1 mrt 2012
“Christ at the Checkpoint” Conference Launches Next Week
From March 5 – 9, 2012 the Bethlehem Bible College will be hosting its second "Christ at the Checkpoint" conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bethlehem. The conference will bring Christians from around the world.
The aim of Christ at the Checkpoint is to provide an opportunity for evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously to prayerfully seek a proper awareness of issues of peace, justice, and reconciliation.
Bshara Awad, director of Bethlehem Bible College told PNN "the conference addresses the issue of the Promised Land, its inhabitants, shakes Christians' thinking in the west, and how to deal with Zionist Christianity and Christian groups that support Israel."
The conference will also:
1. Empower and encourage the Palestinian church.
2. Expose the realities of the injustices in the Palestinian Territories and create awareness of the obstacles to reconciliation and peace.
3. Create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.
4. Motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel and its ramifications for the Middle East and the world.
The director of Christ at the Checkpoint Conference Munther Isaac also told PNN, "350 international participants already registered, and the total number of participants is expected to be over 600."
"Speakers will include influential Evangelical church leaders like Lynne Hybel, Joel Hunter, John Ortberg, Shane Claiborne, and world Evangelical Alliance chairman Sand Bok David Kim," Said Issac, "The conference will be the largest Evangelical gathering to take place in relation to examine peace and justice in Palestine and Israel."
He also added, "If Christ were to pass through the checkpoint today, what message would he sends to the world? This is what we aim to send to the whole world through the conference."
Press credentials for the conference are available at the press table at the conference where you can register. Press pass or a business card are required as well as a short registration form to be filled out.
Press Credentials will be required for official interview requests, use of official pictures and access to the Press Conference with local committee members on Friday, March 9, 2012 at 16:00.
For more information or questions, please email the conference Media Director, Porter Speakman, Jr. ( porter@bethbc.org) or at +972 545817944
Conference schedule and information about the speakers is available at www.christatthecheckpoint.com
The aim of Christ at the Checkpoint is to provide an opportunity for evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously to prayerfully seek a proper awareness of issues of peace, justice, and reconciliation.
Bshara Awad, director of Bethlehem Bible College told PNN "the conference addresses the issue of the Promised Land, its inhabitants, shakes Christians' thinking in the west, and how to deal with Zionist Christianity and Christian groups that support Israel."
The conference will also:
1. Empower and encourage the Palestinian church.
2. Expose the realities of the injustices in the Palestinian Territories and create awareness of the obstacles to reconciliation and peace.
3. Create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.
4. Motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel and its ramifications for the Middle East and the world.
The director of Christ at the Checkpoint Conference Munther Isaac also told PNN, "350 international participants already registered, and the total number of participants is expected to be over 600."
"Speakers will include influential Evangelical church leaders like Lynne Hybel, Joel Hunter, John Ortberg, Shane Claiborne, and world Evangelical Alliance chairman Sand Bok David Kim," Said Issac, "The conference will be the largest Evangelical gathering to take place in relation to examine peace and justice in Palestine and Israel."
He also added, "If Christ were to pass through the checkpoint today, what message would he sends to the world? This is what we aim to send to the whole world through the conference."
Press credentials for the conference are available at the press table at the conference where you can register. Press pass or a business card are required as well as a short registration form to be filled out.
Press Credentials will be required for official interview requests, use of official pictures and access to the Press Conference with local committee members on Friday, March 9, 2012 at 16:00.
For more information or questions, please email the conference Media Director, Porter Speakman, Jr. ( porter@bethbc.org) or at +972 545817944
Conference schedule and information about the speakers is available at www.christatthecheckpoint.com
29 febr 2012
'Christ at the Checkpoint': Hope in the midst of conflict
By Charlie Hoyle
"In the past there has only been one story about the situation here and who the people are," says media director of the 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference Porter Speakman Jr.
"It is a battle of narratives."
The Bethlehem Bible College will be holding the second 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference from March 5-9, in a series of events which hope to host hundreds of people from over 15 different nationalities.
Activities will include lectures, interviews, workshops, group discussions and talks by high-profile speakers.
There will also be field visits to the Israeli separation wall, refugee camps, Jerusalem, Hebron and other areas.
