Salim Munayer: a man who speaks like Moses

It's about a week since I returned from my recent trip to Israel and the West Bank, and there are so many thoughts I want to share, but it's hard to know where to start.

We met with some amazing people -- powerful peacemakers -- from both sides of the checkpoints.  People dedicating their lives to the pursuit of justice, mercy, and transformation.

And I am in awe. 

I hope to introduce you to some of my newfound heroes over the course of the next few days and weeks, as well as, perhaps, some of my thoughts and reflections from the time there.

After spending the night with host families in Bethlehem, the first meeting of our trip was in Jerusalem with Salim Munayer, founder of Musalaha, who've I've had the great honor of meeting once before.

The man is a powerful speaker, with a powerful story, and a powerful vision for reconciliation -- a vision he is taking concrete steps to fulfill.

I hope his thoughts challenge you and give you hope. 

[Hopefully this won't be too confusing, because the following is taken almost directly out of my notes.  However, please remember that this is my interpretation/memory of what Salim said, and not a transcription (I may be a writer, but I am not a journalist), so don't hold him responsible for what I say he said (if that makes sense).] 
____________________________ 

"From the land of strife to the land of reconciliation."

That is Salim Munayer's vision for his country.  Reconciliation, he says, is not compromise, and it is not win/lose.  It is identity transformation.  For identity is the first casualty of conflict -- the destruction of how we see ourselves, how we see God, and how we see others.

The heart of peace is not behavioral change but identity change.

Salim Munayer is a refugee within his own country.  Driven from their homes in '48, his family remained in their hometown of Lydda, but was forbidden from returning to their land.  Given citizenship by the Israeli government (though initially denied freedom of movement and still denied the right of return), Salim attended a Hebrew high school along with his Jewish neighbors -- a school which informed him that his history was a lie.

Palestine, he was informed, was desert, the Jews turned it green, and then the Arabs moved in.  Never mind that he could see his ancestral land from the windows of his classroom.

An Arab-Israeli and a Palestinian-Christian, his identity was in conflict, and he grew up asking the hard questions that his community of faith must still face:  What would Jesus do if forced to cross through checkpoints multiple times every day? What application does the Sermon on the Mount have to the Palestinian reality?  How does one (especially a Palestinian-Christian) resist aggressively, for justice, in the name of love?.  And, hardest thought of all, are Palestinian-Christians (members of the universal body of Christ) an obstacle for the return of their Messiah (as so much Western theology seems to teach)?! 

Teaching at Bethlehem Bible College he faced the similar conflict of his students: "We don't want to learn about the people who inflict pain upon us."  Spiritual heritage in conflict with cultural heritage.  The Bible they loved being used to justify their pain.

Years later, does he have the answers?  Perhaps not all, but he believes he has been chosen for this task.  Uniquely placed, within the conflict of his identities, to bridge the gap between Arab and Jew, Israeli and Palestinian.    

As Christians, he challenges, how do we see God?  Burning holiness that demands isolation and perfection?  Absolute sovereignty that justifies fatalism and prophetic blindness, without thought to individual responsibility or communal justice?  Or do we see the crucified God, the lion and slain lamb, the Christ who wept?

Such a God forbids our involvement as jihadists or modern crusaders.  Forbids, also, our allegiance to political agendas which destroy our sacred calling to be salt and light in society, drafted only to the love of God and neighbor.

This is the foundation of peacemaking.  And because God is a God of relationship, Salim believes we must build relationships to build peace.  Must build relationships to destroy the destructive patterns of conflict:

• Division between "us" and "them" (self and Other)
• Dehumanization (the necessary step in justifying self-protection against the "enemy")
• Failure to see plurality (all of the Other is exactly alike -- a strong basis for collective punishment, which is considered a war crime)
• Suspicion
• Self-fulfilling prophecy (treating the Other as the enemy leads the Other to behave as the enemy)
• Moral superiority
• Perceived victimization (the dangerous tendency to claim pain as uniquely ours, whether 9/11 or the Holocaust -- the refusal to see suffering as a universal human experience)
• Demonization (attributing absolute evil to the other side -- often uses religious language and labels [i.e. "terrorist"])

So this is what he does.  Taking Jewish and Arab youth into the desert -- the literal desert -- where power can be stripped away and the Other encountered as a person necessary to the very survival of self.

Salim believes that this desert encounter is integral to the process of reconciliation, because no dominant culture will choose to relinquish power.  The desert, however, strips power without the realization of the powerful, forcing people to become dependent on each other as people -- humans in need, not oppressor and oppressed.

