Bombing dashes hopes of Jackson delegation

Christian Century, August 14, 2002

Having secured what it said were practical concessions from both Palestinians and Israelis in the wartorn Holy Land, an interfaith delegation headed by civil rights leader Jesse Jackson had its hopes for a landmark meeting dashed by the July 31 bombing that left seven dead in Jerusalem. The group of 14 Christian and Jewish leaders was en route to meet with the leadership of the Palestinian militant group Hamas when it got news of the bombing at Hebrew University.

The delegation promptly canceled its plans to urge Hamas not to retaliate for a July 23 Israeli attack on a Gaza apartment building. Members instead condemned the bombing, for which Hamas later took responsibility, and visited victims and families in a hospital. The bombing in a crowded campus cafeteria cast a dark cloud over the delegation as it took first steps to establish itself as a "Third Force" for peace in the 22-month conflict.

Leaders of the group said that at its behest, Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat had publicly repudiated suicide attacks on Israeli citizens. Members also prevailed upon Israelis to say they would allow trucks from Jordan and Egypt to deliver vital supplies such as food and medicine to Palestinian communities.

For delegation member Bernice Powell Jackson, who heads the United Church of Christ's justice and witness ministries, it was the second visit to the region in the last year and a half. "This time, I sensed more despair on the part of the Palestinians and more fear on the part of the Israelis," she said. "Both sides know that they cannot win militarily. A majority of people on both sides want peace, but neither side has a clue about how to get there." Asked "What's the hope?" during a news conference August 2 in Cleveland, she said, "The children--and the fact that God is still in control," reported a UCC spokesman.

Raymond Helmick, a Boston College theologian and another member of the Jackson mission, told a news conference the same day in Boston that the Third Force network will frequently send mediators from religious organizations to meet with both sides through Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH coalition and the Middle East Council of Churches. "The Third Force [will be] able to mediate among them at a time when official American foreign policy is seen by all the people we met as practically nonexistent and urgently needed," Helmick said. --RNS