In December, 2004, 75 Presbyterian and Jewish clergy and lay leaders from important New York City churches and synagogues convened at Auburn Theological Seminary for a dialogue about Israel, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and divestment, organized by Auburn and the New York Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.  We were brought together by a crisis in Presbyterian-Jewish relations, precipitated by the decision at the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church (USA) in June that the Church should explore phased, selective divestment in corporations that do business in Israel, particularly those that support the “occupation.”  A final vote on divestment will take place at the General Assembly in June, 2006.

We became aware at the meeting of a several important things:   that the suffering of Palestinians and of Israelis concerned all of us; that as Christians and Jews, we are invested in Israel – a “Holy Land” for both -  but that we don’t understand the religious and communal roots of our respective relationships with Israel; and that a joint trip to Israel would deepen this understanding and the relationship among us. 

A year of dialogue followed, some of it focused on texts that illuminate our  connections with Israel.  In the meantime, we began planning our trip.  It was to be our shared journey, with an agenda created by AJC and Auburn, designed to enable us to see the Israeli and Palestinian worlds through each others’ eyes, and to reveal the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in its true complexity   - a complexity inaccessible through media and second hand reports. 

On February 20, 19 Presbyterians and Jews, clergy and lay, arrived in Jerusalem to begin an extraordinary week of encounters with religiously diverse Israelis and Palestinians, reflecting a broad spectrum of political opinion and a broad range of life circumstances and experiences.  We also visited Christian and Jewish holy sites, participated in each others’ Sabbath services, and studied Christian and Jewish texts that illuminated aspects of our trip.

As a Jewish organizer of the group, I of course hoped that the Presbyterian leaders would come home ready to oppose divestment when it comes up for a vote in June.   (Some, like my Auburn Seminary friend and collaborator, Rev. Dr. Katharine Henderson, had always opposed divestment, while others on our trip were not so sure.) But I understood that there would be no guarantees; that we would experience pain inflicted not only by Palestinians on Israelis, but also by Israelis on Palestinians, and it was unclear what effect this would have on the Presbyterian participants.  

As it turned out, they returned believing that divestment is a wrong path for their Church – that not only will divestment not bring an end to the Palestinian suffering, which only an end of the conflict can do; but that it would deepen the alienation between Palestinians and Israelis, and so create a further obstacle to reconciliation and peace.  I am immensely heartened by this outcome. Equally powerful for me, though, was the chance to witness the impact of bridge building and dialogue that was manifest in the lives by many of the Israelis and Palestinians, both secular and religious, with whom we met.  Many of them had been transformed by their experience into peacemakers.  Katharine Henderson tells some of these stories in a sermon she delivered after the trip.  It is attached here.

Also striking was the extent and effectiveness of Israeli and Palestinian activism.  So many of the people we met with are engaged in efforts to shape the future of their societies, refusing to abdicate this responsibility to their political leaders, or allow current political logjams to block grassroots projects that pave the way for a better life for the Israeli and Palestinian people.   Jacob Ner-David and Sami Abu Dayyeh are perfect examples – an Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneur working as partners to develop Atarot, on the outskirts of Jerusalem near the Kalandia checkpoint, into an industrial park that would stimulate economic development for Jerusalem and the neighboring Palestinian community in Ramallah.  Their theory:  if you create the economic facts on the ground that  provide incentives for resolving Israeli-Palestinian conflicts about the future of Jerusalem, a mutually beneficial resolution is more likely. 

Finally, I have been moved by the impact of our trip on our group.  Each of us had the opportunity to step outside ourselves, and enter each other’s personal and communal space.  It was enormously expanding and revelatory, and it will pave the way for future activity to widen the circle of engagement between our communities.  To be continued…..