"Hope is found in our story," conference director Munther Isaac told Ma'an. While the conference is largely aimed at the evangelical community abroad, and in Palestine, it is also a story about the Palestinian Christian community, he says.
The conference aims to "expose the realities of the injustices" in Palestine, create a platform for "serious engagement with Christian Zionism," and "motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel."
Porter Speakman Jr. says it is an opportunity to show American evangelicals the "consequences of certain ideological beliefs," and to change the way Christians view the situation in Palestine, both ideologically and in terms of tourism.
It is a chance, he says, to change certain trends within the Christian Zionist community, who have a significant impact on the ground in Israel/Palestine through political pressure exerted in the United States.
Indeed, the conference, Munther Isaac says, is an opportunity to initiate a paradigm shift toward working for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land and to motivate Evangelical, and other Christian communities, to invest in Palestine, lobby for justice, campaign and motivate people to work for a just peace to the conflict.
The conference has, however, been met with resistance.
An opinion piece in Ynet entitled 'Christians who hate Jews' personally attacked one of the organizers of this year's conference, while leaders from the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America and the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations issued a joint statement expressing "deep concerns about the anti-Israel" nature of the conference.
B'nai B'rith International, which describes itself as the global voice of the Jewish community, said the event had a "clear anti-Israel and anti-Jewish posture."
Both Isaac and Speakman Jr. say that criticism of the conference is a clear sign that the message is getting out, and that the themes of the conference are having an impact.
"It is a chance for the international Christian community to come to Palestine, to learn about the human face of the conflict, and to share their experiences with others," Isaac says.
You can follow Christ at the Checkpoint on twitter @Christatcheckpt
"In the past there has only been one story about the situation here and who the people are," says media director of the 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference Porter Speakman Jr.
"It is a battle of narratives."
The Bethlehem Bible College will be holding the second 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference from March 5-9, in a series of events which hope to host hundreds of people from over 15 different nationalities.
Activities will include lectures, interviews, workshops, group discussions and talks by high-profile speakers.
There will also be field visits to the Israeli separation wall, refugee camps, Jerusalem, Hebron and other areas.
"Hope is found in our story," conference director Munther Isaac told Ma'an. While the conference is largely aimed at the evangelical community abroad, and in Palestine, it is also a story about the Palestinian Christian community, he says.
The conference aims to "expose the realities of the injustices" in Palestine, create a platform for "serious engagement with Christian Zionism," and "motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel."
Porter Speakman Jr. says it is an opportunity to show American evangelicals the "consequences of certain ideological beliefs," and to change the way Christians view the situation in Palestine, both ideologically and in terms of tourism.
It is a chance, he says, to change certain trends within the Christian Zionist community, who have a significant impact on the ground in Israel/Palestine through political pressure exerted in the United States.
Indeed, the conference, Munther Isaac says, is an opportunity to initiate a paradigm shift toward working for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land and to motivate Evangelical, and other Christian communities, to invest in Palestine, lobby for justice, campaign and motivate people to work for a just peace to the conflict.
The conference has, however, been met with resistance.
An opinion piece in Ynet entitled 'Christians who hate Jews' personally attacked one of the organizers of this year's conference, while leaders from the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America and the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations issued a joint statement expressing "deep concerns about the anti-Israel" nature of the conference.
B'nai B'rith International, which describes itself as the global voice of the Jewish community, said the event had a "clear anti-Israel and anti-Jewish posture."
Both Isaac and Speakman Jr. say that criticism of the conference is a clear sign that the message is getting out, and that the themes of the conference are having an impact.
"It is a chance for the international Christian community to come to Palestine, to learn about the human face of the conflict, and to share their experiences with others," Isaac says.
You can follow Christ at the Checkpoint on twitter @Christatcheckpt
27 febr 2012
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‘Christ at the Checkpoint’ conference brings Evangelical leaders to Bethlehem
From March 5 – 9, 2012 the Bethlehem Bible College will be hosting it’s second “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bethlehem.
