FEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY: A RICH GIFT OR A HEAVY BURDEN?START OF THE SCHNELLER FOUNDATION ON 11 NOVEMBER 2007!

ISSN 0947-5435 E 12344

MAGAZIN ÜBER CHRISTLICHES LEBEN IM NAHEN OSTEN3/200

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Interculturality – Promise of a better futureContemplation about the Book of Ruth by Rima Nasrallah van Saane 4

Where good old Jonah turns into Yunus Intercultural congregation work in the German speaking Protestant congregation of Beirut 6

Celebrating cultural differencesStories from the life of an international congregation 10

“Forbidden Families“ in Jerusalem and Israel 13

A Website for the whole family A walk through the web at www.palestine-family.net 14

Media 29

Letters to the Editor, EVS-internal 30

Imprint 31

Dear Reader,

Today’s increasing mobility means that morepeople from different cultural backgroundsmeet. Not always do these meetings fail due tothe challenges in communication resulting fromcultural differences. Love knows no bounds! Thehigh number of binational marriages is suffi-cient proof of this motto.

But even if living together across cultural,and often linguistic, boundaries may be a tre-mendous benefit for all those involved, it stillremains a life-long challenge.

This issue of the Schneller Magazine is dedi-cated to examining the many facets of this to-pic. The Schneller Schools, too, are intercultural

communities and many children at the schools come from families that are ba-sed on more than one culture. This was one of the reasons for us to take up thistopic. Another point of interest was to highlight the associated problems thatface many people. After all, the rise in the number of Christians emigrating fromthe Middle East means that several millions of them worldwide live in foreignenvironments and, at the latest in the second generation, they very often evenlive in intercultural marriages.

We have not forgotten the major political problems and upheavals in theMiddle East. On the contrary – they are part of our daily work and the relationswith our partners in the Middle East. But just like our partners, we don’t want tolet this deter us from continuing the good work which is aimed at achievingmore justice and peace. A very encouraging aspect for us at the moment is thegreat support we are receiving for our project to set up the “Schneller Foundation– Education for Peace”. The project will be launched on 11 November and we arealready very optimistic that we will in fact be able to start with a foundation ca-pital of one million euros. Our sincerest thanks go to all of you since this is lar-gely due to your support!

Sincerely yours,

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EDITORIAL

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CONTENTS

FEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY 4

CHRISTIANS AND THE MIDDLE EAST 24

Cover picture: Amal and Markus Fischer. Amal from Lebanon and Markus from Germany metthrough the EMS Youth Network and married last year. Photo: private

NEWS FROM THE SCHNELLER SCHOOLS 15

Rev. Andreas Maurer(EVS Managing Director)

News from the Schneller Schools 15

The foolish princessStories from the life of a voluntary worker at the TSS 17

“This money is not lost“Schneller Foundation on the right track 20

From the orphanage to conductor’s stands around the world Comments on the 85th birthday of Ogan Durjan, conductor and composer 22

How “Daher’s Vineyard“ becomes the “Tent of Nations“A Palestinian family fights for its land 24

EU financial embargo hits health care systen in GazaAhli Arab Hospital in Gaza City asks for donations 26

News 28

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CONTEMPLATION

Though Ruth aimed at embracing thenew culture wholly, even though shewanted integration and enculturation,she still remained a foreigner. When shewas waiting in the fields for permissionto glean, she was introduced as ‘Ruth theMoabite’, the foreigner.

Adapting is not easyAdapting is not easy

There are many who are asked today torenounce their identity, culture and ha-bits and to embrace others that are aliento them for the sake of uniformity in in-tegration. There are many who value uni-formity of culture in their ‘Judah’ whe-reas they promote diversity in otherpeople’s ‘Moab’. It is a human tendencyto keep one’s neighbourhood clean anduniform but to expect to be welcomedand accepted the way we are when we goto other neighbourhoods. Elimelek’s fa-mily, though they lived for a long timein Moab, did not adopt Moabite cultureand would have been dismayed if askedto do so. They did not develop the closecontacts that would have helped a wi-dow like Naomi to remain there.

Ruth’s story describes the redemptionand salvation of a poor widowed foreig-ner based on her complete denial of herown culture and embracing another. A

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marginalised woman from the fringes ofsociety is admitted to the centre of so-ciety by marriage to a wealthy powerfulman. Ruth’s redemption at the hands ofBoaz came as a reward for her acceptanceof a new culture. “Why have I found fa-vour?” asked Ruth. “Because you have leftyour father and mother and your nativeland and came to a people that you donot know,” answered Boaz.

God creates goodGod creates goodfrom diversityfrom diversity

Where does God appear in this story? Inthis human story of famine, death andemptiness, God appears as a protector.God does not shun away from intercul-turality but works through it to bringforth what is good and new from a situa-tion of diversity. In the ancient Hebrewmindset, only God can provide food andonly He can make a pregnancy possible.These are two things beyond the realmof human influence.

