The Premised Land: Palestine and Israel

in They Came and They Saw
ed. Naim Ateek & Michael Prior (London: Melisende 1999)

As a young Christian at Sussex University in the mid-1970’s I was strongly influenced by Dispensational and Christian Zionist leaders such as David Pawson, Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. Devouring Hal Lindsey’s best-selling book, The Late Great Planet Earth (Lindsey 1970), and hearing in person his lectures on eschatology and the Book of Revelation (Lindsey 1983), it seemed as if the Bible was literally coming true in this generation.

The Jews, the chosen people, had been brought back to their promised land in 1948. Apparently, the prophetic clock was now ticking. God had miraculously delivered them again in 1967 giving victory over their Arab enemies. Jerusalem, their eternal capital, was now at last, once again, under Jewish sovereignty. The Temple would soon be rebuilt. The prophetic signs were being fulfilled on the front pages of our newspapers. The world seemed to be rushing toward a cataclysmic end in the great battle of Armageddon. The threat of nuclear war, the fear of world domination by atheistic communism, as well as Palestinian terrorism were futile attempts to annihilate the Jewish people and destroy the State of Israel. The moral responsibility of evangelical, Bible-believing Christians was clear - stand with God’s ‘chosen’ people, because God was on the side of those who ‘blessed’ Israel.

The Perplexing Land: How my attitudes began to change

Along side these Zionist convictions there was also a strong desire to visit the Holy Land to see for myself where Jesus walked. It never occurred to me that there might be an indigenous Church, except for the small but growing assemblies of Messianic believers spoken of in revered but hushed tones.

My First Pilgrimage : Misinformation

Friends associated with the Garden Tomb and the Churches Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) helped me plan my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1990. On their advice a Messianic guide called Zvi was engaged to lead our group. With the Intifada at its height it did not appear strange that he was unwilling to meet us at our hotel in Arab East Jerusalem. Instead we picked him up near the Jaffa Gate in West Jerusalem. The sight of heavily armed Israeli soldiers, encounters with occasional stone-throwing Palestinian children, and Zvi’s opinion that some of the archaeological sites on the West Bank were ‘unsafe’ for tourists fuelled my latent prejudice against Palestinians.

Our memorable tour began with a visit to Yad Vashem, the Shoah museum. This helped explain the Israeli preoccupation with security. They could not rely on the West any more than they had done in the 1930’s. During the week Zvi enthusiastically showed us how the new State of Israel was turning a barren and deserted wilderness into a land flowing with milk and honey. We visited the Kibbutz at En Gev in the Golan with its armour-plated tractors, and Masada to witness the heroic last stand of the Zealots against the Roman invaders.

My ‘conversion’ came in two parts. The first came on the Via Dolorosa, at the Lithostrotos, the Roman pavement below street level at the Sisters of Zion convent. A member of the party asked Zvi an innocuous question about the Palestinians. He responded by giving us all a piece of paper with the heading ‘Who are the Palestinians?’ Ignoring the significance of the archaeological site before us, he proceeded to ‘prove’ that there was no such thing as a Palestinian. They had no unique history, culture or language. They were Arabs who had entered Israel in the early 20th Century to threaten the fledgling State of Israel. Zvi was adamant, the Arabs should return to Arabia. The Jews had a divine right to Eretz Yisrael which extended from the Nile to the Euphrates.

The second part of my change of mind came in a meeting later that week with Riah Abu El Assal, then Archdeacon of Nazareth. In a simple presentation he explained how he was a Christian Arab Palestinian Israeli. He spoke of the historic presence of an indigenous Church in Palestine long before the founding of the young State of Israel. He shared with us his joy at just receiving back his Israeli passport. He had been banned from travel abroad for four years without explanation, or charges ever having been made. At the end of his presentation Riah warmly shook hands with Zvi and we left Nazareth. But my bubble had burst. We had met a real life Christian Palestinian. They did exist. And so begun the stream of questions that would not go away.

