An inspiring encounter

After lunch we meet an inspiring Palestinian Lutheran pastor, the Revd Dr Mitri Raheb who is President of the Diyar Consortium , which serves the Palestinian community in the Bethlehem in remarkable ways.

It is unfortunate, he tells us, that most people still don't know that there are Palestinian Christians living in the country. "Americans tend to ask us when we converted," he says.

"I tell them that the first Christian missionary was Jesus Christ and he was born in our town. The only thing Palestine exports is Christianity. The Gospel has 'made in Palestine' on the back."

It is important, he says, that Christianity doesn't disappear from the land his ancestors. "We don't want to become a Christian theme park. We really believe that the Gospel is as valid today as it was 2000 years ago, for the whole world and this country. Without our Christian witness, Palestine and Israel would be weaker."

People also tend to think that Arabs are Muslims. Far from it: the vast majority of Muslims are not Arabs. And, of course, Christianity is older than Islam.

He tells us that life isn't easy for Palestinians at the moment. The Jewish settlements make Palestine "like a swiss cheese", with the Palestinians forced into the gaps. Life since the year 2000 has been severely restricted, with tough limits on permits for travel. He reminds us of the 40-day siege in 2002 of the Church of the Nativity, which left Bethlehem with nearly half a million dollars of damange.

"But we are here by choice," he says. "We believe it is our calling."

The Diyar Centre started 15 years ago, as a one man show ("I was the man and I was the show"). It has since expanded to become the third largest employer in Bethlehem. The project encompasses a school for 300, care for the elderly, and a college specialising in culture and the arts attended by 150 students. Hundreds more take part in music, theatre and the arts. The arts is "a foretaste of the Kingdom", and particularly important in a culture when the dominant sound is that of gunfire.

"If the end to conflict is a marathon, not a sprint, we need to teach people to breathe, and that is what music does, what art does," he says. "I believe it is dangerous to give in to liturgies of death. We need to create liturgies of life, and for that we need music."

Art and culture also helps the Palestinians to define themselves. "We need our people to develop and identity of our own, irrespective of those around us."

He says he is not optimistic about the outcome of the current peace talks. He reminds us that Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers" and not "the peace-talkers".

"We are moving towards the most sophisticated system of apartheid in the modern world," he says. Nonetheless, he is hopeful - and says he will continue to go out and plant olive trees for the future.

"Unless we plant olive trees today, we will have no oil for healing, no shadow for our children from the heat, and no branches to wave when peace comes."