The Valley Catholic
commentary
Making a Difference
Holy Land Principles:
powerful tool for justice and peace
By Tony Magliano
During his recent
pilgrimage to the Holy
Land, the pope of surprises gave the
world an unexpected powerful message.
On his way to celebrate Mass in Bethlehem, Pope Francis suddenly got out of
his popemobile and walked toward the
towering concrete Israeli-built barrier
that divides Israel from the Israeli occupied territory of the West Bank.
In a highly symbolic scene, with Israeli soldiers in a tower above him, Pope
Francis touched the separation wall, and
prayed with head bowed at precisely
the spot where spray-painted messages
cry out, “Pope we need some 1 to speak
about Justice Bethlehem look like Warsaw ghetto” and “Free Palestine.” Then
he touched his forehead to the wall.
“This wall is a sign of division, that
something is not functioning right,”
said Vatican spokesman Father Federico
Lombardi. Pope Francis’ prayer there,
“signifies for me his desire for peace, for
a world without walls.”
The Sustainable Investments Institute
states that barriers--including the separation wall and border crossings, lack of
access to proper government permits,
and discrimination--make prospects
grim even for Palestinians able to obtain
gainful employment in Israel.
According to The Legal Center for
Arab Minority Rights in Israel, even
Palestinian citizens of Israel often face
discrimination in work opportunities,
pay and conditions.
To help correct the discriminatory
challenges faced by Palestinians, Irishborn American Father Sean McManus
has put forth the Holy Land Principles
(www.holylandprinciples.org).
In the tradition of the Sullivan Principles, which were developed to counter racial workplace discrimination in
South Africa during the apartheid years,
Father McManus launched in 1984 the
MacBride Principles – a corporate code
of conduct for American companies doing business in Northern Ireland.
Father McManus explained that the
‘American principles
must follow American
investment – everywhere.’
MacBride Principles campaign is widely
considered the most effective tool
against anti-Catholic discrimination in
Northern Ireland.
He said he is hoping the fair employment practices outlined in the Holy
Land Principles – which are nearly
identical to the MacBride Principles –
will be adopted by all 546 American
companies doing business in the Holy
Land. “American investment dollars
should not subsidize anti-Palestinian
discrimination… American principles
must follow American investment –
everywhere,” he said.
The eight Holy Land Principles call
on U.S. companies operating in Israel
and Palestine to adhere to equal and
fair employment practices in all areas
without discrimination, to actively
recruit underrepresented employee
groups, and to work with governmental
and community authorities to eliminate
ethnic, racial and religious disparities
in government spending on education, training, access to health care and
housing.
Email Ms. Teri Treille (ttreille@cisco.
com), investor relations contact person
for Cisco Systems, large American
networking company that has major
presence in Israel and the Palestinian
West Bank, and request Cisco sign the
Holy Land Principles. Hopefully, other
companies will follow.
During his pilgrimage to the Holy
Land Pope Francis said, “There is a need
to intensify efforts and initiatives aimed
at creating conditions for a stable peace
based on justice, on the recognition of
the rights of every individual, and on
mutual security.”
• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace
columnist.
June 24, 2014
15
Spirituality
Wearied in our patience
By Father Ron Rolheiser
Thirty years ago,
before the airline hijackings of Sept. 11,
2001, before the shoebomber and others like him, it was
simpler to travel by air. You didn’t
need to take off your shoes to pass
through security. You could carry
liquids, laptops and other electronic
devices in carry-on bags. The door to
the cockpit wasn’t barricaded with
steel, and there was much less paranoia about security. You even got to
see the pilot occasionally.
I remember such an occasion 30
years ago when I did see the pilot,
and heard him engage in conversation
with a particular passenger. It was an
early morning flight from Dublin to
London in a small, commuter-type
plane with no business-class section. I
was seated in the aisle seat in the first
row and directly across the aisle from
me, in the first row, sat a middle-aged
woman who, very soon, made it clear
that she had a phobia about flying.
Shortly after we were seated she
called the airline attendant and told
her that her family had talked her
into taking this flight but that she
was terribly frightened and was having second thoughts about staying on
the plane. The attendant gently tried
to reassure her that everything was
safe. The woman was reassured for
the moment.
She began to be progressively panicky after the doors were closed an