The conference will bring Christians from around the world to Bethlehem to connect with Palestinian Christians and to better understand the daily situation they are living under and how certain Christian theological stances help to perpetuate those conditions. Many times Evangelical Christians, especially those from the United States never get off the “tourist trail” and have the opportunity to meet with Palestinians and to hear their stories. |
Daily trips to places like the Bethlehem Checkpoint, Hebron, and the Tent of Nations will give participants the opportunity to see areas most affected by the occupation.
The aim of “Christ at the Checkpoint” is to provide an opportunity for evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously to prayerfully seek a proper awareness of issues of peace, justice, and reconciliation. Some of the conference goals are stated as:
1. Empower and encourage the Palestinian church.
2. Expose the realities of the injustices in the Palestinian Territories and create awareness of the obstacles to reconciliation and peace.
3. Create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.
4. Motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel and its ramifications for the Middle East and the world.
Speakers include Tony Campolo of Eastern University, Shane Claiborne of “The Simple Way”, Lynne Hybels of Willow Creek Church, Sami Awad of Holy Land Trust, journalist Ben White and many local pastors and leaders from the Bethlehem community. A full list of speakers can be found here.
This conference has already received a lot of attention from Christian and Jewish Zionist groups trying to cast it as “delegitimizing Israel”. Charges not often thrown at Evangelical Christians.
Follow Christ at the Checkpoint on Twitter at: @Christatcheckpt
The aim of “Christ at the Checkpoint” is to provide an opportunity for evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously to prayerfully seek a proper awareness of issues of peace, justice, and reconciliation. Some of the conference goals are stated as:
1. Empower and encourage the Palestinian church.
2. Expose the realities of the injustices in the Palestinian Territories and create awareness of the obstacles to reconciliation and peace.
3. Create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.
4. Motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel and its ramifications for the Middle East and the world.
Speakers include Tony Campolo of Eastern University, Shane Claiborne of “The Simple Way”, Lynne Hybels of Willow Creek Church, Sami Awad of Holy Land Trust, journalist Ben White and many local pastors and leaders from the Bethlehem community. A full list of speakers can be found here.
This conference has already received a lot of attention from Christian and Jewish Zionist groups trying to cast it as “delegitimizing Israel”. Charges not often thrown at Evangelical Christians.
Follow Christ at the Checkpoint on Twitter at: @Christatcheckpt
20 febr 2012
Vandals scrawl graffiti on Jerusalem Baptist church
Death to Christianity
Anonymous perpetrators daub 'Death to Christianity' on Jerusalem church wall in second such attack in the holy city this month. Police launch investigation.
Vandals daubed "Death to Christianity" on a Jerusalem church on Monday in the second such attack in the holy city this month, police said.
The words 'Price Tag', a slogan used by extremist Jewish settlers, were also scrawled on the walls of the Baptist Narkis Street Congregation in a quiet residential neighborhood in west Jerusalem.
"Officers are investigating a strong possibility of a nationalist motive but no one has been apprehended yet," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
The graffiti also included profanity about Jesus, and the vandals slashed the tires of several cars parked in the church compound.
Two weeks ago, similar graffiti was scrawled on the 11th-century Monastery of the Cross which is also in west Jerusalem but no suspect have been arrested, Rosenfeld said.
Price Tag attacks have targeted mosques, Palestinian homes and Israeli military installations in the occupied West Bank.
Anonymous perpetrators daub 'Death to Christianity' on Jerusalem church wall in second such attack in the holy city this month. Police launch investigation.
Vandals daubed "Death to Christianity" on a Jerusalem church on Monday in the second such attack in the holy city this month, police said.
The words 'Price Tag', a slogan used by extremist Jewish settlers, were also scrawled on the walls of the Baptist Narkis Street Congregation in a quiet residential neighborhood in west Jerusalem.
"Officers are investigating a strong possibility of a nationalist motive but no one has been apprehended yet," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
The graffiti also included profanity about Jesus, and the vandals slashed the tires of several cars parked in the church compound.
Two weeks ago, similar graffiti was scrawled on the 11th-century Monastery of the Cross which is also in west Jerusalem but no suspect have been arrested, Rosenfeld said.
Price Tag attacks have targeted mosques, Palestinian homes and Israeli military installations in the occupied West Bank.
19 febr 2012
Christians who hate Jews
Church of England: Hostile to Israel?
