Hamas victory and HMD

Christian leaders of all denominations issued many fine statements for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day in Cardiff. Stephen Bates did a good report in the Guardian. The irony of this memorial event occurring almost simultaneously with the election of a party committed to the annihilation of Israel to form the Palestinian government will be lost to few. Have the lessons of the Holocaust been learned? Will the world stand by and let this happen again, or will our religious leaders have the courage to speak out?

So far, my attempts to elicit comments on the Hamas victory from the main leaders of our churches have not been successful, although to be fair, everyone is slightly stunned by what has happened and doesn't quite know how to react. (Update, Methodist Church was the first to issue early response, here.) But you can judge for yourself by reading the Hamas charter, quoted below and online here. Besides urging the destruction of Israel, the charter also avows jihad against Western crusaders, a term which presumably includes even pro-palestinian Christians. It urges all Arab countries to join in the jihad against, not just Israelis and Zionists, but all Jews and quotes the blatantly false Protocols of Zion as if they were true. This site here also publishes the charter. Still not convinced? Read it again here. And while I don't want to ruin your day or give you nightmares, I really recommend you read Yossi Klein Halevi's chilling analysis, The End Game, here.

As it is no secret that liberal Christians in particular have tended to lean in favour of the Palestinian cause, it will be interesting to see how far this stance will be maintained in future and what the response will be to this Hamas victory.

Here is what the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said about Holocaust Memorial Day. (The Archbishop, incidentally, is to visit Germany and Poland next week to attend a major ecumenical theological conference and to take part in the celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, also the subject of an exhibition at Westminster Central Hall. Bonhoeffer gave his life in his battle against the Nazis. He died in a concentration camp.)

Dr Williams said: "2006 is a year of particular significance as it is the 350th anniversary of the Resettlement of the Jewish community in this country. As a nation we should celebrate this anniversary, marking as it does, not only an attempt to right some of the terrible wrongs earlier inflicted on Jewish people, but also as an opportunity to celebrate the quite remarkable contributions of Jewish people to every aspect of the life of this country. Without the Resettlement, it is hard to imagine what our history, culture, politics and economy would be like today. Without doubt we would have been greatly the poorer in every respect.

"It is all the more appalling that despite these positive developments, there is an acknowledged and frightening rise in anti-Semitic publications, websites and physical incidents in this country and in many others. The desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Manchester and London, a range of hate incidents and the need for security at all synagogues - these are matters that we cannot ignore. Is it not a matter of the gravest concern that a religious community in this country must, on the advice of the police, put in place a range of security measures for its worship, the education of its children and its social activities? For what other religious community is this systematically the case?  This is serious enough; but elsewhere in the world, there are inflammatory, bigoted and irresponsible statements made even by some in prominent public positions."

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said: "History’s greatest evil remains barely graspable by the human mind. But I glimpsed something of it at a visit once to Auschwitz, where a room contained suitcases stamped with the initials of those who were taken to the gas chamber. Their suitcases, and their names, were stripped from them: the Jews and others whom the Nazis scapegoated had to be de-humanised in order to be slaughtered.  The warning is clear: wherever dehumanisation takes hold, terrible evil is sure to follow.

"That is why the message of the Shoah remains one of the defence of the God-given intrinsic dignity of all human beings, of which the right to life is the primordial. This is a right which comes with birth; it is not a concession of the state or the law. It cannot be given and taken away. It is the indelible mark of God in us, and its denial is a sacrilege.

"The Catholic Church solemnly teaches that Jesus was a descendant of David; that Mary and the Apostles belonged to the Jewish people; that the Church is nourished by its roots in Judaism; and that the Jews are our ‘elder brothers and sisters’ in faith. The Catholic people of the world stand with Jews against anti-semitism and holocaust denial, and in defence of the God-given dignity of all human beings. We are one human family: today’s commemoration is especially that of the Jewish people, but it is also that of the victims of genocide everywhere and throughout history. We can never forget."

