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Nations divided on future of Jerusalem

06 Dec 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's reading from the Book of the Prophet Baruch encourages Jerusalem to take off its "robe of mourning . . ." and "put on the splendor of glory . . . ." That splendor should be divided between Israel and a new state of Palestine in a draft of a European Union (EU) proposal for a "final settlement" between the two parties. An official call for dividing the city is expected from the EU next week. The proposal calls for Jerusalem to be divided in order to serve as the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. The draft, authored by Sweden--current holder of the rotating EU presidency--also implies that the EU would recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood. In a statement Tuesday the Israeli Foreign Ministry lashed out at the plan, saying the proposal would hurt rather than help the chances of renewing Middle East peace negotiations. "The process being led by Sweden harms the European Union's ability to take part as a significant mediator in the political process between Israel and the Palestinians." Israel is waging a diplomatic campaign to keep the EU from issuing the plan, but diplomats close to the deliberations believe it is almost inevitable. EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet on December 7 for a two-day meeting in Brussels on the peace process, after which a statement outlining the body's Mideast policy is expected. The Swedish draft represented the first official EU articulation of a solution for one of the core issues of a final-status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians. The document expressed concern over the stalemate in peace negotiations and called for the immediate renewal of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The goal, it stated, is "an independent, democratic, contiguous, and viable state of Palestine comprising the West Bank and Gaza and with East Jerusalem as its capital." "If there is to be a genuine peace," the statement said, "a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as capital of two states." Source: An article by Barak Ravid for Haaretz.com (Israel)

israel palestinian authority jerusalem peace talks european union palestine sweden
Israel’s unsettling construction plans

09 Dec 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Up, Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights . . . see your children gathered from the east and the west,” exhorts the prophet Baruch in this Sunday’s first reading. The relationship between Palestinians and Israelis is not so harmonious over Israel’s announcement last week that it intends to build thousands of housing units and expand controversial settlements into areas that would cut through a hoped-for Palestine state. Israel’s settlement push comes in response to—some say in retaliation for—a United Nations vote last week giving de facto state recognition to Palestine.The settlement plan has touched off an escalating international showdown. Palestinians claim the construction would deal a death blow to Mideast peace hopes. Even Israel's staunchest allies were caught off guard by the move and are now trying to get Israel to back down on these building efforts.Although the Israelis say construction could be years away, the proposal includes 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and intentions to press ahead with two other projects that would drive a wedge between East Jerusalem, the Palestinians' desired capital, and the West Bank.The Palestinians said they would leverage their newfound U.N. status to seek a Security Council resolution to halt the Jerusalem-area plans. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was determined to block the settlement building near Jerusalem with all legal and diplomatic means. "The settlement plans that Israel announced . . . are a red line," Abbas said. "This must not happen."Over the past generation Israel has moved more than 500,000 Jews into settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, complicating any future partition of the land into two states. The Palestinians oppose all settlement construction, saying it prejudices the outcome of peace talks, which stalled four years ago over settlements.Israel annexed East Jerusalem after capturing it 45 years ago and claims the area as part of its capital. While the annexation is not internationally recognized, many Israeli leaders say they will never agree to divide the holy city.Homily hint: Reconciliation between longtime adversaries may seem elusive, but Advent is a season of patience and of hope. Encourage all in attendance to cultivate such qualities in their homes, families, and cities. Thus is the world changed for the better. Source: An article by Matthew Lee and Edith M. Lederer for the Associated Press

advent israel united nations mahmoud abbas west bank east jerusalem palestine
Are warring parties willing to make the peace?

20 Jul 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

God’s justice is tempered by mercy and kindness, this Sunday’s readings instruct us. Israel feels justified in continuing its intense bombing campaign in Gaza given the number of rockets being fired by Hamas at Israel and Hamas’ rejection of a ceasefire proposal from Egypt. But pressure to end the conflict increases daily given the extensive humanitarian crisis unfolding for civilian Palestinians, who account for about 80 percent of fatalities according to a U.N. report. Nevertheless, the conflict seems to be deepening. A senior Israeli military official said Wednesday the likelihood of a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip was “very high,” and that “if you want to efficiently fight terrorism you must be present, boots on the ground.” Meanwhile, Catholic leaders in the Holy Land called for an end to the cycle of violence and criticized Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its collective punishment of Palestinians. "Using the death of the three Israelis to exact collective punishment on the Palestinian people as a whole and on its legitimate desire to be free is a tragic exploitation of tragedy and promotes more violence and hatred," said a statement from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land. The Ordinaries, who include Catholic bishops and the Franciscan religious superior (custos) of the Holy Land, called the situation in Gaza "an illustration of the never-ending cycle of violence in the absence of a vision for an alternative future." "We must find leaders who are clear-sighted and courageous enough to face the urgency of the present situation and to take the difficult decisions that are needed, leaders who, if necessary, are ready to sacrifice their political careers for the sake of a just and lasting peace,” they said. “Such leaders have the vocation to be healers, peacemakers, seekers of justice, and visionaries of the alternatives to the cycle of violence," they said, recalling Pope Francis' separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders during his May visit to the Holy Land and "his incessant call for justice and peace." Homily hint: Violent confrontations never lead to peace, only sow the seeds for further reprisals. But as this Sunday’s gospel demonstrates, the smallest seed can grow to the largest bush, with faith. Let us be sowers of peace, beginning in our own neighborhoods. With faith, the harvest will be plentiful peace. Source: Articles by Catholic News Service, Reuters, and Jodi Rudoren and Anne Barnard for The New York Times

middle east israel and palestine justice and mercy
Palestinian flag a red flag for some, banner day for others