Op-ed: Church of England’s ongoing hostility to Israel and Zionism rooted in deep dislike for Jews.
A few weeks ago a highly influential Church of England vicar, Stephen Sizer, promoted a website that supports Holocaust denial and warns of a Zionist conspiracy controlling the world. Reverend Sizer just received the support of the Bishop of Guildford Sizer, Reverend Christopher Hill, a former chaplain to the Queen, following calls for him to be suspended for linking to the site.
Sizer used his Facebook page to link to the piece on American website The Ugly Truth, which claims to highlight “Zionism, Jewish extremism and a few other nasty items making our world uninhabitable today.” The site also runs cartoons of Holocaust deniers and supports Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Bishop of Willesden was suspended in 2010 after using his Facebook page to make inappropriate gossip remarks about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But in the face of such blatant anti-Jewish hatred, the Church of England took Sizer’s side.
The case is severe because Anglicanism is not just another Protestant denomination; rather, it’s the official UK Church headed by the Queen. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is the spiritual head of 77 million Christians worldwide.
The hostility to Israel within the Church is rooted in a dislike for Jews. According to the Jewish Chronicle, “Rav Sizer has a long track record of arguably anti-Semitic behavior.” He has described the IDF as “Herod’s soldiers operating in Bethlehem today” (King Herod ordered his troops to kill all the Jewish babies in and around Bethlehem.)
Sizer promoted boycotts of companies on the basis that they “channel their profits to the Zionist agenda.” Sizer’s book, “Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?”, which has been endorsed by leading British and American bishops, rejects the eternalness of God’s promises to the Jewish people and revives the obscurantist anti-Jewish theology known as “supersessionism.”
‘Israel an illegal regime’
Sizer’s case is not isolated. In 2006 the UK Church reviewed its investments in companies with ties to Israel’s presence in the territories. Bishop Riah El-Assal, the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, is a well-known apologist for Palestinian terrorism. Anglican cleric Naim Ateek is the founder of the notoriously anti-Israel, Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Center, which promotes a theology severing any link between God and the Jews.
Sizer is one of the major organizers of the “Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference,” which the Bible College of Bethlehem will host in March. The impressive range of theologians and pastors from churches located in the United States make the gravity of the upcoming conference and Sizer's important position much clearer. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the US National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, “spiritual adviser” to Bill Clinton Tony Campolo, and President of the World Evangelical Alliance and Asia Evangelical Alliance, Sang-Bok David Kim, will all attend the event.
The “Bethlehem Call” manifesto, which serves as platform for the Bethlehem 2012 Conference, has just been published on the websites of the World Council of Churches, the Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. It defines Israel as an “illegal regime” and a “crime against humanity” and promotes “international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns” against Israel.
In the words of UK columnist Melanie Phillips, these are “Christians who hate the Jews.”
Many UK clerics are now saying openly that the Jewish State should never have been founded at all. In 1190, British Christians slaughtered York's Jews after calling them "serpens antiquus qui vocatur Diabolus et Satans." Now their Intifada from Heaven is breathing new life into a kind of demonology that bans Israel from the family of nations.
Op-ed: Church of England’s ongoing hostility to Israel and Zionism rooted in deep dislike for Jews.
A few weeks ago a highly influential Church of England vicar, Stephen Sizer, promoted a website that supports Holocaust denial and warns of a Zionist conspiracy controlling the world. Reverend Sizer just received the support of the Bishop of Guildford Sizer, Reverend Christopher Hill, a former chaplain to the Queen, following calls for him to be suspended for linking to the site.
Sizer used his Facebook page to link to the piece on American website The Ugly Truth, which claims to highlight “Zionism, Jewish extremism and a few other nasty items making our world uninhabitable today.” The site also runs cartoons of Holocaust deniers and supports Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Bishop of Willesden was suspended in 2010 after using his Facebook page to make inappropriate gossip remarks about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But in the face of such blatant anti-Jewish hatred, the Church of England took Sizer’s side.
The case is severe because Anglicanism is not just another Protestant denomination; rather, it’s the official UK Church headed by the Queen. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is the spiritual head of 77 million Christians worldwide.
