Goddard Chapel played host last night to Episcopal Bishop Thomas Shaw as he discussed his views on the prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine. A small group of attendees were in the audience.
Entitled "Palestine & Israel: A Bishop's Journey for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation," the lecture focused on Shaw's views on Christianity with relation to peace, his personal experiences during his frequent visits to the region, and what the future may bring after Arafat's death. A question-and-answer session followed the speech.
After a brief introduction by University Chaplain Father David O'Leary, Shaw described his participation in a demonstration against the Israeli government's decision to bring tanks into Bethlehem in Oct. 2001.
"It surprised me how much attention it got on the radio, television and the front page of the Boston Globe," Shaw said.
Some in the Jewish community have claimed that Shaw has weakened Judeo-Christian ties in Boston. "They asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'" Shaw said.
Shaw said that on a 1991 visit to Israel, an unarmed Palestinian teenager was gunned down outside his residence. Several days later, a Jewish commuter bus was bombed, killing five Jews. Those events "affected me pretty deeply," Shaw said.
"After those events, I made a commitment to God that I would pray for peace every day from then on, especially between Palestine and Israel," Shaw said.
He added, however, that prayer was not enough to foster peace around the globe. It is for this reason that Shaw felt compelled to partake in the Oct. 2001 demonstration. "On the Sunday before the demonstration, I knew I had to demonstrate my unhappiness with the situation [in Bethlehem]," Shaw said.
Shaw said that the Christian community has a tremendous role in fostering the peace process because "the desire for peace is at the very heart of our Christian beliefs."
"I'm not fully a Christian myself unless I'm making peace," Shaw said.
Shaw noted that everybody has a different role to play in the peace process. "My goal is to hold up Palestinian rights because I don't think they've been understood by most of the world," Shaw said. "There has to be a place for advocacy, if we really are going to have a lasting peace. It's what I feel is my calling."
Shaw added that he has been branded as anti-Semitic for his views. "Because of the culture we live in, there are certain levels of racism and anti-Semitism in all of us," Shaw said.
"I try to ground myself in our common Jewish heritage," Shaw added.
With regards to prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine, Shaw was not optimistic. "The level of fear is so high that people can't distinguish a way forward," Shaw said.
He added that on his visits to the Middle East, "most ordinary Palestinians I spoke to are desperate for peace and deplore what the suicide bombers do."
Shaw said, however, that some Israeli policies, including the construction of the Separation Wall, have all but ruined Palestine's infrastructure, making it difficult for serious peace talks to progress.
"No one is serious about real peace," Shaw said. "Exchange between the two cultures is nearly impossible because of the number of checkpoints and the Wall."
Shaw noted that another large obstacle towards peace in the Middle East rests within the United States itself.
"Nobody in the U.S. government wants to listen. This administration is not aggressively involved in the peace process," Shaw said.
He added that "the Jewish lobby is very strong in Washington and is outwardly monolithic. It's more open to dissent in Israel."
"Palestinian advocacy is sort of the last thing [the government] wants to hear," Shaw continued. "Some Senators are beginning to understand," he added.
Despite Shaw's bleak view of the future of the conflict, he said that his faith provides him with hope. "I believe in the Resurrection: that no place in human existence is without hope. God can bring not only new life, but better life anywhere," Shaw said.
Bishop Shaw's lecture is part of the Goddard Chapel Forum on Religion and Law. The next scheduled event, focusing on the Torah, is to take place on Feb. 8.
