CPTnet
June 27, 2003
HEBRON REFLECTION: Where's the Religious Freedom in the Holy Land?

By Paul D. Pierce

On Sunday, June 15, four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron
tried to go to church in Jerusalem without success. We left Hebron as soon
as we learned curfew was lifted for four precious hours. We took a taxi to
the Hebron Bridge, only to be confronted by Israeli soldiers who were not
aware that curfew was lifted.

They shouted at waiting Palestinians to "go back," and an armored personnel
carrier in the middle of the street seemed to bolster their demand. When
they let us continue, we took a taxi to the next dirt barricade.

Two bulldozed dirt barriers later, we found there were no taxis traveling
the Israeli-only by-pass Road 60 from Halhoul to Jerusalem. We climbed a
rocky hill to find a Palestinian taxi to Bethlehem. Or so we thought.
Unfortunately, due to other dirt barriers and road closures, we had to take
three taxis to get there.

The trip took thirty to forty minutes in previous years, but we arrived in
Jerusalem four hours later, after a total of seven taxi rides. We missed
church.

It may surprise you to know that we are the lucky ones, because at least we
got to enter Jerusalem. The Israeli military routinely bars Palestinian
Christians and Muslims from the city. Palestinians who must travel on
business need special permission from the Israeli government to travel from
Ramallah to Bethlehem, and the Israeli authorities routinely deny these
permits. Palestinian Christians who wish to worship in the holy cities of
Bethlehem or Jerusalem often cannot travel there.

Muslims under the age of thirty-five have not been able to enter the Dome of
the Rock compound in more that two years, although it is the third most holy
shrine in Islam. The Israeli authorities have denied Muslims the right to
worship at the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of Machpelah) in Hebron for the last
four Fridays. While Jewish settlers in the city worshipped there, the
military placed the rest of Hebron under curfew.

How can this be? Given that the majority of Israeli citizens are not
religious, why does religious discrimination fall on Palestinian
Christians, Muslims and, even CPT members from the US, Canada and Britain?

If the United States was founded on the basis of religious freedom, and if
our President and Congress cherish religious freedom and the right of every
individual to worship as they please, then why do we send four billion tax
dollars a year to a nation that systematically practices religious
discrimination against Christians and Muslims alike? How can this be? I
hope that the United States government prevails on the State of Israel to
allow Christians, Muslims and others to attend worship in the holy places of
their choice, so we can all pray for a peaceful and just solution to the
Middle East conflict.