The hostility to Israel within the Church is rooted in a dislike for Jews. According to the Jewish Chronicle, “Rav Sizer has a long track record of arguably anti-Semitic behavior.” He has described the IDF as “Herod’s soldiers operating in Bethlehem today” (King Herod ordered his troops to kill all the Jewish babies in and around Bethlehem.)
Sizer promoted boycotts of companies on the basis that they “channel their profits to the Zionist agenda.” Sizer’s book, “Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?”, which has been endorsed by leading British and American bishops, rejects the eternalness of God’s promises to the Jewish people and revives the obscurantist anti-Jewish theology known as “supersessionism.”
‘Israel an illegal regime’
Sizer’s case is not isolated. In 2006 the UK Church reviewed its investments in companies with ties to Israel’s presence in the territories. Bishop Riah El-Assal, the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, is a well-known apologist for Palestinian terrorism. Anglican cleric Naim Ateek is the founder of the notoriously anti-Israel, Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Center, which promotes a theology severing any link between God and the Jews.
Sizer is one of the major organizers of the “Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference,” which the Bible College of Bethlehem will host in March. The impressive range of theologians and pastors from churches located in the United States make the gravity of the upcoming conference and Sizer's important position much clearer. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the US National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, “spiritual adviser” to Bill Clinton Tony Campolo, and President of the World Evangelical Alliance and Asia Evangelical Alliance, Sang-Bok David Kim, will all attend the event.
The “Bethlehem Call” manifesto, which serves as platform for the Bethlehem 2012 Conference, has just been published on the websites of the World Council of Churches, the Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ. It defines Israel as an “illegal regime” and a “crime against humanity” and promotes “international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns” against Israel.
In the words of UK columnist Melanie Phillips, these are “Christians who hate the Jews.”
Many UK clerics are now saying openly that the Jewish State should never have been founded at all. In 1190, British Christians slaughtered York's Jews after calling them "serpens antiquus qui vocatur Diabolus et Satans." Now their Intifada from Heaven is breathing new life into a kind of demonology that bans Israel from the family of nations.
10 febr 2012
Hanna condemns Zionist falsification of the history of Christian holy places
Atallah Hanna, the Archbishop of Sebastia, condemned the campaign of falsification and deception lead by Zionist organisations that claim to be Christian with the help of the Israeli ministry of tourism.
He called on church leaders in the Holy Land and all over the world to take this matter seriously, reveal the facts and condemn the falsification and the exploitation of religion to serve the occupation's racist policies.
“There are Zionist organisations, supported by Zionists which seek to falsify historic facts pertaining to the holy places, especially in Bethlehem and Jerusalem," he said pointing out that those organisations are disseminating copies of a film that contains false information which contradicts history and Christian heritage and tries to promote places to visit by the tourists at the expense of authentic historic places associated with the Christian faith. This, he said, strips the Palestinian people of their holy places, both Muslim and Christian.
He stressed that the matter is serious and should not be accepted as the occupation ministry of tourism gives out this film to tourists and pilgrims in a bid to deceive and influence their views.
Hanna further explained that these American Zionist organisations which claim to be Christian, have nothing to do with Christianity, but are only trying to exploit the Christian religion for political ends in the service of the occupation.
He called on church leaders in the Holy Land and all over the world to take this matter seriously, reveal the facts and condemn the falsification and the exploitation of religion to serve the occupation's racist policies.
“There are Zionist organisations, supported by Zionists which seek to falsify historic facts pertaining to the holy places, especially in Bethlehem and Jerusalem," he said pointing out that those organisations are disseminating copies of a film that contains false information which contradicts history and Christian heritage and tries to promote places to visit by the tourists at the expense of authentic historic places associated with the Christian faith. This, he said, strips the Palestinian people of their holy places, both Muslim and Christian.
He stressed that the matter is serious and should not be accepted as the occupation ministry of tourism gives out this film to tourists and pilgrims in a bid to deceive and influence their views.
Hanna further explained that these American Zionist organisations which claim to be Christian, have nothing to do with Christianity, but are only trying to exploit the Christian religion for political ends in the service of the occupation.
8 febr 2012
Arab League asks the Vatican not to sign agreements with Israel
The Arab League has asked the Vatican not to sign any agreement with Israel without first revising articles of the international law.
