It's good that the head of the Orthodox Jews and the head of English Anglicans in the south are, well, pals, after the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks went along to the Lambeth Conference in 2008 and gave a little talk about Covenants in general. It was not an endorsment for the sort of Covenant the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has wanted, but for him it added depth to the notion of having a Covenant in general terms.So now the Chief Rabbi has helped Rowan Williams get Anglican Bishop Suheil Dawani a residency permit in East Jerusalem.
Israel stole the land from the Palestinians after the 1967 war, unrecognised by others, whereas other land taken it continues to occupy and hasn't absorbed into Israel (although they built that horrid wall in Palestinian land: a bit like a householder putting up a boundary fence into the neighbour's garden). From Jerusalem, the bishop, whose diocese dates from 1841, reaches out to the West Bank (where he was born), Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Dawani lost his residency permit because the Israelis alleged that he helped sell Israeli land to Palestinians, and he denies it. One thinks so what if anyone did: selling land doesn't alter the State's jurisdiction does it? He says he didn't and he's going to be very sensitive to his position and location given the Israeli theft of land and occupations.
Well let's hope the fact that they have reached across to gain mutual help is one way peace can be achieved.
2 comments:
Between 1948 and 1967 eastern Jerusalem was occupied by the Jordanians.(Leaving Jews cut-off from parts of the city they had lived and worshipped in for thousands of years). Prior to that is was part of the British Mandate. Prior to that it was part of the Turkish Ottoman empire etc etc. Indeed no part of Jerusalem has ever been part of any Palestinian Arab state. So clearly Israel did not steal it from the Palestinians. The conflict in the middle east is horrific and highly complex, and it does not help anybody to throw around loaded, and historically inaccurate, words such as 'stole'. Instead it would be much better to lend our support to those people on the ground in Jerusalem, both Jew and Arab, who are striving to increase co-existence between the two peoples.
If I walk on to common land and say it is mine, and fence it off, I've stolen it.
Post a Comment