The Cardinal is in Rome at present and unable to comment on Hamas.

But Memri, the Middle East Media Research Institute, has compiled a list of Hamas comments in the run-up to the election.

According to Memri, the Hamas election platform includes a declaration of intent to "eliminate the occupation," but does not mention the eradication of Israel. Upon the publication of the platform, there were various reactions to the omission of this objective, which is often mentioned by Hamas and appears in its charter. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri vehemently denied that there was any contradiction between the platform and Hamas's charter: "The platform refers to details and implementation methods for the next four years, while the charter lays out our permanent strategic views."

Salah Al-Bardawil, another candidate on the Hamas list, stated that "Hamas has never proposed to change or amend its charter. The platform presents a realistic view that reflects Hamas's goals for the next four years. Had we spoken of eliminating and eradicating Israel within this period, we would have been be deceiving our people and repeating false slogans. But this does not stand in contradiction [to the fact that] we place emphasis on the elimination and non-recognition of Israel."

Freemasons and Rotary are also named as enemies in the Charter.

Meanwhile, Anglicans for Israel welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury's HMD remarks but "with reservations". AFI said: "We at Anglicans for Israel welcome this statement from the Archbishop, but with reservations. It fails to address the demonization of the only Jewish state, Israel, and the centrality of Israel is at the heart of Jewish faith and practice. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s contribution to the fight against anti-Semitism would be enormously enhanced were he to call for an end to terrorism against the people of Israel and all attempts to marginalize or boycott the Jewish State."

AFI has also highlighted the plight of Palestinian Christians, as described on this blog here.

PeaceNow Uk has commented on Hamas: "Hamas’ election victory and recent events in Israel have dramatically changed the Israeli/Palestinian political landscape. It will take time for the full implications of these events to become clearer. But new opportunities for progress towards a peace settlement between the two peoples may now emerge. In the past such opportunities were lost because one or other of the parties, or both, were unable to take advantage of new dynamics, sticking to old mantras - ‘security’ on one side and  ‘only by blood will the occupation be ended’ on the other. We urge all concerned to make every effort possible to take the difficult steps needed to achieve a peace agreement.

"What does this mean? It requires Hamas to renounce violence as a means for resolving the dispute and to recognise Israel’s right to exist. We welcome the statement at Davos today by the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, using the Beirut Conference formula through which Hamas could recognise Israel. Israel must be ready to enter into negotiations with a Hamas-lead government, once this renunciation occurs, and to take confidence-building steps to create a climate conducive to peace negotiations. This must include a freeze on any further settlement building and the removal of all illegal settlement outposts.

"Peace Now-UK would welcome and support steps by the Israeli and Palestinian Governments that lead to an end to violence and bloodshed and which open the way to a renewal of negotiations to end the conflict."

The lessons of the Holocaust here are plain for all to see, one hopes. UN's Kofi Annan said on HMD: "Man has incredible capacity for evil. It should be checked. It should not be left only to governments. And I hope education in the schools will continue. There are bigots today who would deny that the Holocaust  occurred, that unique experience of Holocaust occurred. And that should be countered. We see racism, humiliation of the other. And that is how it begins. You start with humiliation, you start with discrimination, you demean the other and before you know it, it has moved onto incredible levels. So I would urge schools to teach tolerance, to remind students in their history books what happened with the Holocaust and we would be doing society a great service."

Can we really hope for Hamas to renounce one of its own charter statements and recognise Israel's right to exist? Will the Archbishop of Canterbury's new Christian-Muslim Forum have the courage to make a similar demand of Hamas as one of its early initiatives? What is the Pope going to say about it all? Hamas has links with Iran, the country whose president called recently for Israel to be "wiped off the map".

This brings me to the recent papal encyclical. I was asked to write a comment for the paper to go with the news story, so won't add any more here, except to publish the response of my correspondent Irene Lancaster, an academic and historian based in Manchester.

