HCEF Report by the Fact Finding Mission to the Holy Land Part One

The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation Report by the Fact Finding Mission to the Holy Land May 16 – June 1, 2001

The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
Fact Finding Mission to the Holy Land

May 16 – June 1, 2001

Fact Finding Mission Team

Rateb Rabie, K.H.S., President

Donald Kruse, Executive Vice President

Robert Younes, M.D., Secretary

Duane Burchick, K.H.S.
Child Sponsorship Committee Chairman

Lori Burchick, L.H.S.
Child sponsorship Program Coordinator

Sally Haddad, Educator

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation

Fact Finding Mission

May 16 -June 1 2001

Preface

The Holy Land, if one looks carefully at the hillsides and roadside, appears like a many storied layer cake. Layers and layers of sediment at the bottom of ancient seas were deposited during eons of time and under tons of pressure to produce earth when it was pushed up by titanic forces to become dry land. Baking sun, thousands of rainstorms and windstorms haves shaped the hills and produced mountains, valleys, plains, and ravines into the forms that we now know as the Holy Land. When humans arrived, they took these stones and built dwellings, fences and roads. The stone was quarried and blocks of stone were used to make more elaborate houses and palaces. Civilizations rose and fell and the stones cut by a previous civilization were used to build the monuments of new civilizations. The Holy Land, like the land itself, creates sense that many layers of civilization have been deposited on this land and each of the civilizations has left its distinct mark but also traces of all civilizations are present in what we see today. The conditions that we observed on our mission are ancient and yet contemporary. It is the complexity of this land that makes it both fascinating and also unimaginably difficult to fully comprehend.

Introduction

The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) undertook a fact-finding mission to ascertain the conditions existing in the Holy Land of Jordan and Palestine for Jordanian and Palestinian Christians. Members of the delegation included: Rateb Rabie, KHS, President; Don Kruse, Executive Vice President; Robert Younes, M.D., Secretary; Duane Burchick, KHS, Lori Burchick, LHS, Child Sponsorship Program; and Sally Haddad, educator. An HCEF Committee in the Holy Land was instrumental in making arrangements and helping to facilitate all aspects of our mission. The basic premise of HCEF’s mission was to follow statement such as Pope John Paul II when he spoke in Bethlehem during his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, “Do not be afraid to preserve Christian faith and heritage in the land of the birth our Savior.”

There were multiple purposes for undertaking the fact-finding mission. First, we wanted to demonstrate solidarity with the Christians in the Holy Land and attempt to show that they were not the forgotten faithful. Second, we wanted to ascertain the potential for Christian pilgrimage as a means of creating economic opportunity for the Christian community and, simultaneously, showing Americans the social and economic conditions created by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. Third, we wanted to evaluate the Christian handicrafts industry and the potential economic benefits for Christians resulting from importation of handicrafts to the United States. Fourth, we wanted to meet with a variety of politicians, policy makers, religious leaders, tourist industry leaders and education staff and personnel to obtain first hand information about the political, economic and social conditions present in the Holy Land. Fifth, HCEF provide direct financial support to Churches providing service for our Christian brothers and sisters in Jordan and Palestine. To pursue these purposes, we visited as many Christian communities in Jordanian and Palestinian towns and villages as time would allow.

Goals

Our goals for the visit to the Holy Land were to establish relationships with key officials and inform them about our mission as an organization. We specifically explored the development of a Christian pilgrimage program that would facilitate long lasting relationships between American Christians and Holy Land Christians. Pilgrimage travel would begin in Amman, Jordan with visits to Jordanian sites in order to establish contacts with Christian communities in Madaba, Smakieh, Karak, and other. In addition, the pilgrimage would include visits to Bethany Beyond the Jordan and other sites significant to Christian people. The ancient Nabataean city of Petra would also be included on the pilgrimage itinerary. The pilgrimage would then enter the West Bank and Israel with visits to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, surrounding Christian villages and other sites of religious importance. At each stop on the pilgrimage in Palestine, efforts will be made to meet local Christians and listen to first hand accounts of the conditions that these Christians endure under Israeli military occupation.

Human Objectives

As friendships are made with Holy Land Christians, American Christians would become more willing to support the establishment of person-to-person, church-to-church and school-to-school relationships that not only would provide material but also spiritual support to Christians living in the Holy Land and will encourage them to remain in the land of Christianity’s birth. It is also expected that the local Christians would highlight the adverse economic, civil and political conditions that they endure on a daily basis. American Christians, in turn, would return to their congregations and spread the word about the difficult living conditions present in the Holy Land.