In the Bible, he reminds us, the desert is a place of transformation and renewal.  A place where the world fades away and God is met.  But it cannot happen without pilgrimage. 

He leaves us with some challenging thoughts:

1. While peace and reconciliation are happening in Israel on the relational level, where all real change must start, full reconciliation, which must also involve structural change, is stunted by a lack of vision.  What is the end goal for Palestine/Israel?  What are we struggling for?  For S. Africa it was the abolition of apartheid.  For the U.S. it was the end of discrimination.  What is it for Israel?  No one seems quite sure.
2. It is not the American Jews (many of whom are actively seeking justice) keeping the U.S. from interceding in Israel, but the American Christians.  As an American, and a Christian, this is a sobering, convicting, and painful thought.  
3. Finally, and most importantly, as third parties who desire to be involved in advocacy -- holding up mirrors to those in power -- we must not allow ourselves to be drafted into the conflict.  We must not take sides.  Advocacy without reconciliation, states Salim, simply feeds the fire of strife, and that they do not need. 

Musalaha: Theology of Reconciliation

Salim Munayer (founder of Musalaha) speaks about reconciliation, the importance of an approach/theology that is both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian, and the theological problems when we embrace one at the expense of the other.


Theology of Reconciliation from Porter Speakman Jr on Vimeo.

Musalaha: Ministry of Reconciliation

This is a powerful introduction to the work of Musalaha (Arabic for "reconciliation"), a non-profit organization headquartered in Jerusalem that seeks to build relationships between Arab and Jewish youth (among many other leadership and peace building projects). I've had the honor of meeting twice with Musalaha's founder, Salim Munayer, an Israeli Arab with a passionate heart for justice, compassion, and transformation in Israel/Palestine.

The first 2:20 minutes contain true pictures of the conflict (the most startling of which, for me, is at the 2:08 marker); the rest of the film is dedicated to hope.

Bethlehem and the Wall, part 4

Some last reflections from my father's time in Bethlehem. Israel-Palestine, the wall, and identity cards:

Feb. 2, 2008

We had a powerful time this morning with Salim Munayer, starting with him sharing his personal story, and leading into his experience in reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis (with Musalaha, www.musalaha.org).

A couple of questions from today:

What is a Christian–Christ-centered, true to Jesus, rooted in his life, character, teachings–response to / perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What do you do when your theology puts you with one group of people against another (e.g., plays favorites, exalts one group, and their interests, over another – e.g., Christian support of Israelis, while demonizing the Palestinians)? Can we find a theology that brings people together, brings reconciliation, rather than fosters hatred, strife, division? We need a theology that meets the needs of all people, not just one group (and will pastors dare to speak up?).

Do we believe God is a God of love, for all people? Do we believe in our calling as people of Jesus to love our neighbors, all people (even our “enemies”)? What impact should this make in the Palestinian-Israeli situation?

And then, a thought about the Wall:

For Jews, when confronting those who are different, they usually respond by separating themselves, building a “wall” around themselves and others. The physical Wall is an expression of that – dealing with others by separation (and note that American Christians are tending to do that, too). But this is very harmful, and cannot lead to reconciliation and peace.

On Identity Cards:

Another interesting (and troubling) aspect of the situation for Palestinians / Arabs is that of identity cards. It is very complex, and hard for Americans to understand. I still don’t understand it.

We met:

• A Palestinian Christian leader who has a West Bank identity card. That allows him to travel in the West Bank, but not to Jerusalem, and not to any part of Israel. He can travel across the West Bank (King Hussein / Allenby Bridge) border crossing into Jordan, and fly out of Amman, but that’s the only way he can travel out of the West Bank. There are many people in this status who are separated from their families in Jerusalem (by identity, and by the Wall and the checkpoints which now keep them from crossing). (There are some West Bank Palestinians who are allowed to travel to Jerusalem, if they have special work permits; but those are hard to come by.)
• The brother of the above leader, who did have the West Bank identity card, but was out studying Bible and Theology in the U.S., and had his identity revoked by Israel. When he tried to return, they refused him entry even to the West Bank (to his family, his home, his life). He was shut out for 7 years. Eventually he obtained U.S. citizenship, and now has returned to do Christian work in Bethlehem, as a U.S. citizen, a “foreigner” in his own place; and with the realization that at any time the Israeli government might revoke his (temporary) visa and cast him out permanently.
• A couple of Palestinians who have Jerusalem identity cards. This is the “best” identity card for Palestinians, because it allows them to travel anywhere – Jerusalem, the West Bank, and even Israel. The thing is, they have to keep living in Jerusalem, or they will lose this valuable identity – e.g., if they go out for a number of months or more, to study abroad, they will be considered to have “left,” and will lose their identity and their right to go back to Jerusalem. So in a way they are “trapped,” just as the West Bank Palestinians are trapped in the West Bank.
• A couple of Palestinians who have Israeli citizenship. They are considered “Israeli Arabs,” and not allowed (publicly, officially) to refer to themselves by their own self-identity as Palestinians, because Israel does not officially recognize the existence of “Palestinians” as a people. They can travel anywhere in Israel, including Jerusalem, and it seems to the West Bank, though we heard that Israelis (perhaps Israeli Jews) are not allowed in the West Bank, because of security issues. As I said, it is complex and hard to follow.

