Thanks. I hope you will read what I have to share."
"Oh, I will. May I keep your card?"
"Of course, it is yours and please tell all your friends at SECURITY to read me too."
"Thank you for your cooperation. There was a problem with your bags; they must go back through the x-ray machine."
"OK," I said and returned once again to where I had just been.
After the bags came back out, the young man in the suit informed me, "Your bags need to be further examined."
He
led me to the next phase, a large rectangular space of tables with
x-ray equipment in the middle and delivered me to station number 9,
where three females were waiting for me. They asked me to open up all
my bags and with plastic gloves on their hands; they swabbed and
examined every surface and every article. My sunscreen lotion and Pink
IPOD shuffle caused them much concern, but what really got them nervous
was a stain on an old suitcase and they wanted to know, "How long had
it been there?"
I
had no clue as I borrowed the bag from my daughter and hadn't even
noticed it until they brought it up. It took another 35 minutes for
them to go through all my stuff and all my careful packing had been for
naught. They were all pleasant enough, but nobody responded to me when
I stated, "All of this happens just because I have been to occupied
Palestine? Oh well, every experience is writing material."
After
they were satisfied I had no explosives in my luggage, one of them
offered to help me repack, but I declined. As soon as I was zipped back
up, one of them told me without making any eye contact, "Now I have to
check you for metal."
"OK, sure, but I think you mean a strip search?"
She
didn't respond and led me to the examining room where my shoes, belt,
and jewelry came off and she told me to sit down and she would return
soon. After my shoes and belt passed the x-ray inspection, she told me
to extend my legs so she could pat them down. Then she instructed me to
stand up and hold my arms out so she could wand me all over. The wand
kept alarming in the vicinity of the metal buttons and rivets on my
jeans. She said, "Have a seat; I must get my supervisor."
She
returned with a young woman, who never made eye contact with either of
us as she commanded, "You need to drop your pants around your knees."
I
complied and after she wanded me all over, she turned and exited as I
spoke to her back, "Did I pass the inspection? Can I get dressed?"
She never responded but my first 'companion' said "Yes."
I
was then led back to my luggage and another female; one who did make
eye contact and smiled a lot said, "Come with me," and I did.
She
led me to the front of a line of about twenty travelers' at the
Continental check in desk. Two American women had been first in line
and behind them was an angry man who yelled at my 'companion' in
Hebrew.
She
responded without a smile in Hebrew back to him, but did smile as I
said to the Americans, "I get to cut in front of you, because I am a
security risk. I have been to occupied territory and have been writing
what I witnessed and learned on the World Wide Web." I handed out some
cards and added, "I hope you will read all about it and tell all your
friends."
After
receiving my boarding pass, my 'companion' led me on, and as soon as we
were out of ear shot from the line of travelers she remarked, "Israelis
can be so very rude."
I passed up the bait and responded, "So, all this personal attention is just because I told the truth?"
She
smiled again but made no comment until we passed through the employees
security check and arrived at Passport control. "Sorry to have put you
through all this, but it's just our job."
"I know how that is, and I have just been doing mine."
Message from Ministry of Homeland Security:
You write what you're told! Thanks corporate news! We couldn't control the people without you! Yes, we control both sides of the "debate." We make the economy dance where we like. We control your television. We control your churches. We control your children. We track your movements. We profile your purchases. We control your patriotism. We control your munitions industries. We frame the debate. We demonize the target of the week. We cull your numbers. Trust us.-Ministry of Homeland Security, Author Unknown
"HOPE has two children.The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine
"He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust." - Aquinas
Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
" In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."-Mother Teresa
“You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased...to obey the laws of life.”- Lewis Mumford, 1946
The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership....a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures." - William Fulbright
“Any nation that year after year continues to raise the Defense budget while cutting social programs to the neediest is a nation approaching spiritual death.” - Rev. MLK
Establishment of Israel
"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the Establishment of Israel
Blog 
technocrati