Presentations

Each of us presented information to the people we meet on our visit to Jordan and Palestine. Rateb Rabie gave a general description of our organization. He described the help that American Christian Churches gave HCEF and the Christians in the Holy Land. National Presbyterian Church, for instance, gave a place for HCEF to hold meetings and conferences. National Presbyterian also has a partnership with the Latin Church in Bir Zeit and has contributed $10,000 for a generator for the church and school and has contributed $50,000 for the housing project in Bir Zeit. The First Presbyterian Church in Houston has a partnership with the village of Smakieh, Jordan. Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta Georgia, the largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States with 10,000 members, provides a home for the local Atlanta HCEF committee, has committed to 300 child sponsorships, financial support and a partnership with the Christian community in Beit Sahour. The church is sending a fact finding mission to the Holy Land to provide the congregation first hand information on the crisis in the Holy Land. The Catholic diocese of Detroit has committed to 1000 child sponsorships. St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Piscataway is fully engaged in the child sponsorship program. Two churches in Cincinnati, Ohio plan to adopt two Christian towns in Palestine. All the Catholic churches in Baltimore will hold a collection on July 17 for the Christians in the Holy Land. Sir Rateb Rabie then introduced each of us to our hosts.

Donald Kruse gave a short talk about his experience as the American Consul to Jerusalem between 1976 and 1980 and how his perspective on the Middle East changed after he observed the effects of Israeli Occupation on the Palestinian population. As a result, he led a number of pilgrimages to the Holy Land for members of his church, the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. The members of the National Presbyterian Church now have a different perspective on the Arab Israeli conflict and seek ways in which to assist spiritually and materially the Christians of the Holy Land.

Robert Younes, M.D. gave a short presentation on the failure of the mainstream media in the United States to accurately portray the truth about the conflict in Palestine. He mentioned that efforts at the moment are concentrated on bypassing the mainstream media by providing platforms for telling the truth though the Christian media to reach American Christians. As a result, Christians are being reached though the local Christian newspapers, Christian television programs, speaking at churches, holding conferences in Washington, D.C., Detroit and Atlanta. We have a web site (www.hcef.org), newsletter and an email list that reaches over 2000 people and organizations directly, and indirectly many thousands more.

Sir Duane and Lady Lori Burchick spoke about their efforts to reach the American and Palestinian children though the Child Sponsorship Program and how American and Palestinian children communicating with one another not only supports Christian education in Palestine and Jordan but it also educates American children about the realities of living as a minority denomination and experiencing the conditions of military occupation. Eventually, all 12,000 children in Christian schools will be sponsored and the program will provide $3 million for the schools in Jordan and Palestine. Duane emphasizes that the Mother Church began in the Holy Land and that all Christians owe a debt of gratitude to the Christians in the Holy Land for maintaining the Mother Church for the rest of the world. It was our hope that the HCEF communicated to the Christians we met in the Holy Land that they are not the “forgotten faithful”.

Editors Note

The information we gathered as we traveled and met Palestinians and Jordanians was recorded verbatim from the speakers. I did not add any editorial comments to this report. I tried to bring the realities of the situation in the Holy Land through the perspectives of those who lived there and were in a position that would give them access to sources of information to which we were not privy about the suffering endured by the Palestinian people. Thus, this report represents the Palestinians speaking directly to the reader. Since most of the comments were extemporaneous and unprepared by the speaker, I did revise some of the information to make ideas and thoughts read more clearly and coherently. The main body of the report provides facts and descriptions of people, events and places we visited for the enlightenment and information of the reader. We have chosen to report what we saw and heard- in some cases stories reported by different spokes persons may differ or even be in conflict. It was not possible to harmonize these reports. We believe that the great bulk of what we have written is consistent with honesty and accuracy. Certainly, the picture of the harsh actions by the Israeli military occupation forces is totally confirmed. (Robert Younes, M.D.)

Probably the best humor we heard, aside from Rateb’s gaffes and Sally’s comments, was the statement by Don Kruse: “You can speak to God from anywhere in the world but in Jerusalem it is a local call!”

