"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 1:5
On the first anniversary of the martyrdom of the hero Rami Ayad … This hero, filled by the Spirit of God and satisfied by Him; the martyr who burst forth from his heart in songs and lyrics, refusing the joys of this world and trampling upon them, but singing and rejoicing in God’s love and its fullness. Rami, before you we give a moment of silence and bow our heads before the Lord of the heavens. You have taught us the meaning of resilience and the meaning of the ratification of the promises of God… and praising God in the middle of the furnace of fire and the lion’s den. We miss you, Rami…. We miss your words, your jokes. We miss your smiles and your kind, fatherly heart. We miss having fun with you, serving with you and fellowshipping in your presence. We miss hearing your prayers and seeing your faith.
One year passing by was as difficult as a camel entering from the needle puncture, but the aid of our Redeemer and His mercy and the prayer of believers all over the world helped it pass. We overcame this year of challenges being confident that you set aside your earthly home and now you have a house in the heavens, not made by humans, but there for eternity. This is what consoles us: that you are in a better place. In the finest place you see us from afar and certainly reassure us and call us to be patient and confident. Our belief and faith will never be shaken.
Rami: we want to present to you, and to all those who loved and love you, this website. It will be a gathering place for us and a place where we remember the goodness of the Lord and moments we enjoyed and spent with you, Rami.
Until we meet again you will always be remembered as the Steven of Gaza…
Your brother who misses you,
Nashat Filmon
The Palestinian Bible Society
The web site can be visited at http://www.ramiayyad.com/english/index.php
To read more about the murder of Rami Ayyad - see this - http://www.comeandsee.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=828
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To me, as a European from the Netherlands, being a convinced Christian, there is only one answer. Europe knows pretty much everything it needs, about conflicts between nations and of spirals of violence, after all it’s wars and revolutions. After WW II the west finally drew the basic rules for peace between nations, on the basis of the simple knowledge that heavy and/or long lasting violations of these, are considered to be very violent by nature, and will very likely be the cause of counter violence. Call these the natural laws of spirals of violence: they will work, no matter what the causes, reasons or history behind it all had been. This is what we know. And this is why we usually held the prime violator of these rules responsible for all violence resulting from that.
We even legalised such counter violence. So we did legalise defensive wars. That is, what the whole world, including all Christian political parties worldwide, agreed on in the basic UN-rules for peace between nations. And even defensive wars are wars, and as we know they can be full of injustice, chaos and suffering. Now what?..
Looking at the current situation, and at the whole history since 1917, it is full of all kinds of violations of these basic rules for peace. Primary by Israeli acts after 1947, and occupation and siege of the Westbank and Gaza after 1967. And secondary by western nations, on many occasions, that keep on enabling Israel to go on with these violations, and are not willing to develop any efficient policies to implement these basic UN rules in that situation. Compared to all this, the Palestinian violations of these rules turn out to be very minor, if you really make a good inventory of all these.
Those western Israel policies have been dominated by neocon- but mainly Christian policies for decades now. That simply means, Israeli and Christian policies worldwide have been very violent by nature, and can be held responsible for all counter violence. This is what our known natural laws of mass violence basically are saying. It doesn’t matter if you believe the Holy Land is for Jews, or that Jews finally have a right of peace after ages of oppression: The laws still predict what will happen. All other views or arguments simply are a form of beating around the bush. All stories about Jewish needs, Jewish safety, or Jewish rights of self defence simply have their Palestinian counterparts, so will never be very convincing. It’s the violations of the basic rules for peace, that really count.
And at the very basis of these rules, there is the right of self-determination, giving all public land rights to the population living on the land, like to the inhabitants of Palestine together in 1917, including 10% Jews. This main principle is acknowledged throughout the world, and respecting it is what keeps the peace in the west. Again, no matter what you religiously may think of who may own Palestine; occupying it with lots of violence, as has been done, still is the cause of counter violence. So not anti-semitisme, barbaric nature of Arabs, unwillingness to peace, or anything else the Christian world usually comes up with. Christians have to face it: helping to drive a nation from it’s land, simply is an act of severe violence, no matter what. We Christians are supporting mass violence, and causing counter violence, no matter what you may believe. If Palestine had to become Jewish, this certainly was not the way. I would call it blasphemy and midieval thinking, to state such methods are “the will of God”.
