Guest Editorial
From the Revd Fadi Diab
Greetings from the Holy Land, the land of peace, love, mercy and reconciliation.
After the Israeli-Lebanese war, I felt very sad deep within, to the point that I did not want to write or talk about the Middle East conflict. Sometimes silence is more powerful than speaking. It is when we stop talking and start listening to the voices of others that we see that we are able to live in harmony together in this land.
Life in the Palestinian territories is sometimes unbearable. We are contained by high fences and checkpoints, and ordinary people often cannot reach their olive groves and farmland, or their jobs across the barriers. Access to hospitals and schools is increasingly difficult.
We Christians often feel forgotten in this land. As a minority, we face three main problems.
First, our movements are heavily restricted by checkpoints and the military presence in our villages.
Parish priests who carry Arab-Israeli citizenship can only pass through the barriers in the occupied territories with extreme difficulty. Many times, I am unable to be with my parish for the Sunday Service because I have not been given permission to pass.
Secondly, although Christians and Muslims have lived together here for more than 1,400 years, there are increasing tensions with some Muslim groups who perceive us as siding with the West against Islam. Several churches in the West Bank and Gaza have been attacked.
Thirdly, we feel there could be a greater expression of solidarity and support from Church leaders and communities, both from our own dioceses and from those around the world. We need people to stand with us at this time. We are suffering social, economic and psychological difficulties. We are frustrated by the loss of human dignity, security and freedom to move. We feel a sense of hopelessness.
There is a dire situation of need and we want to remind our brothers and sisters of the mission of the global Church to combat poverty and reach out to suffering communities.
We face a difficult challenge in working for peace. Our faith has brought us safely through many wars and difficulties in the Middle East. We believe we are called to preach love and hope to all, and seek justice and mercy for all peoples of this land.
This is not always easy, but we are encouraged by our faith in God’s power and we have hope, through our people’s faith and commitment, and through the solidarity of our fellow Christians around the world.
The Revd Fadi Diab is rector of St Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Zababdeh, in the northern West Bank.
