Is life a dream?

One night at dinner my granddaughter asked the question “Is life a dream?” I answered “That’s a good question, Carly. I don’t know.” In our science and religion discussion group we have spent much time considering the nature of reality. Since neuroscientists tell us that the brain cannot tell the difference between what we actually see and what we imagine, the nature of reality is an open question. As Americans our relationship with reality is often one of keeping it at arms length. The closest that many of us want to get to reality is our couch in front of the TV watching a reality TV show. (Perhaps I am not a good one to comment on this as I may be the only person who has not seen even one episode of “Survivor”) Even our trips are designed to shield us from reality. If we want to see Africa we can go to African Safari in Disney World. That way we won’t have to experience the poverty stricken people, AIDs ravaged populations, poachers and the blood and killing of the prey predator relationship. If we want to see Venice without the canals that in many ways are just open sewers and without the destruction being caused by sinking land and rising sea levels, we can go the Venetian in Las Vegas with canals filled with filtered water and high end designer shops far from the sea. Soon, courtesy of the Israeli government, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, we may be able experience the holy land of Israel/Palestine at a theme park in the Galilee. (This project took a little detour when Pat Robertson opined that God had caused Ariel Sharon’s stroke in revenge for pulling out of Gaza. However, money talks and the project will probably go forward.) We can then experience Bethlehem with lowing cattle and sleeping babies rather than barbed wire, walls, poverty, Apache helicopters, and targeted killings. We can experience Jerusalem without the crowds and glitz of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and without fear of the random suicide bomber. We can experience a nice neat carpenter shop rather than the bustling Arab city of Nazareth. We will probably have to check our back packs and handbags at the entrance. Hopefully we will not have to check our brains as well.

A Community of Diversity

As our church begins the process of searching for a new rector, one of the steps in that process is to document who we are as a community. To accomplish this we are meeting in small groups to solicit input from all segments of the community. As I recently participated in one of these sessions, it was clear to me that we are a very diverse community. (In Sun Valley, Idaho maybe not ethnically diverse) We had people who would reject a new rector who would support participation by persons with alternative sexual preferences and people who would support the blessing same sex unions. We had people who thought the liturgy and music was the best part of the community and those who would change them completely. We had people who thought the church had too many programs and those who had ideas for more. People took both conservative and liberal positions; sometimes the same person in different places on different issues and sometimes husband and wife in different places. I realized that we can be diverse even as individuals. I was reminded of a conversation that we had at the Wi’am Peace Center in Bethlehem. We were discussing the importance in conflict resolution of knowing who the interested parties are. A very thoughtful young Palestinian woman pointed out that a person can be many different things at the same time. A person can be father, son, grandfather and uncle at the same time. She was Christian, Palestinian, Arab, woman, and teacher and sometimes had difficulty deciding in what order. She had concluded that what category she was first depended on where she was and who she was interacting with. One part must come first but they are all part of who we are. When we lose one part we are losing part of who we are. When both my parents die I will no longer be a son. I will lose part of who I am and that will be sad. We need to celebrate the diversity of individuals and of our communities. People outside of the US seem to celebrate our diversity more than we do. Our Jordanian driver told us his story of coming to the US on a tourist visa and overstaying his visa to work as a taxi driver in Queens. The pay was so good because of the danger that it was worth the risk. While doing that he fell in love with a beautiful black woman. He said “We were considering making the relationship more permanent, except when we went to consummate the relationship, she turned out to be a he. I love America”.