Conclusions

Desire for Peace

At every meeting and in every encounter we had with all levels of Jordanian and West Bank Palestinian society, we were told that Palestinians had a sincere desire for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. We did not hear anyone say that the Palestinians would not be able to work with the Israelis on projects and do business together. Everybody understood that the existence of Israel was a fact that they accepted without reservation. As a result of the Madrid and Oslo conferences, the Palestinians were led to believe that peace would be translated into an independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital situated within the 1967 borders of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian sovereignty would extend over its borders and all internal activities within the state. The establishment of Israeli settlements on the West Bank and Gaza were irritants during the Oslo negotiations but the Palestinians believed that the status of settlements could be negotiated with the Israelis. Final status of refugees was solvable. There was unanimous agreement among those Palestinians we spoke to that the offer by the Israelis during the final status negotiations fell far short of the expectations created by the Madrid Conference and the Oslo Accords. However, Palestinians are still recovering from the shock of the double-cross by the Israeli government after the failure of the final status negotiations. Palestinians were stung by a universal sense of betrayal by Israel and the United States. This disappointment and frustration with the long nine year Peace Process lead to the second Intifada beginning in late September 2000. The heavy handed military tactics in response to the Intifada by the Barak and Sharon Governments further confirmed the Palestinian belief that Israel, despite the promise created by the negotiations, negotiated in bad faith. It became clear that Israel coveted all of the West Bank and Gaza for itself and that the concept of a Palestinian state had degenerated to become a series of 64 Palestinian ghettoes surrounded and controlled by the Israelis. “We want peace and we want to be left alone,” was the statement of a senior Palestinian official. Present conditions created a sense of despair and a realization that the Palestinian economy would never prosper as long as the Intifada continued and as long as Israel pursued a policy that relegated the Palestinians to a second-class citizenship in their own land. Thus, the conditions were created that further encouraged migration of Christians out of the Holy Land, exacerbating the trend that began when the state of Israel was created in 1948.

Hope Into a Nightmare

Everywhere we traveled, we saw ample evidence of reconstruction and creation of a new state. When the Peace Process began in the Early 1990’s new hope was created in Palestinian Diaspora around the world. Many Palestinians returned to their homeland from exile. We met a number of young Palestinians who moved to Palestine from prosperous and comfortable lives in the United States and elsewhere to assist in building a new state. They brought with them expertise in finance, construction, business, human services and political action. They brought their families, money for investment and a desire to finally create a land for the Palestinians that would be independent and free of colonization and domination by outside powers. In a sense, they were dedicating themselves to the dreams of generations of Palestinians who suffered under the yoke of one petty tyrant after another. We met other young Palestinians who stayed in Palestine and were enthusiastic about going to school and leaning to be a person who could help build a new state. Other Palestinians were actively engaged in the work of nation building. We talked to many young people who were serious about their work and their family responsibilities. We met a few young people who were fully employed but were searching for ways to help others less fortunate than themselves. We did not meet anybody who we thought was someone we would not want to know better. We also saw many young people sitting in town squares who had no meaningful work. Every where we went we met people who wanted to get on with their lives and work with their Israeli friends and business associates to conduct business and create a social life for their families and nation. All of these Palestinian hopes and dreams came crashing down when the Peace Process failed and the Intifada began. In retrospect, the Palestinians we met told us that the Israelis never had any intention of allowing the existence of a independent Palestinian state next door. Their initial promises were negotiated into oblivion during the long and arduous Peace Process negotiations. Palestinian investments, business, tourism, trade, personal security and hopes for the future became dreams that suddenly vanished in a wink of an eye. All who experienced the debacle were left with the sense that nation building was not to be a reality. Now all effort was being focused on salvaging what was left of the dreams they had.

The People

We met hundreds of people on our mission. We were uniformly impressed with all of them. We noted their good humor, easy ways, patience and hospitality. Everywhere we went we were invariably treated to coffee, tea, cookies, and other refreshments. We never sensed danger at any time. Our only tense moments were when we came in contact with the Israeli military checkpoints. Henry, our driver, even when he was harassed at checkpoints, displayed a calm beyond his young age. He knew to place a red kaffieh on the dashboard to indicate that he was a Palestinian and to avoid confrontation with Palestinians when he was traveling in Palestinian territory since his van had yellow Israeli license plates; he also knew to remove it when going through military checkpoints or traveling on Israeli by-pass roads. Survival strategies were rampant in the West Bank but life was taken with good humor and patience.