The story starts with famine and thedeath of two men without male progeny.But God is still there. When Ruth is wi-dowed at an early age and leaves her pe-ople and home behind, God did not lether die of hunger but provided for her inthe most unlikely way. After 10 years ofa childless marriage with Mahlon, Godput an end to the period of deprivationby making her conceive and give birth toa boy who would become the ancestor ofKing David. This child from a mixed mar-riage comes as a justification of intercul-turality. He is the hope for a brighter fu-ture given to a couple from two verydifferent cultures.

A situation of famine and survivalbrings people to seek refuge in othergeographical areas. Today, many Leb-anese are seeking refuge in the Westand in other Arab countries due to fi-nancial and safety considerations.Others are fleeing from their own ‘fa-mines’ in Africa and Asia looking forsome ‘harvest’ in Lebanon. In con-templation of the Book of Ruth, RimaNasrallah van Saane, Protestant theo-logian at the National EvangelicalChurch of Beirut (NECB), examinesGod’s work in intercultural relations-hips.

INTERCULINTERCULTURALITY – TURALITY – PROMISE OF A BETTER FUTUREPROMISE OF A BETTER FUTURE

Where you go, I will go;

Where you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die – there willI be buried.

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Elimelek’s and Naomi’s move to Moabdid not just place them in a new anddifferent context but also mixed

them with another culture when theirsons married Moabite women, makingthem into an intercultural family. Themove to another country carries with itthe risk of an intercultural marriage andfaces the individual as well as the familywith important questions: In what coun-try should we live in? Where do we callhome? What language do we speak? Whatfood should we eat? And sometimes,which God should we worship?

Everything was going well for Elime-lek’s family in Moab until disaster struck.After the death of her husband, and for-ced to make a choice, Ruth decided toembrace totally the culture of her in-laws.Even though Naomi tried to dissuade herfrom joining her on her journey ‘home’,Ruth insisted on staying with her and de-cided to venture to the land of Judah, le-aving behind her parents, culture and re-ligion.

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some also to Shiite Muslims, some to Ma-ronite Christians and some to Rum Or-thodox Christians. Only one of the wo-men is married to a Lebanese Protestant.

Sometimes you know who is marriedto whom by just looking at the women.If the women choose to wear a headscarf,their daughters choose to dothe same in most cases. Someof the mothers have studiedthe Qur’an intensively andhave deliberately chosen theMuslim belief. We have learnta lot about Islam from themsince they are filled with en-thusiasm and like talking ab-out it. Time and again they af-firm that they don’t feelrestricted as women. In factthey feel particularly well intheir environment. They areheld in high esteem and arerespected as women.

I can imagine that the headscarf of-fers some kind of protection. People do-n’t recognise you immediately as a fo-reigner and you don’t have to endure theconstant critical looks from men. Youhave the feeling of really belonging to acommunity again. But when it is hot insummer, I really feel for them as they arealways dressed in hot scarves and in longsleeves. It’s the young girls I pity the mostsince they cannot yet decide for them-selves but simply adapt to the customsof their environment. Nevertheless youcan see them together romping and play-ing with each other at the children’s mee-ting point. Only when it comes to splas-

hing around in the paddling pool are theya bit reserved.

But then there are mothers of a com-pletely different kind who have nevergone into their own belief. Although theyare members of the church, they no lon-ger know the biblical stories. They come

into this fairly religious society, live in afamily which strictly observes the prayertimes five times a day and whose hus-bands take the children and the rest ofthe family to the mosque on Fridays. Theyask themselves: who am I really, what doI believe in? Should I convert to Islam toavoid my children calling me an unbe-liever some day? What would I actuallyhave to give up? Something with whichI have never lived. Yet it is part of myidentity.

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FEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY: A RICH GIFT OR A HEAVY BURDEN?

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W H E R E G O O D O L D J O N A H T U R N S I N T O Y U N I S W H E R E G O O D O L D J O N A H T U R N S I N T O Y U N I S Intercultura l congregat ion work in the German speaking Protestant congregat ion of Beirut

the playgroup, were enthusiastic about their fa-mous namesake. The small Yunus is Muslim. Hisfather is a Muslim. The other boy has Christianparents.

We are a relatively small congregation in acountry full of tensions. About 60 percent of ourmembers are German speaking women who aremarried here in Lebanon. They are married toLebanese men, which means we are dealing withall the 18 different denominations and religiouscommunities that exist here in Lebanon. Most ofthese women are married to Sunni Muslims, but

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When we told the storyof the Prophet Jonahduring the children’s

service, we went on an outing. Wewent precisely to where Yunus orDhan-Nun – as the prophet is cal-led in the Qur’an – was vomitedonto dry land. There we visited asmall mosque which was once aByzantine church. When we arri-ved with the children, the men atthe mosque were very pleased.They showed and explained eve-rything to us in detail, especiallythe well as this water is known toperform miracles. The small andthe big Yunus, two friends from

The small church of the EvangelicalCongregation in Beirut

Friederike and Uwe Weltzien celebrating harvestfestival with their congregation in Tabrieh.

