The Truth will set us free: Naim Ateek

Naim Ateek

"Ultimately the truth will win and set people free," said the Rev. Ateek, an Anglican cleric and Director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and lecturer at Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem. Sabeel, Arabic for "the way" or "spring (of water)," takes its name from Jesus, The Way and The Living Water.

Palestinians and Israelis "are still in the negative, violent part of confrontation," he said in a Friday (6 July) plenary. "We need to have truth, justice and peace before we can begin the process of reconciliation. We can’t do it alone. You on the outside can do so much to help us."

He called especially on U.S. Christians to pressure their government to support justice for the Palestinians. "We are not aiming at the destruction of the state of Israel," the Rev. Ateek said. "We want Israel to live in peace. We are trying to prevent Israel from destroying us."

For reconciliation to be possible, he said, Israel must admit its responsibility for injustice and allow a Palestinian state in the now Israeli-occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza. Jerusalem must be shared, and Palestine’s four to five million refugees – the world’s oldest refugee population – must have the right of return.

The Rev. Ateek’s family was one of thousands forced from their homes and lands when Israel was established in 1948 following the Nazi Holocaust. "We were given two hours to get out of our home village south of the Sea of Galilee or be killed," he said.

"In many ways," the Rev. Ateek observed, "the Palestinians paid the price for European anti-semitism." Accorded 57 percent of Palestine, Israel actually took over 77 percent of the land, driving 750,000 Palestinians from their homes, he said. In 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and started building "settlements" – illegal under international law.

The Rev. Ateek appealed to communicators to help break three myths – that Israel’s founders came and found the land empty; that they "found the land barren and made the desert bloom," and that the Palestinians were not driven out, but rather fled.

Palestinians are stereotyped as terrorists, but "many of us are working non-violently," he continued. Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement of Palestinian Christians who are among the 14 million Arab Christians in the Middle East. Sabeel strives to develop a spirituality based on justice, peace, non-violence, liberation and reconciliation. Supporters include Jews, Muslims and Christians around the world.
The Rev. Ateek urged Christians to reject the "dispensationalist" interpretation of the Bible that Jews must return to the land of their forefathers before Christ’s Second Coming. This has led to blind support for Israel and oppression of the Palestinians, he said.

People who tell the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often are vilified, the Rev. Ateek cautioned. He described pressure to say that Israel is under siege by the Palestinians, when it is Israel that is occupying Palestinian land, and that Palestinians are responsible for the violence, when they are the main victims.

The new "intifadah" (trying to "shake off" the occupation), which began last October, has left 550 Palestinians and 100 Israelis dead, 16,000 Palestinians injured, 72 journalists shot or beaten by the Israelis, 25,000 olive and fruit trees uprooted and more than 4,400 Palestinian buildings including homes, mosques, churches and schools shelled or bombed, he noted.

Almost half (1.3 million) of all Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live in poverty and 48 percent are unemployed.

The Rev. Ateek urged his listeners to follow the example of an American Jewish journalist, Danny Schechter, who, when asked, "Which side are you on?" said, "On the side of those willing to look at this crisis from the inside out and the bottom up."