Reflections on Mohammad and David and two walls.

On my last day in Jordan and first in Israel, I spent a little time with two people I found myself liking immensely and with whom I felt, given time and opportunity, I could become firm friends. But two men with profoundly differing world views shaped by their circumstances; circumstances that mean there is little chance they will ever meet even though they live just a short distance from each other,

Muhammad is a taxi driver in Amman. He picked us up after we had dropped off our hire car and took us to our accommodation.  We liked him immediately; he had a warm and funny sense of humour, and like most Jordanians we met had a wonderful dignity, welcoming warmth and sense of treating others with dignity.  So we offered him the opportunity to drive us to the border the following morning.  After some friendly haggling we agreed on a very fair price (half of what we hear some Americans had paid the day before) and we ended up adding 5 dinar in the end as a thank you for his promptness and efficiency in getting us to our destination (I wish I could say the same about the Jordanian immigration officials, who were [it seemed deliberately] tardy and inefficient.

Mohammed, it turned out, is a Palestinian.  A large percentage of the Jordanian population identify as Palestinian, the rest are mostly from Arabic tribal groups such as Bedouin. But Mohammed’s family are from Gaza, a place he can never hope to travel to.  Jerusalem, a holy city for him, is also barred to him.  He can see Jerusalem in the distance as he drives to the border, but under current circumstances, he will never travel there.

He was not angry, just wistful and sad.  So I was sad for him.  His family had lived for generations in Palestine, but Palestine, was a different place, more of an idea really, until history, war and politics created a new state of Israel and changed the very structure of the Middle East. 

The country of Jordan, created as much by history and circumstance as Israel, is a tolerant country.  Christians are a minority, but are welcome and form a vibrant part of the community.

But make no mistake there is anger, particularly at a certain President with a comb over.  We saw and heard a major demonstration in the centre of Amman.  We were in the safety of the Citadel high above the city streets.  Even if we had wanted to get closer we couldn’t as the streets were blocked by police and they would not have let us through.

Having arrived in Israel we took ourselves to the Israel museum, saw the Dead Sea scrolls and the amazing model of Jerusalem at the time of Herod’s temple.

On the bus back to our B&B, I found myself sitting next to a man named David.  A polite, sophisticated Jewish man who was born in London and lived most of his life in the US. His children and grandchildren are still there. We had plenty of time to talk because we were stuck in a traffic jam.

He reflected a very different view of the way things were.  “Why shouldn’t the embassies be in Jerusalem,” he said, “in every other country embassies are in the same place as the seat of Government, why not here?’ He said this as we passed the Knesset, Israel’s seat of Government.

He made a reasonable point, but in Israel and Palestine’s case it is simply not that simple.  The Palestinians also claim Jerusalem as their capital.  He was convinced most of the world is anti-Semitic, and saw most of the world’s issues in these terms.  I did not argue I just listened.

The following day we spent the day wandering around the old city of Jerusalem.  We saw all the usual things, the various tomb sites, the “Via Delarosa,” the Golden dome, etc.  But unquestionably the most moving thing, was praying at the Western Wall, also known as the ‘wailing wall.”

 As I prayed I was surrounded by Orthodox Jews, dressed in traditional garb, prayer shawl and Yarmulke.  Some even wore a Phylactery or prayer box on their foreheads. The passion was obvious; being able to pray at all that is left of the wailing wall is so important.  I felt overcome that here I was praying at (or near) a place where people had prayed to the Sovereign Lord for over 4,000 years.

The Israeli passion is understandable (at least for religious Jews).  They see the state of Israel as Inherent in who they are, their very identity.

The following day we travelled to Bethlehem.  It took about 20 minutes in a bus from the Damascus gate.  But it may as well have been 100 miles.  The streets were in a sad state, the amenities unreliable.  We were in Palestine, under the control of Israel, but out of sight. 

Down the road from our accomodation at the Bethlehem Bible College, there were tear gas canisters everywhere from when there are riots and the soldiers come.  A little further down the street there is a giant wall cutting Bethlehem and the West Bank off from Israel. Put there (so it is said) to protect Israelis from suicide bombers, not sure it achieves that goal, it simply alienates and makes worse a difficult situation.

Every day thousands of Palestinians have to go through a difficult checkpoint to go to their jobs in Jerusalem.  We went through that check point, I would not like to do it every day!

Bethlehem is the town of David, a large percentage of its residents are Christian, my brothers and sisters.  Hebrews 13: 3 tells us “to remember those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” I could also paraphrase Paul and say “In Christ there is no Jew, no Palestinian.

I will leave for others to speak of the theological implications of all this.  I do know that the problem is far more complex than some of the simplistic pro-Israel stuff I see on Facebook.

Whether or not Israel (most of which is secular) has a place in the eschatological story is not at issue. I personally think it should exist and be protected.  However, evangelical Christians should ask themselves, given Scripture’s call on us to care for one another, is it right to have an agenda of establishing Israel while at the same time ignoring our mistreated Palestinian brothers and sisters?  This is not a question of Israel’s right to exist.  It is a question of caring for all people and ensuring they all have a hope and a future. 

I do not know the answer to this conundrum, I simply think we should not see the Israel-Palestinian question as black and white, but complex and requiring the needs of all parties to be given the respect they deserve.