Back in Britain the search began to make sense of the historical and theological issues behind the Arab-Israeli conflict. Among the most helpful guides were Kenneth Cragg (1982; 1992), Colin Chapman (1983), Gary Burge (1993), and Dan O’Neill and Donald Wagner (1993). There were also biographies of several Palestinian Christians. 1990 was a significant year seeing the publication of three important books by Naim Ateek, Elias Chacour and Audeh Rantisi.

West Bank Tour with Garth Hewitt: Radicalisation

In the 1980’s Garth Hewitt and I found ourselves on the same ministry team at St Saviour’s, Guildford. Discovering our common interest in Palestine, Garth invited me to join him on a concert tour of Jerusalem and West Bank churches in early 1991.

Garth had written a series of songs about the plight of Palestinians and the issues of justice and peace in the Middle East. He has a rare talent for empathising with people in such a way to express in song their pain and suffering, their faith and hope. It was a most moving experience to hear him sing about Palestine to a wide range of Palestinian audiences, both Christian and Muslim. Someone understood them and had the courage to voice it, unafraid to sing about Palestine.

Conditions for travel were difficult with tensions high due to the Intifada and draconian Israeli security measures. The tour included concerts in East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Zababida, Nazareth, as well as Amman and Salt in Jordan. In East Jerusalem, for example, a concert was arranged at the Hakawati Theatre, a Palestinian cultural centre. The theatre was packed and the reception Garth received from the audience, almost exclusively Muslim, was incredible. The noise from their clapping and cheering was deafening, and I feared he had started a riot. As if to confirm my suspicions, as we left the theatre, we were confronted with a blazing yellow-plated Israeli car left in the wrong place and now a ‘legitimate’ target. Trying to get close to take photographs I was dragged back into our car as the Israeli military jeeps arrived to investigate.

Later, the Bishop of Jerusalem, Samir Kafity, wanted us to experience life in a Palestinian village under occupation so he arranged for us to stay overnight with families in Zababida following a concert in the little Anglican chapel there. Driving through the West Bank required the use of a couple of brightly coloured keffiyeh strategically placed on the dash board to avoid our being mistaken for Jewish settlers. We found ourselves experiencing the harsh conditions faced by Palestinians every day under brutal military occupation, hidden from the touristic gaze of pilgrims travelling just a few miles away in the Jordan Valley.

The day we arrived in Zababida, the Israeli authorities had cut off the water supply and electricity as a collective punishment because the village had refused to pay a fine. Each family had to carry water from the ancient well, while a limited supply of electricity was provided by a communal generator the village had bought in order to become self-sufficient. It was not powerful enough, however, to provide for the whole village at the same time so each house was rationed to a couple of hours of electricity per night. Even in the church we had a choice between Garth’s amplifer or the electric fans. As guests of the community we found ourselves being hosted by different families, taken from house to house, following the supply of electricity around the community as the evening wore on. The following morning after enjoying typical Palestinian hospitality, we heard that the village was now under a closed military curfew. As Garth had a concert in Jerusalem that evening a brave soul agreed to run the gauntlet and drive us out of the village back to Jerusalem. Even Bishop Samir Kafity and his driver were not exempt. Wishing to attend the concert in Zebabdeh the night before, Bishop Samir was threatened at gunpoint at a roadblock by Israeli soldiers who tried to prevent his journey. ‘Come this way again and we will shoot you’, he was warned.

In Ramallah, Garth’s concert was one of the first public gatherings permitted by the Israeli military authorities after months of arrests, intimidation and nightly curfews. Audeh Rantisi was our host, a gracious and warm pastor who, with his wife, Patricia founded the Evangelical Home for Boys. Audeh spoke loudly and powerfully of his conviction that peace would never come to Israel until there was justice to the Palestinian as well. Warm-hearted yet outspoken, he insisted there were two ways to spell ‘peace’. 'If the Zionists insist on spelling it "piece" they will never find security with their Arab neighbours.' Having read his book, Blessed are the Peacemakers (Rantisi 1990) before the tour, it was a delight to be asked by his publisher to take photos of the boys from the Home for the front cover of the UK edition. Unfortunately, the provocative graffiti on the walls behind the boys in my photos somehow disappeared in the process of publication.