04 Oct 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The message of this week’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews is that Jesus embraces lowliness to exalt all to glory. The Palestinian people, denied a homeland and recognition as a state since the creation of Israel, Wednesday saw their flag raised for the first time at the United Nations. The watershed moment won support on many fronts, but drew condemnation from Israel and the United States. The historic moment came after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly that the Palestinian Authority was no longer bound by the Oslo Peace Accords. He accused Israel of not committing to the Oslo Accords and in response said, "They leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements, while Israel continuously violates them." Homily hint: Reconciliation is hard work—whether between individuals or among nations—but it is the Lord’s work. If God could be humble enough to die on a cross, the least we—or any nation—can do is reconcile with someone with whom we have differences. For more: Historic raising of Palestinian flag at United Nations; The First-Ever Raising of Palestine's Flag at the U.N. Is Our Moment of Hope

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Congress contemplates moving U.S. embassy to Jerusalem

08 Jan 2017 - Preaching the News for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle A

This Sunday’s first reading is a paean to the ancient city of Jerusalem, which is called on to “rise up in splendor” as “nations” and “kings” “gather and come to you” drawn by the city’s “shining radiance.” But in recent decades, Jerusalem has been a zone of strife and conflict, particularly between Israelis and Palestinians, both of whom make claims upon the city. This week the U.S. Congress took a step that, if fulfilled, would place the United States firmly on Israel’s side of the conflict over Jerusalem. Senate Republicans introduced a bill Tuesday to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel and move the United States embassy there. The controversial plan, for which President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly voiced support on the campaign trail, is almost certain to further inflame tensions between Palestinians and Israelis. The bill was introduced on the first day of the new Congress by Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, along with Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas—two senators who lost out to Trump in the primary race for the Republican nomination last year. "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish state of Israel, and that's where America's embassy belongs," Rubio said in a joint statement announcing the bill. "It's time for Congress and the president-elect to eliminate the loophole that has allowed presidents in both parties to ignore U.S. law and delay our embassy's rightful relocation to Jerusalem for over two decades." The bill, called the "Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act," requires the United States to act on a 1995 proposal calling on the country to relocate its diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Since the 1995 bill's passage, every president—both Republican and Democrat—has waived the requirement of the move, citing national security considerations. Jerusalem has always been among the most difficult questions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even after the United Nations recognized the State of Israel in 1948, it left the final status of Jerusalem—home to some of the most sacred sites in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity—open to future negotiations. Israelis see Jerusalem as their united capital. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Trump has said he'd like to try making peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but he's also vowed to relocate the embassy and recognize Jerusalem as Israel's official capital—moves Palestinian leaders have denounced as the death of the "two-state" solution. Heller’s bill restricts funding for the State Department for fiscal year 2017 under the heading “Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance”—saying that not more than 50 percent of funding would be appropriated to the Department of State until the secretary of state reports that the embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. “It is finally time to cut through the double-speak and broken promises and do what Congress said we should do in 1995: formally move our embassy to the capital of our great ally Israel,” Cruz said. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Israel, his bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, recently said in a statement to the press that he is looking forward to doing the job “from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem.” The U.S. embassy currently is located in Tel Aviv, where it has been since 1948. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would violate longstanding U.S. policy, which is not to recognize any sovereign in the Holy City. Every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama has refused to move the embassy to Jerusalem. Since passage of the Jerusalem Embassy Act, presidents have refused to move the embassy by signing presidential waivers on national security grounds. Lessons drawn from the readings “Justice shall flower” in the day of the Lord’s rule, the psalmist promises this Sunday. The international community does not consider Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem since 1967 to be justified or legal. It is hard to see a path to peace if the United States moves ahead with the proposed legislation, given that there are scores of United Nations resolutions refusing to recognize Israel's claim that the holy city is its capital and sole, undivided possession. Resolution 478 was passed following the adoption in July 1980 of an Israeli law that declared Jerusalem to be Israel's capital. It also came on the heels of complaints from Europe and the Vatican about Israel's settlement policy in Jerusalem. The resolution declared that Israel's law making Jerusalem its capital was “null and void.” Final thought in light of the news The U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 2334 on December 23 last year, which reiterates the Security Council's view that it will “not recognize any changes to the June 4, 1967, lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.” Should President-elect Trump move the embassy to Jerusalem, not only will he prejudice any future peace negotiations, but he could land the United States in legal hot water. Given the overwhelming international consensus that Israel's annexation of Jerusalem is null and void, the U.N. General Assembly could request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice questioning the legality of locating an embassy in Jerusalem. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem without also recognizing Palestinian rights could potentially offend Christians and Muslims for whom Jerusalem also holds special reverence. Let’s find a better path forward for the city whose very name can be understood to mean “city of peace.”

israel palestine Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act Israeli-Palestinian conflict u.s. embassy jerusalem