Postscript: Last exchange with Rev. John Hubers of the Reformed Church in
America

Rev. John Hubers of theReformed Church in America is filing reports on a
trip to the Middle East by a Church delegation on the Church website
www.rca.org .

Sunday, October 19, 2003

#1 From Hubers

Hi, Aaron,

I would be interested if you have time in getting into a dialogue about what
the Israeli government is doing on the West Bank. We visited several refugee
camps and also were informed about the Wall that is being built in such a
way that it becomes yet another land grab by your government. I have seen
that you are committed to getting out the truth about what is happening in
the Middle East. I'm wondering if that extends to what your own government
is doing on the West Bank in terms of destroying peoples' homes and
livlihoods in the name of security.

Does your desire to get the truth out extend here, as well? I would be
interested to hear your take on this at least partly because we didn't have
the chance to meet Israelis on this trip except those young soldiers who
threaten people at the checkpoints. One of the reasons I was so tentative in
responding to your query about our trip to Syria, in fact, was because I got
your first note while we were in Jerusalem and my experience with your
security apparatus was anything but welcoming. I took your first note more
as a threat than as a desire to learn the truth.

BTW - To see something of the experience our group had on this trip I would
refer you to a weblog I kept which appeared on our denominations' webpage -
www.rca.org. You can't miss it. It's in the news section which comes up as
soon as you access it.

John Hubers
+++

#2 Response from Lerner
Hi,

Thanks for the note.

As you may know, IMRA is a very time consuming operation that I cover from
my own pocket (I am make my living in international trade) so my time is
extremely tight.

Let me suggest that the best way to get a picture is to contact Israeli
officials to discuss your questions. Some English speakers in the Prime
Minister's Office: office #02-6705354, direct cellular phone #'s Raanan
Gissin 056-xxxxx Meirav 056-xxxxxx and David Baker 056-xxxxxxx (number in
original).

Please get back to me if you are unable to reach anyone. There is a
government strike now and these guys may not answer the regular phone but my
guess is that they will answer their cellular phones!

Best regards, Aaron

PS: I would like to suggest that you consider the ostensibly positive
remarks you encounter from President Asad and others within the framework of
the recent remarks of the Malaysian PM, a program praised by the Egyptian FM
as Islam's "roadmap":

"The Quran tells us that when the enemy sues for peace we must react
positively. True the treaty offered is not favorable to us. But we can
negotiate. The Prophet did, at Hudaibiyah. And in the end he triumphed (AL:
by breaking the treaty when he was strong enough to defeat his enemy) . . .
.The enemy will probably welcome these proposals. . . Of late because of
their power and their apparent success they have become arrogant. And
arrogant people, like angry people will make mistakes, will forget to think.
They are already beginning to make mistakes. And they will make more
mistakes. There may be windows of opportunity for us now and in the
future.We must seize these opportunities.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's program of action
as he presented it at the opening of the 10th Session of the Islamic Summit
Conference:

http://thestar.com.my/oic/story.asp?file=/2003/10/16/oic/20031016123438&sec=
OIC

#3 From Hubers

Thanks, Aaron, for your quick response.

I know you don't want to extend this any further, but my off the top of my
head response to what you wrote is to say that your response does not give
me much hope. Whenever issues about the debasement and dehumanization of
fellow human beings on the West Bank is raised I see the stereotyped
response you gave - we do what we do for security. A pregnant Palestinian
refugee will lose her baby because the prime minister of Malaysia exhibits a
hatred for Jews. I have trouble seeing how these things are related -
collective punishment of Palestinians seems to be the only response Israel
is capable of, not realizing how you are only feeding the hatred. They
aren't all guilty, Aaron. Putting them in a virtual concentration camp with
the fence, destroying their livlihood to build it, forcing university
professors to walk over rugged hills to get to their classrooms while
Israelis zip around the West Bank on roads they only can use - these things
are not going to provide security. With this approach the radicalization of
the Palestinian population will create and is creating the kind of hatred
which was not necessarily there before. Your obsession with security is
becoming a self fulfilling prophesy.

I won't bother you again. Thanks for your correspondance on this.

One final PS - the real tragedy I saw when I visited your country is that
both groups of people involved are incredibly creative folk. I'm a
singer/songwriter myself with an artist for a son, so I'm alert to the power
and beauty of the arts. Israel is clearly a land where the arts flourish.
And what you've done in building the country is quite amazing. But the
Palestinians are also extremely creative people. I only wish a day would
come when the creative energy on both sides could be brought together. What
a state you could create if that happened!

Shalom/Salaam,

John Hubers

#4 Response from Lerner

Hi,

I get literally hundreds of inquiries a day. I understood that you genuinely
wanted to understand the situation and not engage in polemics. That's why I
gave you the unpublished cellular telephone numbers of three different
people in the Prime Minister's Office.

Your answer indicates, unfortunately, that you apparently have no interest
in truly learning about the situation.

For the sake of order, please let me know if you actually followed up on my
suggestions.

Best regards,
Aaron