On this and subsequent tours my convictions were further shaped by deepening friendships with Naim Ateek of Sabeel, Jonathan Kuttab, a human rights lawyer, Edmund Shehadeh, of the Arab Bethlehem Centre for Rehabilitation in nearby Beit Jala, Zougbi Zougbi of Wi’am, a conflict resolution centre in Bethlehem, Bishara Awad of Bethlehem Bible College, Salim Munayer of Musalaha, a reconciliation project in Bethlehem, Cedar Duyabis of the YWCA, East Jerusalem, and Tom Getman of World Vision. Though a small and diminishing presence in the Holy Land, the Palestinian Church has been blessed by God with some courageous and outspoken leaders.

Zahi Nassir: Identification

In 1992, at the request of Bishop Samir, a three month visit to our Diocese of Guildford (UK) was arranged for the Revd Zahi Nassir from Nazareth. Newly ordained, the intention was to broaden Zahi’s experience of the Anglican Communion. During his stay in our home, three notable events stand out which helped me understand what it felt like to be a Palestinian.

At a clergy gathering Zahi had the opportunity to meet the Mayor of Guildford. Attempting no doubt to be welcoming, the Mayor explained that she had 'once met your Prime Minister, Golda Meir.' Zahi politely informed her that Golda Meir was not his Prime Minister. 'She had been a good Prime Minister to her own people but not for the Palestinians.' There was incomprehension in the Mayor's face and an embarrassing silence ensued until someone moved the conversation on to less controversial matters.

At another event intended to give Zahi an opportunity to speak about Palestine to Christians in Guildford, a senior member of a large evangelical church stood up and asked if Zahi could answer a basic question, 'What is a Palestinian?' Zahi handled the insult with dignity inviting the Zionist to answer it himself. Nevertheless the public embarrassment of having to justify the existence of his own people cast a shadow over Zahi’s stay. Kenneth Cragg’s assessment that Zionists seek to perpetuate the myth of ‘the political non-existence of Palestinians' (1992: 241) was borne out during his visit.

On another occasion Zahi travelled to Wales by train and borrowed a book of mine to read on the way. He chose Israel, An Apartheid State by Uri Davis (1987). Nervous at being seen reading the book, he made a brown paper dust cover to hide the title. It had never occurred to me that reading a book on a train in England might be perceived as a threat to the security of Israel, and therefore be a hazardous pursuit for a Palestinian.

On what were, by now, becoming regular visits to Israel-Palestine, my affinity for Palestinians grew as I had to endure intrusive and rigorous interrogations from Israeli security staff at Ben Gurion airport, but also sadly at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, presumably with the connivance of the British government. Elias Chacour’s description of the degrading treatment he and other Palestinians endure when travelling, solely because of their race, and its similarity to the way Nazis treated Jews less than 40 years earlier is most poignant (Chacour 1990: 1-5).

At the end of a visit to participate in Zahi’s priesting, we debated whether he should come with me into the airport terminal at Ben Gurion, or whether we should say goodbye in the car park. He had been embarrassed on a flight to Cyprus when a group of expatriate clergy had disassociated themselves from him and fellow Palestinian clergy in order to obtain more lenient treatment going through airport security. We decided not to be intimidated.

Two Israeli security staff approached us and asked me, 'Is he with you?' When I replied that Zahi was a friend of mine, they wanted to know his name and address. It was surreal. They dealt with him through me as if he were a child, or an adult who could not speak for himself. They disappeared to check his name on their database. 'Was he on your list?', I asked. 'No', they replied. 'Did you check my name?', I added. 'Should we?', they queried. 'You never know', I responded with a smile.

