MWR : 'We don't want your aid'

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March 1, 2010 issue

Tags: Washington Witness by Lyndaker Schlabach Middle East

'We don't want your aid'

By Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach Mennonite Central Committee

On a Saturday morning in late January, I sat in the offices of the Near East Council of Churches in Gaza City. I was there with other Mennonite Central Committee staff, visiting partners and assessing the current situation in Gaza.

Lyndaker Schlabach

Constantine Dabbagh, executive secretary of the Council, told us about their work in Gaza, providing job-training programs, English and computer classes and health clinics. One of the clinics was bombed by Israel during the war in 2008-09.

The needs in Gaza are great. But Dabbagh wasn’t looking for material assistance from MCC.

“We don’t want your aid,” he said, “unless it comes with your advocacy for our rights and for justice.” His comments make clear: This crisis is human-made and can be solved with political will.

In 2005 Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza, but since then has maintained control over Gaza’s borders, waters and airspace. The siege has severely restricted the movement of people in and out of Gaza, as well as goods and supplies.

During our travels we drove along the southern border, where as many as 3,000 tunnels into Egypt serve as a lifeline for getting supplies into Gaza. Egypt is constructing a wall that extends about 100 feet into the ground, in order to block access to the tunnels. If construction continues as projected, the wall could be finished in a matter of months, making the closure even more severe.

Supposedly the siege is to protect Israelis from Hamas rocket attacks. Clearly, launching rockets against civilians is indefensible. Yet many Gazans who are not sympathetic to Hamas said the group has grown stronger as a result of the closure. The siege has given rise to extremist groups, some related to al-Qaida.

In the meantime, everyday life for people in Gaza continues to worsen. According to the United Nations, unemployment is about 45 percent. Four out of every five Gazans lives on less than $2 a day. For these reasons, person after person that we spoke with urged us to persuade the U.S. government to stop supporting Israel’s blockade.

There are some encouraging signs. In December, 33 members of the U.S. Congress signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling on Israel to allow Gazan students to study in the West Bank. Then in January, 54 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to support lifting the blockade of Gaza. “The humanitarian and political consequences of a continued near-blockade would be disastrous,“ they wrote.

While these letters are welcome developments, they are just the first steps in moving toward a meaningful shift in U.S. policy. Members of Congress need to hear that this issue is important to their constituents, and the Obama administration needs to increase pressure on Israel to ease the blockade.

As Dabbagh wrapped up his conversation with us, he referred to Eccl. 4:1: “Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed — with no one to comfort them!”

As fellow Christians, let us offer comfort to those who are oppressed. But even more than comfort and aid, let us use our voices to call for justice.

Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach directs the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office.

Comments

I just got back from a Peace Learning Tour through MCC Manitoba and I am presenting a one hour Power Point Presentation to the local churches. Most of the people I talk to don't really know what is happening in Israel. I would encourage the media to present a document of the situation more often. Thank you.

- Walter Hamm (jun 7 at 11:02 a.m.)
We got back from Israel 2 weeks ago tonight. We saw the injustice of the illegal Israeli settlements on many hills, the walled-in city of Bethlehem. We did not go to Gaza. It is just sad to see that our tax dollars are being used to limit the food supply to Gaza, to kill people on ships who have no guns, etc. The official word of Israel is "We won't let them starve (in Gaza). We just want to limit their calorie intake." It is a mystery to me that many "evangelical" Christians support Israel. They are not even Christian and we let the Christians in Palestine and Israel suffer and experience the ethnic cleansing that is going on to push all Palestinians out of the area of Palestine. And we are doing very little to help our fellow Christians. It is Israel that is trying to push the Palestinians into the sea--many check points, barrier wire, walls that snake around to include the land Israel wants. We talked to two brothers at church in Bethlehem whose family has owned, through their grandfather since 1916, 100 acres on a hill top. Israel is trying to steal it. The family won some years ago a court battle to keep their land. The Thursday after we talked to them on Sunday the Israelis came pointing their guns at the owners, again trying to take their land. Their lawyer appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court. They got a hearing, so they will have their land until the Court decides. It cost them $75,000 the last time. I can only report what I have seen and heard. We were in Israel longer than we were in Palestine. Israel is not operating as a democratic state. They are not following the teachings of Jesus, nor the NT. How can a Christian support Israel?

A study of the OT show that the focus was on land, people of the land, kings, etc. A study of the NT teaches us that the focus is on Christ and the Church. Which will count on the Judgment Day? A study of history tells us that the "State of Israel"--not the current state--has controlled the land for only 1300 of the past 5000 years. Is that "everlasting covenant"? An honest reading of the OT reveals clearly that the covenant was in effect only as long as the children of Israel were obedient. They were in Egypt and Babylon for years. Who controlled the land then?

How often do we think about the fact that our "Christian Fathers" did not act like Christians in relationship to the Native Americans when we stole their land, ethnic cleansed most of what is now the USA?

- Les (jun 7 at 9:07 p.m.)

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