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September 1999
Dear Friends and Relations,
Albert Einstein once said, "Peace cannot be kept by force;
it can only be achieved by understanding." Surely the late
King Hussein of Jordan understood this! During recent periods
in Middle East history, it was considered all but suicidal for
an Arab head of state to meet with Israelis to discuss peace.
Yet the late king was for years making overtures and seeking venues
that might provide for a secure and lasting peace between his
Hasbemite Kingdom on the east bank of the Jordan River, and Israel
on the opposite side of the Jordan. His dream, though perhaps
in a less-than-ideal state, was realized on October of 1994, when
Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement, and thus ended over
forty years of hostilities between the two nations.
The "little king," as he was often referred to because
of his small stature, was one of this region's longest-reigning
monarchs. Television images of a frail King Hussein meeting with
the signatories of the Wye River Accords at the White House last
October will be forever etched in my memory. Fighting his own
battle with terminal cancer, one of the last requests was that
he be flown home to Jordan to die. The late king of Jordan finally
passed away on February 12, plunging the kingdom into a mandatory
forty-day mourning period. When I visited Jordan in early March,
flags were still flying at half-staff, and pictures of the ever-smiling
late king displayed in shop windows were gradually succumbing
to images of his son, the new King Abdullah II of Jordan. The
legacy of the late king, coupled with the challenges and expectations
that lie ahead for the new king of Jordan, are hallmarks in the
ever-changing face of the new Middle East.
In mid-February I traveled to Rome, Italy, to attend the Bethlehem
2000 International Conference, sponsored by the Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
This gathering of international clergy, theologians, government
officials and church representatives underscored the monumental
importance attached worldwide to honoring the 2000th anniversary
of the birth of Jesus Christ. The conference also highlighted
the urgency of bringing economic recovery and prosperity to the
Palestinian people following decades of conflict and dispossession.
Appreciation and gratitude were expressed to the government of
Italy for hosting the conference, and their generous contribution
towards the promotion of the Bethlehem 2000 Project. "In
the Year 2000, the past and the future will meet in Bethlehem
in a global vision of hope and peace for all peoples," reads
the beginning of The Rome Declaration on Bethlehem 2000. Rome
is also preparing for an anticipated influx of tourists and pilgrims
next year, as was evidenced by the scaffolding that covered everything
from St. Peter's Basilica to the monuments and statues throughout
the city that highlight the glory that was ancient Rome.
The island of Cyprus was the meeting place in mid-March for PC(USA)
mission personnel from throughout the Middle East. The Middle
East Committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA hosted its first such gathering of this kind in Lamaca,
Cyprus. It provided us with the opportunity to meet with and connect
with not only mission personnel serving in the Middle East, but
also with our own denominational colleagues and mentors. The atmosphere
provided us all with a refreshing change of pace from a region
of the world that can at times be a very intense place to both
live and work. At the same time, we were confronted with the tensions
and political realities that exist on this island between the
Greek Cypriots in the south and the Turkish Cypriots on the northern
half of the island.
One of the many highlights of this retreat was the opportunity
to meet with and talk to the Reverend Benjamin Weir. Though many
of you may not recall his name now, it surely was a household
name not many years ago. Ben is a Presbyterian pastor who was
serving in the mission field for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. He was
one of the former hostages in Lebanon, having been kidnaped off
the streets of Beirut early one morning in May of 1984. He shared
this harrowing experience with us, and spoke to the group at large
of how one grapples with the concept of reconciliation. That this
man, who experienced so much trauma, can speak about reconciliation
with regards to his captors, is a challenge to us all. Can we
do any less to those whom we deem have offended us, caused us
pain or inflicted harm? How fortunate I was to be given the opportunity
to meet this gentle man. Ben and his wife Carol continue to be
active in promoting the Near East School of Theology.
Early elections in Israel on May 17th saw the defeat of Prime
Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition to his
rival, Ehud Barak, of the Labor Party. Barak won a landslide victory
and has pledged to his people the withdrawal of Israeli troops
from South Lebanon within one year, as well as a swift conclusion
to the peace agreement with the Palestinian people. For the sake
of both Palestinians and Israelis, we live in the hope that it
may be so.
Please note my new postal address, effective immediately.
In Peace,
Doug Dicks
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