The making of a police state

The state of Israel has long been an object of admiration by the American polity and there are many things to admire. Americans see many of the characteristics that they cherish in their own country in Israel. Here is a country carved out of a hostile land in a hostile environment by an energetic and tenacious people who have seen repression and persecution in their home lands. This admiration was manifest after 9/11 when the Israeli security forces and methods were held up as model of how the US should organize itself in order to prevent a reoccurrence of this horrific event. I remember numerous Israeli “security experts” opining in the media about the steps that we needed to take to deal with the threats posed by Islamic extremists. Maybe we should ask ourselves: “What lessons have we learned from our teachers”? When my friend Diane described her experience of crossing the Allenby bridge from Jordan to Israel a couple of years ago, she said “Now I know what it is like to live in a police state”. After two weeks of wandering around this part of the world, I know what she was talking about. The ever present police and defense forces manning established and “flying” check points, the efforts of interrogators to intimidate, the never ending stories of arrest and imprisonment without trial for the acts of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the holding of the wrong political views or being of the wrong ethnic group or religion raise the questions: What is going on here? How did this happen? How does a liberal democracy morph into a police state? What are the characteristics that allow this to happen? I used to feel that this couldn’t happen in a democracy. I was willing to accept some restrictions on my personal freedom and privacy in order to be able to go on with my life in a secure environment. The US is a democracy. If our government went too far in this direction all we had to do was go to the polls and “throw the bums out”. Only the people on the “wacky left” at the ACLU worried about such things. Why hasn’t this worked in Israel? Why didn’t the Israeli polity rise up and say “enough is enough”? We are not going to live like this and we are not going to treat other people like this. Some of the characteristics of Israeli society that I have observed may help shed some light on the answers to these questions. It seems to me that living in an environment where there is an ongoing threat of random or intentional attack has given the Israeli people an overriding concern for security. They have also developed as a people a xenophobic fear of the outsider, the other. Part of this other is an unstable internal population made up of second class citizens and immigrants with no status or permanent ties to the society. There is also a large degree of political apathy in the society. (I can have no effect on the outcome so why bother) In an election that was billed as one of the most important in Israel’s history, one that would dramatically affect the future of Israel only 60 percent of the electorate expressed their opinion. As I think about this, I find myself saying “hmm, this sounds familiar” Be careful who your teachers are.

