Making Israel a "promising land"

European and North American bishops touring Israel and Palestine as part of the annual pilgrimage of the Holy Land Coordination met Palestinian leaders in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Philippa Hitchen has this report:

How do you turn a ‘Promised Land’, as the Jewish people see this country between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, into a ‘promising land’ where two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, can live together in peace and security?

That’s the question the chief Palestinian negotiator Dr Saeb Erakat struggles with daily as he tries to represent the interests of his people, yet at the same time make any small step forward in the stalled peace process. Just back from apparently fruitless talks in the Jordanian capital with his Israeli counterpart, the frustration was written all over his face as he spoke to the bishops on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Palestinian authority in Ramallah.

“Meeting with them, I’m giving it every possible chance. I’m asked by the Quartet committee to introduce my positions on territories and security. I did. I hope that they will take the opportunity that Jordan offers, which is a big opportunity, the Quartet offer. And honest to God, I don’t see anything that will serve Israel’s interest more than making peace.”

Increased violence by Israeli settlers, the relentless progress of the separation or security barrier cutting off Palestinian families from their lands and an increasingly strident discourse from the extreme right wing in the Israeli parliament, all add to his sense of hopelessness in the current political panorama.

So what can the bishops do when they leave here on Thursday and return to their home countries? A question I put to the US representative on this delegation, Bishop Gerald Kicanis of Tucson Arizona

“As I leave here this time, I’m beginning to be deeply concerned about further delays in addressing this question. And I think it’s important for the Church to approach the administration, and to approach the Congress, that despite the fact that this is an election year, this is a situation that has potential to unravel in a very negative way. And there’s an urgency to the question.”

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