The Military Occupation

Our contact with the Israeli military occupation was when we traveled. At checkpoints, our passports were examined. We saw major traffic jams at Israeli military checkpoints since cars with white plates were not allowed to pass through the checkpoint. We saw huge blocks of concrete used to block passage of streets in towns. Army patrols armed with US made M 16 rifles regularly walked though the Old City of Jerusalem and along the walls. Military bases were everywhere, especially in proximity to Israeli settlements, as evidenced by the barbed wire fences and soldiers on patrol on foot and in armored jeeps. We saw rock littered and burned out and blackened streets where pitched battles were fought with the Israeli military. Bullet holes in walls, devastated and collapsed buildings and destroyed homes from bombardment by Israeli tanks and American made Apache helicopters were easily found in every Palestinian town we visited. We saw tanks in forts located on distant hills surrounding the Christian towns in the Bethlehem District. The military occupation was obvious to anyone who looked. We were disturbed to imagine the invisible impact that the military occupation had that we did not see-the hatred, poisoned and scarred minds of young people, the despair, the torture, and the everyday oppression of the mind and spirit.

The Settlements

Much has been said about the Israeli settlements and we were prepared to view them as another feature of the landscape. We were not prepared for the impact that they had on our conception of the Holy Land landscape. The settlements occupied only the hilltops. Normally one would expect a sprawl for a town as it flowed over the landscape as Palestinian villages and town s did. This was not the case for the settlements. These constructions were meant to be hilltop castles and forts. Each settlement had a distinctly sharp margin that separated it from the rest of the landscape. Houses represented walls of a hilltop fortification and the walls continued around the entire hilltop with only one entrance and exit point. That road was guarded by military either in jeeps, guardhouses, or tanks. Depending on how close the settlement was to the nearest Palestinian town or village, the Israeli military made sure that sufficient protection was available. In some areas, particularly around Jerusalem, every hilltop in sight was covered with an Israeli settlement. Some were outposts, which meant that a permanent settlement had not been built yet and the hilltop was covered with mobile homes. Most of the settlements were constructed on confiscated Palestinian land. It would seem clear that the Israelis never intended to give up the land on which the settlements were constructed. The long-term Israeli aggressive settlement policy during the last four decades did not waiver regardless of government in power, peace talks nor feeble interventions by the United States and other countries.

Religious Freedom and the Intifada

We were told by Palestinians of the exceptionally harsh living conditions that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have endured since 1967 and the worsening of these conditions since the al Aqsa Intifada began in late September 2000. Israeli’s reaction to this uprising, in contrast to the first Intifada, has included the use of American made heavy armaments such as tanks, helicopter gunships, attack aircraft and high explosives that have been judged to be excessive and disproportionate by all the major powers in the UN. In addition to these combat-type operations by Israeli occupation forces, Israel has deliberately taken measures to suffocate the Palestinian economy. Road destruction, roadblocks, Israeli military checkpoints, deep and wide trenches dug around entire cities have virtually imprisoned the Palestinian population inside individual cities and towns. Out of control settlers harass the Palestinians by cutting down olive tees and destroying citrus crops. These actions have serious economic consequences as goods and services are prevented from being delivered and many people cannot get to their places of employment. All of these measures amount to collective punishment of the Palestinian people in violation of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Since as early as 1995, Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, with few exceptions, have not been permitted to enter Israel. The closure of Jerusalem especially has prevented Palestinians Christians and Muslims from worshipping at some of the holiest sites in the Old City-The Via Dolorosa, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, The Dome of the Rock, and the al-Aqsa Mosque. A whole generation of Palestinians is emerging that has no familiarity with the Holy City of Jerusalem.

In addition to the closure of Jerusalem, we observed and were told of the frequent disruption of travel between West Bank towns and villages. For example, Father Iyad, a parish priest in Birzeit has felt free only once in the past nine months to travel to Aboud, a small Christian village only 10 miles from Birzeit. This is a trip that he would normally take once a month. Other inhibitions on travel occur daily to clergy attempting to perform their spiritual duties. The most senior Catholic clergy in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was prevented by Israeli soldiers from attending a scheduled mass at a West Bank village. On another occasion, an Israeli soldier shot at a clearly identified car carrying the Catholic bishop of Nazareth.

In sum, these inhibitions of religious freedom, deteriorating economic conditions and the threats to personal security are the leading causes of the alarming emigration from Christian communities in and around Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We did not observe or hear of deteriorating relations between Muslims and Christians. President Arafat himself has strongly supported the Christians and their churches. The principal reason for the dramatic rise in Christian emigration has been the continuing Israeli military occupation and the denial of the sovereignty of a Palestinian state wherein Christian Arabs could feel at home linguistically, culturally, and spiritually.

