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The Rt. Rev. Riah H. Abu El-Assal
gave the following statement in Jerusalem Dec. 20, 1998, following
United States President Bill Clinton’s declaration of war on Iraq:
Currently, we are
preparing to celebrate Christmas: a time when we expect its joys to
be ours and those of the rest of the world; a time to rejoice in the
birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace; a time to love and to extend
love and peace. Since it may be ideal to think that all men, women
and children would experience the joys of this Holy Season, it is
equally fair to expect that (British) Prime Minister Tony Blair and
Bill Clinton would wish to be counted among those celebrating;
whereas the men, women and children of Iraq will not. The children
of Iraq will not have Christmas presents to enjoy except those US
missiles of mass destruction launched against Iraq and on which we
saw written “Merry Christmas”! The people of Iraq are truly faced
with the horrors of war, bloodshed, grievance and ultimate pain and
hardship. The present governments of the United Kingdom and the
United States have seemingly revealed that ‘red’ is the color of
this Christmastide-- a ‘red’ that could reflect also the blood of
innocent victims resulting from this shameful violation against
humanity, (an echo of the slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem at
the time of Jesus’ birth).
We, the Christians of
the Arab World are faced today with a serious dilemma. How can Tony
Blair present himself on public television declaring war on Iraq
while a Christmas tree stands behind him? Is this not a defiance of
Christianity and an embarrassment among fellow Christians? How can
Bill Clinton advocate peace in the Middle East a day before and then
moves to force war on Iraq? Is he really the same man who was
welcomed to Bethlehem, where he displayed an aura of love and peace?
Is he the same man who lit a candle in Bethlehem? Or did he mean to
use it to put Iraq on fire?
Jesus said: “Blessed
are the peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God.”
The children of God are expected to make peace. Whose children are
those who continue to speak peace but make war?
The Great Mahatma
Ghandi of India once said: “To refuse to struggle against the evil
of the world is to surrender one’s humanity; to struggle against the
evil with the weapons of the evildoer is to enter into one’
humanity; to struggle against the evil, the injustices and
oppression with the weapons of God is to enter one’s divinity.”
This horrifying cycle
of wars must be stopped. It can never be justified and it will not
bring about peace and reconciliation. The governments of the United
States and Britain must compensate the people of Iraq for the damage
they have done to them, a damage already being sustained by the
crippling sanctions.
Mr. Clinton and Mr.
Blair continue to threaten with further strikes. We call on
life-loving, peace-loving people to speak out against both leaders,
and their governments, who obviously do not value human life. This
senseless violation of human rights must be stopped. Or is one human
life valued over another because of his/her nationality or religion?
It amazes the child of God when president Clinton and Prime Minister
Blair turn a cheek of indifference towards those who are not seen or
heard. We see their tears. We hear their cries-- those children of
Iraq.
A Palestinian
Christian Israeli, Riah Abu El-Assal is a refugee, politician,
deacon, priest, archdeacon, canon, ecumenist, and inter-faith
activist. He is presently Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of
Jerusalem and the Middle East. In 1994, he was invited by Norway and
PNA Chairman Yasser Arafat to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
in Oslo. Bishop El-Assal was honored last year with the Jerusalem
Decoration, the highest in Palestine. He is author of Bridges for
Peace, launched in September 1998.
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