A Look Back at Oslo – 30 Years Later

A Letter from Doug Dicks, Regional Liaison serving in Israel, Jordan and Palestine

Winter 2023

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Dear family and friends,

Thirty years! It is hard to believe that it has been 30 years since the famous handshake on the White House lawn between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin took place on September 13, 1993. With then President Bill Clinton and other world leaders looking on, the two foes shook hands and signed what then came to be known as The Oslo Accords. It was to be a mutual, historic recognition of the other and was to set in motion future negotiations regarding peace between Israelis and Palestinians. All the issues that were deemed too difficult to be solved at that time – Jerusalem, Water, Israeli Settlements, Palestinian Refugees, and final borders – were relegated to future negotiations, and were labeled “final status” issues.

A younger Doug Dicks, shaking the hand of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, following a meeting in Gaza.

In those days, Oslo was the only game in town. One was either on board with it or one was not and therefore considered irrelevant. Sadly, dialogue at the grassroots level between Israelis and Palestinians that had taken place in the years prior to Oslo also ceased to exist. Palestinians and Israelis grieved the fact that they used to be able to get together and dialogue. However, since the inception of Oslo, their efforts were sidelined and deemed insignificant.

The euphoria of that famous handshake, however, was short lived. I arrived in Israel in September of 1995, and by early November of that same year, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing religious Israeli Jew, Yigal Amir. His logic was that Rabin had become a traitor and was “selling out” and handing over the land of Israel.

I still remember Christmas Eve of 1995. It was my first Christmas in my new role as a mission co-worker with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Four fellow mission co-workers traveled from Egypt to the “little town” of Bethlehem, to be with me, and to witness history in the making. The arrival of Yasser Arafat, by helicopter on that Christmas Eve was an event that is seared in my memory forever. He came to the “little town” in the West Bank, and was hailed as a hero by his people, and was given the title of President of the Palestinian National Authority. To the Israelis, it was only called the Palestinian Authority, or PA. There was nothing “national” about it, in their view.

Doug, with the late Dr. Arun Ghandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Ghandhi, in Jerusalem in 2004.

In the years to come, diplomats, dignitaries, and church leaders all would beat a path – to both Gaza and to Ramallah – to shake the hands of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

 The following January and February, Palestinian suicide bombers would blow themselves up on Israeli buses, taking a toll on the nerves of Israelis, and striking fear in the hearts of people. Likewise, the perpetrators of these deadly acts of terror were reported to have felt that Palestine was being “sold out” and divided up, and they were seeking – as was Rabin’s assassin – to stop any process that might lead to peace.

In my role as a mission co-worker seconded to the Middle East Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Travel Office, I helped with the logistics for visitors from abroad, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, the late Dr. Arun Ghandhi, the grandson, of the Mahatma Ghandhi, and countless church leaders and church groups from America, Europe, Canada, Australia, and the like.

At the time, those of us working on the ground engaged quite often in interfaith work and interfaith dialogue with our Jewish colleagues in Jerusalem.

A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegation visits with Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, years before he would become Israel’s president.

For many, Oslo proved to be a deception. From the beginning, a system of permits and checkpoints was implemented for Palestinians that did nothing to improve their lives, nor usher in any type of reconciliation. On the contrary, it only served to further divide and separate the two populations – Israelis and Palestinians – from one another. The freedom of movement for Palestinians, particularly to Jerusalem, was severely curtailed. Palestinians began to ask what kind of a “peace” process this was.

At the time the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, there were just over 110,000 Israeli Jewish settlers living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Today, that figure is more than 700,000. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel has always disputed this.

According to the BBC, opinion polls indicate that the Oslo Accords were originally supported by two-thirds of the Palestinian public. However, and in the ensuing years, and with no clear horizon for a solution to the decades-long conflict, the optimism it once generated has been replaced by deep depression and gloom.

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics states that Israel’s population is slated to double from the current nine million people to approximately 17.6 million by 2050. If one factors in the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza, and doubles that, this would be approximately 35 million people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, on a small parcel of land no larger than the American state of Delaware.

Though peace remains elusive thirty years later, we must remain steadfast in our resolve that, for the sake of Israel’s children and for the sake of Palestine’s children, there is no other way forward.

Doug

Please read this important message from Director of World Mission Rev. Mienda Uriarte

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Matthew 25:34-36

Dear friends,

Great things are happening in World Mission! As you know from the letters you’ve been receiving, our mission co-workers are at the forefront of showing us what Matthew 25 looks like in the U.S. and in the wider world. They are addressing issues related to eradicating systemic poverty, building congregational vitality and dismantling structural racism. Together with our partners, mission co-workers are engaged in life-transforming ministries in 80 countries around the world. Here are just a few examples:

As an education consultant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, José Jones assists the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) education department in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans to strengthen the church’s primary and secondary education programs for more than 350 schools.

Based in Manila, Rev. Cathy Chang works closely with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and other partners in ministry to engage programs and networks across Asia that advocate for people vulnerable to forced migration and human trafficking.

Nadia Ayoub works alongside our Greek partners as they faithfully hold to the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Nadia serves with Perichoresis, a ministry of the Evangelical Church of Greece that provides housing and support to refugees; most of whom have come to Greece from Arabic-speaking countries.

Joseph Russ strengthens and supports a network of partners working in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address migration issues in the Northern Triangle. Based on the needs people on the ground identify, Joseph empowers U.S. congregations to engage in advocacy related to Central America and immigration reform.

Revs. Drs. Noah Park and Esther Shin serve as professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC). ETSC graduates work toward revitalizing congregational ministries in Egypt and work with refugee and peace ministries in various countries in the Middle East.

Please consider giving an extra gift this year to support our mission co-workers as they walk alongside our partners and help shape a more life-giving, equitable and hopeful world!

Prayerfully,

Rev. Mienda Uriarte, Director of World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give online, visit https://bit.ly/23MC-YE.

Honorary gifts can be made by checking the box and writing the mission co-worker’s name in the comment field online.