The Cross: In a land prey to destruction for more than a year, does celebrating Christmas still have meaning?
Father David Neuhaus: Preparing for Christmas has become a struggle. This celebration indeed needs a lot of faith, a lot of hope, happiness… and all this is sorely lacking in the Holy Land, where deaths are daily, destruction continues, hostages still captive, displaced people destitute. But you have to try! Because Christ came to a world very similar to ours – a world of occupation – Christmas reminds us that God is with us in the darkness and that he has come to bring light. The challenge of Christmas is to look at the world through this light, and to spread it.
Our duty, our testimony as Christians is very clear. We are here to remind you that God is faithful, and that he does not leave the last word to death. This we must repeat to ourselves, and to those around us, Christian or not. In an environment of death, we bear witness to life! Of course, this remains a huge challenge for Christians. To resist in faith, we must meditate on the Scriptures and become Church together. It is terrible to be plunged into isolation, the paralysis of anxiety. Nourishing our bonds between Christians, and with all others, is a vital issue.
What do Christians in the Holy Land expect from Western Christians?
D. N. : First of all, we ask you not to forget us. Pray for us constantly: your prayer gives us strength. Then speak on our behalf. Say that there is an injustice in the heart of the Middle East, imposed by a erstwhile West. The Palestinian problem, triggered by the creation of Israel in 1948, finds its origins in this terrible drama of the Shoah, which took place on European soil. We must demand peace, yes, but not without justice and equality. Demand this equality between all residents of the Middle East.
Denounce war, violence of all kinds, inform yourself and share all of this with those around you. Challenge your governments who resist taking clear positions against injustice. We would also like you to visit us. It is an act that requires a lot of courage, but we need to strengthen our bonds of communion, because our holy places are empty! It’s also important that you come and see what’s going on here. Finally, although the war may not be over, our reconstruction needs are immense… Your humanitarian and financial support is already very important to us, but the demand remains continuous.
You navigate between the Arab Palestinian people and the Israeli Jews. How did you experience this year of war and how do you see the future?
D. N. : I don’t have a foot in every community. I am deeply rooted in each of the Israeli and Palestinian societies. I owe it to my love for each of the two peoples and to my knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic. My flesh is theirs: I carry their tear like a wound deep within me. It is a privilege, a gift from God which allows me to listen, to try to speak and, sometimes, a form of mediation. Thank God I am not alone! If there is a very strong and majority refusal on each side for coexistence, I also find, among the Israelis and the Palestinians, partners to dream and create, together, small oases of hope.