On the pretext of 'airline security' often detailed and personal questions are asked about friendships, contacts and places visited that go well beyond the legitimate needs of aircraft safety. This form of interrogation, unique to Israel, appears more to do with intimidation and intelligence gathering than airline safety.

My worst encounter occurred in 1992 on a trip to Israel and Jordan for a concert tour with Garth Hewitt. Having travelled alone back from Amman that morning via the Allenby Bridge to Tel Aviv I was interrogated for nearly three hours and enjoyed the delights of a body search, as well as the inspection of the entire contents of my luggage. The Israeli security staff threatened to withhold my cameras and would not believe that I was an Anglican vicar. They accused me of spying, a life-long but sadly unrealised ambition, and they eventually escorted me to the waiting plane. I was even forbidden to carry my cameras in my hand luggage. Guilty of many things, it is nevertheless a disturbing ‘Orwellian’ experience to find yourself unable to convince people that you are who you say you are.

The Premised Land: My Response

Pilgrimage Research: Investigation

Between 1993 and 1997, growing interest in pilgrimages gave the impetus for post graduate research into the impact of pilgrimages on the Palestinians. This involved interviewing over one hundred pilgrims and Palestinian Christians and surveying twenty-five British tour operators. The results revealed deep-seated prejudices and stereotyped caricatures of Palestinians and a lamentable lack of contact between pilgrims and the indigenous Christians. For example one operator explained why, in common with all other tour companies, they did not refer to the land as Palestine.

We never use the word ‘Israel’ in our brochures and I've always stuck with that... We always use the word ‘Holy Land’. ‘Palestine’ is equally emotive. Our people are not going there for political reasons, they're going to the holy places. The place has always been called the Holy Land and we try to keep to that (Sizer 1994).

A survey among pilgrims of their associations or connotations of words like Jew, Arab and Palestinian showed the term ‘Palestinian’ to be the least positive, the least neutral and the most negative image of the three (Sizer 1994).

The presence of tens of thousands of Western Christian tourists and pilgrims in the Holy Land at any one time has great potential for good. Ironically, for the most part, the Western Christian presence does great harm. That is because most Christians visiting the Holy Land follow a predetermined itinerary purposely designed or encouraged by the Israeli Government Ministry of Tourism to bring them into contact with a Jewish Israel perpetuating a myth of the Zionist dream being fulfilled. Like my own first tour, typically itineraries include the Knesset, Yad Vashem, Masada, the Dead Sea, an Israeli cultural evening and a Jewish Kibbutz, all under the watchful influence of a licensed Jewish guide. Contact with Palestinians and visits within the Occupied Territories are avoided as much as possible. Even the tourist maps made available free by the Israeli government no longer show the international borders of the West Bank or Syrian Golan Heights. My research found that something like 95 per cent of pilgrims who visit the Holy Land have no contact at all with the indigenous Palestinian Church. Most tour groups are oblivious of the fact that they will be passing into illegally held 'Occupied Territories' on the West Bank, in order to visit places such as the Old City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Jericho.

In the analysis of pilgrimage tour operators, four categories emerged. In terms of comparative influence, to secular operators the presence of an indigenous Church is irrelevant; Christian operators are largely ignorant and Zionists antagonistic. Only the comparative few operators who identify with the name 'Living Stones' offer any genuine dialogue or intercourse between pilgrims and Palestinian Christians.

The vast majority of UK Operators appear ignorant of the ethical issues implicit in their business. They fail to recognise how they are manipulated by the Israeli authorities and how detrimental their business is to the indigenous Christian community. Based on this evidence it is not surprising that so few pilgrimage groups ever meet with Palestinians.

Kenneth Cragg observes,

Sharp moral issues are easily submerged by outsiders in archaeology or tourism, while the local Christianity is relegated to sentiment and the museum (Cragg 1992: 235).