With an American passport (at least, if you’re not Palestinian with an American passport), it is fairly easy to travel anywhere; although, yesterday when we were being driven from Bethlehem to Jerusalem (a short drive of perhaps 10-15 minutes), at the Wall checkpoint they said we would all have to get off the bus and proceed on foot through the walking maze of points where they search your luggage and person, etc. It’s not that you can’t get through, it’s just a hassle; a hassle which any Arab going back and forth is subjected to every time s/he passes. Due to time constraints, we drove a different way to Jerusalem, where they just checked passports but didn’t make us go through a big search process (but the Arabs going that other way all were made to get off their busses and be thoroughly searched, even though their papers were all in order).

Anyone visiting the “Holy Land” needs to be sure to visit areas in the West Bank, meet Palestinians, and see what their lives are like.

Bethlehem and the Wall, part 3 (too many thoughts and emotions)

Another reflection written by my father, who is currently in Bethlehem, Palestine. He's there with a D.Min. cohort from Bethel University, looking at issues of global and contextual Christian leadership, especially in the contexts of Islam and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They were (are) being hosted by Salim Munayer from Musalaha ("reconciliation") and Bethlehem Bible College:

Feb. 1, 2008
Evening

What to say? What to think? What to feel?

This afternoon we toured Bethlehem. Saw the massive Israeli settlement on an opposite hill, built beginning in the late 90s (when they were not supposed to build any more settlements, after Oslo), encroaching on Palestinian land (built on occupied Palestinian land), part of the building growth to cut off Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian populations in the West Bank.

We saw, in the shadow of the settlements, a Palestinian (Christian) housing development, built smack in the middle of Palestinian land, started a few years before the (illegal) Israeli settlement, and yet threatened by the Israeli government with demolition, because it is “too close” to the security fence (“protecting” Israelis from the Palestinians), and too close to the (illegal) Israeli settlement. What made it more poignant was, we were being guided by a Palestinian Christian (Elias Gharib), who happens to live in that threatened housing.

We toured a Palestinian refugee camp, which lays in the shadow of the Wall. Heard of the regular nightly Israeli incursions (they come through the big blue gate in their wall, in jeeps and other military vehicles), sometimes looking for Palestinian youth (older teens) they consider dangerous. How they will cordon off an area and go house to house through the walls of houses – they bang holes in walls, and go right in, searching for and sometimes finding and seizing teen boys. How the families sleep in fear that this will happen. If the boys are seized, they are taken off to prison, and held for 3 months (or more) without charge, and not to return home for 6 months (if things go well for the anxious family; it could be longer). We talked with Khulud, a 20 year old Palestinian refugee who is studying English Lit. at Bethlehem U., who when she was younger, went through this fear in regard to her 3 older brothers. She works as a volunteer at a center (Lagee Center) to work with refugee kids, teaching art and English and computer, giving them skills and a chance to process their experience with others. We saw some powerful pictures they took, expressing their dreams and also their nightmares. It was so moving.

We saw maps, too, of the West Bank over time, shrinking, the Israelis carving away more and more territory for their settlements and safe zones, leaving less and less to the Palestinians, and those scattered bits and pieces not continguous (what the Palestinians now have is down to only something like 40% of the West Bank).

Apartheid? An apt description – a wall surrounding people from people, creating cantons, in some cases running right through the middle of Palestinian areas (seemingly with the intent to drive the Palestinians completely out of one of the sides, the side too near to the Israeli population). To tell you the truth, Israeli treatment of the Palestinians seems like a mix of apartheid, the Warsaw ghetto, and American treatment of both Natives and African Americans. It’s shocking, distressing, and getting worse all the time.

