For years I found
myself entangled in exploring the multiplicity of histories,
mirrors, perceptions or the prevailing misperceptions characterizing
Jerusalem as the microcosm of the conflict surrounding us. In what
seems to be endless through the alleys of the Old City, that for
some reason or another became a typical fixture of my life, I came
to adopt standard terms that I keep repeating. These include the
dichotomy between the culture of power on the one hand, and the
power of culture on the other-- Inclusivity versus Exclusivity--
Pluralism versus Monolithization-- The group of groups in contrast
to the stifling version of nationalism-- Apartheid versus
Liberation. While it is advisable to avoid Manichaean positions
especially in the unfolding turn of events in Palestine and
elsewhere, one is always tempted to use such contrasts. Such a
temptation is bound to resurface in our annual ritual of Christian
Voices from the Holy Land. At the initiative of Afif Safieh and the
collaboration of Bernard Sabella, we seem to be setting our personal
version of the status quo in this Holiday Season, through this joint
annual elaborate card that could fit for Christmas, New Year,
Ramadan, Eid el Fiter, Hanukah and whatever else.
This has become our
personalized form of reaching out to our extended family of actual
or potential friends across the four corners of the earth. For us
three, it is a fresh reminder of our school days at the College des
Fréres, in the Old City of Jerusalem, prior to 1967 and an attempt
to see where we are moving year in, year out. The multiplicity of
histories does not seem confined to the converging or diverging
narratives over the Promised or Promising Land, as Afif would put
it. It also applies to the stones and rocks. Early in the Intifada,
over a pleasant chat with Sigbert Axelson, the prominent Uppsala
University theologian, we broached on the subject of the stone and
the broad array of versions and symbols it carries. Since then I
keep thinking of it. The term Intifada was globalized basically
through youngsters and women pelting stones in defiance of the
mightiest war machine in the region. In fact, they managed to get it
off balance. It was a repeat of David standing up to Goliath. Issam
Awwad, the resident architect in charge of the restoration of Al-Aqsa
mosque, had a different interpretation in presenting the Dome of the
Rock. In Islam, he once explained, we depend on our inferiors for
our material wellbeing. We need the animal for nourishment, the
animal needs grass, and grass needs earth that is based on the
Rock-- the foundation of all. Hence, the glorious structure around
the bare rock, a structure featuring majestically since AD 688. As
far as the Rock being the site of Abraham seeking to sacrifice
Isaac, or was it Isma’il?, few draw the relevant morale that the
choice for human life prevails over sacrifice.
The Creator
intervened to prevent infanticide even if it was intended for His
sake. I believe that same Rock was a sacrifice spot long before
Abraham and the introduction of “Monotheistic” religions. Coming to
the Wailing-- or was it the Western or Buraq-- Wall as another
version of rock, reachable those days by Internet, is it a site of
sorrow, hope or both? If it is so, does this mean that the third
temple should replace the Dome in an Armagedonian apocalypse? The
same wall, in Islam, is where Prophet Mohammed’s horse, Al-Buraq,
took off to heaven in the nocturnal journey.
The late Shlomo
Reich, an Israeli writer who dedicated years collecting Palestinian
embroidery, wrote, the Jews cherish the wall because it does not
answer them back.
Professor Zeev
Herzog, a leading Israeli archaeologist, revealed that
archaeological research for over a century could not provide a
single indication as to the Jews ever living in Egypt after crossing
Sinai. While this could be a scientific reality, it is far from
dissipating the symbolism of crossing and the stone tablet of the
Ten Commandments. Israeli songwriter, Naomi Shemer, commented on the
revelation: “I’m not an expert in archaeology but what does it
matter if it happened or not? Suppose the Bible didn’t happen, but
is merely a fable. In my opinion, that fable is more alive than all
the stones.”
Jesus Christ seems
to have personalized the stone through Peter, on whom the church was
to be built. Rev. Michael Prior, of St. Mary’s College, revived the
concept of the “Living Stones” to the Palestinians. Sabeel, the
movement for Liberation Theology, publishes the Cornerstone as its
mouthpiece. A marble stone in the Catholic basilica facing the tomb
of Christ marks the center of universe. Whenever I see queues of
worshippers lining up to visit the tomb, I keep asking myself what
are they looking for? If they are true believers, then the tomb must
be empty. Coming to the Calvary, the Rock of the crucifixion that
was cracked with the dazzling Resurrection, as can be seen in the
Chapel of Adam below Golgotha, recent renovation rendered it
visible. Fakhri Anastas, a Palestinian sculptor, spent about 40
years of his life carving with embroidery precision 54 pillar
capitals in the Holy Sepulchre. The highlight of his career was
being chosen to implement exposure of the Calvary Rock. This was
such a delicate assignment. As he proceeded to work, pilgrims would
beg him for a piece of stone or earth as a relic. He resisted all
temptations but one. A devout Russian pilgrim approached the old
craftsman with deference and in most spiritual gesture begging to
have a pebble or stone earth from a Calvary. Bound by professional
ethics, Anastas ordered her to stay away. Quietly, she withdrew and
sat on a bench near the Calvary. With utmost piety she gazed for
hours at the Rock and the Master Rockman. As Anastas finished his
work for the day, carefully packing the earth and stone remnants,
his eyes glanced towards the woman. Before sealing the packet, he
grabbed a few drops of earth and stone and handed it over to her. No
communion or spiritual feeling could have been holier for her than
that moment, remarked Anastas.
The mercantile
aspect beats a different tune altogether, these days, in Palestine.
Stone mining is a major source of income, with an annual turnover of
425 million dollars. Over 70 per cent of Israeli construction
depends on stone from Palestinian areas. A pragmatist might argue
that we are better off earning the income instead of hurling it
towards the occupiers for free or in return of publicity stunts,
martyrs imprisoned, and wounded. With lack of adequate environmental
measures, the situation is truly alarming. I came to be aware of
this as we are in the process of repelling mining sharks encroaching
on Birzeit University land. Things become more complicated when such
violators offer handsome donations to groups associated with the
Authority, publicly or privately, thus creating an atmosphere of
condoning the destruction of landscape. We are currently in the
process of standing up for such violations. Since Oslo, we came to
realize that the Declaration of Principles is not as important as
the day-to-day work needed to reconstruct Palestine. A state is not
a matter to declare but to build-- stone by stone.
For years, we have
been stating that Palestine is at cross roads. I don’t know until
when we will feel so or when the new era will come. I don’t know
either whether Jerusalem would soften its heart of stone. What I
know for sure is that stones and rocks had a history in Palestine
long before “Rock ‘n Roll” and the Rolling Stones!