It is hard to imagine what it must feel like to watch countless air-conditioned coaches full of Christians from around the world driving past your crumbling church and impoverished community every day to visit yet another holy site, guided by someone of another religion, and fearful of any contact with you because they have been fed the lie that you and your people are 'terrorists'. Based on many interviews with Palestinian Christians it is clear that radical changes are needed in the practice of pilgrimages to the Holy Land if we are not to perpetuate or exacerbate the gradual haemorrhaging of the Palestinian Church.

How should Christians respond to this situation? This is the ultimate challenge and the primary ethical issue facing pilgrimage operators and tour leaders in the immediate future. Surely it also constitutes the agenda for responsible tourism to the Holy Land. Elias Chacour echoes the feelings of many Palestinian Christian leaders on this when he said,

Your visit to Ibillin was not just a courtesy visit but an act of solidarity with your brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to know that you care and we are not forgotten. We have been deprived for 50 years (Sizer 1994: 107)

Robert Assally, the then Director of the Middle East Council of Churches Liaison Office in Jerusalem, highlighted the wider and strategic value of responsible pilgrimages.

Contact between visitors and the local church can only serve to strengthen the local Christian position which is a minority among three religions, yet very much involved in the peace process long before the formal peace process was made public. They are in a good position to mediate between East and West, what pilgrims are doing is strengthening the hand of the peace makers and that can have a terribly important impact here (Sizer 1994: 107)

Kenneth Cragg summarises the issue the Palestinian Church faces daily.

Local Christians are caught in a degree of museumization. They are aware of tourists who come in great volume from the West to savour holy places but who are, for the most part, blithely disinterested in the people who indwell them. The pain of the indifference is not eased insofar as the same tourism is subtly manipulated to make the case for the entire legitimacy of the statehood that regulates it (Cragg 1992:28).

The ethical issues and decisions encountered in promoting responsible tourism to the Holy Land are therefore considerable and complex. Those over which Western Christians have some influence include the choice of British or Israeli airline; Jewish or Palestinian land agents guides, and bus companies; whether to accept subsidies or promotional material from the Israeli government ministry of tourism; and the level of payment made for services provided in the country. For example, Israeli guides invariably earn significantly more than Palestinian guides.

A number of specific and practical recommendations for pilgrimage tour operators, leaders and guides followed as a result of this research. For example, tour operators and leaders are urged to ensure that within itineraries adequate time is given for meetings with Palestinian Christians, especially those in the Occupied Territories, and that long term reciprocal relations are nurtured between their churches.

Travel on Sundays should be avoided and time taken to worship with the local Christian communities, under their own leadership. Formal liturgical worship in hotels or locations without the participation of indigenous Christians should also be avoided. Itineraries should include visits to Christian charitable and humanitarian projects such as hospitals and schools.

Wherever possible Christian agencies, buses, hostels, hospices and guides should be used that will bring revenue to the indigenous Palestinian economy, in preference to those agencies of a purely tourist nature which are under Israeli control.

The initial research led to the award of an MTh with distinction from Oxford University (Sizer 1994). Further research undertaken between 1994-1997, which amplified and enhanced the initial findings, resulted in the award of a DPhil from International Management Centres (Sizer 1997d).

