The Other Israel
 
By Warren Smith
 
JERUSALEM-Dr. Salim Munayer is relaxed, leaning back in his small but welcoming office in South Jerusalem.  He almost bumps his head on a bookcase sagging with volumes on Christian theology, history, and Israel.  Quick to offer coffee and other courtesies, he answers his American guests' questions patiently for over an hour.  Questions about Israel, about whether Israeli persecution against Christians exists, and about how much political support American evangelicals should give to Israel. 
 
He encourages the questions, but finally he leans forward and his voice, though not loud, takes on a fierce edge that might cause you to forget he is a man committed to peacemaking.
 
"American evangelicals are ignorant about history and the issues here in The Land," he says, using the expression that many Israelis use for their home country.  "I find that ignorance appalling and frustrating." 
 
He then directly answers the question that caused his irritation:  "Yes, there is persecution against Christians and yes, the Israeli government is the source of much of it.  That is the simple truth."
 
Munayer's ministry, Musalaha, is committed to Christian peacemaking.  The very word "musalaha" is Arabic for "reconciliation" or "forgiveness."  The ministry conducts seminars and extended retreats into the Israeli desert that bring together Messianic Christians, Jews, and Arabs.
 
But there is little "touchy-feely" about Munayer.  He says there can be no forgiveness without the acknowledgement of sin, and he is quick to point out that evangelical Christians have spend millions of dollars pointing out the sins of radical Islamic organizations against Israel, they have turned a blind eye toward the Israeli government's sin against the Palestinians, many of whom are not Muslim, but Christian or secular.
Part of the problem is that Winston Churchill's maxim -- "everyone can have his own opinion, but not his own facts" -- does not seem to apply to many discussions about the Middle East.  Basic facts and even recent history are in dispute.  Munayer, for example, says there are about 180,000 Christians in the combined territory of Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.  That's less than 2 percent of today's 10-million population.  Even that number represents a political position, because most historians believe there were 200,000 Christians in the region - about 20 percent of the population -- in 1948, when the creation of Israel displaced both Christian and Muslim Arabs, creating a refugee problem that persists today.  If Munayer's number is correct, that means there are fewer Christians in Israel today than in 1948.  Why?   Many Arabs say because of oppressive Israeli policies.  Israel blames the rise of radical Islam.
American televangelists Pat Robertson and John Hagee dispute the numbers and won't even entertain the possibility of Israeli government discrimination.  They say there is religious freedom in Israel.  For theological, political, and economic reasons, they say Israel must be supported in all particulars.  They often cite the verse, "He who blesses Israel will be blessed." 
But Munayer says Israel's policies incite hatred against her.  "It is not a blessing to Israel to allow her to provide ammunition to those who seek to destroy her," Munayer said.  He does not believe, as many evangelical and fundamentalist Christians do, that all Arabs hate Israel just because Israel exists.   For one thing, Munayer insists, such a position ignores the redemptive power of Christ and denies the existence of tens of thousands of Arab Christians in the Middle East, and millions of Arab Christians around the world. 
Further, he says more than 180 Israeli laws discriminate against non-Jews.  For example, Munayer, a native Israeli, married a British citizen.  If he were Jewish, his wife could maintain dual citizenship.  But because he is a Christian, his wife must give up her British passport.  She has elected to remain a permanent Israeli resident, but a British citizen, because international travel, especially in other countries in the Middle East, is easier with a British passport. 
Over the past 20 years, more than a million Russian Jews have "made aliyah," which means they have "come up" or repatriated to Israel.  Under the "law of return," these Russian Jews can become citizens.  But laws similar to the one that restricts Salim Munayer's wife have put as many as 300,000 family members - most of them secular but many of them Orthodox Christian - in legal limbo, pilgrims without a country.
But the laws that create the most problems in day-to-day life, and the ones that cause the most resentment, are those that subject Arabs who do travel into Jewish portions of Israel to "flying checkpoints," where an Israeli policeman will stop an Arab car for no other reason than its Palestinian license plate.   In America, African-Americans complain they are often stopped for "driving while black."  In Jerusalem, it is common to see someone pulled over by the police for "driving while Arab."
These "flying checkpoints," as well as checkpoints at all West Bank crossings, make even simple commutes to work or shopping uncertain affairs.   Israelis defend the laws, saying they are designed to preserve Israel as a Jewish state, or to protect the country against terrorism, but Christians and secular Arabs are often caught in the net, Munayer says.
Other forms of discrimination are more subtle.  Allyn Dhynes, who works for the Christian relief agency World Vision in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, points to overflowing garbage dumpsters on a driving tour of one impoverished neighborhood.   He says Jerusalem's municipal government will often refuse to pick up the trash, citing security concerns.  Tour guides, who must take state-sponsored training and pass a rigorous test on Israeli history and culture, point to the trash in the streets as an example of the "cultural differences" between Arabs and Jews. 
A joke sometimes heard in Israel goes like this:  An Arab, an Israeli, and an American go into a market and see a sign, "Sorry, but there is a shortage of beef."  The Arab says, "What's beef?"  The American says, "What's shortage?"  And the Israeli says, "What's sorry?"
 
This story sums up Salim Munayer's frustration with American evangelicals and with the two groups he hopes to reconcile:  Arabs and Israelis.  "Before religious or any other kind of reconciliation comes about," Munayer said, "all parties involved, including American evangelicals, are going to have to learn the meaning of - and get comfortable with - new ideas."