• Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archives

in service of the
​common good

Dialogue4peace

16/5/2017

4 Comments

 
​On 12 May I accepted an invitation to be one of the speakers at a forum on “Social Justice: Israel/Palestine” held at the Wheeler Centre Melbourne. On reflection it is one invitation I should not have accepted. 
 
Since the night I have been seeking to confirm its sponsor.  I have been told it was Dialogue4Peace. So far I have unsuccessfully tried to find any information about the group, its members, or its purpose.   Why didn’t I do due diligence before the evening?  Good question, with a fine sounding name I assumed ‘dialogue’ and ‘peace’.
 
Why angst after the event? Because it was an event the like of which I cannot recall experiencing in now more than 50 years of public life.  Neither ‘dialogue’ nor ‘peace’ was on the agenda that night. At least it gave me a momentary glimpse into the world Palestinians suffer 24/7.
 
There was no dialogue, just raw confrontation. Material left on the seats for the audience to pick up was spiteful, and presented a generic picture of Palestinians as terrorists, devoid of morality and the cause of the ongoing conflict.  I and the Palestinian speaker Yousef Alreemawi, provided information about APAN and copies of the Kairos statement, a theological and social justice statement signed by leaders of the Middle East Council of Churches.
 
The opening speech at the forum was an unrelenting attack on me, presumably because I speak in defence of Palestinian rights as President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.   The second speaker in support of Israel’s position was a Coptic Christian. I totally understand the depth of anguish she feels as a result of the atrocities meted out to Coptic Church membership in Egypt from extreme elements claiming to be Islamic. As a fellow Christian I identify with the anguish, but what has that to do with Palestinians?  It is also important to remember that following these atrocities grassroots Egyptian Muslims came to the aid, defence and support of their Coptic fellow citizens.
 
The assertion at the heart of the presentation exonerating Israel and blaming the Palestinians was that this is essentially a religious conflict and more specifically a religious conflict being waged by extreme elements of Islam. It of course suits Israel for this assertion to be made because it allows Israel to justify (to itself and its friends) its military incursions and its oppression of Palestinians on the basis that it is joining the free world in a global fight against Islamic terrorism.  It would have been good if the forum could have debated this out. But it was not to be. Fortunately this terrible misrepresentation of truth has not been swallowed by most in the international community although of course it is peddled as truth in America and Australia.  Regular polls indicate that the majority of Australians have not swallowed it either, although it appears to suit many of our political elite to run this line.
 
Does injustice provide a seedbed for extremism – yes it does. Is a convenient flag of identity for extremism a religious flag – yes it is. Do the extremists live out the values of the religious flag they carry – no they don’t.  Should a civilian population be corporately punished for the acts of violence of a few – no of course they should not.  But shamefully this is what is happening to the Palestinian people through a denial of their basic human rights.
 Should the injustices which provide the seedbed for extremism be addressed – yes of course they should, but rather than being addressed they are being exacerbated. To their absolute credit the  Palestinian civilian population has disavowed violent resistance and are focussed on non-violent resistance. The current hunger strike is one form of this resistance, BDS is another.
 
The facts of the matter are that this is not a religious conflict.  It is a conflict that has intensified as the power and domination of Israel has grown. This domination increasingly denies Palestinians the right to exist. (Ironic that Israel insists exclusively on the opposite). The international community is clear about Israel’s borders, (the 1967 borders) 78% of historic Palestine. But Netanyahu and his government clearly covet the remaining 22% which the Palestinians since the Oslo Accord have remarkably been prepared to accept as a Two-State solution. However every day more and more of this 22% disappears as more illegal settlements are constructed and Israeli roads and infrastructure alienate more and more land. For centuries Arabs and Jews lived side by side. 20th and 21st century migration has changed all of that.  Palestinians are now corralled into smaller and smaller enclaves without proper access to basic resources while newly-arrived Israeli immigrants from anywhere in the world are afforded a first world standard of living on land which has been confiscated from Palestinians.
 