Irene says: "Regarding your article on Benedict and love, this is where I might help. The description of woman as ‘rib-made helpmeet’ demonstrates the problem of translations. The word for ‘rib’ in Hebrew also means part of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) which contained God’s female glory, the Shekhina, which is a word related to Mishkan in Hebrew. The term ‘help-meet’ actually means ‘help, as opposed to, or contrasting with, or corresponding in mutual difference to’. Woman’s role, if any, is to challenge men by being different, but equal: ‘corresponding’ is another good translation. The idea is that you need tension in a sexual relationship, not just in sex, but in cohabitation as well, or it becomes boring. This demonstrates how psychologically attuned the early rabbinic interpreters were. The Hebrew makes it quite clear that Eve (which means ‘desire’) is equal to, if not superior to man. Adam, in any case, is not ‘a man’ (for which there is a different word), but ‘humanity’. In other words, humanity contains a ‘rib’, part of the indwelling Shechina, which humanity itself builds (not ‘makes’) into the glory of woman.
This is not Kabbalah, but strictly rabbinic midrashic commentary, known to all Jewish school children."

(Irene also notes that it is instructive to remember that Hitler was also voted in by democratic election.)

(There are some debates on the encyclical here and here.)

The potential consequences of Hamas are potentially too shocking to spell out and there is no need in any case. Everyone can work them out for themselves.

Edward Kessler's new Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations has an interesting section on Palestinian liberation theology, whose proponents are primarily concerned with developing good relations with Muslims in the Arab world.

They like to work with Jewish Israelis occasionally, but only where they are critical of Zionism and Israeli policy. Surely even some of these theologians must now be at least a little bit concerned.

If only we could all just quote the Pope and say, love one another and all will be well. I haven't read the Hamas charter or election manifesto in full, but somehow I doubt the word "love", in all its forms from eros to agape, appears often, if at all. Either explicitly, or implicitly, in caritas.

Comments

[Robert Nowell]

How democratic was the last election in Germany that preceded the Nazi Machtergreifung? And Hitler only got his supreme powers when, I think, nasty people like Communists had been excluded from the Reichstag and when the Catholic Centre Party caved in and decided to support him (not a very creditable episode, given that before that the Catholic Church had quite an honourable record in resisting Naziism). The idea that Hitler was voted into power "democratically" is one that needs an awful lot of qualification. After all, Tony Blair was voted into power "democratically" - with the support of a derisory minority of the electorate.

[Adventer]

Wow, There is such a lot to note here. Irene Lancaster’s illuminating exposition of "the description of woman as ‘rib-made helpmeet’" being a fascinating topic in its own right.
But this is really about the "Hamas victory and HMD" and "the irony of this memorial event occurring almost simultaneously with the election of a party committed to the annihilation of Israel"
Michel de Nostredame, a descendent of the tribe of Issachar, who revealed "by which means the prophet can judge what is given to him by his own divine Spirit through God the Creator and his natural intuition", foretold "There will be omens in the Spring, and extraordinary changes thereafter, reversals of Nations and mighty Earthquakes...”
This assertion he made regarding events around the turn of the Millennium - in other words about now. Those familiar with the prophetic works of “Nostradamus” will know that many of his quatrains relating to the latter part of the 20th and beginning of the 21st Centuries concern deteriorating relations between East and West; some surprisingly accurately, although it might be noted that - as prophecy is wont to work - only unfolding events confirm prophetic intent.
Anyhow we should not be surprised Hamas won out over Fatah. Rebellion is in the air, not only between ideological East and West, but too amongst all the peoples of this Earth; yes all corners heave with discontentment.
We may expect many “reversals of Nations”, and much else besides in such inflationary times.

