Foto: mulţumesc amicului Cristian Movilă, tânăr fotograf român, pentru că mi-a permis să folosesc această splendidă imagine, expresie a dorinţei de pace, din albumul intitulat „A Tale of Two Nations”. Pentru alte fotografii şi alte albume (între care unul despre Gaza), vezi site-ul său (AICI).

Alaltăieri i-am scris lui Bishara Awad (rectorul Colegiului Biblic Betleem) despre furtuna stârnită în paharul cu apă (tulbure) care este blogosfera evaghelică românească, în urma publicării de către mine a petiţiei în favoarea recunoaşterii statului palestinian. Totodată l-am rugat să comenteze în câteva rânduri această situaţie şi să-mi permită să public mesajul lui pe blogul meu.

Dear brother Dr. Emanuel,

I am very sorry to hear that the Evangelical Church in Romania is very much one sided. This calls for prayers for the Church  and for people to know the truth. Jesus is the way, the light and the truth. All we want as Christians is to follow Jesus and to obey the Word of God. Among the most important themes about both the Old and the New Testament speaks are Peace and Justice.

The Palestinian people (and some of this people are part of the Church of Jesus Christ) has been unjustly dealt with for over 60 years and the Church of Jesus Christ has kept quiet about it.

It is not anti-Semitic to ask for justice on behalf of the Palestinians. Why should any Palestinian accept Jesus when he or she is being hated by the Church and brushed aside as people with no rights?

The challenge before us is to educate the Evangelical Church, to open the Bible and see what is the real message of the Bible. If God loves the whole World, are Palestinians included?

The New Covenant is a clear picture of some priorities. These may include the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of Israel, (see Hebrew 8:13), love of God to the Nations, the idea that the chosen people are those who accepted Jesus (1Peter 2:9–11), justice for the poor, (Mt. 5) and “Go and preach the good news” (Mt. 28:19-20).

The New Testament does NOT mention the Kingdom of Israel. If the return of the Jews is such a big historical event in the life of the Church, why did not Jesus ever mention it?

As for the present Israel, it is here to stay. The Palestinian authority along with all 23 Arab Countries accept the State of Israel. There may be certain side very small, extreme groups that may not accept Israel, but the majority do accept it and recognize it. The question today is: “When will Israel recognize the Palestinians as people with rights?”

Most Palestinians have mixed feeling about going to UN for recognition. The educated ones are not for it and in particular if the request is refused.

Zionist Christians complicate things for the Church of Jesus Christ. To me they seem to care more about the State of Israel than people who Jesus died for.  The Christians Zionist have for years told their side of the story, it is time to hear the other side. This is why we are holding this Conference in March 2012: to ask Church leaders (Evangelicals) from all over to give their (hopefully Biblical) views on this issue.

We invite your Christian Zionist friends to come and attend the conference and not be afraid.

In Christ’s service,

Bishara Awad