The Old and the New

I was reading a Jerusalem Post article the other day and I came across a common, but glaring error. See if you can spot it:

"We haven't chosen the Jewish children of Israel as the leading theme, but all of Israel's children - the Jews, the Arabs and the Christians," she said. "I don't want to exclude anyone."

If you guessed that the person should have said "...the Jews, the Muslims, and the Christians", you win the prize. It may be a minor point to most, but if anyone is interested in correctly understanding the nature of the conflict here, this is of supreme importance.

For those who like numbers, here you go: Israel has approximately 7 million citizens. About 75% are Jewish, 20% Arab, and the rest mostly Druze and others. Of those 20% of Arabs, about 9% are Christian (the rest, the majority, are Muslim). And, Arabs Christians compose about 80% of all Christians in Israel.

In other words, for every 1,000 Israelis there are 200 Arabs. Of those 200 Arabs, 17 are Christian. Why is it worth talking about 17 of every 200 Arabs? We often hear in the media about the conflict referred to as the "Arab-Israeli" conflict or the "Arab-Jewish" conflict. Is that correct? No, not hardly.

Arabs are a distinct ethnic group which you can read about here. Some may claim that if there is a place which Arabic is spoken, those people are Arabs. One does not have to try hard to prove that there is huge a difference between west Africans from Mauritania in far west of the continent and run-of-the-mill Middle Eastern Arabs. Some call those in Egypt Arabs, but the deceased president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, once said about his country, "We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians". And he has a point. The same goes for the Lybians, Syrians and Iranians, to name a few more. Why do I mention these countries? Because they all (except Mauritania, that I know of) have actively participated in the conflict against Israel.

So what is the common denominator of all of these (including Mauritania) who want to drive Israel into the sea? If you guess Islam, you are again correct.

Although the actual conflict that is being fought within Israel/Palestinian territories is between Jews and Arabs, remember the numbers above. Nearly 10% of those ethnically Arab are Christian. While this conflict is over the ownership of the Holy Land, all may stake some sort of a claim but not everyone is an active participant in trying to cash it in. Judaism and Islam have their religiously-backed historical claims to the land here, but Christianity had their rare unfortunate factions (see the Crusades) who mistakenly believed they were the inheritors of the Promised Land. They were the exceptions, few and far between.

Because Islam claims the land as it's possession and exclusive right, and Judaism sees the land as it's direct inheritance from Abraham, we have a disagreement. And although the Christians "do not have a dog in this fight", we are present in it. On the sidelines and yet caught in the middle.

Christian Arabs are in both Israel and Gaza/West Bank (including every other country in the Middle East). Most, if not all, don't really care about the conflict, but instead just want to live their lives as Christians regardless of who administers this land.Here by virtue of birth, Christians are caught between the combatants who have little concern or regard for much else. To be fair, the fact is that Christian Arabs living inside Israel far and away enjoy more freedom, liberty, and protection as Christians than anywhere in this part of the world. If you don't believe me, just ask the Christians in Gaza. Though they are Arab ethnically, with respect to the actual conflict they are merely passive non-participants with personal opinions on the matter.

So, simply put, the conflict is essentially one between Jews and Muslims. In the global context, ethnic Arabs only account for a relatively small fraction of those wanting to drive Israel into the sea. And even though there are few Arab Christians remaining here, they were on the scene a good 600 years before the first Muslim appeared (see Acts 2:7-11).

Which gets me to the point of why I'm writing this now.

I, a Christian, along with my Arab-Christian wife, and our (obviously) non-Jewish children are sitting here in this nearly completely Jewish city inside Israel located close to the 100% Palestinian Arab Gaza Strip where, like us, there is also a tiny smattering of Arab Christians. Throughout the day my doors and windows have been rattling from the various explosions coming from the land dispute. I can't help but think about how much in common I have right now with those believers just a few miles from here. I'm sure they are feeling just like me, wanting to be left alone and out of this thing everyone is fighting about. We will be good, law-abiding citizens under whichever government rules over us. Yet, we all involuntarily experience the effects of the fighting.

I can't imagine wanting a piece of property, or anything for that matter, so much that I would kill for it. Likewise, I can't imagine having to fight to protect my family and people from those wanting to gleefully destroy us all. It is all so unreal to me, but at the same time I am continually reminded how real and serious these people are. Don't they know that we have no part in, and want no part of, this fight? Do they even care that they are shooting at us? I guess not.

Or maybe they are just sending us their New Year's greetings? Well if that's the case, Happy New Year to you too!

