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Links for Learning

Finding Curriculum Connections for High School Teachers and Students

This month’s Links for Learners will support high school curriculum in:
• Scriptures—Biblical lands
• World history/Current events—Middle East timelines and maps
• Christian lifestyles—forgiveness; brotherhood
• Government—the role of international law

Finding Links for Discussion Group Leaders and Participants

Look for connections for use in programs outside the classroom, such as:

• Parish sacramental preparation programs and CCD classes; young adult discussion programs; seasonal discussion groups; RCIA programs.
• Parents will also find this material useful in initiating discussion around the dinner table, in home study, at family activities.

Understanding Basic Terms in This Month’s Article

Look for the key words and terms below as you read the article. Definitions or explanations can be researched from the article itself or from the resource materials cited throughout the Links for Learners. You can also find a list of terms on the glossary page of AmericanCatholicYouth.org.

Historical Perspectives

The history of the Middle East spans thousands of years, from biblical times to the present. Timelines can provide a historical overview. As you review the timelines, look for events that are significant to the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.

• The UK's Guardian online news site outlines key events in Middle East conflicts. The Guardian also has a brief history focusing on the Arab-Israeli situation.
• Thinkquest presents a thorough timeline of history in the Middle East.
• The MidEast Web offers a detailed timeline of the Middle East's Israel-Palestine conflict.
• United Nations Resolution 242 in 1967 has been a key discussion point in the ongoing conflict.
• The Guardian lists a thorough glossary of terms for the Middle East.

A careful reading of the timelines will reveal that 13—almost all—of the present Middle Eastern nations, including Israel, are relatively new, having gained their independence only in the years between 1922 and 1971. To gain familiarity with these often-changing national boundaries, you may find helpful several map sites:

• The library of the University of Texas at Austin offers an extensive collection of Middle East maps.
• The MidEast Web is a good source for "drill-down" maps of the Middle East.
  
  
  

Perspectives From the Nations in Conflict

For a snapshot look at how the present leaders of Israel and Palestine think, read Ariel Sharon's recent speech to the Israeli people. Compare this to statements made by Yassar Arafat and other Arab leaders at a March 2001 summit.

Terror is a constant in the Middle East. How, and why, do the Israeli and Palestinian peoples live with daily conflict, even the threat of death? To capture a feeling for their lives, read and compare a resident's account of daily life in Palestine with a visitor's account of a recent trip to Israel. Do the accounts have anything in common? What do the authors reveal about their perceptions of the "other side"? Frustration, resentment, anger, rage—all fuel both military aggression and fanaticism. Jewish and Palestinian people both want to have a homeland where their right ot exist is acknowledged by their neighbors, where they have freedom of religion and where they can raise their families in peace. Terror from either side will destroy those hopes and, in the long term, fail to bring peace to either Jews or Palestinians.

In his World Day of Peace message for January 1, 2002, Pope John Paul II pleaded for a negotiated solution to the festering Arab-Israeli conflict: "The rights and demands of each party can be taken into proper account and balanced in an equitable way, if and when there is a will to let justice and reconciliation prevail. Once more, I urge the beloved peoples of the Holy Land to work for a new era of mutual respect and contructive accord."

Radical Muslims view the United States as a "failed Christian nation," pointing to American materialism and pornography, for example. Should we not be challenged to reflect on our own shortcomings? Can we find opportunities to be stronger witnesses of faith and morality to others who do not share our beliefs?

To learn more about life in the Middle East, see Interlink Books. Their Middle East Collection features novels written by authors native to various countries in that region. For an account of Jewish refugees searching for a homeland after the Holocaust of World War II, see Leon Uris's novel Exodus.

Perspectives From the International Community

Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the focus of this month's article, sees his role as one who brings peace to the Middle East by prayerfully telling the truth. He urges a return to the national borders of 1967 and compliance with international law.

International law is considered by many to be the most effective way to bring an equitable peace to the Middle East as well as to other war-torn areas of our world. International justice will replace the thirst for revenge. Pope John Paul II recently called for a "...return to the negotiating table on an equal footing, with due respect for international law." The Holy Land, revered by all the descendents of Abraham (Christians, Jews and Muslims alike), must be a symbol of peace, a sign of interfaith respect and brotherhood, not a continuing source of violence. The pope calls for Jerusalem to be "a City of Peace for all peoples."

Numerous religious and nondenominational organizations exist to promote justice and peace:

• The United Nations administers international law and justice through several courts and tribunals, gradually bringing about a more just international order. The UN has played a major role in making world leaders accountable for crimes of war and crimes against humanity.
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on the Middle East situation, the "Resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis." In it the American bishops call for an end to the cycle of violence, stating, "The only acceptable option is an end to the violence, respect for the basic human rights of all, and a return to the path of peace."
• The U. S. Committee for Refugees offers insightful documentation on repatriation for refugees and reconciliation as a solution for hatred and war. Any peace, the group believes, that is dependent on "artificial separation of antagonists" will not result in reconciliation. The U. S. Catholic Bishops echo this theme in their November 2000 statement "Returning to the Path of Peace in the Middle East." "Muslims, Jews and Christians, Palestinians and Israelis cannot separate themselves into walled enclaves; they must find ways to live together, as equals and in dignity." Nor can reconciliation be imposed. Reconciliation is a process.
• Pax Christi International, of which Patriarch Sabbah is president, works with the United Nations and other world and national groups to bring about peace in troubled areas around the globe.
• The Congregations of Holy Cross created the Holy Cross International Justice Office to promote world justice. Here you'll find the summary document "Twelve Primary Themes from Catholic Social Teaching."
• Amnesty International has issued a number of statements on the Middle East situation. Out of concern for international human rights and humanitarian law, they are calling for amendments to the "Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism" issued by the League of the Arab States.
• The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, based in South Africa, fosters a peaceful and fundamental transformation in that part of the world.
• The Coalition for International Justice has worked to bring to justice those responsible for the recent genocide atrocities in Rwanda.
• The Fellowship of Reconciliation and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation both work for justice and peace.

Some of these groups welcome members and volunteer workers, and several offer internships for individuals interested in working for justice and peace.