20 September 2019 IVARS KUPCIS

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Born in Nazareth, Galilee, Rev Dr Said Ailabouni moved to the US at the age of 19 to become a physician. But he was so angry at God that he went to study theology instead, becoming a Lutheran pastor. Now he is leading the Middle East & Europe desk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since leaving his hometown 50 years ago, he visits his Palestinian family regularly. As this week marks the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Ailabouni agreed to share some of his lifetime observations with theWorld Council of Churches...

What are the Middle East countries in which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America supports particular programmes?"Jerusalem and the West Bank are major areas where we are investing in support to our companions. The Augusta Victoria hospital in Jerusalem is one of the major institutions that we support. It is a health institution providing specialised care for Palestinians from all over the West Bank and Gaza. It is also the only hospital for cancer treatment for Palestinians. "We are providing support to refugees in Egypt. Like Jesus 2000 years ago went to Egypt to find refuge from King Herod, there are many people now going to Egypt fleeing from tyrants. They are coming from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq. Unfortunately, they are not always welcomed - Egypt is a poor country and they have plenty of hardships themselves. "We also support two seminaries in the Middle East one in Beirut, Lebanon, and one in Cairo, Egypt. Besides supporting Lutheran World Federation work in the Middle East we also support a couple of programmes of the Middle East Council of Churches. These programmes provide women the opportunity to develop skills to earn a living, and to provide trauma healing to church workers who have been traumatized by the war, so that they can recover and go back and serve. "We want to grow our support for the refugees in the four countries where we are working now, which are Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq."

Rev Dr Said Ailabouni, director for Europe, Middle East & North Africa region at the Global Mission Unit of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PICTURE: Ivars Kupcis/WCC

What has been your experience visiting Palestine after you moved to the United States?"I first came back four years after I started a college in 1973. In those days there was no internet or email, telephone calls were expensive, we mostly could just write letters. It was wonderful to go back my family was still there at the time. "But I was obviously changed, and I was not done with my education yet - I was not even sure I will be transitioning from medicine to theology. That happened after this trip. God was doing something in my life I was not very clear about right then. I just knew there was no future for me back home. "Nowadays, a lot more young people have a future that I did not have back then. There are more people who can go to college and have a future that was not available 50 years ago."

What are your observations on how situation has been changing in Israel and Palestine over these 50 years?"A lot more building, lots more settlements, lots more roads. Our church is committed to a two-state solution - but I do not see how that is going to be possible as more and more land is being taken away. I see a real push to Judaise Jerusalem, when my dream and my wish is that people would live together Jews, Muslims and Christians. That was how my parents and grandparents grew up in Tiberias, living with Jews and Muslims peacefully. "I grew up with both Christian and Muslim friends, we were neighbours, we went to school together I can never think of Muslims as bad people, they are my friends. Of course, there are also people who do bad things among Jews, Christians and Muslims, the extremists, but thats not the majority. It is sad to see this desire in Israel to make it just for Jews a Jewish state. I know that we can live together and enjoy being together. It has always been my experience that it is possible but the push now is to say 'No, we cant do it'. "That scares me, because what is going to happen - does it mean Palestinians will be pushed out? If thats the case, it would be really sad and catastrophic."

How do you see the situation has changed for Palestinians still living in their land?"Palestinians in Israel have more opportunities to have jobs, to go to school, grow economically. But Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza have a struggle. Christians or Muslims living in Bethlehem cannot go to Jerusalem which is just six miles away. They need a permit, and that makes it very difficult. There are kids who have grown up just a few miles from Jerusalem, who never have seen Jerusalem, or the Mediterranean Sea. This division is oppressive. And it is also a humiliation of people under occupation. Seeing how people are treated at the checkpoints it is hard to watch."

Do you think Christians worldwide are understanding what is happening between Israel and Palestine?"Unless people go there and see it with their own eyes they wont know. Media does not cover that very well. And often Palestinians are portrayed as violent stone-throwers people never see non-violent resistance to the occupation. Not even the Jews in Israel know, because they are never going to Palestine, they are not allowed. "Now more and more Israeli soldiers are coming out talking about their experiences working in Hebron and other places, saying we did what was wrong, and we are not happy about it. They come out talking about how they treated Palestinians, and they dont like what they did. But most Israelis do not know it. And most people are not interested they are interested in their own lives, they are not concerned about the people they do not see. And you dont see a Palestinian unless you are working in the particular areas."

What do you think are the causes of oppression and suffering taking place? Why would still today someone go to another land, try to take it away and oppress people who have been living there for generations?"Unfortunately, some, including Christians and Jews, use the Bible to justify what they are doing. You can justify whatever you want using the Bible. "But there are also a plenty of other Bible verses that talk about welcoming the stranger, treating them as equal, taking care of widows and orphans there are plenty of verses reminding us of what Gods justice is intended to be for all people. "Certainly Jews have suffered a lot in their lives, and desire to have a place where they can be free and secure and not be oppressed again. But to oppress the Palestinians in the process - I do not think it is fair or just."

We hear about situations when violent acts are done at the both sides of the conflict...Can violence be justified?"Certainly as Christians we should be against any kind of violence we are not supposed to kill one another. I do not think violence is the right answer to anything. For more than a year Palestinians in Gaza have been demonstrating nonviolently, but some of them have been killed for doing that. "Neither side should use any kind of weapons against each other. Humans are too valuable to be killed. We all should be against any kind of destruction and murder."

Qalandiya checkpoint between the northern West Bank and Jerusalem, where thousands of Palestinians try to make their way to Jerusalem each day. PICTURE: Albin Hillert/WCC

With your work at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America you are supporting refugees and contributing to peace in the region. What do you think other churches in the world can do to support justice and peace in Israel and Palestine?"Imagining that all of our churches have policies about human rights and anti-racism, we all have values as Christians that we should lift up and hold everyone accountable for. Human rights is an international treaty for all people. And we are against racism no matter who is being attacked. "There is a lot of racism and a lot of abuse of human rights and dignity, and therefore we as churches should speak up against all that. We should be persistent and as loud as we can working with our government officials to help them realise this is not Gods intention for humanity."

How could churches more actively support peace in the Middle East region?"We need bold prophetic voices to continue speaking. The God we know is the God who loves all people. Including those that we dont like God calls us to reconcile with each other, to love the enemy, to be peace-makers, because peace-makers will be called the children of God. We have a mandate as individuals and as churches to be that kind of light to those in darkness, whether we see results or not. "Ive struggled with hatred myself, and as I grew older, I asked myself can I continue like this, or can I just love, even my enemy. I think we all have to struggle with whats in our hearts, and really to love the other in our lives, whoever they are - especially the ones we do not like. We all can do something, but we have to start with looking at whats inside us and how can we change that for the better."

This article was first published on theWorld Council of Churches' website.Ivars Kupcis is communication officer for the World Council of Churches.

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LIFESTORY: DR SAID AILABOUNI - GOD IS ON THE SIDE OF "REJECTED, OPPRESSED, OCCUPIED", PART II - Sight Magazine