Area church group witnesses Israeli-Palestinian conflict firsthand.
By: Lea Kahn
The Rev. Jeff Vamos and four members of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville embarked on a two-week trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories last month, hoping to gain insight into the Middle East conflict.
When the Rev. Vamos and the rest of the group returned to the United States Nov. 12, they agreed they had gained first-hand exposure to the conflict but at a cost.
"I don’t think any of us came back the same," said congregant William McQuoid, of Pennington. "We lost our innocence. We saw the realities (of the conflict). We can’t be innocent and naive again. People read the headlines, but it’s complicated."
What Mr. McQuoid, the Rev. Vamos and congregants Linda Ma Sung, Jan Everett and Barbara Hallows saw was the violence and distrust between the Palestinians and Israelis, illustrated by the checkpoints everyone must pass through and the wall Israelis are currently building in the West Bank to keep out would-be suicide bombers.
Each congregant had a different reason for making the trip, but they all wanted to learn more about the conflict and how they might forge peace between the warring factions.
Ms. Sung said she had a long-standing desire to help make a difference and make the region more peaceful, even though people had told her the conflict had been going on for 2,000 years and it would be impossible to achieve that goal.
"I didn’t like that answer," said Ms. Sung, of Woodlane Road. "When the Rev. Vamos came up with the trip, it hit me right in my heart. It’s the best way to find out what the situation is and what we can do."
Mr. McQuoid said, as a Presbyterian, he supports the right for Jews to have a homeland and a safe place to live, "but I want to see it happen in a way that truly goes toward making peace."
Ms. Hallows, a Cold Soil Road resident, said the Rev. Vamos encourages congregants to read the Bible, and this was a chance to see the places depicted in the ancient text. She said she also wanted to see what it felt like to be an outsider.
Based on her visit, Ms. Hallows said, she understands the Israelis’ need for security, but the way they are going about it such as the wall between Israeli and Palestinian lands in the long run will be bad for the people of Israel.
During their whirlwind visit to Israel, the 15-member group which included folks from the Nassau Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery of New Brunswick and the Princeton Theological Seminary visited tourist spots such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock.
Despite the tourist attractions, the Rev. Vamos insisted it wasn’t a vacation.
"We did up to four meetings a day with different groups," he said. "Our three main purposes were to seek reconciliation, create mission relationships and to tell the story back home."
What the group discovered was that there are not two sides to the issue, but virtually "20 sides," Mr. McQuoid said.
The group met with Israelis and Palestinian Christians and Muslims. They spoke with peace groups. They also met with Rami, a Jew from Jerusalem, and Waggeh, a Muslim from Bethlehem both members of the Parents Circle, a group of people who have lost family members in the conflict.
Mr. McQuoid and Ms. Everett said the highlight of the trip was a meeting with the Parents Circle. The Parents Circle members decided the only way to deal with the grief of losing their children to violence is to reach out and build bridges, Mr. McQuoid said, because "violence is not the answer."
"If they can forgive," Ms. Everett said, "how can we not forgive?"
One experience that stands out for him, the Rev. Vamos said, was the group’s attempt to pass through a security checkpoint in Nablus, a community inside the disputed West Bank, manned by Israeli soldiers.
"We heard about the checkpoints, and we decided to wait in line," the Rev. Vamos said, even though the American visitors could have passed through a less restrictive checkpoint because of their tourist status.
The Americans waited in line for 45 minutes, while Israeli soldiers searched a Palestinian man who was attempting to pass through the security checkpoint. The experience brought home to the group the impact of the restrictions placed on Palestinians.
Mr. McQuoid said he would like to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories again, but he would like his wife to accompany him. It is hard to go through this experience without one’s spouse, he said.
"It’s hard to describe it to people who have not been there," he said. "It’s like trying to describe the color purple to someone who is colorblind."

