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A man on a mission: Archbishop Hanna Attallah cries
for Palestinian unity
Aref Assaf
October 31, 2010
Close to 500 people were treated to a most moving speech by
Archbishop Hanna Attallah who traveled from Jerusalem to be the
keynote speaker at the 42nd Annual Convention of the US-based
United Holy Land Fund. Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia (born
1965) is the Archbishop of Sebastia from the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Ordained on the 24 December 2005 at
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he is the second Palestinian
to hold the position of Archbishop in the history of the
diocese.
His eminence, delivered in perfect Arabic a most passionate plea
for the world leaders and peoples to view the tragedy of the
Palestinian people as one deserving their fullest attention.
Over sixty years of suffering, dispossession and living in the
Diaspora, he asserted, is far too long a punishment. More
importantly, he was poignantly demanding the different
Palestinian factions to reunite their efforts under the umbrella
of national unity. The linkage between justice and political
influence, he asserted, is a weapon Arabs and Palestinian
Americans must employ in effecting pro-justice and pro Palestine
policies. The Archbishop’s eloquence, demeanor and stately
presence were a source of elation for many in the audience. They
were also sufficiently indicative of how leaders can stir uneasy
feelings about how inadequate is our commitment to celebrating
and nurturing political narratives while remaining proactively
committed to defending our national struggle.
The core of his
message was the centrality of Jerusalem in the realization of
Palestinian national aspirations. He stated that “there will be
no Palestine without Jerusalem as its capital. It is ridicules
to imagine Palestine without Jerusalem, because it beats in the
heart of every Palestinian. In addition to that, Israel tries to
change the features of Jerusalem through its development
projects like the light train, the malls or the parks. They are
trying to make the Palestinians foreigners in their own city.
According to international law, Jerusalem is still an occupied
city, thus it has no right to change anything in it. Whatever
was the final agreement between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, the Palestinians should have the free right to
enter their city without any restrictions, and also they must
have the right to live in it, build their homes and reside in it
without the interference of anyone. The Palestinians in
Jerusalem are in their city and country not a stranger. The
treatment of the Palestinian as outsider is by itself a racist
action.”
As for the support Israel receives from so called
Christian Zionists in the US, the Archbishop was adamant that
“the Orthodox Church as all churches in the Holy Land refuses to
give excuses from the bible for the unjust treatment of the
Palestinian people.” He added he was “very sorry to hear about
some religious groups in the United States that support the
Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Such support
cannot be justified from a Christian point of view because
Christianity is against any sort of occupation and the injustice
in it all forms and rationalization. These groups need to
re-read their bible, because the bible calls us to stand with
the marginalized and the oppressed and not with the oppressors.
For those who use the bible to support Israel need to
differentiate between God's promise and the Balfour promise (Balfour
Declaration), because the occupation is the result of a promise
given to the Israelis by Lord Balfour and not by God.
God is
innocent from the unjust actions of the Israeli occupation of
our land since ‘48 and until now.”
On a joyous side note, we
were treated to the introduction of Dr. Leila Ghannam who is the
first woman to ever hold the title of “Muhafeth’ or Governor for
the Ramallah and Al-Biereh Governorate. Dr. Ghannam, spoke of
the Palestinian educational achievements under the most
difficult circumstances of statelessness and military
occupation. 
I was particularly impressed with her important statements
considering that we languish under a suffocating military
occupation, our people have surpassed expectations. But I was
more troubled with what she alluded to about the challenges and
serious deficiencies our youth faces in Palestine. While we are
proud of the number of graduating students each year, I worry
about providing opportunities for them to translate their
education into tangible and productive achievement for our
people.
It was refreshing to hear her reassuring words
that our people will overcome the bleak conditions of disunity
and the occupation. Palestinian Americans can and must play a
decisive role in moving our people ever closer to achieving
their dream of sovereignty and independence. As a son of a
refugee who passed away recently, his dream of returning to his
village, Allar, unfulfilled, I am burdened with the future of
our people. Palestine lives in our hearts and conscience and its
love and suffering is manifested into our actions or lack
thereof. Many of us work superbly as individuals but we can
never seem to work as a united group. I know more can and needs
to be done. As you visit other cities in the US, please tell our
people to unite and to work together for the cause of beloved
Palestine. Sadly, political and ideological divisiveness has
reached our shores. You need to remind us of what we are.
The
United Holy Land Fund, which is a registered non profit tax
exempt entity in the US, raised close to $100,000 which will go
to help Palestinian students with their college tuition. The
UHLF is led by a dedicated group of volunteers based in
Illinois, US and has branches in several States.
If
you need to learn more about the UHLF, please click here for
their official website: http://www.uhlf.org
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