MIDDLE EAST: Archbishop of Canterbury visits the West Bank and Gaza
Episcopal News Service/Lambeth Palace. February 24, 2010 [022410-01]
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams visited the West Bank and Gaza Feb. 22-23 as part of his four-day visit to the Holy Land.
Accompanied by Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani and Church of Ireland Bishop Michael Jackson of Clogher, Williams met with representatives of the local Christian community, the Palestinian Authority and local civic authorities, and visited church-run institutions in the health sector.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad hosted Williams at a reception for the local community in Ramallah on Feb. 22. The reception was also attended by Mayor of Ramallah Janet Khouri and Governor of Ramallah Leila Ghannam.
During a 20-minute discussion, described by a Lambeth Palace press release as "lively and engaged," Williams and Fayyad spoke about the challenges currently facing the Palestinian community in the West Bank, the state of the peace process, and prospects for continued improvements for the economy.
According to the release, Fayyad "spoke warmly of the vibrant and important contribution made by the Christian community and Anglican institutions such as St. Luke's Hospital in Nablus to the whole of the Palestinian community, regardless of faith. He also spoke of his personal concern at the continuing shrinking of numbers of Christians living in the West Bank and of the importance of halting, and ideally reversing, that process. The archbishop spoke of his and the Anglican Communion's pride in the contribution local Christians were making to the service of the whole community in very challenging circumstances."
Williams and Dawani paid a pastoral visit to the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on Feb. 23 while Jackson toured the newly renovated St. Luke's Hospital in Nablus. The hospitals are among more than 35 institutions run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.
Concerning the visit to Gaza, the Lambeth release said: "The continuing humanitarian crisis was evident with acute, and well-documented, shortages of basic foodstuffs, medicines and building materials. In the face of the very grave situation facing the inhabitants of Gaza the Ahli hospital provides desperately needed health care. Though small in size the hospital provides in-patient care to a maximum of 80 patients with a range of medical and surgical needs, as well as providing in 2009 care or treatment to 42,000 outpatients (nearly double the figure for 2008)."
Williams and Dawani rededicated the hospital's St. Philip's Chapel, which had been damaged during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been newly renovated for use by the hospital staff and community.
Suheila Tarazi, hospital director, explained the vocation of the hospital and its staff to respond to the Christian imperative to serve the poor. "We seek to bring hope to the hopeless and bring good news to the poor," she said. "Ahli is a tangible sign of how Christians can serve their fellow human beings in love." Tarazi paid tribute to the cooperative spirit which exists between the Christian and Muslim communities in responding to the current crisis.
In Nablus, Jackson described the ministry at St. Luke's Hospital as "nothing short of inspirational. Despite tremendous shortages of equipment and medicines St. Luke's serves the whole of the community without exception, to the very best of its capacity and with a dedication which is humbling to witness. I want now to ensure that, alongside my own diocese which already has a relationship with St. Luke's, others in the church know how great the needs are, what can be, and is being done often with very little basic equipment, and respond generously in whatever ways we can."
According to the Lambeth release, Williams recalled the appeal in 2009 to which all three faith communities -- Jewish, Muslim and Christian -- had responded so generously in support, among other humanitarian projects, of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the wake of the January 2009 conflict, a three-week military operation during which Israel attempted to target militant Palestinians, allied with Hamas, who were firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. Many innocent Palestinian and Israeli lives were lost during the conflict.
Israel continues to impose a blockade on Gaza that began in June 2007, resulting in an ongoing humanitarian crisis for the 1.5 million residents, 80 percent of whom are unemployed.
The Lambeth Palace release said that Williams, during his visit, "urged a greater awareness of the humanitarian crisis and isolation which had ensued, to ensure that the people of Gaza were not forgotten."
Williams paid tribute to the "constant, caring and skilled work done by the hospital and its staff for people of all backgrounds, regardless of faith. It was a model of service born in, and sustained by love -- a model response to our Christian calling."
He also paid tribute to the contribution of the diocese, out of all proportion to its numerical presence, and pledged the continuing prayers and support of the Anglican Communion as a whole, and his personal support and prayers for all who felt so little hope for the future. His continuing prayer and hope, he said, was for "peace and for justice for all the people of the region."
On Feb. 22, Williams held a series of meetings with the three most senior heads of churches in Jerusalem: Theophilus III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and members of the Holy Synod; Torkom II, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; and Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Along with Dawani and Jackson, the archbishop led the Anglican delegation in the fourth meeting of the dialogue with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Williams also was received by Israeli President Shimon Peres. In a 40-minute meeting "they discussed the current state of relations between Israel and Palestine, the contribution of Christian communities and their institutions -- especially schools and hospitals -- to national life, the importance of interfaith dialogue, and a range of environmental issues, including water," the release said.
On Feb. 21, Williams and Dawani were received by King Abdullah II of Jordan at the culmination of a two-day visit to the Kingdom.