B e t h l e h e m – Christians worldwide should support the Palestinians in their proposition to seek recognition by the United Nations of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as an independent state. This is the demand of Alex Awad, the Dean of the Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of the Baptist church in East Jerusalem. As he writes in a commentary published on the homepage of Israeli Christians “Come and See”, the vast majority of all Palestinian pastors support the official independence of Palestine. “This position is not driven by anti Israeli or anti American sentiments but rather because most Arab Christians believe that without a resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict they have no future in the Middle East and without Palestinian statehood, there will be no end to the conflict,” writes Awad. As he said in informal talks during a meeting with the European Baptist Federation (EBF) Executive Committee with Palestinian church leaders on September 19 in Bethlehem, the Palestinians would on the one hand recognise Israel’s sovereignty on 78 percent of the land of historic Palestine, and on the other hand would advocate a demilitarised Palestinian state. After the political upheavals in the Arab world, a lasting freedom with Palestine would be Israel’s best guarantee for peace and security. Addressing Christians throughout the world, Awad said, “Those who pray for ‘the peace of Jerusalem’ need, at the same time, to support the immediate creation of a Palestinian state.” According to Awad, Christians betray their testimony when they are silent about the continuing injustice of Israel towards Palestinians. He believes that concerns that an Islamic state would be created are unfounded. The current political proposition has been developed by the secular, progressive and non-violent branch of the PLO. Should it fail, however, the violent Hamas would be strengthened.

As Awad further stated, more than 99 percent of the over 50,000 Christians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip support him. Awad described their relationship with the Muslim majority as good and trusting. At the same time, he acknowledged that Muslims are experiencing increasingly strong pressure from Muslim extremists in other countries. The results are felt everywhere: “Muslims are getting louder.” Therefore, it is urgent that Christians pray for their Muslim neighbours and love them: “When you love someone, you have no fear of them.” Moreover, in this way, an increasing number of Muslims have shown interest in the Christian faith. As Awad said, in the West Bank there are now two Christian churches consisting only of former Muslims. For fear of attacks, they meet underground. However, one cannot speak of a spiritual breakthrough among Muslims. Awad rejected theological objections that God has given the land to Israel, pointing out that, since the New Testament, it is a question of building the Kingdom of God worldwide, but no longer of a special land for the Jewish people. One hundred forty students are enrolled in the Baptist Bible College in Bethlehem, which was founded in 1923 by Southern Baptists. In addition to theology, students can also study communications and tourism.