Silent Night

Christmas Eve at dusk we and a few friends gathered outside of Bethlehem overlooking a hillside field. As the sunlight disappeared we read the story which occurred here one night nearly 2,000 years ago and afterward sang a few songs. Today, Bethlehem is much different and the situation is, well, a bit crazy. However, it was nice to know that despite the lack of external peace, we can experience internal peace no matter what the situation. Merry Christmas to all!

(Bethlehem is in the background)

Christmas Crossing of the English Channel - Updated

In a BBC radio interview the day before yesterday the head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams said that the minor detail of Virgin Birth of Jesus should not be a stumbling block for those who want to join the church.

Dr Williams was speaking live on BBC Radio Five to the presenter Simon Mayo when Ricky Gervais, star of The Office and a fellow guest, challenged him about the intellectual credibility of the Christian faith.

He said he was committed to belief in the Virgin Birth “as part of what I have inherited”. But belief in the Virgin Birth should not be a “hurdle” over which new Christians had to jump before they were accepted.

He hinted that decades ago he was not “too fussed” with the literal truth of the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. But as time went on, he developed a “deeper sense” of what the Virgin Birth was all about.

Seems the Anglican church has found it necessary to remove those pesky obstacles, be they important theological tenets or whatever, which potential members may find a bit troubling.

And in related news today, it is now official: former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. Any wonder?UPDATE - Another related story today - "Britain has become a 'Catholic country'"

Roman Catholics have overtaken Anglicans as the country's dominant religious group. More people attend Mass every Sunday than worship with the Church of England, figures seen by The Sunday Telegraph show...

In an attempt to combat the declining interest in traditional religion, the Anglican Church has launched radical new forms of evangelism that include nightclub chaplains, a floating church on a barge and internet congregations...

The Catholic Church has also suffered a serious fall in the size of its congregations...

That's post-Christian Europe for you.

UPDATE 2 - In the UK's hyper-leftist Guardian newspaper, a Muslim journalist expresses his disappointment that Tony Blair didn't convert to Islam.

Blair certainly admires Islam. He said "under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands were breathtaking. Over centuries, Islam founded an empire and led the world in discovery, art, and culture." If I admired a faith so much I would convert to it. So I am baffled to know why he has converted to Catholicism and not embraced Islam.

As noted earlier, there is little surprise that Tony Blair either left Anglicanism, or embraced Roman Catholicism (although that would not be my first choice, by any means). I, however, am not the least bit "baffled" why he didn't even consider Islam. That's just me, though.

Home Sweet Home

When we arrived back in town 36 hours ago after another grueling flight from USA we felt our welcome back by the busy people of the area. As I rolled down the car window to assess the coastal winter temperature, the night air was broken with the familiar tunes of helicopters and fighter jets on their way to that Palestinian seaside resort just south of here. Ah, it's good to be back? Our early jet lagged morning brought us the familiar news of more dead "militants" and the ever familiar rumblings of our neighbors' calling cards. If I ever forget how home here feels, just a few minutes' wait and it all quickly comes back. Seems we didn't miss much while we were gone.

Anyway, congratulations to my baby sister for finally getting married! And, sorry Moose - you're now part of the family and we're officially no longer obliged to be on our best behavior (yes, that was our best behavior). Seriously, we love you both and have a great honeymoon!

Hamsin!

One thing which we have been experiencing this spring that we hardly saw last year is dust storms (bet you thought I was going to say "rockets" again, hmm?). They are called hamsin (pronounced "hom-seen"), which is Arabic for "50". Nobody really knows for sure what the connection between hamsin and "50" is, so I won't begin to speculate.

Here are a couple of pictures of a hamsin that just hit the Israeli Negev from Sinai at a speed of about 60 kph (40 mph). These photos were taken from an altitude of 8,000 ft. the sand wall was about 4,000 ft high moving from the west to the east.



We have had several already, to say the least. I don't know all of the details of how it works, but basically it is hot air blowing dust in from the desert. Usually the wind blows in from the ocean, but during a hamsin can blow the opposite way. The sky turns cloudy and orange and can last up to several days. When it is over there is a layer of fine, brown dust on everything. If you are away and leave a window open when a hamsin comes through, expect a mess inside your house when you get back.

(Our car after a rather mild dust storm)

Photos courtesy of The Augean Stables

Feelin' the Love

As the trouble continues to brew not far from us, I have just learned that I am a "Zionist settler" (ha!). According to Hamas' website, that's not a compliment.

...the armed wing of Hamas Movement, has threatened that its rockets will reach the Zionist settlers in the 1948-occupied coastal city of Asqlan [Ashkelon] and areas beyond...

