O little town of Bethlehem and the Palestinian question
Day 4 Tuesday 30th July 2019
Yesterday I was left with lots of new information based on my experience. Ashraf was able to give an inside view as he lives in Palestine. Towards the end of the day we visited Jenin refuge camp. This has been a refugee camp for over 70 years. I know these things are complex but how did we as a world community ever believe it was right to right one wrong by creating another? The refugees are Palestinians who , as I understand though it is hard to believe, were evicted from their homes when the state of Israel was created in 1948.
I was reminded that I was in the Palestinian Authority not a Palestinian state. The 1992 Oslo Accord has not been implemented as agreed with Israel still having control over 80% of Palestine land. Palestinians speak of heavy charges placed on them by Israel to collect rubbish making it impossible for many. ( I anticipate that someone will counter this and I welcome this as I will only ‘get’ the complexity if people provide new information.)
It would be easy to become despondent but life goes on and people try to live. Again I was reminded ‘how life went on’ in my native Northern Ireland amongst the car bombs and murders.
I was relieved when I would fall into a spiritual conversation as from it hope would come. This became a pattern as I met individuals on the trip from various places who had traveled along a similar spiritual path. One such person was on my tour. She was of Russian Jewish descent though now lived in the US. Although she spoke a different spiritual language it was the same source of which we spoke. I did say to her , “ I think I will meet Ashraf again.” She thought not as she was sure he was going elsewhere.
The next morning once we got through the check point and into Bethlehem who stepped upon our bus? Ashraf.
He had provoked my thinking the day before with his information and expanded my thinking. I followed up some of my questions with him. Yes this was a tour of special sites but as with the time of Jesus and the prophets before him this was about people and their lives. Injustices were being perpetuated then and people sought a way to live in them, with them and through them. Along came messengers to point to ‘a way’ and to a hope that could encourage the people. The need remains for injustices remain.
Inside The Church of the Nativity I was more attentive to interactions between people than I was with the ornamentation. Ashraf lives in Bethlehem so he knew the best way into the church, the manger area and out. He became my shepherd and I a follower. If someone knows more than I why wouldn’t I follow him? Indeed in absorbing the story he became in my own imaginative way Eashoa aka Jesus for me. It doesn’t matter what Eashoa looked like but if it did I reckoned Ashraf was a good depiction. For me it is really important to humanise Eashoa. He was as ordinary as you and I.
While we were waiting for the Catholics to say their prayers and the Orthodox to move in a French priest appeared with his touring flock. He attempted to walk through us and get ahead but as I said we had a good shepherd. Ashraf stated to him that we were also waiting and he should wait behind. The priest not happy at being challenged pointed to his collar and declared, “I am a priest.” Ashraf remained composed and unimpressed. The priest then told him , “Be quiet.” I cringed as it was such a display of a patronising perceived power. Five minutes later the priest is asked to move back by Church staff and the door is closed behind him.
I thought to myself, “ That priest had no clue who he was speaking to and that this is Ashraf’s church.” I speculated that other church members had witnessed what had happened and quietly re established their authority.
I had the afternoon free as I returned to Jerusalem. An Irish guy I met had told me about the roof top cafe in the Franciscan managed Christian Information Centre. It was from here that I took the first video. I trust it gives you the atmosphere of this most unusual and ancient place.
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