Assistant Arab League secretary general for Palestine and occupied land affairs Mohammed Subaih said in a statement on Tuesday that the Vatican should consult with the Arab League before signing any agreement with Israel.
He said, commenting on the near signing of an agreement between Israel and the Vatican over property owned by the Catholic church in eastern Jerusalem, that any such agreement would be in violation of the international legitimacy that deemed eastern Jerusalem an occupied territory as part of the Palestinian land occupied in 1967.
Assistant Arab League secretary general for Palestine and occupied land affairs Mohammed Subaih said in a statement on Tuesday that the Vatican should consult with the Arab League before signing any agreement with Israel.
He said, commenting on the near signing of an agreement between Israel and the Vatican over property owned by the Catholic church in eastern Jerusalem, that any such agreement would be in violation of the international legitimacy that deemed eastern Jerusalem an occupied territory as part of the Palestinian land occupied in 1967.
5 jan 2012
New segment of West Bank security fence may separate nuns from monks
An Israeli soldier walking away after handing a demolition order to Sister Adrianna of the Cremisan monastery.
The separation fence could divide the nuns from the monks at the Cremisan monastery, giving new meaning to gender segregation.
The monks and nuns of the Cremisan monastery, on a pastoral ridge opposite Har Gilo, have been living peacefully, side by side, since the place was built in late 19th century. But a new segment of the separation fence Israel is building will not only bisect the Cremisan's verdant terraces, but could also separate the inhabitants of this Salesian order, leaving the nuns on the West Bank side of the barrier, and the monks on the Israeli side. That, at least, is the solution the Defense Ministry recently proposed to the members of the Catholic monastery.
The fence hasn't physically split the men from the women yet, but it has already caused a rift between them.
The Cremisan is located on the slopes of Walaja, a Palestinian village, that will eventually be surrounded by the separation fence. The monastery, which straddles the West Bank and Jerusalem, was originally slated to be entirely on the Israeli side once the fence is completed in September, according to the Defense Ministry.
For the monks, who earn their livelihood producing and selling wine, mainly in Israel, that's good news. But for the nuns who operate a Catholic school for Palestinian children from nearby West Bank villages, it's bad news. The fence will prevent their pupils from reaching their school, or at the very least, make it difficult for them to do so.
The separation fence could divide the nuns from the monks at the Cremisan monastery, giving new meaning to gender segregation.
The monks and nuns of the Cremisan monastery, on a pastoral ridge opposite Har Gilo, have been living peacefully, side by side, since the place was built in late 19th century. But a new segment of the separation fence Israel is building will not only bisect the Cremisan's verdant terraces, but could also separate the inhabitants of this Salesian order, leaving the nuns on the West Bank side of the barrier, and the monks on the Israeli side. That, at least, is the solution the Defense Ministry recently proposed to the members of the Catholic monastery.
The fence hasn't physically split the men from the women yet, but it has already caused a rift between them.
The Cremisan is located on the slopes of Walaja, a Palestinian village, that will eventually be surrounded by the separation fence. The monastery, which straddles the West Bank and Jerusalem, was originally slated to be entirely on the Israeli side once the fence is completed in September, according to the Defense Ministry.
For the monks, who earn their livelihood producing and selling wine, mainly in Israel, that's good news. But for the nuns who operate a Catholic school for Palestinian children from nearby West Bank villages, it's bad news. The fence will prevent their pupils from reaching their school, or at the very least, make it difficult for them to do so.
IDF soldier handing a demolition order to Sister Adrianna of the Cremisan monastery south of Jerusalem.
Sister Adrianna of the Cremisan monastery south of Jerusalem.
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Since 2006, when the monastery was informed of the impending construction of the fence around Walaja, there has been tension between the men and women of the monastery.
