US Republican Congressman Henry J. Hyde, Chairman of the
House International Relations Committee, sent a letter to President
George Bush in May pleading the case of endangered Palestinian
Christians. Hyde sent with his letter a report prepared by his
staff.
May 19, 2006
Introduction
This report is based on a series of staff delegations to Israel and
Palestine over the past two years. Throughout the course of these
trips committee staff met with government officials, religious
leaders, and indigenous Christians in the area who are the living
stones of the Christian narrative in the Holy Land.
Summary
The Christian Community comprises less than two percent of the
population, yet their institutions in the region are a vital part
of the area's development, providing a safety net for the
communities they serve. These institutions have been a beacon of
tolerance and faith for people from all walks of life.
The Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities of the Holy Land have
benefited in all respects from the valuable services provided by
these institutions, receiving health, education and employment
opportunities. Throughout the centuries, Christian institutions and
their communities have been able, for the most part, to function,
deliver services and fulfill their missions, in spite of
turmoil.
The deepening economic and humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian
Territories and the challenges associated with providing assistance
to the Palestinian Authority has highlighted the important role
these institutions fulfill. The vital services provided by
institutions like the Augusta Victoria Hospital and other similar
institutions are critical to meeting the humanitarian needs of the
Palestinian community.
This report outlines the fundamental challenges facing Christian
institutions and their communities in the Holy Land. It also
highlights specific examples intended to describe how current
political obstacles have altered the traditional role of these
institutions. The resolution of these items is central to any
attempt to find a lasting peace in the region.
Negotiations between the Holy See and the State of
Israel
Israel should be commended for its decision to return to
negotiations with the Holy See in 2004. The Fundamental Agreement
is an historic international treaty signed by the Holy See and
Israel that established diplomatic relations between the two
parties. The Agreement, signed by both parties in 1993 and entered
into force in 1994 mandates a comprehensive agreement on all
outstanding claims concerning economic and property matters within
two years. Twelve years have passed since the treaty entered into
force and still there is no comprehensive agreement. The agreement
has not been ratified by the Israeli Knesset, making it impossible
for church institutions to uphold the provisions of the agreement
in Israeli courts. As a result, these institutions are
vulnerable.
One example of this vulnerability is in Jerusalem at a hospice
administered by Sisters of the organization, Daughters of Charity
of St. Vincent De Paul. The hospice, which is famous for taking in
Jewish refugees with "Concentration Camp Syndrome" after World War
II and now serves over 350 people, has recently come under threat
by new construction on its grounds. This new construction, which
includes plans to build cinemas and entertainment centers on the
grounds of the hospice violates the terms of a 125-year lease
imposed by the State of Israel and signed by the Sisters concerning
the appropriate use of the hospice's property. The terms of the
lease guarantee an access road for ambulances, patients and staff,
visitors, and other traffic pertinent to the mission of the
hospice, and that no new construction will block the sunlight to
the hospice itself.
It has been reported that after taking these matters to the Israeli
authorities, the Sisters were advised to sell the whole property to
the business in charge of the construction, and vacate the
premises. The Daughters have filed a lawsuit in an effort to force
the Israeli authorities to comply with the terms of the agreement.
As of the writing of this letter, the case is unresolved. Had the
Fundamental Agreement been ratified into Israeli law, the hospice
would have benefited from its special protection. Lacking such
protection, the Sisters have been forced to take matters into their
own hands and their prospects for winning this battle are very much
in doubt.
This case is an example of the extreme vulnerability of Christian
institutions in the Holy Land and underscores the need for the
Untied States to urgently extend its political support for the
successful resolution of negotiations between the Holy See and the
State of Israel. It is vital that there be a comprehensive
settlement of all outstanding claims so the various agreements may
be written into Israeli law, permitting the Church access to due
process in Israel's democratic government, allowing Christian
institutions to focus on serving the communities they serve. A
constructive approach would include the designation by the
newly-elected prime minister of a member of his office to oversee
the process of negotiations. This action should ensure that there
is a team in place that is empowered and allocating sufficient time
to negotiate an agreement.
The Impact of the Barrier and Settlement on the Christian
Narrative
In a recent hearing on Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
for 2005, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, Chairman of the Committee on
International Policy for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops,
testified that Christians in the West Bank are feeling vulnerable.
This feeling, he said, derives from the deepening divide between
Muslims and Christian Palestinians, due in part to the route of the
security barrier.
The routing of the security barrier and construction of settlements
and their infrastructure through important Christian sites,
contrary to the Roadmap, are irreversibly damaging the dwindling
Christian community. Furthermore, these elements undermine
President Bush's vision of a negotiated two-state solution. After
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, Israel
confiscated and expropriated thousands of dunams of land in the
Bethlehem governorate. Today, the Bethlehem area is home to over 20
Israeli settlements and there are plans to build more. The
settlements and the barrier completely encircle the Christian
triangle of Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour (Shepherds'
Field). This has created an untenable situation for the
Bethlehemite community as housing and land shortages are
drastically limiting the natural growth of the community.
Furthermore, the security barrier, settlements, and bypass roads
for Israeli settlers throughout the rest of the West Bank have led
to an encroachment of rural Palestinian migrants into Christian
urban centers, further adding to the problem of housing shortages.
In several isolated incidents, this has resulted in takeovers of
Bethlehem homes. Moreover, this construction physically obstructs
the Bethlehem community from its spiritual, cultural, and economic
lifeline in Jerusalem.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Christians are facing similar problems.
