Anglican Bishop Has Jerusalem Residency Visa Revoked

The Anglican Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Rt. Reverend Suheil Dawani, was informed last August by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior that residency permits for himself, his wife and daughter would not be renewed because he “… acted with the Palestinian Authority in transferring lands owned by Jewish people to the Palestinians and also helped to register lands of Jewish people in the name of the Church," according to a statement issued by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem this week. There were further allegations that documents were forged by the Bishop. The letter also stated that Bishop Dawani and his family should leave the country immediately.

The Bishop has denied all accusations and asked to see the evidence against him. The Interior Ministry has yet to respond in terms of discovering the source of the allegations or restoring residency rights for the Bishop and his family which are crucial to his leadership of the Diocese. .

After months of trying to resolve the dispute privately, including high-level appeals on his behalf, Bishop Dawani is seeking redress through the Israeli legal system. Bishop Dawani now awaits a court date to be assigned for his case. “This is placing huge pressure on my role as Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem as I now have no right to live in the city of which I am the Anglican representative. It directly affects my ministry here as the future of my position remains uncertain,” Dawani told the Episcopal News Service.

A native of the West Bank, Bishop Dawani is not an Israeli citizen and thus needs a permit to continue living in Jerusalem and serving in his post. The Bishop's case is emblematic of the plight faced by many Palestinians living in East Jerusalem.

It is not uncommon for Palestinians to lose their residency status. According to B’Tselem, for instance, more than 4,500 Palestinians lost their residency permits in 2008 alone. With the loss of a residency permit, Palestinians lose the right to live or work in either Israel or the Palestinian territories.

There are a number of restrictions placed on Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. Persons who leave East Jerusalem for a period of time, for example to study abroad, can lose their Jerusalem residency permits. Palestinian East Jerusalemites who marry persons from the West Bank cannot live legally with their spouse in East Jerusalem. Permission is usually not given to expand existing Palestinian housing in East Jerusalem, while Israeli settler groups are given government protection and subsidies to expand into Palestinian neighborhoods.

Not War

This is not war. This is butchery.

Israel kills top Hamas figure, escalating campaign (AP)

AP - Israel dropped a one-ton bomb on the home of a Hamas strongman Thursday, killing him along with two wives and four children in the first attack on the top leadership of Gaza's rulers.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Beyond Just War Theory (by Valerie Elverton Dixon)

Just war theory is a mode of analysis that lists criteria by which war may be considered righteous before, during, and after its execution. The criteria to consider before a war are: declared by legitimate authority, just cause, right intent, reasonable hope of success, last resort, and announcement. The criteria to consider during war are: noncombatant immunity, proportionality of damage to good that will result, and limitations on weapons and tactics. Young scholars in Christian ethics are developing criteria to consider after war, such as reparations, truth and reconciliation, and refugees.

Just war theory has a long history inside of Christianity. It is a middle way between holy war and pacifism. However, just peace theory occupies the ground between just war theory and pacifism. From the perspective of just peace theory, just war theory is only war. It presupposes war. It comes into the discourse at the moment when a conflict reaches a crisis point and the possibility of war. The conversation becomes about making the case for war using just war principles. In contrast, just peace theory presupposes peace. The discourse becomes about what the nation is doing to preserve the peace. Further, just peace theory moves beyond just war theory because just war theory is unrealistic in the face of the nature of war itself.

For example, before a war we consider just cause. In reality, the causes of war are always multiple, complex, and entangled. So underneath arguments about defense and humanitarian intervention, there often lies an economic intent. Further, once war begins, no one can ever know how successful a nation will be in executing the war. Just war during war calls for the immunity of innocents and the protection of noncombatants from being targets of violence. Realistically, innocents always die in war. Some will object that this is an argument of moral equivalency. It is. The blood and tears are equivalent; people are equivalently killed and physically and psychologically injured. An innocent ecology is equivalently wounded.

Moreover, the nature of warfare is to defeat an enemy by any means necessary, and this includes using weapons and tactics that will demoralize the enemy even if that means killing innocents. Just war theory cannot come to terms with this reality.

Just peace theory understands that peacemaking happens every day, that the only just war is the war that we prevent because there is no such thing as victory in war. War itself is a defeat of human reason, communication, truth, and respect. At the same time, just peace theory recognizes there may be times when a military force ought to deploy to protect vulnerable populations or to enforce a peace agreement.

September 21 is the U.N. International Day of Peace and Global Cease-fire. It is a day when the world can pause to think about ways to make justice and peace the project and the goal of daily life.

Dr. Valerie Elverton Dixon is an independent scholar who publishes lectures and essays at JustPeaceTheory.com. She received her Ph.D. in religion and society from Temple University and taught Christian ethics at United Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School

Filed Under: International Day of Peace, Just Peace Theory, Just War Theory, United Nations, war