It is said that the majority of Israelis are not religious (although their leadership and supporters rely on religious history to undergird claims on land). The majority of Palestinians are Muslim and a minority Christian, but the identity that forms and nourishes them is that they are Palestinian.
 
The presentations on Thursday night in support of Israel discouraged moderation, they encouraged extreme and distorted views of reality out of fear, and I am sorry to say, out of hate. The question which concluded the forum was “what advice do you have for Trump and others who claim to be looking for a solution to this conflict”.  My answer was that I would ask Netanyahu whether he wants common ground. If common ground is not wanted it will never exist. 
 
It is my experience that Palestinians long for peace, for the opportunity to live their lives as others do. The majority of Palestinians would, in my view, be prepared to live with any solution as long as it was a genuine democracy with equal rights for everyone. Surely this is not too much to ask?
 
Netanyahu on the other hand rules out, either a One-State or a Two-State solution, presumably meaning he would like all Palestinians to leave or be corralled into disconnected Bantustans.
 
In the forum those defending Israel were aggrieved at the use of the term apartheid to describe the current situation. It was said that anyone who had lived in South Africa during the Apartheid era would not use this language of Israel.  It was pointed out that before his death this was exactly how Mandela described the Palestinian plight and it is how Desmond Tutu continues to describe it.
 
This is not a religious conflict, it is a conflict of human rights, a conflict of social justice, the moral argument is with the Palestinians, it is little wonder that those who support Israel fall back on invective in the absence of any moral argument.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4 Comments
Fred Rainger
17/5/2017 07:45:52 am

Thanks George - a sobering experience for you and a warning for us all. About 6 weeks ago at 7.15 am there was an item on the abc asking whether Israel is a democracy by 9.15 all trace of it had disappeared. From Brighton Uk

Reply
Ilana Fortunata
19/5/2017 02:02:45 am

Please read from the sisters of Mercy in NYC, the truth about this KAIROS document that you all rely on as if it is a factual document. It is divisive, full of lies and opposite of what Christ was preaching:

The self-styled “Kairos Palestine” document was launched in Bethlehem on December 11, 2009 by a panel chaired by the former Latin Patriarch (Roman Catholic) of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah. It was quickly made available in Arabic and several European languages at the dedicated website www.kairospalestine.ps. The secretariat of the World Council of Churches (WCC) was quick to disseminate it, especially among Protestant churches worldwide. This was no accident, since the WCC secretariat was heavily involved in the gestation of this document as part of its long-term program to promote Palestinian political aims.

The document, as we shall see, is meant to mobilize churches worldwide in a program of boycotts, divestment and delegitimization directed at the State of Israel. (THIS IS A MOVEMENT I DO NOT SUPPORT IN ANY WAY.) It alludes explicitly to a similarly named document issued in South Africa years ago, thus deliberately comparing Israel with the regime of apartheid. It employs extreme language, such as declaring that “the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity.” Before surveying the content of the document, however, its credentials should be examined. It has been promoted on its website and by the WCC secretariat as a statement of “Palestinian Christian leaders” that has the “endorsement” of the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. The reality is different.

With the exception of Arab Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan, the Heads of Churches played no role in the origins of this document. Some of them were taken by surprise when it appeared. They were, however, put under political pressure to toe the line propounded by the document. Four days later, consequently, they issued a brief statement of their own. It is worth quoting in full:

“We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, hear the cry of hope that our children have launched in these difficult times that we still experience in this Holy Land. We support them and stand by them in their faith, their hope, their love and their vision for the future. We also support the call to all our faithful as well as to the Israeli and Palestinian Leaders, to the International Community and to the World Churches, in order to accelerate the achievement of justice, peace and reconciliation in this Holy Land. We ask God to bless all our children by giving them more power in order to contribute effectively in establishing and developing their community, while making it a community of love, trust, justice and peace.”