[Maurice A. O'Sullivan]

As a Roman Catholic I would like to think that the sentiments of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster on the occasion of HMD are shared by all his flock. Unfortunately, the English biblical scholar and Benedictine monk, Henry Wansbrough, in his introduction to the 2002 Lattey Lecture [ Devoted to " The Jewish People and its Holy Scripture in the Christian Bible " , published by the Pontifical Biblical Commission ] announced his refusal to "use the term 'Holocaust' , which I regard as a bullyingly racist term".
[http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sben0056/latterylecture.pdf ]

[Malcolm Bowden]

Sadly, it is not surprising that there is no great rush to comment adversely on the Hamas victory by the Church. They're far too busy trying to curry favour with Muslims. How many times do we hear from Bishops the phrase "the Abrahamic religions" or "the three great monotheistic religions" as though it were possible somehow to distil them all into some kind of religious essence which all can believe in. . It is both theological and political nonsense. Christians have far more in common with Jews than Muslims. Jesus was a Jew. It was from the Jews that salvation comes Granted the Jews do not necessarily behave well. Neither do Christians. But we should stand by our cousins in religion and roundly condemn those who would try to reignite the holocaust, whether from the extreme right in Europe or extreme Islam in the Middle East.

[Arnold Roth]

Dear Ruth,

You wrote:
"So far, my attempts to elicit comments on the Hamas victory from the main leaders of our churches have not been successful, although to be fair, everyone is slightly stunned by what has happened and doesn't quite know how to react."

Though no less stunned, most Israelis have a clear-headed view of what all this means, including those of us, like my wife and me, who have experienced the cold-blooded and brutal murder of a child at the hands (literally) of the new parliamentarians.

My wife Frimet was interviewed in your paper yesterday (28th Jan) - see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2013604,00.html Her comments were straightforward and to the point:
"“Nothing has changed,” says Mrs Roth. “Hamas wants the destruction of the state of Israel just the same; only now they have learnt how to talk to the media.” In a country that has lost more than 430 citizens to Hamas suicide bombs in the past five years, many believe the decision to withdraw from Gaza gave Hamas a huge boost. “For them, that was a clear indication that the way of terror was worthwhile,” Mrs Roth said."

I think Frimet spoke for most Israelis. For years, we've listened to the wishful-thinking-posing-as-analysis of those who wanted us to believe Hamas and the other Islamicist barbarians at war with Western culture and with Jews in particular were some sort of insignificant fringe element.

Last week's events now demand that the proponents of that 'fringe' theory own up. Hamas truly does speak for a majority of Palestinian Arabs. Those discomforted by the revelation are left to do some serious soul-searching - and perhaps extend apologies to those families, like mine, who have a permanent empty place at their table and a huge hole in their hearts for a fifteen year-old child blown apart in the name of the Kingdom of Islam on Earth. There's some background for anyone interested at www.kerenmalki.org

Yes, I'm aware that those apologies will not arrive soon. Indeed, that same Times interview yesterday bracketed my wife's plain-speaking with the sophistry of an Israeli left-wing extremist.

For those of your readers who might not have imagined it possible that reflexive ideologues of the left could take this week's massive vote of confidence in the Tiny Extremist Radical Faction and turn it into a ho-hum-nothing-new-here apologetic, I offer the words of Frankenthal, bracketed in some sort of pathetic attempt at 'balancing' those of my wife:
"Many Israelis said that their Government should negotiate with Hamas. One poll showed 48 per cent in favour. Yitzhak Frankenthal, whose son was killed by Hamas, said: “The PLO also had a clause talking about the destruction of the state of Israel and they changed it. International pressure will bring Hamas to do the same”.

Sadly most journalists and their editors lack the wit to place off-the-map comments like his in their rightful place. Suggesting, as Saturday's Times piece does, that most Israelis want to engage with the islamo-nazis of Hamas is straight out of cloud-cuckoo land.

Frankenthal and his ilk have too much at stake, personally and ideologically, to sit quietly and repent at the latest events.

The rest of us, aware that not much has changed except that a certain mask has fallen, will be busy keeping our powder dry and keeping a watchful eye over our children, homes, buses and schools.