Journey through Palestine

Our time in Israel/Palestine has placed us all on sensory and intellectual overload. It is way too soon to do more than just describe the experience. Reflection and absorption will have to wait for another day. Unfortunately we arrived a day late as we were unable to connect with our Atlanta to Tel Aviv flight. (You’ve got to love Delta) Passport control was no problem. Our beautiful Israeli immigration officer asked us a few questions and then wished us a good trip. (This isn’t so bad; easier than coming back into the US) As we passed into Ben Gurion airport we were greeted by a modern airport with no one in it. We were also greeted by no one. This was a disconcerting start to a trip that had everyone apprehensive to begin with. As we were soon to discover, this was an omen of things to come in the future. Our Palestinian driver was held up an hour and a half at the airport security point while they completely searched his van. Once connected, we headed off for the Bethlehem check point at the wall. Passing through Jerusalem it looks like any other large Middle Eastern city. (Jerusalem stone with the requisite McDonald’s) As you approach the wall/checkpoint, you see the picture that you have seen many times in the media. (30-40ft wall with gun towers and barbed wire) Somehow, however, it seems different when you are actually there. In what may be the epitome of irony the wall displays a huge sign placed by the Israeli government at Christmas time – “Peace on Earth”. After an uneventful passage through the checkpoint we arrived at the Casa Nova hotel on Manger Square for dinner with local wine and looked forward to the next day.
Day two brought us to the Wi’am Center for an introduction to conflict resolution. For the center, business is good – “this is a good season for conflict”. Although the case we discussed involved a domestic dispute, it was easy to see the parallels with the larger conflict and the approach to solving the dispute seemed obvious. (more irony) After a tour of the Church of the Nativity (it was hard to find God among all the glitz) we returned to the center to view the documentary film “Rachel Corrie – An American Conscience”. http://www.rachelcorrie.org/ This powerful, disturbing and graphic film tells the story of a 23 year old American women killed by an Israeli bulldozer while non-violently defending a Palestinian family’s home. In the moving discussion following the film, a group of Palestinian young adults (mixed Christian and Muslim) described why she is such a heroine for the Palestinians. (Life is made up of choices. We are here because we have to be-it is our home. She made a choice to be here with us) My observation is that this courageous young woman has done more to change the opinion of the Palestinians of the American people than all the millions spent by the US government on PR.
Day three had us heading “down to Jericho” after a tremendous rainstorm the night before which closed roads, flooded areas of cities and put rivers where they had never been before. Because we were Palestinians our journey was on the Jericho road, a winding narrow road full of Israeli army checkpoints which parallels the bypass road to Jericho reserved for Israelis. This turns a 40 minute trip on the bypass road into 2 hour excursion. As we entered the city and a visit to Temptation Mountain on dismal rainy day we passed the prison and government office compound attacked and leveled by Israeli tanks the week before. We hiked up to the Greek Orthodox Monastery at the peak just in time to have the sun break through. On the way I met a Palestinian policeman from Chicago who described his years in the US. Upon leaving Jericho we headed to the Dead Sea. The resort (if you can call it that) on the Israeli side is pretty tacky. (It is not in danger of enticing us from the Movenpick Hotel on the Jordanian side) We spent a brief amount of time there before proceeding back to Bethlehem for a meeting with Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church. We were uncertain as to what to expect in Bethlehem as the night before the Israelis had killed a Palestinian “militant” outside of Bethlehem and there was a general strike in the city. Upon arrival, the city was very quiet and we had no problem getting to our appointment. This very impressive man of God described the mission of Christmas Lutheran Church (“The Israelis are trying to build the world’s largest outdoor prison and they will probably succeed. We are trying to make it the world’s best outdoor prison”) and what they are trying to do to fulfill this mission. We ate dinner at the church as all the restaurants in the city were closed. After dinner we walked the few blocks back to the Casa Nova hotel. For many of us this was the scariest part of the trip thus far. As we walked, an unlighted Israeli Apache helicopter circled overhead. If this guy is looking to target a “militant”, who might be in a car passing us on the street, we could become “collateral damage”. Usama from the Wi’am Center who was walking with me said “If I were walking with my wife and kids, I would run and hide.” This didn’t add to my level of comfort. We were all grateful to arrive at Casa Nova in one piece.
Day four dawned on our trip to Hebron. Hebron, a partitioned city of 140,000 Muslim Palestinians, contains the traditional burial place of Abraham, a site holy to Jews and Muslims, as well as an outpost Israeli settlement containing 400-600 people (mostly Americans) protected by 2000 Israeli soldiers and security personnel. These settlers are among the most radical in Israel. We were all apprehensive as we approached the settlement surrounded by gun emplacements and armed soldiers for our meeting with David Wilder, a spokesperson for the settlement from New Jersey. David was open and frank in discussing the history of the settlement (including the 1929 massacre of 69 Jews), how it functions and his political philosophy. (“I believe in a two state solution – Israel/Palestine for the Jews and Texas for the Palestinians”) After a tour of the settlement we were all happy to be back in the Arab section with friendly policemen and bright eyed children and the bus trip home.
As we awoke on day five we were informed by a Palestinian policeman that the Israeli’s had killed another “militant” outside of Bethlehem during the night. We were concerned that this second killing would provoke a reaction from the Palestinians, but Suzy, the assistant hotel manager told us at breakfast “no problem, this is normal, this is our life". All seemed quiet so we journeyed through wall/security fence to Jerusalem for a tour of the city and holy sites and a meeting with Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear scientist who blew the whistle on the Israeli nuclear program. We heard his chilling tale of kidnapping and drugging followed by trial and 18 years in prison in solitary confinement. By meeting with us he was risking additional prison time as one of the conditions of his release was that he not talk to the press or any foreigners. After the discussion, we hiked down the Mount of Olives with Mordechai including a stop at the Church of Tears for a very appropriate reading of Luke 13 where Jesus grieves over Jerusalem.
It was a pretty somber group that left our friends in Bethlehem on day six for Abuna (now Bishop) Chacour’s school in Ibillin. We had an up lifting conversation with Bishop Chacour and three charming young Palestinian ladies who are majoring in communications and who are headed for summer session in July at the University of Indianapolis. When one of our group who had been in a home stay commented that, after all they have been through, he was amazed that the Palestinians do not hate the Israelis, Bishop Chacour responded “Isn’t that amazing? I have no explanation; it makes no sense.” We left the next morning for the airport and the trip to Jordan to the sight of 4500 kids and young people arriving at school to the music from Star Wars