Palestine, a historic region on the East coast of the Mediterranean, is also known as the “Holy Land.” Three monotheistic religions vie for control of this area, especially since the year 1948 when the United Nations created the state of Israel. Much has changed since that time. This year, Israel is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The question of what is to be done with the Palestinians still rages. The land once given to form Israel was cut from what was Palestine, and Israel has grown far beyond its original borders in both land and power. Neither Christians, Muslims nor Jews are happy with today’s state of affairs. Strife rules this land.

The Rev. Roger Timm and his wife, Marilyn, are among the thousands of people who visited the Holy Land this year. Timm is pastor of the Ascension Lutheran Church in Riverside.

“Since November is the month that our Metro Chicago Synod encourages congregations to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, I’d like to share some of my reflections on the current political situation in the Holy Land — fully recognizing that the situation is extremely complex and difficult to resolve”, Timm said.

“We heard repeatedly that the majority of people in both Israel and the Palestinian territories (about 60 percent) want peace. It may be true that a good percentage of this majority simply want to live a decent life without fear or harassment.”

He said, however, he met both Jews and Palestinians who are also seeking various ways to achieve peaceful reconciliation.

“I fear that in the United States we don’t get this message,” he said. 

Part of Timm’s Sabbatical was spent at Notre Dame’s Tantur Ecumenical Institute. “Tantur” is translated from the Arabic meaning “hilltop.” Timm found the favored position is the “Two State Solution,” with Jerusalem as a shared city.

“A woman at Tantur who presented Jewish beliefs and practices quoted a Palestinian woman as saying, ‘This land will always be my homeland, but for the sake of peace I will be content to live in half of my homeland,’” Timm said.

The woman who was speaking said that she could say the same.

“The separation barrier/wall is surely controversial. We had to go through it every time we passed through the Israeli checkpoint on our way into Bethlehem,” Timm said. “Israelis claim that terrorist attacks have decreased markedly since the wall has gone up. Others criticize it for making the daily movement of ordinary Palestinians unreasonably difficult, and for it being another ‘land grab,’ since it has been built further into Palestinian territory than previously accepted boundary lines.”
Timm found that one of the speakers distinguished between “the land of Israel,” the “nation of Israel” and “the government of Israel.” Even the Jewish population criticizes whatever government is in power. Criticizing the current government of Israel is not necessarily anti-Semitic — even though in the United States one is sometimes given the impression that it is.

“In general, I do feel that the American public and our US government do not give fair attention to legitimate Palestinian concerns for justice,” Timm said.

What shall we do? Timm feels we have to find ways to support those who are working for peace and to urge our government officials to pursue a just peace settlement and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Not all of Timm’s Sabbatical was spent under duress. The Timms enjoyed visiting a Mexican restaurant in Bethlehem and were invited to the home of the parents of Pastor Gabi Aelaboumi of the Faith Lutheran Church in Brookfield.

“We especially enjoyed the parents of our friend Aelaboumi, who live in Eilaboyuni, Israel. Arabs are famous for their hospitality and generosity and as we were leaving they gave us gifts, including two bottles of virgin olive oil from their own olive orchard. We use this for our baptisms and services of healing,” Timm said.

For more information, go to www.ascension-riverside.org. The first page gives the link to his blog, which contains more details of the Timm’s visit to the Holy Land.

Next week’s column will feature Riversider Marcia Radogna Capone’s religious pilgrimage to the Holy Land.