14 May, 15 May 

These are two hugely significant days in the Holy Land, celebrated or memorialised every year, writes David Nelson. And with this year's Baptist Assembly falling on one of them, it was important space was made for Israel-Palestine this year

These are awful times in the Middle East and we want to hide from the news, or shout at the broadcasters, or simply shake our heads that ‘it’ will never get solved (whatever ‘it’ refers to for each of us).

So to 14 May. Israel’s National Day of Independence. Celebrating the formation of the State of Israel in 1948 following a fairly long journey involving Theodor Herzl, our own Lord Balfour, David Ben-Gurion. A day that is also chosen in Israel as Jerusalem Day, marking Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Jerusalem Day is a bad day to be a Palestinian Christian or Muslim in the old city of Jerusalem – there is always violence from Israeli teenagers and young adults, there are verbal and physical assaults on people and property, policed with an extremely light touch and some would argue policed with full protection for any Israeli aggression and against any Palestinian or international resistance (non-violent).

So to 15 May. At midnight on 14/15 May in 1948 the UK withdrew from Israel-Palestine at the end of our mandate to run the territory after the First World War. It is marked as Nakba Day by Palestinians, responding to the trauma of displacement they faced as they were forced, or effectively forced to leave their home towns and villages for safer areas to the east, mostly in the West Bank. Around 750,000 people became refugees at this time. Nakba is Arabic for catastrophe, for this is what it was for those displaced – they were never able to return.

Two hugely significant days, next to each other, celebrated or memorialised every year.

This 15 May, Israel-Palestine was on the agenda at our own Assembly in Harrogate. If you were able to squeeze into the room, then I hope the reflective space was helpful, the conversations were of value, and the actions you might have come away with will be purposeful. What can we do as Baptists to raise our voice for the oppressed across the Holy Land (and Lebanon, and elsewhere), to speak clearly to the situation with our neighbours of all faiths and within our communities across the UK, to be sensitive to those who disagree but at the same time to challenge injustice where we see it?

In previous reflections, I’ve always acknowledged the need to pray, but it has to be prayer that leads to action. That might be just learning a bit more, it might be supporting financially (BMS, Amos Trust, Embrace, Musalaha), it might be writing to your MP, it might be joining with other churches in your town to form a wider link-group, it might be actually going and seeing for yourself once things in the region calm down again.

But if you can, please do something.

I’ve had a book published if you want to know more of the stories I heard from those on the Land. Covering much of the past three years, Ssshh! The West Bank is Quietly Burning is available on Amazon, author name Anthony Banks.

Or maybe next year we’ll just find a bigger room at Assembly.



Image | David Nelson
 

David Nelson is a member of a Baptist church in West Yorkshire and has travelled to Israel-Palestine a number of times in the past few years