So what are the limits of the legality of counter violence exactly? We may have “the other cheek” and the “melted swords” as the standards for individual behaviour, but we don’t really believe these are applicable, when whole nations are oppressed. We do acknowledge the right of collective self-defence. That does exclude civilian targets, but don’t be too sure.. Our allied forces bombed complete German cities in WW II, including “busses with women and children”. And we felt entitled to do so, now the circumstances were pressing, and it could be a useful strategy to demoralise the enemy and force them to peace, now everything else failed. As a European Christian, I just cannot be that hypocrite to deny the Palestinians such rights too, being the same kind of “cat, driven into the corner”. And even books on War Ethics support that. Not to mention the question how innocent Israeli civilians really are? Most serve or served in an occupying army, and democratically vote for political parties, that keep supporting that occupation. How innocent exactly is that?
So Palestinians could be quite violent, and still be legal, even in a moral sense. This is very undesirable from a Christian point of view, but the only way out seems to be, to take the legality off it. That can only be done by offering a serious alternative, like a real peace process (not the usual Costume Ball) or a serious western policies to end the occupation. None of them exists. And the legality remains, as long as Israël occupies land beyond the 1967 borders..
Are Palestinians aware, it is these Christian policies, that keeps all their misery going on? You bet they do. They have seen nothing else in the past 41 years, in spite of all western efforts to solve the case at the UN itself. Christians at the UN are not the one influencial ones, nor is the Pope. It’s the millions of western Christian voters, supporting Christian political parties, that determine what happens. And Palestinians know it. And they know the religious teaching of the Promised Land makes all the difference in their case, and how that leads to the denial of the western basic rules for peace, and endless useless talks about peace.
So is shooting the manager of the only Christian bookshop in Gaza legal? An absurd question. Of course not, by no means.. But if Christians vote for political parties that have a supporting role in such violations of the rules for peace, that a defensive war becomes legal, they too are responsible for all injustice chaos and suffering, that predictably comes with war. And they all can be blamed for the hatred, caused by worldwide Christian support of what to our own standards is very violent. Palestinians even can blame it on Christianity itself, because it is us Christians, that determine what Christianity means. They can even point at the lines in the Bible (Deuteronomy and Joshua) where God commands the killing of all non-Jews in the Promised Land, including the children. (Go and read for yourself) Palestinians may know that.
No wonder Palestinians can blame Christians or Christianity for the misery they are in for generations now. No wonder, some of them count it all together, and loose themselves in madness. Explanations in the west like “barbaric hating intolerant islamitic fundamentalists refuse to abandon violence” are preposterous. We better have a good look at ourselves. Rami Ayyad is a victim of our policies, not of Palestinian ones. And so are all Christians in Palestine, getting more and more into trouble. Thanks to us.
To avoid all this, and give Rami Ayyad’s death at least some meaning, we’d better start to have some realistic discussions in our political parties and our media, and start a real and though peace process, with real serious consequences. I have never seen a serious one yet, and Israel certainly doesn’t want one, because either way it will simply loose more in that, than it will gain from it.
Europe can do it. Europe is much more powerful than it likes to admit. Pointing at Americans is nothing more then an escape goat, released by European politicians, not wanting to burn their hands themselves on this. If Europe wants peace, it is high time to show something of that. That is not too much to ask: our Christian inspiration ever since 1917 and 1922, led to nothing more than huge violations of Land Rights, Human Rights, the 4th Convention of Geneva, expulsion, destruction of the Palestinian economy and infrastructure, with no end in sight in 2008.
Should we conclude, we Christians just can’t do any better?.. Burn down our own bookstores? Perhaps shoot our managers ourselves in advance, just to make sure we stay as helpless as we were before? Or should we just stop voting for the unwilling Christian political parties, making clear we do not want to be involved in mass crime anymore? Please tell me. Please tell me Christians can do more than talking, feeling sorrow, praying, and leave the rest to those, that for decades have proven not to be capable of solving anything here.
Serge van Erkelens,
the Netherlands, October 21 2008.