"The monks make wine, and for them it's great. They're interested in producing wine and this enables them to send it to Israel, where their customers are located," said the Mother Superior, Sister Adriana, this week. "For us it's not good at all. If the fence passes here and they put us on the Israeli side, the children won't be able to reach us. There's only one road to the monastery. The fence will create a checkpoint here with soldiers." Sister Adriana would prefer not to have a fence built at all. This may be the only point about which the nuns and monks agree. About a month ago, in an attempt to calm things down, the administration of the monastery published a guarded condemnation of the fence, presenting the monks' view: "The monastery never asked to move over to the Israeli side," it said. "The entire route of the fence, including the part that directly affects the lands of Cremisan, was decided by the Israeli authorities alone." But the announcement did not impress Sister Adriana. "We and the monks have very different opinions regarding the fence here," she said, adding that she preferred not to elaborate. The difference in the actions of the monks and nuns also attests to the dispute regarding the route of the fence. Aside from publishing the condemnation, the monks took no action to stop the construction of the barrier. On the other hand, the nuns turned repeatedly to the Latin Patriarch in Israel to request his help in their struggle. Then, in March 2010, they turned to an Israeli court to ask that the monastery remain under West Bank jurisdiction. With the help of the Catholic human rights center Saint Ives, they asked to join the petition of the residents of Walaja, who challenged the fence, which will surround their village. |
The residents lost their petition to the High Court of Justice in August. But the nuns of the Cremisan are still contesting the exact route of the fence. "The petition itself is still under deliberation," explained attorney Manal Hassan Abusini, who represents the nuns in the case.
In response to the nuns' protests over the last four years, the Defense Ministry has proposed various solutions. In the latest proposal, Abusini says that the ministry suggested having the separation fence run through the monastery in such a way that the nuns would remain in the West Bank, while the monks would be in Israel.
But the nuns oppose that proposal. It's not the physical separation from the monks that is the problem. They say the proposed route will cause serious damage to the land of the Salesian order, some of which is used by them and their students. Sister Adriana and the other nuns in the order were planning to submit their declaration of opposition to the proposal, which was to be discussed in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court this week.
Meanwhile, the school was empty during the week because of the Christmas vacation. Ordinarily, there are almost 300 children aged 4-16 in the complex. They easily fill the paved square that stretches opposite the large stone building that houses spanking clean classrooms. Most of the children come from Walaja. "Our only work is educating the children," says Sister Adriana. "When they come here we have to heal their hearts too."
Sister Adriana and the other nuns tried to broadcast business as usual as they prepared to welcome the students back to school in a few days. But a cloud was hanging over the monastery. Sister Adriana sat in a nicely furnished room, calmly explaining her world view. A minute later, she found herself outside the monastery fence conducting a lively debate with a group of soldiers and a Defense Ministry contractor who were examining the site - a preliminary stage before building the fence.
At the end of a short discussion the contractor handed her a demolition order for two old buildings in the courtyard of the monastery, where the fence is supposed to pass. "We are against this dispute," she said, alluding to the rift with the monks. "Here we say: 'Walls do not make good neighbors.'"
The monks' administration at the Cremisan monastery preferred not to respond.
In response to the nuns' protests over the last four years, the Defense Ministry has proposed various solutions. In the latest proposal, Abusini says that the ministry suggested having the separation fence run through the monastery in such a way that the nuns would remain in the West Bank, while the monks would be in Israel.
But the nuns oppose that proposal. It's not the physical separation from the monks that is the problem. They say the proposed route will cause serious damage to the land of the Salesian order, some of which is used by them and their students. Sister Adriana and the other nuns in the order were planning to submit their declaration of opposition to the proposal, which was to be discussed in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court this week.
Meanwhile, the school was empty during the week because of the Christmas vacation. Ordinarily, there are almost 300 children aged 4-16 in the complex. They easily fill the paved square that stretches opposite the large stone building that houses spanking clean classrooms. Most of the children come from Walaja. "Our only work is educating the children," says Sister Adriana. "When they come here we have to heal their hearts too."
Sister Adriana and the other nuns tried to broadcast business as usual as they prepared to welcome the students back to school in a few days. But a cloud was hanging over the monastery. Sister Adriana sat in a nicely furnished room, calmly explaining her world view. A minute later, she found herself outside the monastery fence conducting a lively debate with a group of soldiers and a Defense Ministry contractor who were examining the site - a preliminary stage before building the fence.
At the end of a short discussion the contractor handed her a demolition order for two old buildings in the courtyard of the monastery, where the fence is supposed to pass. "We are against this dispute," she said, alluding to the rift with the monks. "Here we say: 'Walls do not make good neighbors.'"
The monks' administration at the Cremisan monastery preferred not to respond.