Pilgrims and Peacemakers: Illumination

In 1995 Garth Hewitt and I made a second concert tour of churches in Israel and the Occupied Territories. This also provided the inspiration for his book Pilgrims and Peacemakers, based on interviews we had with Jewish and Palestinian peacemakers (Hewitt 1995). One episode in the book highlights an unusual application of the parable of the Good Samaritan. After a rather tense visit to Gaza when I had naively accepted a lift in a yellow-plated Israeli car into the heart of Gaza city to speak at an Anglican Service, we decided a short break would be good, and I offered to show Garth the beautiful scenery of northern Galilee. It was February, and by mid afternoon the light was fading as I drove a borrowed minibus up the winding road past Mount Hermon and into the snowy slopes of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Above the snow line we encountered a group of young Israeli army conscripts. They were cold, wet and tired and wanted a lift. We nervously ignored them and carried on driving up into the darkness. With hopes of showing Garth the isolated UN post at Qunaytirah fading we turned round and headed home. As we turned a corner our headlights caught the shape of one of the young soldiers lying in the road, his companions attempting to revive him. Wet and cold he appeared to have hypothermia. Garth helped them lift the semi-conscious soldier into the mini-bus and we continued to descend before being met by an army vehicle that took the unknown soldier to hospital.

Despite my anger at the arrogant Israeli settlers and soldiers I had encountered in Gaza the day before, I realised that these young conscripts just 17 years old were as vulnerable, needy and human as my Palestinian friends. It reminded me of Abuna Elias Chacour’s profound statement that we are not born Jews, Arabs or British. First of all God makes us all babies. The encounter made me more determined than ever to,

Pray not for Arab or Jew,

for Palestinian or Israeli

But pray rather for ourselves

That we might not divide them in our prayers

But keep them both together in our hearts (Hewitt 1995: 149).

Responsible Tourism: Solidarity

With the assistance of Highway Journeys, and in partnership with Amos Trust, a series of ‘Living Stones’ pilgrimages was arranged from 1994-1997. The specific purpose was to bring together British pilgrims and Palestinian Christians. The aim was to recreate the kind of pilgrimage undertaken before the rise of modern secular tourism, where pilgrims went to live with, worship with, and be guided by the indigenous Christians. The intention was to experience something of the ancient spirituality of the Holy Land as well as learn from this suffering Church how they witness to the Christian faith in terms of justice, peacemaking and interfaith dialogue. The accommodation, agents and guide were chosen specifically in order to bring maximum benefit to the local Christian Church and Palestinian tourist economy.

Most tour groups treat Sundays as just another day for visiting sites, or hold private Communion Services in their hotels or at places like the Garden Tomb with expatriates. Instead. we insisted that our group worship with the local Christian communities, in their own language, singing their hymns and following their liturgies. The fellowship at St George's in Jerusalem and Christ Church in Nazareth, for example, is always warm, appreciated and unforgettable. Rather than fill each day with visits to archaeological sites we began to map out itineraries that included visits to refugee camps, reconciliation projects, demolished homes, hospitals and schools. Despite repeated closures we have managed to get into Gaza with our groups on each occasion. Where 99 per cent of the population are Muslim, it is astonishing to find that it is the Anglican Church which runs the only free hospital

Whilst evangelicals may be critical of the liberal agenda of the World Council of Churches, it is heartening to find that on what must be one of the most densely populated pieces of land on earth, the Near East Council of Churches is putting the Gospel into action, offering vital educational and vocational training to refugees irrespective of their ethnic or religious background.

The impact of taking a large tour group into Gaza was very significant, attracting in 1994, quite unintentionally, the interest of international journalists and film crews, recording reactions to the signing of the Peace Accord at the border. According to our Palestinian guide, it was the first visit of its kind by such a large group in five years or more. Feedback from the participants on each occasion was immensely encouraging.

In Jericho, while we watched tour buses hurtle past to go and photograph a two hundred year old sycamore tree that Zaccheus most certainly did not climb, we discovered a community of Christians. In what looks like a deserted refugee camp from the wars of 1948 and 1967, the YMCA, World Vision and Christian Aid are investing in the future of Palestine, giving young men and women the chance to learn vocational skills such as in car mechanics, carpentry and computers. It was embarrassing to discover on our first visit that we were the only British group to ever visit the camp.

One of the songs Garth was asked to sing repeatedly as we met with indigenous Christian communities right across Israel and the Occupied Territories is called, 'Ten Measures of Beauty' in which he calls us all to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The chorus is a prayer:

May the justice of God fall down like fire

and bring a home for the Palestinian.

