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Christians packed the Church of the Dormition on Thursday to pray for peace in the world, but especially for peace with justice in the Holy Land. Christian and Muslim Palestinians in Bethlehem - most of whom cannot go to Jerusalem - gathered for a service of their own. About 70 people gathered around Rachel's Tomb, which is being walled into Jerusalem and becoming home to a new settlement. They walked toward the main checkpoint and the wall, and stopped at a nearby chapel for a prayer service there. The sponsoring organizations released a statement. (Click here to get statement)
This traditional UN day for prayer for peace comes at a time when relations between Christians and Muslims have been strained by the Pope's recent comments in which he quoted a Byzantine Emperor who said that Muhammed and Islam had brought nothing but evil and inhumanity. In response, some churches were attacked in Nablus, Tubas and Gaza. Bishop Younan has been working with both the Heads of Churches and Muslim leaders here to calm the situation, condemn any form of violence and encourage dialogue as the route to solve conflicts. The Bishop released a statement about the situation this week. (Click here to download statement.)
Bishop Younan was in Sweden to attend the installation of the new Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd. He then addressed a Swedish conference on the role of Religion in Conflicts. The Bishop said that religion has been kidnapped by politics, and he is frustrated that religion is more frequently used to cause political conflicts rather than solve them.
The Bishop reiterated his belief that it is the underlying injustices of our world and the failure of moderate religious leaders to address them that is fueling the growth in extremist religions. The greed and narrow self-interest of the Western world is allowing Islam to portray itself as the only religion that stands for justice in that arena. The Western world's emphasis on democracy is misplaced, according to the Bishop, because justice must come first. He pointed to the US invasion of Iraq as an example of what happens when you try to force a country into democracy, then hand out Bibles after the invasion. It doesn't work.
The school kids at the Lutheran schools in Palestine are lucky. While most of the 1.2 million Palestinian students are not in school because of a general strike, the Lutheran schools are leading the charge to ensure their students don't pay the price of this latest situation. They have mostly remained open in the face of pressure to close and support the strike, and they are working with other private schools on an initiative to remain open.
In situations like this, the ones who lose in the end are the children. That is not acceptable," said Dr. Charlie D. Haddad, Lutheran Schools’ Director.
According to Mr. Basre Salih, Director of International Relations for the PA Ministry of Education, only about 10% of the public schools opened their official school year on Saturday. Government workers are on strike because they have not been paid salary for over six months since the international boycott on aid began shortly after Hamas was elected in January. But the situation changes daily, and information is sketchy because those who track information for the government have also been on strike.
Dr. Haddad expressed his sympathy and support for the teachers who have not been paid, but also said the children should not suffer. The private schools felt pressure to support the strike this week, and on Tuesday, when the other private schools were pressured into closing, only the Lutheran schools opened.
Salih said that it is frustrating because this is "hurting the core of our education," and because during the Al-Aqsa intifada, the Palestinians kept the schools open as much as they could. This is an example of how stretched and frustrated the people are, he said.
According to Dr. Haddad, ten percent of the 1.2 million Palestinian students attend private schools, like the ELCJHL, which are mostly open, and 12% go to UNRWA (United Nations Refugee Welfare Association) schools, which are also open.