Bethlehem's Pressures

Having visited Bethlehem earlier in this month in my first ever visit to Israel and Palestine, I was surprised to catch on BBC iPlayer last week an interview given by the Archbishop of Canterbury on "World at One" where he mentioned the pressure that Christians were under in Bethlehem as part of general comments on the difficulties Christians face in the Middle East. His rationale was that the Christian population was reducing due to migration partly for economic reasons and also as a result of the pressure that they felt due to the movement of more Muslims into the area as they in turn escaped the pressures of other towns like Hebron. Archbishop of Canterbury on World at One 14 June 2011

Not once in the interview did the Archbishop mention the words "Israel" or "occupation". Whatever one's views of the Israel/Palestinian problem it is not possible to talk about the situation of Christians in Bethlehem or any other part of the West Bank without mentioning Israel. Hearing the interview reminded me of an article I'd read in The Guardian the week before I went to Israel on the bias in the BBC's reporting on Israel and Palestine and the strength of the pro-Israel lobby in challenging anything reported which they could see as negative about their actions in Israel or the Occupied Territories. Had the Archbishop been told he couldn't mention Israel? And why would he comply with such a comment? Dr Rowan Williams seems a highly intelligent man with a desire for justice, why would he so misrepresent the situation? Certainly Christians in Bethlehem were not pleased with his comments. Letter from Kairos Palestine. It is important to be able to speak out against Israeli state policy or unjust incidents, without being afraid of the challenge of being anti-Semitic. If for example I were to speak out against the war in Iraq and British policy there it does not make me anti-British, simply opposed to a policy.

During our 5 days in Bethlehem as a church group we had the privilege of meeting a number of Palestinian Christians of different denominations, all of whom under difficult circumstances believed in non-violent means of attaining justice and peace for Palestine. Not one of them mentioned pressure from an increased Muslim population in the town, all be it that there has been an increase. Instead they mentioned the oppression of the 9m high wall which surrounds the town and most of the West Bank, including large areas that the UN in 1948 allocated to Palestine. Only about 5% of the Bethlehem population have permits to go into Israel on the other side of the wall and the few that can go to work in Jerusalem only 6 miles away have to queue for at least 2 hours each morning to get through the security checkpoints at the one exit Palestinians are allowed to use. The wall and it's watchtowers dominate the town and as in all the West Bank divide people from their land or their customers.  As a couple of Bethlehem residents commented wryly, if Jesus were to be born these days, the wall and checkpoints would prevent Mary and Joseph from reaching Bethlehem from Nazareth. Worse still are the checkpoints within the West Bank which limit the movement of Palestinians from one town to another that are supposedly under their control as part of the Oslo Accord.

What I did learn during my 7 days in the Holy Land is far more than I can fit in a few blog posts, but despite the fact I thought I was a person with an above average grasp of world affairs I realised more than anything how little I really knew, how difficult solutions are but how unsustainable the current oppression of Palestinians is and how difficult Israeli policy makes it for everyday Israelis and Palestinians to get to know one another. Israel, however is certainly not alone in this world, in taking the natural shock and fear related to acts of violence which have been perpetuated against their people (as well as the Palestinians) and using it to breed a culture of fear and of the idea of having a superior claim to righteousness in one's cause. Sadly over the last century a far greater number of Jews have lost their lives at the hands of Europeans than of Arabs.

I suspect reflections on my trip will constitute the main part of the next few posts I make, but for now I'll end commenting on how surprised I was with the warmth of the welcome we felt from the people we met in Bethlehem, not only our guides and special guests, but people working in shops and wedding guests awaiting the exit of the bride and groom at the Church of the Nativity. I could walk alone on the streets without feeling the unease you can in some other parts of the world.