May the mercy of God pour down like rain

and protect the Jewish people.

And may the beautiful eyes of a Holy God who weeps for His children

Bring the healing hope for His wounded ones

For the Jew and the Palestinian.

The cumulative effect of what has increasingly become known as ‘Living Stones’ tours has been much more constructive in its impact on both pilgrims and Palestinian Christians, leading to long term relationships and mission partnerships. Highway Journeys, for example, have subsequently formed a Highway Projects team which has taken a number of teams of young people from Britain to assist with Palestinian youth camps in Ibillin and restoration projects such as at the Four Homes of Mercy in Bethany and the Princess Basma hospital on the Mount of Olives.

Eyewitness Testimony: Publication

Beginning in 1995, I was invited to write a series of articles for Evangelicals Now, based on interviews with Palestinian Christian leaders about the political and theological issues surrounding the peace process.^[1] The flak received from Zionist readers, hostile to a pro-Palestinian perspective, gave some indication of the depth of feeling within British evangelicalism on the Arab-Israeli issue. Despite further criticism and even the occasional anonymous threat, the articles began to flow, and more importantly, they were published. These included ‘Where to Find Christ in the Holy Land’ (Sizer 1996); ‘The Mountain of the Wall, the Battle for Jerusalem’ (Sizer 1997); and ‘Barak and the Bulldozers’ (Sizer 1999).

With the political situation in Israel deteriorating , in part, due to the provocative decision to continue with the building of an exclusive Jewish Settlement on confiscated land overlooking the popular pilgrimage site of the Shepherds Fields outside Bethlehem, the Church Times carried an article on the controversy surrounding the Har Homa settlement (1998b). Written following a pilgrimage organised by the writer for the Diocese of Guildford and led by the Bishop of Guildford, the intention was to highlight the political strategy and economic incentive behind the settlement which has profound and disturbing ramifications for the indigenous Christian community.

It lays siege to the Christian Palestinian communities of Beit Sahour and Bethlehem. It eliminates their land reserves, isolates them from Jerusalem and cuts them off from the rest of the West Bank to the north. It threatens the very existence of these ancient Christian communities... This settlement is also part of a deliberate and ambitious plan to build a new tourist city on the northern entrance to Bethlehem called, 'Bethlehem, Israel'. This tourist centre will inevitably further suffocate family-owned Christian businesses in Bethlehem and Beit Sahour and deprive the already flagging Palestinian economy of badly needed revenue.

According to Afif Safieh, the Palestinian General Delegate to the UK, and a Christian, 'The economic repercussion of the Jabal Abu Ghoneim - Har Homa settlement will inevitably result in driving the Christian community into exile' (Sizer 1998b:7). Clearly the intentions of the Israeli Government to create a ‘Disney-style’ Bethlehem in time for the Millennium celebrations and the large number of additional visitors raises serious ethical issues which Tour Operators and pilgrimage tour leaders cannot avoid.

Further Research: Recognition

Following interest in my research (see Ateek 1997:130; Wills 1997:18; Prior 1997:325), an invitation was received to speak at the 3rd International Sabeel Conference in Bethlehem in 1998 on Christian Zionism from a British Perspective (Sizer 1999a). Similar invitations came from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, Centre for Jewish Studies; Wycliffe Hall, Oxford; Bethlehem Bible College together with Bristol, Wells and Chester Cathedrals. In the same year the opportunity arose to convene a global internet conference on ‘ethics in tourism’ for MCB University Press, the world’s largest publisher of management journals. This brought together academics and practitioners from around the world leading to the guest editing of a double edition of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (Sizer 1999b). Tearfund, the largest evangelical relief agency in Britain has subsequently begun to address the issue of ‘ethical tourism’, helped by the conference and subsequent meetings (Gordon 1999).

