I began the day with morning prayers on a balcony overlooking Kibbutz Lavi. It was damp, lush and inspiring. After a quick breakfast, we headed to Nazareth, the largest Arab city in the Galilee, with a population of 60,000, once split nearly evenly between Christians and Muslims, but now nearly two-thirds Muslim.
The place of Israeli Arab Christians is complex. They are Israeli citizens, but not always comfortable with governmental policies; Arabs, but not part of the majority Jewish community; and Christians with historic roots in the Holy Land, but now a minority in relation to Muslims.
Indeed, on the way up to the Church, we noticed large signs in Arabic and English that reminded Christians to limit their claims about the nature of Jesus. Citing Quran 4:171, it reads: “O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits of your religion. Say nothing but the truth about Allah (The One True God). The Christ Jesus, Son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God and His word conveyed to Mary and a spirit created by Him. So believe in God and His messengers and do not say: ‘Three gods (trinity)’. Cease! It will be better for you. Indeed, Allah is the One and the Only God. His Holiness is far above having a son.” It was an indicator of some of the internal religious turmoil within Nazareth.
Nazareth is important to Christians because it is understood to be the location where Jesus spent much of his life. The Basilica of the Annunciationis the place where, according to Christian tradition, the angel Gabriel appeared before Mary, saying: "Behold, you shalt conceive in your womb, give birth to a son, and call his name Jesus" (Luke 1:26-35). The Basilica has mosaics of Mary and Jesus donated by and illustrative of Catholic communities from around the world, including images from Canada and Australia.
We proceeded to the White Mosque where we met with Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, the Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Emmaus, and Atef Yousef Mohammed al-Fahoum, the Trustee of the oldest mosque in Nazareth. The two religious leaders (and the Imam of the mosque), spoke about the historic positive relations in the city. Al-Fayoum is very proud that his father, who had been the mayor of Nazareth in 1984, established a peaceful relationship with Israel that allowed Nazareth to thrive and prosper. He was very clear that he wanted to be identified as an Israeli Arab and not as a Palestinian Arab living in Israel. Bishop Marcuzzo reiterated the cooperative and close relationship between religious communities, allowing them to be a bridge to peace, not a gap contributing to conflict.
After noon Muslim prayer, which Jews and Christians could observe, we stopped briefly at Capernaum, the site of an ancient synagogue where Jesus is said to have prayed. Later, on the bus, I spoke about the slow development of synagogues during the Babylonian exile and their growth during the period of the second Temple.
1. We continued south, through Israeli check-points, to Bethlehem, where we would be quartered with local families. Colin Cussel and I were hosted by Fedi and Abir Rishmawi of Beit Sahour. They have four well-educated children, Hanna (John), Emilie, Lina, and Jina. After a veggie dinner, we spent time talking about daily life, sharing stories about our children (and grandchildren), and discussing local politics. While Fedi was frustrated by the checkpoints and daily indignities of life under Israeli control, he also pointed to the historic corruption of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and its inability to properly lay the groundwork for an independent state. Fedi stated that there was no United Palestinian Appeal (similar to the United Jewish Appeal), because Palestinians living in the region were marginalized. Other people had different experiences; I hope they will add their reactions to this over-night excursion.
Rav Baruch