[Steve Ward]

The word holocaust is a hopeless expression of the Nazi persecution of Israelites, Romany, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and various other unfortunates singled out by Hitler’s regime as enemies of the State; this is why its very utterance rankles with Mankind. The holocaust was thou shalt not kill enacted under the auspices of human economics. The people murdered by the Nazis were not sacrificed. They were cold bloodily murdered; millions of innocent people, for a political purpose and not religious ceremony as the term holocaust implies; as for example Mayan treatment of their captives may be described.

Mankind should never ever forget what the Nazi regime did; but a hysterical memory must be dropped. The global population must believe and go forward as one peaceful mind.

[Frank Adam]

Dear Ruth,

Does not the gloriously liberal(?) victory of Hamas as the rightful representatives of the rights of all(?)Philestanis Revolution merit revision to the more accurate spelling of, "PalesTAN"? and Philistanis?

Yours sincerely,
Frank Adam

[Richard Martens]

During the period from 1948 to 1967 when Jerusalem was occupied by Jordan and under Muslim control the Christian population shrank from 25,000 to 11,000.

When Israel turned the esential control of areas of Judea & Samaria over to the Palestinian Authority, Christians likewise made an exodus in flight from Islamic persecution.

The occupation of the Church of the Nativity including theft of Christian Holy relics was another indication of Islamic views towards Christians.

As the Custodian of the Holy Land, Pr. PierBattista Pizzaballa has recorded, there has been an increasing marginization of Christians by Muslims including but not limited to land theft.

Now we have Hamas which represents the extreme Islamic position vis a vis "infidels" in the Holy Land including Christians. I believe that the first victims of Hamas may not necessarily be Jews, but Christians. After all, Jews have a highly efficient army to protect them while Christians have nothing to count on except the "good will" of Hamas.

If the PA, which has a secular standing in addition to an Islamic one has attacked the Christian community as much as they have over the years then what do you expect from an extreme anti-Christian Islamic organization which has been handed a "mandate" to "cleanse" the Land through a duly elected Palestinian population?
That Christians and the Church have consistently over the years supported the Islamic parties is simply amazing to me but I fear the years of anti-Israeli positions will now come to haunt them in a very tragic and sad end to the Christian community in the Holy Land.

[Raj Joshi, Leicestershire]

I am personally disgusted at the level of racism I have viewed in the charter.

I have heard lately people in parts of the World mentioning a desire to "wipe out" the state of Israel. If this is not inciting racial and religious hatred in terms of the law I do not know what is. Such hatred is inhumane.

There should be no room for racist regimes in this United World; indeed Iraq under the guidance of Saddam Hussain was a bigoted regime. Zimbabwe under Mugabe is a bigoted regime. And there may be many other similar regimes.

And a fact is that such regimes foster terrorism. Nonetheless we are again made aware that racist regimes do exist and this charter reminds us of that.

I will be careful here and state that words such as "Jihad" and "infidels" are words used, in my opinion, by cowards hiding behind a personal view of faith.

People that used such words in the false belief that these words relate to God, are not only arrogant, they are ill informed.

The sad thing is that hatred such as this can spark off ill informed beliefs in this country and frankly no one in this day and age in this country will tolerate racist murders. We have done too much to tolerate such bigotry.

As a Hindu lay preacher I am very aware that some may view me as an infidel, and to these people I would say, "grow up, you are playing childish games of war, I am not inferior to you, neither are my Jewish, Sikh, other Muslim and Christian freinds. These peoples have no courage to face us up front. Not only will they not "beat" us up, but they will not beat the humanity of Western and Eastern beliefs that transcend that God is about love not hate. These people seem to have forgotten that actually they own nothing and that our life on this earth is temporary. We come with nothing and we go with nothing.

If more people would share the cake as opposed to wanting their OWN cake and eating it, this world would be a better place.

Personally I meet some people with bigoted views most day. Indeed some Black and Asian people here today in the National Black Police Association overtly did not support a Holocaust conference recently run in memory of the dangers of genocide. I challenged this personally as one individual and got absolutely no response from the National Black Police Association.