In May 1998 a radical initiative led to an alternative tourism stand called ‘Rediscovering Palestine’ at the annual Christian Resource Exhibition (CRE) held at Sandown Park, attended by many thousands of Christian leaders and Church members. Over twenty agencies and charities involved in the Holy Land were brought together to promote responsible tourism to Palestine. The issue of the ethical management of tourism to Palestine will be raised in a lecture at CRE 2000.

Christian Zionism: Confrontation

Research so far into pilgrimages to the Holy Land has highlighted how the Palestinian Christian community has suffered isolation, discrimination and persecution akin to 'ethnic cleansing' or a form of apartheid. Palestinian Christians presently are caught between three forms of religious fundamentalism: Muslim, Jewish and a Christian fundamentalism infatuated with Zionism, which in the words of Donald Wagner, is 'Anxious for Armageddon' (Wagner 1995).

Christian Zionism is a complex, controversial and extremely influential theological movement, that pervades Western evangelicalism and Pentecostalism. Its impact on the indigenous Church of the Holy Land has been almost wholly negative.

Until now there has been little critical research into its theological origins or its variant forms (but see Prior 1999; Wagner 1995). Consequently it has been assumed by many advocates as well as critics that evangelicalism and Christian Zionism are synonymous (Sharif 1983). For instance, many fundamentalists believe that the Judaeo-Christian scriptures endorse a Zionist agenda giving the contemporary State of Israel a divine mandate to rule Eretz Yisrael, with Jerusalem her sovereign capital, centred on a rebuilt Jewish temple. Further doctoral research currently in process is examining these assumptions and will provide a critical appraisal of the movement. A classification of comparative forms of Christian Zionism based on their historical roots, theological hermeneutic and political ramifications is much needed and could form the basis for constructive dialogue between proponents and protagonists in the future.

The Promised Land: Conclusions

In 1971, Archbishop George Khodr of Beruit made this prediction.

According to our knowledge, after four more decades of the rhythm of evacuation, no Christians will be left in Jerusalem. The result will be that the Holy Places will remain without the presence of the people. It will be an assemblage of churches.... viewed in that land as a pre-Israeli relic... It will be like visiting Baalbec when you see the Temples of Bacchus and Jupiter and then without any emotion except the aesthetic emotion... Some religious influences will be left, some nuns... and highly qualified professors of theology, and archaeologists from the Protestant world who will serve as natural guides for tourists (in Cragg 1982:110).

Kenneth Cragg argues that Western Christians should not leave the responsibility of rectifying such a situation to the Israeli authorities, since they are only concerned with maintaining access to shrines, exploiting Western Christian tourism and bringing in 'lucrative foreign exchange'. The absence of Palestinian Christians simply makes the realisation of this objective less complicated.

If Christian minorities suffer... it is no more than unfortunate. The Christian museum will be in safe hands (Cragg 1982:111).

In the light of my research, travels and encounters with the indigenous Christians of the Holy Land, I continue to wrestle with the question as to whether they have a future. There seems a very real danger in the creation of what Archbishop George Carey once described as 'an empty Christian Disney World.'

The indigenous Christians of Israel-Palestine will have a future only when their basic human rights come to be recognised; only if Western governments begin to apply the same sanctions against Israel as were used against apartheid South Africa or the ‘ethnic cleansing’ by Serbs in Kosovo; only if Western Christians show them solidarity, demonstrate compassion and speak up on their behalf.

For the majority of Western Christians to continue to ignore the indigenous Palestinian Church in such a troubled situation, where they are ignored and maligned, is not only deeply offensive to them, it is surely a contradiction of our faith, and ultimately immoral before God. It is nothing less than to perpetuate the evil of the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan who walked by on the other side.

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^[1] All the articles mentioned in this paper, as well as others relating to Holy Land pilgrimage research and Christian Zionism are available from my church web site: www.virginiawater.co.uk/christchurch/articles.html.