OPINION – Fiji Embassy in Israel

I RECALL the Prime Minister proposing this a while back. Why do we need another embassy, particularly one in Israel? I would really appreciate a proper explanation from our Prime Minister. We have enough unnecessary embassies around the world, so I am wondering why this one? It costs money to open and run an embassy.

As a Christian human rights advocate who really cares deeply about social justice, it is of great concern to me. How can Fiji associate itself closely with a country that is perpetrating genocide? However I also realise that the Palestinians with their Hammas organisation are not innocent of great injustices.I know that in Fiji we have many Christians who are also Zionists because they consider themselves to be Jews.



They visit Israel, but find themselves unable to enter the Temple as Islam now has complete control of the area originally called Zion. There is a need for some better understanding about our different positions we Christians hold. We need to have better relations as members of the world-wide body of Christians.

First, some recent historySome history may help to put the issues into perspective. The modern state of Israel came into existence early in the twentieth century as a result of Zionism, a Jewish political movement.In 1917 Britain, that had a mandate over the lands known as Palestine, made the Balfour Declaration that promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine.

Twenty years later during the 1940s there was some settlement of Jews in Palestine. This led to armed conflict between militant Zionists and Arabs and the British.In November 1947, the United Nations divided Palestine into Jew and Arab states with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

On May 14, 1948 the Jews proclaimed the state of Israel. Arab states rejected this and attacked Israel, but were defeated. Since then the State of Israel has become well established and has continued to encroach upon land given to the Palestinians by the United Nations.

Now we are aware of moves to reject any Palestinian claim to the land that was originally theirs, and the people are subject to the present genocide.It is interesting to note that in as recently as 1975 the United Nations declared Zionism as a form of racialism and racial discrimination.Past historyLet us now go back further and read the Old Testament in the Bible that gives us history and beliefs that undergird Jewish and Christian theology and understanding.

The early books of the Old Testament give us the stories of the growth and the coming together of some Arabic tribes who were nomadic and we learn of their beliefs. We read how one family came to live in Egypt and years later were chased out into the desert where they wandered for many years before arriving in the Jordan region and settling in there with the understanding that the land was given to them by God.By now they had become divided into family tribes.

Later they asked God for a king and after being advised against this, God allowed them to have Saul as a king. He was later succeeded by King David who ruled first over the northern tribes of Judah who had broken away, then he brought them together again with the Israelites and chose Jerusalem as his city. This area at that time was held by the Jebusites.

David conquered Jerusalem and the central stronghold of Zion and settled there, It became known as the City of David (2 Samuel 5:7). The first Temple was built there by Solomon, David’s son. The name Zion occurs many times in the following histories and in the psalms (e.

g. Ps 87) and in the prophets. It has come to mean a closeness to God rather than an actual place for many Christians who read the scriptures regularly.

The time of JesusIn the time of Jesus, Jerusalem was the capital city with the Temple and was the centre of Judaism under the colonial rule of the Romans and is the city where Jesus was crucified.Jerusalem was conquered and the nation was scattered in AD 70. Jesus started his ministry about 40 years before this catastrophic event.

He centred his ministry in the north around the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding country areas, teaching the people about the love of God and the importance of loving relationships in the families and in the communities.He healed many and taught with stories and examples. He chose 12 men to be his special disciples and learn from him, and a group of women accompanied them in their travels around the countryside.

He attended the regular weekly worship in the nearest synagogue to where he happened to be with his disciples and made the regular visit to Jerusalem for the great festival of Passover.He discussed Judaism with the Jewish leaders, and the emphasis on the laws of God that were very prominent in the teachings of the Jewish leaders. Obedience to the law brought salvation.

Over many years these laws had been codified and made very detailed and difficult for ordinary people to follow. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were groups who spent their lives trying to live perfectly in accord with the laws. The Roman Empire had control over the land and the people, imposing taxes and laws.

The lives of the ordinary common people became very hard. There was much poverty and the people had little hope for their future in this life or the next.Jesus brought hope with his healings and teachings.

Jesus tried to impress upon the Jewish leaders and teachers to remember the love of God, and the need to be sympathetic to the people and the conditions they endured, but few of them wanted to listen to him. They considered him to be disruptive and a false teacher leading the people astray. After a short approximately three years the Jewish leaders managed to have Jesus put to death by the Roman Governor.

The history of the years that followed JesusAfter the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, the Jewish people were scattered throughout Europe and gradually around the world. They kept their religious beliefs strong. As families they celebrated every Sabbath with their special meal with its rituals and stories that were re-told each week to keep their faith alive.

Once a year they continued to celebrate the great ritual of Passover and many celebrated several annual festivals stemming from their past as agricultural people.Where ten families lived close together they set up a synagogue and met together to read the scriptures. We can admire the way the Jews have kept their faith alive.

We contrast this with the evident loss of their original beliefs of our Pacific peoples leading to lack of knowledge of the good practices by our people that preserved the land, the crops, and the fish. We regret this as climate change challenges us to keep the islands and ourselves alive.Colonialism can be partly blamed for this.

With the colonialists came the Christian missionaries most of whom had no understanding of the original faiths and beliefs of the islanders and in their rush to convert them to Christianity they destroyed much that was good.After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christianity spread rapidly. It no longer felt a connection to the land and the Temple except through the scriptures of the Old Testament.

It is interesting that the risen Lord Jesus made appearances in Jerusalem, on the road to Emmaus, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, but not in the Temple. Although all the earliest Christians were Jewish including the Apostles, they soon left the Jewish worship behind.Even Paul, the devout Pharisee, became fully Christian as he established more and more groups of Christians.

The Temple in Jerusalem is part of the origins of Christianity, but it is not essential. Jesus taught us to “worship in spirit and in truth”.The advent of the modern state of IsraelWith their strong faith, the Jews have kept alive through the centuries their desire to return to the land of their forefathers that they believe God gave them.

They have worked hard to establish themselves in the land designated for them by the United Nations. However, it is now politics and the desire to conquer and grow greater that dominates. This contrasts with the teachings of Jesus that arose from the Hebrew traditions of Judaism and are the basis of world-wide Christianity.

Thus many of us who are Christians cannot accept the political stance of Israel, that is based on the desire to conquer and lacks a sense of justice. Building relationships with love, justice, and understanding, is our Christian political agenda.Where to from hereI do not wish to speak ill of those Christians who profess Zionism.

It would be good for a few of us to sit down together and discuss and learn to understand our differences. With Fiji embarking on a time of Truth and Reconciliation, I feel a need for us to attempt our own truth and reconciliation and build a better relationship. It is important that we all understand better the situation in the Middle East and pray for all, Israelis and Palestinians, and for peace in this very unhappy part of the world.

TESSA MACKENZIE, known as the woman who designed the Fiji national flag, is a regular contributor to this newspaper. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the views of this newspaper.The post OPINION – Fiji Embassy in Israel appeared first on The Fiji Times.

.