Five Christian Mayors from the West Bank in Washington
by Joan & Edward Hazbun
Washington DC - On October 26 and 27, the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) hosted the mayors of Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Ramallah and Birzeit at their ninth annual Conference at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.
Five Christian Mayors:
(R to L)
Victor
Batarseh of Bethlehem, Raji Zeidan of Beit Jala,
Hani Naji Hayek of Beit Sahour, Yousef Nasser of Birzeit, Janette Michael of
Ramallah.
The dynamic founder and president of HCEF, Rateb Rabie, wants Americans to realize that there are Christian mayors of historically Christian towns in Palestine. They shared with their audience at various panels not only the basic statistics and information about their towns but also the problems besetting them with the Israeli occupation and loss of income and international aid.
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Edward and Joan Hazboun, Elias and May Shomali, Olga and Katy Handal and George & Susie Aburdene attended from the Bethlehem Association. They particularly enjoyed meeting Mayor Victor and Marcelle Batarseh of Bethlehem, Mayor Raji and Faten Zeidan of Beit Jala, and Mayor Hani Naji and Hala Hayek of Beit Sahour.
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PLO mission head from Chile May Kaileh told us about the sizeable and prosperous Palestinian diaspora in Chile. Afif Safie PLO mission head in Washington gave a lively and incisive keynote speech at the Friday banquet. A panel on Christian Zionism between two evangelicals evinced some good questions. Panels on West Bank economic development and the impact of the Wall especially in the Bethlehem area were presented with rather pessimistic conclusions! Awards were given to four Americans from different parts of the U.S. who had worked, usually with their churches, on behalf of Christians in the Holy Land. Dr. Marwan Muasher, previously Jordanian ambassador to Washington and now a senior Vice President of the World Bank was given an award for his involvement in the peace process and his commitment as a Christian to public service.
It was heartening to meet so many Americans from various denominations who had completely changed their views of Palestinians after visiting the Holy Land often with HCEF. Sponsorships of Palestinian children have been a successful HCEF program as well as sale of olive wood articles at many churches.
Palestinian Children on tour dance with American kids singing and waving the
conference to a close
The conference was exceptionally well organized by Rateb Rabie and his hardworking wife Rocio with many volunteers also putting in time and effort. George Ghattas the head of program development for the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem and HCEF representative in Bethlehem produced an excellent video explaining the work of HCEF. The program book was full of information and letters of support.
On Saturday night, Dr Jad Issac invited the
Bethlehem area Mayors, their wives and Edward & Joan Hazbun to his sister's
house in Virginia. Jihan and Ussama Andoni warmly welcomed their guests to their
beautiful house and hosted the group for a friendly and informative gathering
and a delicious Palestinian dinner.
Our gracious hosts:
Jihan Ussama Andoni (right)
and Amani Ra'afat Issac
 Wives of the mayors – Marcelle Batarseh, Hala Hayek, Faten Zeidan |
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On Sunday, October 28, the Ramallah Club in Vienna VA. and the ATFP (American Task Force on Palestine) hosted the mayors, Dr. Safie and Palestinian Ambassador to Chile May Kaileh for a discussion meeting and a reception. Both Hanna Hanania, president of Ramallah Club and Ziad Assali, head of ATFP, presented their ideas on how best to work with the Mayors to improve the situation in their towns and to communicate their plight to the Administration and the American public.
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On Monday, HCEF and ATFP organized a briefing on
Capitol Hill to give an opportunity to the Mayors to
explain the situation of their towns and the rest of the West Bank to members of
Congress and their staff. See below
Mayor Victor Batarseh and wife Marcelle then traveled on to California where the Bethlehem Association CA Chapter is holding a reception and Brunch for them at the Holiday Inn in Buena Park
American Task Force on
Palestine
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Rafi Dajani
Washington, D.C., November 1, 2007 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) and The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) held a Capitol Hill briefing this week featuring four Christian mayors of Palestinian towns in the West Bank. The panel focused on the causes for the population decrease of the Palestinian Christians to below 2 percent of the population, attributing it mainly to the economic stresses resulting from Israeli occupation measures such as checkpoints and the route of the separation barrier, a vast majority of which is built on occupied Palestinian land.
The mayor of Bethlehem, Dr. Victor Hanan Jubrail Batarseh, referred to the wall as ‘a snake’, saying, it has ‘strangled the community; economically, psychologically, and educationally’ causing the Palestinian Christians to emigrate. The economic strangulation has led to nearly 70% of the West Bank population living under the poverty line, said the mayor of Birzeit, Mr. Yousef Nasser. He continued saying, “Unemployment has risen 200% due to the check points,” which not only inhibit the movement of people but also shipments of produce. Mr. Nasser stressed the need for the removal of the checkpoints in order for the economy to improve. Without an improved economy, the Christian population will continue to decrease. This is why Dr. Batarseh stressed the need for peace , asking for a ‘bridge of love,’ to be built, not a ‘wall of separation.’
“Historically, it has been easier for the Palestinian Christian population to emigrate due mainly to family ties in the West, although Palestinian Muslims are emigrating in significant numbers too if they are able,” said ATFP executive director Rafi Dajani who moderated the panel. “Emigration of either community has nothing to do with religious tensions between the two communities and attempts to portray it as such are meant to deflect blame away from the main reason, the Israeli occupation.”