Monday, April 12, 2004
Interesting letter from Deal Hudson
The Wall
CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter
April 12, 2004
**********************************************
Dear Friend,
I hope you had a blessed Holy Week and a joyous Easter. As you might
remember, I mentioned to you that I was traveling to the Holy Land last
week. In fact, I returned from the trip Saturday night...just in time to
celebrate Easter with my family. As I listened to the Gospel account of
the Resurrection Sunday morning, I could picture the place where Mary and
Mary Magdalene found the empty tomb...I had just been there.
This was my first trip to the Holy Land. If you've never been there, I can
only tell you one thing: Find a way to go. It will renew your faith in
ways you can't imagine. I love the grandeur and splendor of Rome, but
being in the Holy Land -- seeing the places where Jesus taught and lived,
walking the roads He walked -- is an experience like nothing else.
But while the trip was rejuvenating, if you go yourself, be prepared for a
shock. When you venture just east of Old Jerusalem onto the Mount of
Olives, the first thing you'll see is a freshly-built 28 foot concrete
wall -- almost five times my height -- rudely dividing the sacred land.
(It's sometimes described inaccurately as a "fence.")
You'll see the same thing on your journey to Bethlehem. And soon,
the wall will completely divide the city of Christ's birth from the
road to Jerusalem, only a short distance away.
I had seen photographs of the massive wall before I went, but
pictures simply don't do it justice. It didn't take long before I saw the
devastating impact it was having on the lands surrounding it, including
convents, monasteries, churches, homes, businesses...and, of course, the
people of the West Bank.
On Good Friday I walked along a nearly-finished section of the wall
behind the convent and school of the Daughters of Charity. My
meditative thoughts were interrupted by a bulldozer roaring away
nearby, leveling the land belonging to the sisters. This particular
section of the wall runs directly through their property, cutting
them off completely from their own garden and many of the
schoolchildren and families they minister to on the other side.
The next day, I read about several neighborhood Palestinians,
protesting the arrival of bulldozers and chain saws in their
neighborhood. Israeli security guards scattered the crowd with rubber
bullets while an olive grove of over 150 trees -- the sole means of income
of one family for generations -- was cut to the ground.
And the wall isn't just creating physical divisions. Many people I
spoke with in the area told me that the arrival of the wall was
driving out the few remaining Christians from the Holy Land (who now only
number 10,000 now).
But it isn't just the wall that's forcing Christians out. Religious
workers in the area are now having a difficult time obtaining the
standard two-year visas from the Israeli government. What was once a
fairly routine process has become a thorny situation for Christian
missionaries, priests, and religious who minister to those in the West
Bank. Many of these groups organize simple works of mercy -- serving the
poor, teaching children, and housing elderly on the West Bank. Even
Protestant Evangelical ministries -- as pro-Israel as they come -- are
being denied visas.
Like you, I've read with horror about the suicide bombers and the
Israeli citizens who live in fear for their lives every single day. I
nodded sympathetically -- from afar -- about the steps that were taken to
stop the stream of terrorists into city streets and onto buses. No one can
question Israel's obligation to protect its people.
But standing underneath the massive wall on the convent property, I
had to ask myself: Is this the way to do it? Confiscating the
property of nuns and denying them visas to live and work there... is this
an effective anti-terrorist strategy?
What will become of the Christians of the Holy Land? Only time will
tell. But it's certain that their difficult lives will become still
more difficult. And each year, fewer of them will remain.
Pray for them.
Deal
To learn more about CRISIS Magazine, visit
http://www.crisismagazine.com/subscribe.htm
CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter
April 12, 2004
**********************************************
Dear Friend,
I hope you had a blessed Holy Week and a joyous Easter. As you might
remember, I mentioned to you that I was traveling to the Holy Land last
week. In fact, I returned from the trip Saturday night...just in time to
celebrate Easter with my family. As I listened to the Gospel account of
the Resurrection Sunday morning, I could picture the place where Mary and
Mary Magdalene found the empty tomb...I had just been there.
This was my first trip to the Holy Land. If you've never been there, I can
only tell you one thing: Find a way to go. It will renew your faith in
ways you can't imagine. I love the grandeur and splendor of Rome, but
being in the Holy Land -- seeing the places where Jesus taught and lived,
walking the roads He walked -- is an experience like nothing else.
But while the trip was rejuvenating, if you go yourself, be prepared for a
shock. When you venture just east of Old Jerusalem onto the Mount of
Olives, the first thing you'll see is a freshly-built 28 foot concrete
wall -- almost five times my height -- rudely dividing the sacred land.
(It's sometimes described inaccurately as a "fence.")
You'll see the same thing on your journey to Bethlehem. And soon,
the wall will completely divide the city of Christ's birth from the
road to Jerusalem, only a short distance away.
I had seen photographs of the massive wall before I went, but
pictures simply don't do it justice. It didn't take long before I saw the
devastating impact it was having on the lands surrounding it, including
convents, monasteries, churches, homes, businesses...and, of course, the
people of the West Bank.
On Good Friday I walked along a nearly-finished section of the wall
behind the convent and school of the Daughters of Charity. My
meditative thoughts were interrupted by a bulldozer roaring away
nearby, leveling the land belonging to the sisters. This particular
section of the wall runs directly through their property, cutting
them off completely from their own garden and many of the
schoolchildren and families they minister to on the other side.
The next day, I read about several neighborhood Palestinians,
protesting the arrival of bulldozers and chain saws in their
neighborhood. Israeli security guards scattered the crowd with rubber
bullets while an olive grove of over 150 trees -- the sole means of income
of one family for generations -- was cut to the ground.
And the wall isn't just creating physical divisions. Many people I
spoke with in the area told me that the arrival of the wall was
driving out the few remaining Christians from the Holy Land (who now only
number 10,000 now).
But it isn't just the wall that's forcing Christians out. Religious
workers in the area are now having a difficult time obtaining the
standard two-year visas from the Israeli government. What was once a
fairly routine process has become a thorny situation for Christian
missionaries, priests, and religious who minister to those in the West
Bank. Many of these groups organize simple works of mercy -- serving the
poor, teaching children, and housing elderly on the West Bank. Even
Protestant Evangelical ministries -- as pro-Israel as they come -- are
being denied visas.
Like you, I've read with horror about the suicide bombers and the
Israeli citizens who live in fear for their lives every single day. I
nodded sympathetically -- from afar -- about the steps that were taken to
stop the stream of terrorists into city streets and onto buses. No one can
question Israel's obligation to protect its people.
But standing underneath the massive wall on the convent property, I
had to ask myself: Is this the way to do it? Confiscating the
property of nuns and denying them visas to live and work there... is this
an effective anti-terrorist strategy?
What will become of the Christians of the Holy Land? Only time will
tell. But it's certain that their difficult lives will become still
more difficult. And each year, fewer of them will remain.
Pray for them.
Deal
To learn more about CRISIS Magazine, visit
http://www.crisismagazine.com/subscribe.htm