Travel Notes

Amman, Jordan

The first written record of Amman refers to the city as Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites, around 1200 BC. However, few traces of that history remain. During the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (238-246 BC) the city was rebuilt and renamed Philadelphia after him. When the city was conquered by King Herod in 30 BC, it became part of the Roman Empire. Philadelphia was then a member of the Decapolis, a loose confederation of ten Graeco-Roman cities, including Damascus, Pella, Gerasa (now Jerash) and Gandara (now Um Qeis), bound by powerful commercial, political, and cultural interests. Amman, situated on seven hills, was re-inhabited in 1879 after being abandoned for over 400 years. The city is kept very clean and organized and gives the impression that it is thoroughly cosmopolitan and westernized. Almost everybody had a cellular phone, even in the smaller towns and villages. Cellular phone service was available everywhere in the country. Amman was our base of operation in Jordan.

The Orthodox Club, Amman

H.E. Dr. Rajai Muasher, member of the Jordanian Upper House and Rajai Sukkar, President of the Orthodox Club in Amman graciously welcomed us to Jordan and expressed great interest in our mission to the Holy land. We were welcomed several times for meetings and dinner. We brought a strong message of hope that the local Christian communities will not have to stand-alone in the future. We established liaisons that will now enable HCEF help these indigenous communities develop programs to improve their own living conditions.

Petra

Petra is the legacy of the Nabetaeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in south Jordan over 2000 years ago. They dominated the trade routes of ancient Arabia, levying tolls and sheltering caravans laden with Arabian frankincense and myrrh, Indian spices and silks, African Ivory, and animal hides. Petra became widely admired for its refined culture, massive architecture, and ingenious complex of dams and water channels. Emperor Trajan annexed the city in 106 AD into the Province of Arabia and changed its trade routes leading to the city’s rapid decline in power and prosperity. By the 16th Century, Petra became lost to the west. After 300 years, a Swiss adventurer rediscovered it and archeological excavations began in 1924.

Hashemi, a poor suburb of Amman, Jordan

This Latin Patriarchate School and parish serves 500 Christian families. There are 7-10 children per family and the average income is $250 per month. The father is the only worker in the family. The school has 620 students from K-6th grade. The kindergarten has 20 students. The children start at 4 years of age. The population has diminished considerably since the school previously had over 1000 students. Tuition is 140 JD ($200) per year. Hardly anyone attending the school pays full tuition since the parents cannot afford to pay the full amount. Over $1million is subsidized by the Latin Patriarchate every year for the entire system.

Iraqi Chaldeans Christians from Kerak in the Hashemi Latin Patriarchate School

Many Chaldean Christians fled to Kerak, Jordan during the Gulf war in 1990. Like most refugees, they were impoverished and were supported by Christian community and agencies. The overall goal for the agencies helping the refugees is to relieve the Iraqi Chaldean poverty in Karak in order to stop the migration abroad. More than 200 families have left already. The migration pattern began in Karak, Jordan, then to Smakieh, Hachemi, Amman, Canada and finally the United States. The Iraqi Christians were not allowed to work or send their children to Jordanian public schools and as a result, they sold all their possessions and left the country. Presently there are 30 Iraqi Chaldean Christian children in the Latin Patriarchate School. Father Asraf and Miss Suha are responsible for the school.

Minister of Information, Dr. Taleb Rifai

Dr. Rifai told us that the Middle East region is passing through a critical stage and at present the conditions are extremely dangerous. Israeli society has revealed that it is willing to choose someone like Sharon to lead them and this is considered to be a desperate measure by the surrounding Arab nations. The Israeli agenda has no vision for a peaceful solution and so it merely continues the drastic repressive measures it has always used during crisis. The political vacuum alarms the Arab nations. The Bush administration is not seen as being ready to exert its influence to stabilize the situation. The European nations are enlightened and are waiting for leadership to achieve a peaceful solution. The Arab world is frustrated and impatient but is still anticipating an agenda for peace. There are others who say that the only way to resolve the issues is through violence. Dr. Rifai thinks that the region could go either way -to a violent confrontation or towards a peaceful solution. He noted that if America does not act soon violence becomes the most desired option and the situation could fly out of control since the level of frustration and despair is at a high point at the moment. Jordan’s influence and credibility will change over night since its population is 50% Palestinian and is very angry. America must put its weight and power behind a peaceful resolution of the issues.

