9 April 2023
Greetings again from this holy city of Jerusalem as I spend time here with my Brothers’ community taking part in the ceremonies during this special time and remembering what actually happened here so many years ago.
I am reminded, however, of the military occupation that existed in Jesus’ time and the oppression people experienced then. Yet in the midst of that, Jesus went about carrying out his mission, spreading the Good News that God is love and to whom each person is precious. That is exactly what Bethlehem University continues to do as we build an atmosphere, create an environment, and provide an opportunity for our students to learn how to live life to the full in the midst of the oppression and occupation! During the fifteen years I have been here the situation has always been unpredictable and that continues today, but probably even more so. The new government in Israel has some people in it who are certainly creating significant anxiety among a great number of people in Israel as well as Palestine. The aggressive attitude towards the Palestinians has seen a significant increase in the number of attacks by the military and the settlers on Palestinians.
When there is a major attack by settlers somewhere in Palestine, as in Jenin recently, some of our students fear that the settlers in the settlements they pass to get to campus might be caught up in the same attitude. This has led some of them to decide not to come to class because they are too frightened. The attacks by the Israeli military and settlers have resulted in almost 100 Palestinians being killed since the beginning of 2023. One of our students was telling me recently that two of his close friends were shot and killed by the Israeli military and each morning when he wakes up he wonders whether he will be mourning the loss of another one in the course of that new day!
A number of our students and employees have been detained by the Israeli military. The process of Administrative Detention allows the Israeli military to put someone in prison without having to provide a reason, bring charges against them, nor say for how long they will be detained. Some time ago, our Dean of Students was woken in the middle of the night when his house was broken into by the Israeli military. He was beaten in front of this wife and young children then dragged off to prison. He was released three days later without any comment, apology or explanation. In a round-about way he found out later that “they got the wrong guy!”
In the midst of all that is going on in the wider context, there are many very heartening things happening at Bethlehem University. I believe one of the significant ways in which the Palestinians associated with Bethlehem University are resisting the occupation, the restrictions, and the oppression is by keeping on doing their ordinary things. To exist is to resist. So, they keep coming to campus, going to classes, engage in field trips etc. all showing they are going to be staying around and resist the attempts of the Israelis to move them out. While I was wandering the campus the week before last I sat and listened to a student for quite some time. She is in her last semester at Bethlehem University and was somewhat upset about the fact that her time with us is coming to a close. She was having a hard time imagining life without Bethlehem University! She was so conscious of the freedom she experienced on campus, the support she felt from other students and the friendly atmosphere that had developed. She was very aware of the concern her teachers had shown her and the way they had pushed and encouraged her to use her time at University well. She could not imagine getting into a work environment where what she had experienced at Bethlehem University would be continued. It was heart-warming to sit and listen to her reflect on her experience over the past four years and to realise the impact Bethlehem University has had on her. Fortunately, she is not alone and I have heard similar comments from other students and particularly from graduates. So, we seem to be doing something right!
I mentioned last year that we had just completed a two-year “Whole University” review. It resulted in some major changes in the way the University is structured and organized. Fortunately, we recently receive a further €188,000 grant from Porticus, a Foundation in the Netherlands, who supplied funding for the review. This second grant from Porticus is to embed the structural changes and have people trained to be able to operate within the new arrangements. We have that over two years and the first phase is already in place. I am very hopeful that this will continue our efforts to find ever better ways to provide for our students.
It is good that we receive this in our Jubilee year. As we celebrate 50 years of service to the Palestinian people we are conscious of the miracle Bethlehem University has been and what a difference it has made to so many of the 20,000 graduates that have emerged from it. We step into the next fifty years confident that this is God’s work and we look for ways to sustain the mission.
This year is my last time in Jerusalem for Easter and I have taken the chance to reflect on what happened here some 2000 years ago and what it was that Jesus was doing when he endured the passion and death he suffered. I again returned to James Alison’s comments which I mentioned last year. I reflect a great deal on the mystery of God coming amongst us as I live in Bethlehem where it began. I find James’ reflections (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZGRBb7O_AI) very helpful in moving me to an ever-deeper appreciation of what we are celebrating at Easter. When confronted with the oppressive experience the Palestinians face and seeking to stand in solidarity with them, I realise my own inadequacy and inability to find suitable ways to respond. I find it helpful to reflect on the fact that God is not loving us despite those inadequacies. Rather in the midst of those he is showing he is very fond of us, loving us beyond our wildest dreams, and really likes us!
It is this unconditional love we are seeking to show our students and each other at Bethlehem University in the way we engage with one another. We are trying to create an atmosphere where people experience the Good News that they are precious individuals with whom God is suffering the oppression, insults and injustices that are part of their daily lives. God is calling us to live life to the full in our successes, our failures, our messing up, our oppressing of each other, our being flawed human beings. My challenge, as James Finley says, is to be present to the suffering the Palestinians experience, to touch their suffering with love that it might dissolve into love and be free of the hatred and revenge that can so easily arise. For me to do this, I need to be grounded in a peace that does not depend on the outcome of my efforts. God is taking us to God, not my efforts!
In this my last Easter message to you, I thank God for the wonderful people who are supporting the mission of Bethlehem University and have supported me, and I pray that you experience something of the peace and joy that comes from God. Out of this experience I pray you will become peaceful people who bring life to others and work for peace and justice in our world.
He is risen!
Best wishes and thanks.
Brother Peter Bray FSC, EdD Vice Chancellor