I have been showing my pictures from Palestine and Israel this past week and so the people and the places I visited have been in my thoughts and heart.
Tom Gettman was one of the people I met in Bethlehem and he told the story of the 8-year-old daughter of a Ramallah-based Mercy Corps staff person who wondered about the huge barrier separating Israel and Palestine.
When riding with her mother from Jerusalem along the snaking barrier wall and then passing through the onerous Callandia checkpoint “border post”, she asked,
“Mommy, why do Jews have to live behind that wall?”
The sad thing about walls is that they don’t just shut out the “other” but they also close us off from commnicaiton and relationship.
And of course the Jewish community does not have to live behind a wall. But it will take courage and persistent commitment to find another way, a way to peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.
Christians have historically been part of the problem. Could they also be part of a non-violent solution? The Kairos Palestine document which United Church folks are now studying tells us this is possible, that there are ways to show our support for brothers and sisters suffering in Palestine. If you would like to know more about this document, try the internet or our website can point you in the right direction.
Peter
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