Jordan had an ambitious agenda that was created when King Abdullah took power after his father, King Hussein, died. The King has to contend with a population of 5 million inhabitants, 2.2 million students, 50% of the population is less than 18 years of age and 50% of the population is Palestinian. The programs to combat poverty, open the minds of the people, encourage education, teach information technology and make English the second language and pursue a 21st century modernization program has now been put aside to devote the government’s entire energy to resolving the Palestinian issue. The administration spends a great deal of time keeping the nation’s people calm.

Although the Christian population represents only 4% of the total population, 11% of the Chamber of Deputies (elected) is Christian, 10% of the Senate (appointed by the King) is Christian and 2 of 26 cabinet ministers are Christian. The nation’s government administration has an ample representation of Christians.

The Minister of Information wants to establish a liaison between HCEF and his ministry to maintain contact and to exchange information.

Tourism Bureau – Marwan Khoury, Director, Priscilla Phillipi., Media Information Manager, Tourism Board of North America

Two years ago, the Tourism Bureau began to focus on the religious pilgrimage niche for the American and European Christians. The staff has concentrated on the general media, the meeting and incentive market. They had a good response from the national religious broadcasters and have been exhibitors at travel conventions. Larry Ross Asssociates in Houston Texas has been contracted to market Jordanian pilgrimages in the United States. He has 8 religious specialists 4 media specialists and 4 church leaders. Larry Ross will produce an eight-minute religious pilgrimage video on the religious sites in Jordan.

The Jordanian tourism staff provides links between the pilgrims and the Christian communities. The tour is promoted as a pilgrimage rather than a tourist venture. Meetings have occurred with religious leaders in the United States to promote religious pilgrimage to Jordan and Palestine. The Jordanian tourist Bureau will help the fact-finding mission from Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta Georgia. It was agreed that HCEF and the Tourist Bureau should collaborate in the future. It was also suggested that a cross-cultural conference be held in Jordan that would bring American and Jordanian Christians together to promote recognition of the Mother Church and provide opportunities for worship with local Christians. This program will encourage Jordanian HCEF community groups to develop ties with HCEF programs in the US. There is a need to develop a vision and program for the twinning process of American and Jordanian churches

Fuheis, Jordan, Father Dr. Hanna Kildani

Fuheis is a small Christian village located in a picturesque valley 30 minutes outside of Amman. This quaint village features a wonderful restaurant, gallery, and a small complex of craft shops presenting ceramics, weaving, jewelry, antiques and other items. In the summer, theatre and musical performances can be enjoyed outdoors. The local church congregation is Latin Catholic. We attended mass on Sunday at the Immaculate Heart of St. Mary’s (est. 1874) and we noted that the men wore Kaffieh without the ring while in church. The Mass was said in Arabic and Latin. Men sat on one side of the church and woman on the other side. The church was constructed of stone and had a vaulted ceiling. After mass we went to the reception hall for coffee and conversation. The reception hall appeared to be a former church that was preserved as a place for the congregation to meet after mass. It had five vaults for the ceiling and six pairs of pillars that served to support the ceiling. Each vault had cross structures in the ceiling we were told represented Mary’s praying hands. Like most reception halls we saw on our visit, chairs lined the walls and small tables were set in front of the chairs on which Turkish coffee and other refreshments were placed. Old photos of the church and surrounding area hung on the wall that displayed the church and surrounding area as a stony plain with stone walls surrounding a court yard with the church situated in the in the center of the courtyard. The surrounding area was a barren place with very little vegetation, in contrast to the present lush landscaping. This church, as with many of the churches we saw in Jordan and Palestine, had a large gated courtyard in front of the church that provided a place to park cars and for children o play safely off the street.

We met with the Christian leaders at the Fuheis Orthodox Club to hear their point of view related to our mission. Club is open to everyone in the village and all Christian denominations. The elders told us that the legitimacy of Palestinians rights had to be recognized and that the community was looking to the United States for enforcement of UN resolutions that guaranteed these rights. They wanted the implementation of international law so that they could reclaim their lands in Palestine. This was the aspiration of the entire Fuheis community. They did not feel that the Christian leadership represented the true aspirations of the Christian community and the people on the “street”. The West was the gateway for dialogue about regaining their rights in Palestine. There is a need to pass the desire for the west to take a strong and balanced stand on the Palestinian issue. The Arab world looks to the United States for this leadership. We mentioned that if the Fuheis community wanted to work with HCEF, then there is a need to unify the Christian community and speak with one voice, one vision, and one strategy, and one action plan for a few important projects with HCEF.