For example, there is the tragic case of the village of Aboud near
Ramallah. Aboud is home to seven ancient churches, the oldest
dating back to the third century. It is believed that Jesus passed
through Aboud en route to Jerusalem from his childhood home in the
Galilee. In Aboud, the route of the security barrier will cut off
1,000 acres of land, limit access to valuable water resources, and
physically block Aboud from other surrounding villages. The Israeli
Army has already uprooted thousands of olive trees in the village,
resulting in a dire situation for farmers who rely on agriculture
as the sustenance of their economy.
All parties should be held accountable to their international
obligations and insist that Israel honor its pledge to stop
settlement expansion. The United States should also press Israel to
ensure that the security barrier being constructed is one for
legitimate security needs, rather than as a pretext for annexing
territory, and that genuine efforts are made to spare Palestinian
communities - including the embattled Christian communities of the
West Bank -disproportionate and unnecessary harm.
The Importance of Maintaining the Identity of
Jerusalem
There has been a decline of Christians in the Holy Land. The
underlying causes of this reduction of the Christian community and
the decline of its institutions are complex, and by no means do I
wish to imply ill will either from Israel or the Palestinians. But
it is evident that the Christian community is being crushed in the
mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are recent
and very troubling indications that this decline will be
exacerbated and accelerated by actions of the Israeli government
and the ascendancy of Islamic fundamentalism. Jerusalem is of
universal and sacred importance to Americans - Christians, Jews and
Muslims - and the rapid decline of Christian Jerusalem not only
jeopardizes strategic American interests in the city, but values
cherished and shared by Americans of all faiths.
Committee staff delegations have been unable to understand how the
currently routed barrier in Jerusalem - which rips asunder the
existential poles of Christian belief, Nativity and Resurrection,
and encloses 200,000 Palestinians on the Jerusalem side of the
barrier - will improve the security of Israel's citizens. The fact
that the barrier is to be lined with settlements discloses
political goals irreversible in nature, contrary to Israel's
declarations. These developments conflict with President Bush's
repeated statements that the barrier being erected by Israel should
be a security rather than a political barrier.
Another recent development, no less dire, has received little
attention so far. With the active and tacit support of elements
within the Israeli government, fundamentalist Jewish settlers in
East Jerusalem have been establishing a stranglehold over the Old
City and its adjacent neighborhoods. These extremist settlers - who
intend to establish their own brand of Jewish exclusivity over
Jerusalem, who have Messianic aspirations on the Temple Mount, and
who are ideologically committed to derailing any political process
- have resumed intensive settlement activities in the Christian and
Muslim quarters of the Old City. They have recently expanded their
activities to other areas sacred to Christians such as the Mount of
Olives. Many of the historic and archeological sites in the Old
City have been transferred by the Israeli governmental authorities
to these extreme settlers. None of this could take place without
the active support of certain Israeli government authorities.
The potential impact on American interest is stark indeed. The
co-existence of the core narratives of the three monotheistic
religions is not only what makes Jerusalem unique, but is also the
foundation of the stability of the city, if not the entire region.
If the indigenous character and the multicultural aspects of
Jerusalem are not preserved, the likelihood of a Palestinian
society that is truly pluralistic will be diminished and an
important bridge that can help shape the representative
institutions necessary in any viable two-state solution will be
lost. Establishing physical embodiments of extremism at the
volcanic core of the conflict - precisely at the time when
fundamentalist Islam is on the rise - threatens to transform a
resolvable, negotiable territorial conflict into a religious war
with global implications. The stability of Jerusalem impacts vital
American interests throughout the region and the world, and this
stability is being undermined.
Israeli governments have traditionally treated the complexity of
Jerusalem with reverence and responsibility. It would be helpful if
the United States Government committed itself to working with the
Israeli government to end support for and prevent the establishment
of new realities on the ground, which complicate a negotiated
solution over Jerusalem, destroy its multicultural identity and
constitute an increase in the political volatility of the
city.
Israel's Obligation to Ensure Religious Freedom for
All
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Christians and Muslims
living in the occupied territories to practice their faith. The
security barrier, checkpoints, permit system, and segregated
highway system render getting to religious services extremely
difficult. In addition, the security barrier cuts through religious
properties and impedes access to important holy sites. Consequently
the fabric of religious life is being destroyed. The Christians in
the area view the security barrier as something that is seriously
damaging religious freedom in the Holy Land, impeding their access
to important holy sites, and tearing at the social fabric of
Christian life by destroying the important linkages between
Bethlehem and Jerusalem, resulting in a decreasing Christian
presence in both cities.
As a democracy, Israel has a responsibility to protect religious
freedom for all inhabitants of the Holy Land. Jerusalem must
continue to be shared by the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. It is important that the United States
explicitly express and take measures to reinforce its opposition to
any unilateral actions in Jerusalem that have the potential to
prejudice the outcome of final status issues and undermine the
likelihood of a shared capital between Israel and the future State
of Palestine.
Conclusion
The plight and security of the Christian narrative in the Holy Land
is complex. By no means does this report intend to explain every
detail in its totality. Instead, this report is an honest attempt
to record the modern day challenges facing Christian institutions
and their communities from the perspective of Christians living in
the area. What is understood by many experts and those on the
ground is that the continuation of the status quo is creating an
untenable situation for the survival of the Christian narrative in
the place of its birth. If the ecumenical nature of holy sites is
not maintained, it is feared that these sites will become museums
for commercial purposes and will no longer be maintained as places
of spiritual worship shared by billions across the world. It is
critical that measures are taken to safeguard the integrity of the
Holy Land and all its inhabitants. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my
covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No
longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I
have made you the father of many nations. I will make you very
fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me
and you and your descendants after you for generations to come, to
be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole
land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an
everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I
will be their God." Genesis 17
