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Message from Jerusalem

Last term on the 14^th May, I visited St Michael-le-Belfry to hear a talk by The Right Revd Riah Abu El-Assal, Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem. Being in charge of a diocese that extends beyond Jerusalem to cover Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria calls for a fairly extraordinary person — and Bishop Riah is certainly that. When he comes to describing himself he quips that explaining the concept of a three-in-one Trinity is difficult enough, yet he is five-in-one: an “Arab Palestinian Christian Anglican Israeli.” In the space of just over an hour we heard a spirited and frequently hard-hitting talk that was addressed beyond those present to all the Christian churches of the west. Touching somewhat inevitably on the political situation between Palestine and Israel, the focus concentrated on the relationship between the Christian church in the west and its siblings in the Middle East. One of eight children, Bishop Riah was born in Nazareth. When the state of Israel was created in 1948, his family was on holiday in Lebanon and it took them ten years to gain legal permission to return home. Politically active, Bishop Riah confronts the task of working in such a fragile political situation. Saying that he “would like to be thought of as a peace activist”, Bishop Riah pleads for more than dialogue between the countries and often quotes that “Blessed are the peacemakers, not the peace talkers.”

Photos: imagesoftheworld.org

“The day must come when we will celebrate the rise of truth and the overcoming of peace in a country where people continue to use the word ‘Shalom’ more than any other place on Earth. They say ‘Shalom, Shalom’ but there is no peace.” In an area that many of us would refer to as the ‘Holy Land’ he argues that it is not a holy land until there is peace. In the mean time it is just a ‘holey land’. Bishop Riah’s visit to York is part of his tireless travel around the world to raise the profile of a Christian community that he feels are being abandoned: “[We] feel like the man left half dead between Jerusalem and Jericho in the story of the Good Samaritan. That’s very depressing. We have been injured in body and spirit for so many years … We were left to die on the side of the road by the millions of Christians in the world. Not on the roadside of the Muslims who continue to express solidarity with us. Even some Jewish parties … express solidarity with us. It is the Church, the Church in America, the Church in Europe …

“I envy the Jewish community in Israel for the way in which the Jewish community in the world cares about them. I envy the Muslim community for the way the Muslims in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf care about the Muslims. Today there are two billion Christians in the world. Two billion. And only 1.2 billion Muslims and 16–17 million Jews in the World. Where is the church? Why have we been left to struggle alone? … We’ve seen thousands of Jews coming to express solidarity. We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of Muslims demonstrating and contributing by the millions of dollars to rebuild Palestine. Something is wrong with us.” The reason for this sense of abandonment he bases on a lack of understanding both within and between the western church and his people. As an Arab Christian, he is asked time and time again on his travels, “When were you converted?”. He feels that the western Church, and indeed world, equates Arab with Muslim and vice versa. It is this misconception that he travels so vigorously to correct. There have been Arab Christians since Christianity began. In support he cites Acts 2:11 where the Arabs are the last nationality listed at Pentecost. As he rightly points out — there was no sign of the Anglo-Saxons in that list. So Bishop Riah asks for our support. He encourages us to come and visit the Holy Land. But not to do the tours and visit the sites. Instead, he asks that we visit the Christian communities there — the living stones not the old ruined stones. That we walk with whom Jesus walked, not where He walked in its now unrecognisable state.

“Don’t leave us half dead on the sidewalk of your lives,” he pleads. “That wonderful Samaritan must have had two things that all of us need while we continue to be alive: humility and courage. He did not behave in the manner that the others behaved. He was prepared to identify with the oppressed. He was prepared to identify with the injured and the half dead. He did not look around and say, “perhaps I will receive the same fortune”. He did not say, like the millions of pilgrims who came our way and said, “We are in a rush. We have no time for you. Sorry. But you need to understand that we are here for only ten days.” Rushed by guides who take them to visit places that have very little to do with the life of Christ. And he had the humility to bow down and uplift the man …” Israel and Palestine are in the news so often, and have been for so long, that it is easy to become somewhat immune to the reports. And as we approach Christmas at the end of this term, our minds are brought to focus on a holy land of so long ago. But let us not forget those who are suffering there now. Bishop Riah finishes with a challenge for all of us to become involved in the efforts for peace in whatever way we can: “Some think that the story of the Good Samaritan is not real. I believe it is a real story. The road between Jerusalem and Jericho is not in the southern part of Palestine; it’s in our heads. We need to do something about it. People together are great possibilities. We trust in your friendship. We are grateful for your continuing to pray for us. We want you to become partners with us in our ministry but also in our mission [for peace]. This mission is entrusted to us, not only to the politicians.”

Andrew Dennison

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Last modified: 25th November 2005