The Orthodox Society, Amman, Jordan

The Chairman of the of the society, Mr. Raouf Abjaber, said The Orthodox Society was founded in 1992 and has over 2000 members and 250 delegates, all volunteers, from all the Orthodox communities and churches in Jordan and Palestine. The group works to improve the living conditions of the Orthodox parishioners in Amman. The society promotes Islamic/Christian dialogue in order to maintain good relationships with the Muslim community. The main goal of the society, however, is to maintain the legacy of the Greek Orthodox Church and retain possession of all properties belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in the Holy Land. The society members are also strong advocates for an Arab patriarch in Jerusalem. There have been only two Arab Patriarchs in the last 450 years.

Madaba, Jordan, Father George Far

Madaba is located 30 miles south of Amman. Madeba has been inhabited for at least 4500 years, and is mentioned in the Bible as the Moabite town of Medeba (Numbers 21:30). After several centuries of Moabite and Nabataean rule, Madeba and the surrounding lands became part of the Roman Province of Arabia with the emperor Trajan’s conquest of the Nabataean Kingdom in 106 AD. During the 1st Century AD, Christianity spread rapidly through Arabia, but believers were persecuted by the Romans Several martyrs died for their beliefs in Madaba, under the orders of Diocletian. In the 4th Century, the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, which became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. From the 5th Century onwards, Madaba had its own bishop, and numerous churches were constructed in the Byzantine era from the 6th to the 7th Century. Mosaic floors were the hallmark of this era and continued to be made in Madeba until the 8th Century. In 749 AD, a devastating earthquake leveled the city and it was abandoned. In 1897, three Christian families, consisting of a group of 2000 people, migrated to Madaba from the ancient crusader town of Karak. After that event, the city became predominantly Christian. Numerous mosaics were discovered when new housing and churches were built to provide churches and housing for the new immigrants. When the State of Israel was formed, many Palestinians moved to the city and the demographics changed to include a large Muslim population. At present, Christians represent 15% of the population or about 10,000 people. The remaining 50,000 people are Muslim. In time, Christians migrated and nearly 50% of people from Madeba live abroad. There are fewer baptisms now (50/year) than ten ears ago (100/year). Three Christian denominations predominate: Catholic, Orthodox and Melkite.

The Latin Patriarchate schools in Madaba are over 100 years old. The church provides education for Christians and Muslims at several schools. Teacher salaries are low but teachers remain because they see their work as a mission for the Church. Teacher salary ranges from 179 JD to 250 JD per month. One would have to earn between 400-600 JD per month to be above the poverty line. Approximately, 33% of the population is below the poverty line. A teacher with a high school education can receive a teacher diploma after teaching for 15 years. The teachers are poorly trained and often the most experienced teachers will move on to higher paying jobs in the public or private schools. The Latin Schools do not have libraries or sports equipment. There are 9 people per square meter of classroom space. In Madaba, a boy’s school offers grades 6-12 and has 310 students and 22 staff. Twelve percent of the students are Muslim. A girl’s school, and a kindergarten complete the Latin Patriarchate education system in Madaba. A total of 1500 students attend Latin Patriarchate Schools in Madaba, most of them are Christian. Academic achievement is high. It is hoped that in the future a Christian College or University will be built in Madaba so that Christian education will be able to contribute to Jordanian society.

The tuition is 300 JD ($429) per year. Tuition will be increased this year due to a $200,000 deficit. The actual cost per student is 500 JD per student. Increasing cost for education is due to salary increases (salaries are the lowest of all the school systems in the country) and higher standards set by the Ministry of Education for computer science that require computer labs and classes in C++ computer language. School counselor program had to be dropped due lack of funds. This program was doing important work since children with social and learning pathologies were being treated on a regular basis. Muslim schools in Madaba receive funding from Christians in the United States but the same charities are not helping the Christian schools in Madaba. A vocational school funded by the Government of Belgium provides training for electricians, car mechanics and surveyors.

In Jordan and other Arab countries in the Middle East, Christians look to the Church to help them during difficult times and when the church is unable to respond to their needs, the parishioners leave the church, some become Muslim or emigrate. Christians look at the support that the Christian West has provided Israel and this creates a sense of despair since very little help is given to the Christians.

