November 14, 2002

Back in Bethlehem, Louisiana VIM Conference

[Bethlehem, West Bank] I'm back in Bethlehem after a brief visit to the US. It's chilly here. I had to put an extra blanket on my bed last night. My arrival at the airport in Tel Aviv went better than usual. I'm not sure why my passes through the border have improved, but I'm not complaining. They used to be hours-long ordeals, but recently they have gone without incident. I was flagged, of course, by the address on my visa slip which reads simply "Bethlehem." West Bank addresses will get you immediate attention. I have been told many times by many people to use a Jerusalem address instead, but my experiences have gone much better when I just get it over with and let the Israeli authorities know ahead of time that I'm planning to go to Bethlehem. And when the questioning begins, I tell the truth. I'm teaching. This time they asked a few more questions like "don't you know it is dangerous to go to the West Bank?", "how long have you been here?", "can you speak Arabic?", and "do you stand in solidarity with Palestinian people?" And these were easily answered. By the way, I stand in solidarity with anyone who believes in peace and justice.

On my flight from Dallas, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany, I sat beside a gentleman who lives on a kibbutz in northern Israel. I saw the fellow reading a Hebrew book, so I considered asking him a few questions. For someone living within Israeli borders, I don't know many Jews, and I'd like to get their personal perspective on a lot of things. I didn't want to get in too deep at first because I was afraid it could be ten hours of hell for both of us, trapped in a seat beside each other. The conversation actually went quite well. The man was responsible for a large poultry operation in Israel, and he was in the US to visit poultry companies in the southeast. I know a (very) little about the business, but my family used to be in it, so we talked about that for a while. Later, I asked a few more questions about his opinion on things in the Middle East. The gentleman was born and raised in Israel. He told me his grandfather was an Orthodox Jew, but he had not favored that upbringing. He went to orthodox schools when he was younger, but quit later. (It never occurred to me that one can just drop out of being orthodox.) Anyway, I asked him about the new changes in the Israeli government, and he told me that it was a turn for the worse. His kibbutz was from the left and always voted with the Labor party -- he called himself something like "a bit right of the far left." He was afraid that the situation will get worse if Benjamin Netanyahu gets in control.

The man and his children had all served in the Israeli army, so I questioned him at length about this. He said it was his obligation to serve for his country, including in the Palestinian territories. He said that as a reserve officer, he felt he should do what he could to control some of the younger, more violent Israeli soldiers. "Some of them just want to kill," he told me. Hmmm...this is something that I had not though much about either. I suppose it is possible that some soldiers serve so that they can make sure that things do not get too far out of hand, but my guess it that it's not very likely. I think it's already way out of hand, so evidently there aren't many soldiers serving to control army aggression. He felt a terrible sense of fear while his children were serving along the border with Lebanon. They had participated in some invasions against the Hezbollah, and he told me he had many sleepless nights. He thought that Israeli settlements in Gaza were obviously wrong, but he didn't say the same about the settlements in the West Bank. What's the difference? He seemed to think that the settlers in Gaza were a provocation to Palestinians, but the ones in the West Bank were not. (I'll say for certain that illegal settlers anywhere inflame Palestinian anger.) We disagreed on a lot of things, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to speak with this man. The more opinions I hear, the more informed and objective I can be. At the same time it gave me the chance to share what I see and feel from the Palestinian side.

I was in the US to speak at the Louisiana Volunteer in Missions conference. Since I am a former United Methodist Volunteer in Mission, and the program really changed my life, I was pleased to be able to address the group. I gave a talk about what life is like in the West Bank, a couple of talks on opportunities for service here, and later I spoke to St. Luke - Simpson and University United Methodist churches about our forgotten community of Palestinian Christians. I had a good time sharing in Louisiana. The folks were hospitable and the food was Cajun -- excellent. Thanks to all who invited and hosted me, especially Rev. Larry Norman, Rev. Karl Klaus, Rev. Mike McLaurin and Bishop William Hutchinson. And thanks to Jeanie Blankenbaker for suggesting me as a speaker.

United Methodist missionaries are required to share their stories with covenant churches once every three years. Church workers here -- and all around the world -- are anxious to share. Consider becoming a covenant church sponsor for a UM missionary.