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I Am a Palestinian Jew
Last fall at Villanova I had a brief encounter with
Mark Braverman at an Israeli/Palestinian
conference. Peter Doris, a very well-informed friend on Mid-East affairs,
said you need to get this book, Fatal Embrace. I walked away with an
autographed copy, and good vibes about Mark Braverman, and it has been
a revelation. His book is the most comprehensive commentary I have
read on the myriad issues facing Jews, Christians, Muslims, Americans, and
Israelis. Braverman is the poster man of the The fear of the historic, prophetic tradition of
justice sinking into oblivion by the self-destructive nature of the state’s
policies is a parallel concern. Braverman speaks of weeping over Israel as his
awareness of the pattern of injustice inflicted on Palestinians reached full
consciousness. In a commentary in Cornerstone, Sabeel’s
quarterly, addressing the new Kairos Document (see Kairos article), Braverman
speaks of himself as a Palestinian Jew (Ana Falastini
Yehudi). His credentials as an American Jew are
impeccable—grandfather born in the old city of Jerusalem in 1900, “raised in
an amalgam of rabbinic Judaism and political Zionism—taught that a miracle
had blessed my generation and redeemed my people from the suffering of
millennia.” His conversion experience in middle age happened on a
trip to the West Bank.
In the post-WWII Christian theology, efforts were made
at “revision.” As the full weight of the mammoth evil of the Holocaust
dawned, there was an accompanying recognition of the hundreds of years of
anti-Semitism entrenched in the Christian churches, without which the
Holocaust could not have happened. Braverman notes
that Paul Van Buren initiated in the Protestant churches “an effort to atone
for the historic evil of anti-Semitism.” The state of Israel became the
cornerstone of atonement to Jews by Christians. The fundamentalist churches, such as exemplified by the
notorious Pastor John Hagee, envision the Holy Land
fully Jewish, no Palestinians permitted, as a preface for the second coming
of Christ. All will become disciples of Jesus or perish. The Christian
Zionist marriage to Israel is a strange relationship, but includes massive
financial support and relentless political pressure in Washington on behalf
of Israel. Within the Catholic community there is James Carroll’s
book, Constantine’s Sword, wherein a no-holds-barred support of Israel
assumes a dogma of faith, “The God of Jesus Christ and therefore of the
Church, is the God of Israel. The Jews remain the Chosen People of God and
with this comes the Land.” Braverman cites another Catholic theologian,
James Pawlikowski who goes on to repudiate a core
feature of Christianity; “the spiritualization of the land.… In the original
Christian revisioning—and this was a revolutionary
and critically important development—Jerusalem itself became a symbol of a
new world order in which God’s love was available to all humankind.” In Pawlikowski’s vision and
that of many other Christians in his camp who are fearful of the label
anti-Semitic, “it is incumbent upon Christians to honor the claim of the Jewish
people to the Holy Land and indeed to Jerusalem.” Braverman calls Christians to honor the catholic,
universal vision of the sisterhood/brotherhood of the people. “Exceptionalism” cannot be extended to Israel or any
people or state. Biblically, the possession of the Land is a metaphor for
carrying out the prophetic call to justice and only justice. The right of
return does not include destruction of the people who have lived there for
centuries. The days of Joshua are over, although tragically the violence
continues. Braverman calls upon Christians to speak truth to
power: “The Christian impulse for reconciliation has morphed into theological
support for an anachronistic, ethnic–national ideology that has hijacked
Jerusalem, continues to fuel global conflict, and has produced one of the
most egregious, systematic and longstanding violations of human rights in the
world today.” Walter Bruggemann, a renowned
Christian scholar of the Bible, author of the foreword to this book, was a
scriptural guide to Braverman. Ironically, Braverman’s insights and courage impacted Bruggemann’s thinking in regard to the Palestinians. He
writes in the foreword, “neither a ‘two-state solution’ nor a ‘one–state
solution’ will be viable until Jewish exceptionalism
yields to the legitimacy of the ‘other’ on the ground, the Palestinian who is
not Jewish but who nonetheless has claims that stand alongside those of Jews,
in equal passion and legitimacy. The wish word of ideology will not change
that reality on the ground.” A Jewish mentor to Braverman
was Marc Ellis, a pioneer among Jewish intellectuals on behalf on Palestinians, who now directs a Jewish Study Center at
Baylor University. About twenty years ago Ellis offered a retreat to Catholic
Peace Fellowship here in Philadelphia. It was startling news to many of us
gathered that day. He used a phrase that has stuck in my mind, “the
ecumenical deal.” The deal is that the Christian churches unequivocally
support the State of Israel, without question, in reparation for the Holocaust
and centuries of anti-Semitism. Until recently most churches have honored
that deal. Ellis is a significant influence in the evolution of Braverman’s thought. He quotes Ellis as follows:
Braverman unequivocally affirms that the Land is
big enough for both Palestinian and Israeli, grounded in the Judeo-Christian
understanding of justice.
Joe
Bradley |