And hearing from Palestinian Christians, like Salim Munayer and Alex Awad, brave and hopeful men who are patiently working in the midst of such a tough situation. And how Palestinian Christians feel abandoned or worse, by Christians in the West (who in their Christian Zionism often are or seem to be against all Palestinians, even Christians).

In searching for hope in this situation, I found myself asking, wrestling, what can I (we) do? What must I (we) do? There must be something, some action that can be taken...

Christians AGAINST Peacemaking?

Here's an excerpt from a letter sent out by Salim Munayer, the director of Musalaha. If you aren't familiar with Musalaha's work, you should check out its website. It's a non-profit organization that promotes reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. It was started in 1990 by Christian leaders on both sides, and "Musalaha" is the Arabic word for forgiveness and reconciliation.

14 November 2007:
The Armor of God and Peace-Making

I recently received an email from a Christian group that was urging
all believers to speak out against the upcoming peace summit to be
held in Annapolis in the United States of America. While it is natural
to have a healthy dose of skepticism with regards to all political
maneuvering, and easy to see how some would be unconvinced that
this meeting will lead to true and lasting peace between the Israelis
and the Palestinians, its seems odd to me that Christians would be
against it altogether. Just to be clear, Musalaha has no official position
on the impending peace summit, but this issue brings to the surface
an interesting question about peace in general. Unfortunately, for some
believers, peace is not 'the Will of God'. This mindset is usually
informed by some sort of theological position on the 'End Times'. At
Musalaha we have encountered this attitude before, being accused 
of pursuing humanistic goals and ignoring the spiritual and Godly realm.
For many, the "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding"
from Philippians 4:7, refers only to inner peace, an individual affair
that has nothing to do with those around us, and certainly no connection
to actual physical peace. 
 
This attitude seems to contrast with the Biblical teachings on 
peace. We find numerous passages where peace-making, and peace
pursuing is spoken about in the Bible. Actually, upon investigation,
the truth is that in the Bible, peace-making is connected with spiritual
warfare. In Ephesians 6, Paul talks about the armor of God, which
was modeled after a Roman soldier, and urges all believers to
take up the spiritual weapons. He makes it clear that our struggle is
not against "flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians
6:12. While this is true, Jesus also made clear that those who 
work for peace on earth are doing God's work. "Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
Matthew 5:9. It is interesting to note that included in the list of
our spiritual armor, such as the breastplate of righteousness, the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, in verse 15 we
are encouraged to shod our feet, "with the gospel of peace". 
 
Feet are very important for everyone, but especially for soldiers.
It is with your feet that you either stand your ground, and resist,
or retreat and run away. We are to clothe our feet with the gospel
of peace, and take it with us everywhere we go, to reconcile with
God and with each other. Many believers hear the phrase 'the
gospel of peace', and instantly think vertically, of peace between
God and man. But real peace, as it appears in the Biblical context,
requires horizontal peace with fellow man in addition to peace with
God. If we ignore this crucial part of the message, we are letting
evil overcome good. The tragic result is that many non-believers
see followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace, rallying against peace,
and seemingly encouraging war. 
 
The word peace has been very misused by humans, especially
in the Middle East. It does have a spiritual meaning, but that does
not stop it from also applying to the actual world of flesh and bones.
Pursuing peace and peacemaking are some of the most important
aspects of spiritual warfare that is the believer's duty. And it is not
an excuse to claim that true peace will never come until the return of
Jesus. While this is true, it still cannot absolve us from our responsibility
to strive for the Kingdom of God on earth. There is nothing humanistic
about trying to make people stop killing and hating each other, and making
them stop their everyday life and actually talk with their 'enemy'. If anything,
the more humanistic approach is to block any avenue to peace, to find
reasons to continue with the conflict, to slander others and to destroy. This
is the humanistic approach because humans are incapable of seeking
peace without God. We humans are weak, selfish, and predisposed
towards conflict because of our nature. Any attempt to rise above
the earthly conflict is necessarily a spiritual affair, for it is impossible
without God. Our focus should be on God, and on our eternal future, but
we cannot forget that our actions while still on earth also matter. How we
treat others, our neighbors, and even our enemies, determines how closely
our lives are in obedience with Christ's teaching. 
 
This is what Musalaha strives for. We seek peace with fellow man 
and with God, knowing that there can be no political peace without God,
and no spiritual peace or growth, without reconciliation with others. 
 
May this find you all well, and may God bless you. 
  
Salim J. Munayer Ph/D. 
Musalaha Director