And we have been hearing the "love" everyday. Fortunately, the "gifts" have been falling short of the residential parts of the city, although the sounds remind us that we "Zionist settlers" are being thought of.

(Rockets from Gaza)

In light of this, we decided to celebrate our newly designated status by taking a family picnic. And since the kids are out of school for Shavu'ot, we set out for a couple of uncharted picnic sites. We soon discovered that all were memorial sites from Israel's War of Independence back in 1948. Grim reminders they were, but then again why not? Everything here is a reminder of some battle of some sort at some time, so we decided war memorial it is! The first place overlooked Ashkelon but we didn't stay because a) there was no shade, and b) apparently this is the place where all of the flies in Israel have come to spawn this spring. It did have a good view of the city, though.

(Ashkelon on the horizon)

Where we ended up was called "Hill 69" near Ashdod.

(View of Ashdod)

According to the memorial, we were there two days exactly after the 59th anniversary of the big battle (according to the Jewish calendar), which explains the fresh flower wreaths.


Here's the sign in English describing the battle (click to enlarge for those interested in what happened):


In the end, Hill 69 is a good place to have a picnic. It is quiet, out of the way, good view, lots of shade, and plenty of big ants for the kids to stomp. What more could a family possibly ask for?

Passing Away

Today was my first Jewish Israeli funeral and, well, I won't say that I've been traumatized by it, but I think I'm still trying to process the whole thing. Let's just say it's, um, different than what I'm used to.

The lady who passed away is the mother of someone we know in our congregation. We did not know her very well but I thought I'd go because of our friend. We thought it would be best for Rima to stay with the kids (good move, as you will see) so I headed out by myself. Here, if someone dies they are buried that same day or the next (at the very latest). There is a saying here about mothers of soldiers who lose sons in battle, that on that fateful day: In the morning they have a son, and in the evening they have a grave. Everything is so sudden and abrupt, it seems.

Fighting traffic, I drove east across the country and arrived at the cemetery on time (which turns out to be pretty early here). The few that were there were huddled under a makeshift tent-covering as the sparse raindrops dotted the rocky hills around us. Nobody really knew what was going on as we waited for everyone else to arrive. Soon, hearing cries from the parking lot, we knew that the families had arrived. For a while there was a lot of loud crying and a lot of hugging. Then a small van backed up to the covering. People began to gather around and concentrate their grief in this area.

Again, I hardly knew the deceased, but seeing grown adults (most all of whom were older than me) crying openly, unrestrained, and yelling "Mommy, mommy" and "My love" to the van is hard to see without breaking your heart. I don't know much about the culture here, but it seems that letting out one's emotions of sorrow is to be done here at funerals. Israelis are well known for being rather aggressive and showing a strong demeanor at all times, but one is reminded in times like these that they are very much human and hurt deeply like everyone else.

The two men who came in the van were orthodox Jews and were apparently in charge of these sorts of things. When the time came, they opened the back of the van and pulled out a gurney with the deceased covered with a black cloth, right there in front of us. The immediate family, all with torn shirts, gathered around and expressed their grief by crying, talking, or reading Psalms. A couple of them read a sort-of "goodbye letter" to their mother. Then one of the orthodox fellows, the cantor, sang some Psalms and said some prayers before the "pallbearers" lifted the deceased by the handles of a rubber stretcher off of the gurney and everyone followed them to the gravesite.

Once there, more crying and prayers. One of the granddaughters was slightly unhinged by everything and was screaming and crying uncontrollably "Grandmother, why are you leaving me?!", which didn't help calm things down. The next thing I knew, the two orthodox guys took the deceased, set her in the bottom of the grave, removed the black cloth, placed small concrete slabs over the vault, filled the hole with dirt, and put a small sign with her name on top of the new grave. That's it. Over. Done.

Some of the family read a couple of Psalms, sat next to the fresh grave, squeezed the dirt with their fingers, and then guests slowly filed by and each placed a small stone on top. Then our friend passed out cold. They took her to the side and, with about a dozen people arguing over what to do, she finally came to. That, along with the cold raindrops returning, pretty much sent everyone back to their cars and away. As for me, apart from the deep sadness I couldn't help but feel, I was a bit dazed at everything that just happened. My drive back home was a bit of a blur.

I'm very glad I went and would definitely do it again, even knowing how difficult it is. I will say that I did notice that during the funeral I was feeling a lot of agony inside, which was just a little overwhelming at times (even though everything was in Hebrew), but as soon as the last of the dirt was put on the grave the pain just sort of went away. Maybe for an outsider like me it was like getting a form of closure, in some small way.