St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba contains a remarkable mosaic map that portrays the entire ancient Holy Land from the Phoenician cities Tyre and Sidon in the north to Egypt to the south, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the desert in the east. The mosaic was discovered in 1897 when a flat area on a hill was chosen on which to build a church. When the area was cleared for construction, a church foundation and a large mosaic was discovered that represented the floor of an ancient Byzantine church built around 560 AD. The mosaic was originally and astounding 15.7X5.6 meters and at present is 15×3 meters. It displays all the major cities and features in the Holy Land with remarkable accuracy. Most important city is Jerusalem, located in the center of the map, and all its features including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Cardo Maximus, a colonnaded main street, built by the Romans after they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, that ran east-west through the center of the old city. There are 157 captions written in Greek that name most of the important features of the Holy Land at that time. The mosaic also includes the Jordanian towns of Kerak and Madeba.

Smakieh, Jordan, Father Rifat Badr

This Christian village of Latin and Melkite traditions is located south of Madaba was established in 1883 after Christian Bedouins migrated from Jazzin, Arabia. The local parish has had 33 priests since the parish and school was established in 1909. The agricultural village was named after its shape was noticed to resemble a fish. It is inhabited by 130 Christian families; 60% of the population is below 25 years of age. The people of the parish are poor and thus only 10 JD ($14.00) is collected during Sunday Mass. Approximately 135 young people go to the local university and are learning skills in teaching and nursing. Since there is no direct transportation to the university, students have to start at 8:30 am to attend a 12 Noon class. Some enter the military after school and are able to receive early retirement after completing military service. Young people go to church for spiritual services and youth groups and as a result build friendships with others outside the village. The local parish also works to provide electricity, water and health services for the parishioners. The First Presbyterian Church of Houston has provided young people for two summers to assist the local parish to provide a summer camp for its children. A third summer camp is planned for 2001. The program includes Christian fellowship and binds the American and Jordanian cultures and heritages together in mutual understanding; the young Americans gain an understanding that the Christian faith has been present in the Middle East for several thousand years. The Houston congregation has provided money for a new kindergarten and furniture. The kindergarten was in the process of being built when we visited. The local area only supports agriculture and the village is searching for other opportunities to create new jobs for the local population in both teaching and nursing. The partnership with the Houston Church helps the young people think of future life goals. The village is isolated and very few people visit and the government neglects it since it is so isolated. The people of the village see the need of a recreational center. Bus transportation is also identified as an important resource so that students can travel to and from the university.

Karak, Jordan, Father Khalil Jaar

Karak is the home of the Crusader fort located high on a hill overlooking the city. Approaching Karak, one passes through Wadi Mujib, a precipitous canyon 1000 meters deep. The fort itself is a maze of stone vaulted halls and endless passageways. The best-preserved are those underground guarded by a locked door. Each Crusader stronghold was built a day’s journey from its neighbor. At night a beacon was lit at each castle to signal to Jerusalem that it was safe. Karak’s most famous occupant was Reynald de Chatillon, whose reputation for treachery, betrayal and brutality was unsurpassed. Reynald eventually suffered a massive defeat by Saladin. He was taken prisoner and was beheaded, an event that marked the beginning of the decline of Crusader fortunes in the Holy Land.

The Latin Patriarchate High School in Karak was recently completed and provides education for both Christian and Muslim students. The inhabitants of Karak were Arab Christian Bedouins converted to Christianity by St. Paul who migrated from the Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia after Muslim forces lead by the second “rightly guided” Caliph ‘Umar expelled them in 644.

Addr, Jordan

Adder is a mixed village of Christians (33%) and Muslims (66%). There are about 80 Christian families in Adder and the congregation consists of 400-500 members. Families are large and there are an average of 6-7 children per family. Melkite Christians are integrated into the Latin parish. Good relations exist between the Christian and Muslim villagers. The Latin Patriarchate primary school offers grades K-3 and has 380 students. The school is considered to be the best school between Aqaba and Madaba and consistently wins prizes for its excellence. Upon graduation from the primary school the students go to the state run schools in the region. Father Basheer Bader is the parish priest in Adder.

His Excellency El Hassan bin Talal, Royal Palace , Jordan

We were hosted by Prince Hassan, author of Christianity in the Arab World in which he wrote that, in mediaeval times,