Speaking at Lambeth Palace to an ecumenical group of Church leaders and agencies, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell has delivered a heartfelt and no-punches-pulled account of his recent visit to the Holy Land. He described it as a visit that was both "horrifying and harrowing but actually deeply beautiful as well."
He began by speaking about the horror that the world expressed, and which he shared, at the events of October 7th 2023, but reflecting on what he experienced on his recent visit he said "We also know that one horror cannot be undone by another." He warned against an easy assumption that peace had been achieved, quoting Jeremiah 6:14, and spoke of "growing fear, growing isolation and mounting tension and despair" for the Palestinians, Muslim and Christian alike.
Clearly, his visit to the West Bank communities had left the greatest impression on him. He experienced at first hand the intimidation by settlers. He said, "After visiting Bethlehem, and accompanied by representatives of the YMCA who do amazing work with traumatised people in the area, we visited Palestinian Bedouin communities in the South Hebron Hills. I saw for myself the aggressive and intimidating impact of settler encroachment on Palestinian homes, and settler violence against Palestinian people, all done in violation of the law, both Israeli law and international law, and yet carried out with impunity." He went on, " "It was for me, who hadn’t experienced anything like this before, a bit real. Deeply intimidating, very frightening."
This was just one incident among others that demonstrated the tensions under which the West Bank Palestinians live. Preaching at St Andrews Ramallah the following day he spoke of how a meal in a Palestinian home had been disrupted, and said, it was as if just as Jesus sat down to break bread with Cleopas and his companion at Emmaus, the police had turned up and moved him on." His conclusion from the various experiences of intimidation and his reflection on what life is actually like for the Palestinians was, "It is a deliberate and unacceptable denial of human dignity and human rights. It is happening today and it is accelerating." The service in Ramallah included the blessing of a newborn baby, an event which he described as beautiful, whilst being aware of the vulnerability and the uncertain future for baby Dina.
Among the people that the archbishop met were members of the group Rabbis for Human Rights. He was struck by the strong language they used to describe the situation, language that he repeated in his report. He said,"I know this language will be contested, but I think we do no one any favours by pretending it is something else. Let me be absolutely clear – we have a profound responsibility to combat antisemitism and discrimination against Jewish people so it is imperative that we all say - again and again - that it is the Israeli Government that is to blame and not Judaism or the Jewish people and this distinction is really important – these are political decisions, political matters and we have to choose different paths."
The Archbishop said that he had promised those he spoke with to tell their story. He reflected further on the exodus of Christians from the area, and for a peace which enables both Israel and Palestine to live together.
We must continue together to raise our voices in support of the Palestinian people and urge our government and the governments of the world, and especially, I think, the governments in Europe, to unite and to move beyond a ceasefire in Gaza to a proper plan for peace, giving self-determination and self-government to Palestine, something like a two state solution and as Christians here in the UK, we must strain every sinew to ensure that we work for peace and justice in this holy land.
The full text of the Archbishop's speech can be accessed at: https://www.archbishopofyork.org/.../archbishop-york...
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