Major life events such as these are meant to be shared with those close to us. Also, as they say, we can begin to understand better how different cultures handle these situations. It is like a small window into the inner workings of their minds, if that is possible. It made me very aware of how differently we do funerals back in the States, and how healthy it seemed for people to just let their feelings out and not hold anything in. Someone there told me that Israeli funerals are not usually like that, but mainly because the family was originally from the Arabian Peninsula that it was a bit more animated. Maybe so.

If anyone is so inclined, please remember this family in their grief.

Remembering II

Today was Israel's version of what is Memorial Day in America. My Hebrew class was invited to a memorial ceremony at a school, which so happened to be the same one my daughter goes to.
It was a very somber event and all of the children were on their best behavior (which is unusual in this country).

Everyone takes this day with the utmost solemnity which remembers all of the soldiers who fell while protecting Israel, as well as terror victims, since 1860, when Jews officially began to immigrate back to Israel. The vast majority of deaths from fighting have come since Israel's founding in 1948. Since that time, close to 20,000 have been killed, which comes out to be almost one person per day from the time that the State of Israel declared independence. Today in Memorial Day and tomorrow is Independence Day - sadness one day and celebration the next. Just another of the many stark contrasts which are part of everyday life here.

On that note of gloom, Rima's mother's family has had a difficult week last week. First, the mother of one of her brother's wife died. A few days after that, another sister-in-law lost her father. At that funeral the next day they heard that another sister-in-law's mother died. Afterwards the family was eating together and Rima's mother was sitting next to her other sister-in-law's father. Suddenly, during the meal, the man swallowed his tongue. Everyone freaked out and the ambulance came and got him, but he ended up dying, too. Needless to say, it is a lot they are going through at the present, so remember keep them, and all of us, in your prayers.

Remembering

Today in Israel is Holocaust Memorial Day, or Yom HaShoah. It is the first of several Israeli memorial days in the coming weeks, but by far it is the most solemn. I wasn't planning to post on this but I had an interesting morning.

(Holocaust display at Ulpan)

In Hebrew class (ulpan) this morning my teacher began to explain to us (mostly Jewish new immigrants) about what this day is all about because, surprisingly, many new immigrants are not all that familiar with every Jewish holiday and event. She began by talking about World War II and what happened to Jews prior to the outbreak of the war, and then about the Holocaust itself. A heavy subject to discuss, but this was the time and place for it.

We have several Ethiopian Jewish immigrants (Falasha Mura) in our class and they began to look confused while the teacher was explaining. She noticed their dazed expressions and quizzed them about what they didn't understand. Basically, none of them had heard about the Holocaust, Auschwitz, World War II, Hitler, or why it all happened. The rest of us were fairly stunned that they were completely unaware. Jews not heard of the Holocaust?

Our teacher, with much patience, gave a generalized explanation of what all happened. The Ethiopians were so aghast and distraught that one of them ran out of class in tears. At that point the rest of us were wondering, "How can this be?" when the teacher began to explain to us that about the Ethiopian situation, who not too many years ago dealt with their own genocide, wars, and famine. Many Falasha, in their quest to come to Israel, had to literally walk here through Sudan, with many dying along the way from the harsh conditions, Islamic death squads, rape, and robbery. Many of those who are now here came with absolutely nothing but their clothes they were wearing. In other words, these Africans were a world away and were concerned about their own survival so who can really blame them for not knowing about what went on in Europe a generation ago?

Our elderly French classmate told of how he was one of the Jewish "Hidden Children" during the war. He shared that, when was only 8 years old, his parents changed his name and sent him away in order to hopefully protect him from being rounded up and sent to the concentration camps. He was moved from place to place during the war and, as a result, he and his sister survived. He said he heard that his father was sent to a concentration camp in Germany, then later to Auschwitz where he was killed, while his mother, who went into hiding when the war started, was never heard from again.

The Russian and Ukrainian students were all born after the war but had family that fought and died fighting the Nazis, while some lost family in the Jewish purges there. They also spoke of how they commemorate the World War II victory in their countries now. It is hard to imagine, but the Soviets lost around 25,000,000 people in the war.

At 10am the air raid sirens sounded for 2 minutes all over the country and everyone, no matter what they are doing, stops and stands in memory for those poor souls who perished.


PS - It is worth noting that nearly 6,000,000 Jews were killed in the Holocaust, which is close to the Jewish population of Israel (~5,600,000). Iran, who currently denies that the Holocaust occurred as known, threatens to wipe Israel off of the map, effectively aiming to make happen today that which they deny happened over 60 years ago.