Evidently, this is anything but an endorsement of worldwide campaigns against the State of Israel. No alleged “sin” is denounced and indeed no blame is cast upon anyone. On the contrary, the statement contains nothing that would offend people of goodwill anywhere. It calls, on the one hand, for political and religious leaders to increase their commitments to achieving peace. On the other, it urges Palestinian Christians to focus on building up the local Christian community. Indeed, the statement can be read as a mild rebuke to the authors of the document: Palestinian Christians should put their main effort into strengthening their own community rather than engaging in worldwide political agitation.

Nevertheless, the protagonists of “Kairos Palestine” decided to exploit that statement for their own purposes. On the website, the statement and their document are combined into a single PDF file in which the statement of the Heads of Churches is placed at the beginning, as if it were a prior endorsement of their own views in the document. The unwary reader does not realize that the statement is no endorsement, but rather a wary reaction that seeks to divert the energies of the faithful into constructive activity within the community rather than wasting them on vain political posturing.

So the document represents the views not of the Heads of churches but of its own authors. Let us now examine their claim to be “Palestinian Christian leaders.” Here it must be emphasized that the website kairospalestine has changed the claimed authorship of the document. Originally, the document appeared on the website with the following list of authors:

• His Beatitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah

• His Eminence Archbishop Atallah Hanna

• Bishop Munib Younan

• Rev. Dr. Jamal Khader

• Rev. Dr. Rafiq Khoury

• Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb

• Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek

• Rev. Dr. Yohana Katanacho

• Rev. Fadi Diab

• Dr. Jiries Khoury

• Ms. Cedar Duaybis

• Ms. Nora Kort

• Ms. Lucy Thaljieh

• Mr. Nidal Abu El Zuluf

• Mr. Yusef Daher

• Mr. Rifat Kassis - Coordinator

In the meantime, howeve

Reply
Nadia Ghaly
18/5/2017 03:22:28 am

Bishop, have you read the news lately about Egypt? have you seen the bombing of churches and the mascaras of Christians in Egypt? Have followed the news to see how much the Christians are being shamed by their religion? do you know whom is doing this? Islam and Muslims that you are saying "It is also important to remember that following these atrocities grassroots Egyptian Muslims came to the aid, defence and support of their Coptic fellow citizens" Please do not follow a charade but speak the truth. Thank you

Reply
Leo
24/6/2017 02:07:46 am

Netanyahu may not believe in a two-state solution.

This is because there's Gaza, run by the ISIS-lite Hamas who have no intention of relinquishing the power they murdered Muslims and Christians to attain.

There is Fatah, a corrupt kleptocracy, led by an octogenarian dictator, 12 years into his four year term, who pays people to murder Jews and tortures his own people in jails.

Then there is Israel which is an imperfect democracy.

Three states.

There is no two state solution. There is no one state solution. All variants to the three-state solution died the moment Palestinians did EXACTLY what Netanyahu said they would:

"In his letter and a later press conference, Netanyahu repeated his criticisms of the pullout - that it is unilateral and secures no concessions from the Palestinians, setting a bad precedent; that it will allow terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad to strengthen themselves and control Gaza, and aid in Hamas's effort to take over the Palestinian Authority; and that it will make Israel less secure."

That's in 2005, BEFORE Hamas took over.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/08/world/africa/netanyahu-quits-over-the-pullout-from-gaza.html

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe


    ​Author

    ​Bishop George Browning. 
    ​Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn 1993 - 2008.

    ​Inaugural chair Anglican Communion Environment Network

    ​PhD Thesis: Sabbath and the Common Good: An Anglican response to the Environmental Crisis.

    D.Litt. Honoris Causa for contribution to Education

    Centenary Medal 2000 for Service to cmmunity

    ​Patron: Australia Palestine Advocacy Network

    Patron: Palestinian Christians in Australia

    Patron: Sabeel

    ARCHIVE

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Publications

    Sabbath and the Common Good: Prospects for a New Humanity, Echo Books 2016

    ​Not Helpful: Tales from a truth teller, Echo Books 2021

    Links​

    Barbara May Foundation

    ​Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture

    Australia Palestine Advocacy Network

    ​Christians for an Ethical Society


Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archives