Nazareth

Nazareth is a small town on a hill in central Galilee, about halfway between Haifa on the Mediterranean coast and the Sea of Galilee. Lower Nazareth has an estimated population of 70,000. The majority of residents are Arab citizens of Israel, about 35-40% of whom are Christians and 55-60% are Muslims. The adjacent city of Nazareth Illit (upper Nazareth) has a population of 44,000 Israeli Jews.

Besides that, Nazareth is the hometown of my lovely wife and her family. And when I say family, I don't mean family in the American sense. I mean family in the sense that the family has no end, it seems. We enjoy visiting there from time to time to see family (we're working on seeing all of them) and friends. Also, to eat good Middle Eastern home cooking, which also is without end. I usually try to fast before I go in order to be able to be as hungry as I can, so as not to disappoint or offend my overly-gracious hosts.

The worst pronunciation of "Nazareth" I ever heard was an old woman country preacher on community access television call it "Nazariss" (which rhymes with "Lazarus"). Rima just loves it when I say it like that.

Rima was born and raised in a house up on the hill overlooking the city. It is a typical Arab-looking town...
...full of churches...

(The Catholic church)

(The Baptist church where Rima used to go)

...and mosques.
The Greek Orthodox Church (the "Mary's Well" church, supposedly where the angel appeared to Mary) is just below where Rima lived. It is simple, no frills.
Just down the road is the more ornate Roman Catholic Church, or the "Basilica of the Annunciation", which has remains of living quarters from a long time ago. It has obviously received more money from all over the world, which explains why everything looks so clean and nice, inside...
...and out.
Right next to the Catholic church is the Nazareth shuk, or market.
It is an Arab shuk that is markedly different than the Jewish shuk we frequent in our town.
The smells are like your spice rack multiplied ten times, so don't go there if you are hungry...
...or if you are the kind to lose your appetite easily.
If you are fortunate to go to an Arab wedding party, be prepared to have fun because they know how to party.

(This guy has obviously had one too many)

Nazareth used to be a fun-loving place to go, but lately it is becoming more uncomfortable to be in. Most of it has to do with the aggressiveness and hostility of the Muslims who share the city with the Christians. For most of its history over the past 2000 years, Nazareth has been primarily a Christian town, but during Israel's war of Independence in 1948, an influx of Muslim Arab refugees from the surrounding villages and towns that were destroyed changed the population of Nazareth from having a Christian majority to having a Muslim majority. And they brought their hostility with them.
The biggest flashpoint came about 10 years ago when Preparations for the Pope's visit to Nazareth in 2000 triggered highly publicized tensions related to the Basilica of the Annunciation. Israel gave permission for construction of a paved plaza to handle the expected thousands of Christian pilgrims caused Muslim protests and occupation of the proposed site, which is considered the grave of a nephew of Saladin. (His nephew, mind you.) This means the land is partly waqf (Islamic religious endowment) land, meaning the Muslims said it was theirs and it is holy.

(Muslim prayer at the controversial site in Nazareth)

Initially, Israel gave some approval for subsequent plans for a large mosque to be constructed at the site. Not just a mosque, but a giant mosque which would dwarf and hide any sight of the church. This led to protests from Christian leaders worldwide, which continued after the papal visit. Finally, in 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque, which Islamic leaders called it a declaration of war. Today it is simply a plaza area for the public, though Muslims often take it over during their prayer times, daring anyone to get in their way.

More recently, on New Year's Day in Nazareth this year, local Muslims marched provocatively shouting "Islam is the only truth" and "Islam will dominate the world" as they again called for the mosque to be built. The entire article is here and it describes the problem very well.
This is indicative of the problems Arab Christians, in general, face. Instead of fighting for the land which has been in their family for generations, most Christians of the Middle East are simply leaving. In places like Bethlehem, another historically Christian town, Christians are leaving by the droves because of Islamic persecution (see another good article here on Bethlehem Christians). Rima had relatives that lived in east Jerusalem, but recently moved into Israel because of Muslim hostility.

Nevertheless, if one stays out of the Muslim areas of Nazareth, it is a great place to be. There are the most wonderful people you can find anywhere and it gives you the feeling that you are actually in the Middle East, which despite the problems, is a good thing.
If you are interested, read more about Nazareth here.

FYI - If anyone decides to ask me if "anything good can come out of Nazareth", that joke has already been told. Many times. Really. (If you really want to know the answer to the question, the answer is "YES"!)