In this case, long pastoral talks andlots of efforts are necessary to discoverthe woman’s personal roots and streng-then them. I can still hear the words ofa woman’s complaint very clearly in mymind. She said that Christi-anity was much more graphicfor children than Islam. Yet,she was forced to bring upher children according toMuslim tradition. She saidthere was so much you coulddo with children at Christ-mas and Easter or on a festi-val such as St. Martin’s withits beautiful story, the co-lourful lantern processionand the big bonfire on thebeach.

I always encourage peopleto show their children someaspects of their own tradi-tion. It is marvellous if bothparents can tell their childrenstories from the Qur’an andfrom the Bible and if childrengrow up in a wealth of stories and me-aningful traditions. Because there is alsothe opposite situation, when both pa-rents are so frightened of doing the wrongthing and, because they are unsure ab-out their own religion, they block out re-ligion from their lives and leave theirchildren to grow up in a kind of vacuum.

Women from the older generationbeam when they describe how they col-lected the religious stories in their fami-lies and how many common aspects theydiscovered. They also noticed the cleardifferences but in an atmosphere of mu-tual tolerance. They said that this wasprecisely what made the experience en-riching.

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For further information on the work of theEvangelical congregation in Beirut please

visit www.Evangelische-Gemeinde-Beirut.org

FEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY: A RICH GIFT OR A HEAVY BURDEN?

mily who is in this situation. The mot-her talked about God as a matter of courseand the children prayed with her. Howe-ver, she had to accept the fact that herchildren were Muslims. She solves thisproblem by being convinced that it is acommon God. Nevertheless she suffersfrom rejection by her husband’s family.She will never really be part of the largesocial community of her Lebanese in-laws. The congregation is her support anda sort of surrogate family for her.

Sometimes I wish good old Yunus wo-uld drop by and preach as effectively asin Nineveh in his time. In sackcloth andashes, they repented for the way they li-ved before. That is how they were ableto appreciate the one God who showedhimself in all his mercy. If we can live to-gether and treat each other in a way thatreflects God’s mercy, the division into de-

Then the social pressure was not yetas great as it is today. The influence of Is-lamic trends triggers many fears. Today,the message propagated says there is onlyone way to save your soul: the way of the

Prophet Muhammad. Then, they say, youwill know exactly how to behave on thispath through life. Those who deviate fromthe path are lost. As soon as a husbandfalls under this influence there are pro-blems. In many cases, the marriage endsin divorce, the children are taken awayfrom their mother on the grounds thatshe cannot properly educate her childrenin the Muslim tradition.

But there are also women who are cons-cious Christians. They would never con-vert to Islam. Recently, I revisited a fa-

Intercultural encounters at the children’smeeting point at the congregation

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nominations loses its importance. Thatis when we will be able to discover thetreasure hidden in deep religiousness.

Friederike Weltzien is pastor of the German speaking Evangelical

Congregation in Beirut.

Top: The lantern procession; right: cheerful restduring the congregation’s outing

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mingly trivial questions are the deeperissues that are different in each culture.These issues are deeply entrenched in pe-ople’s hearts and are difficult to change.What are the responsibilities of husbandand wife in a marriage? How do you raisethe children? How do you express hap-piness and grief?

(Bar)gaining(Bar)gaining

All these differences mean that bargainshave to be made, compromises reachedand mutual freedom of action granted.If that succeeds, both parties can gainenormously from the rela-tionship. Each learns a newlanguage, enjoys new thingsto eat, learns new ways oflife, sings new songs anddances to new rhythms. Yetthis gain can only be achie-ved if each is ready to partwith some aspect of one’sown culture and is open toaccept new aspects of the ot-her culture.

The churThe church as anch as anInterIntercultural Familycultural Family

As a Church we not only playhost to intercultural fami-lies, we are ourselves anintercultural family. In our internationalcongregation, for instance, there aremembers who come from Australia,Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, theUnited Kingdom, the Netherlands, Libe-ria, the Philippines, the Sudan, the Uni-ted States and many other countries. Butperhaps the deeper differences betweenour members are those of education andsocial background. Some of our members

FEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY: A RICH GIFT OR A HEAVY BURDEN?

In spring and in autumn, you canoften see large flocks of migratingbirds over the Lebanese moun-tains. They travel enormous dis-tances between Africa, Asia, andEurope. Lebanon is an importantresting place on their route. In away, these migrating birds symbo-lise what Lebanon is all about. Itis a place where West and East,North and South meet; whereChristians and Muslims live toget-her in a small area; where youfeel you are in the Middle East,Africa and in the West at thesame time; where nobody seemsto be permanently at home.

Intercultural marriage: Belinda fromthe Philippines and Artur from Liberiatogether with their friends from SierraLeone and Congo.

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CELEBRACELEBRATING CULTING CULTURAL DIFFERENCESTURAL DIFFERENCESare illiterate, whereas others are univer-sity professors. It is a true challenge forthese people to form a common family!

As a pastor from the West, where eve-rybody can read and write, I am used tohymn books, church Bibles, and writtentexts for prayers. I have gradually disco-vered that not everybody benefits fromall those books and papers. When I foundout that one of our congregation mem-bers was pretending to read the hymns,but was in fact holding the book upsidedown, I realised that it is important tocreate an oral tradition of simple hymns,responses and verses.

Another example concerns social back-ground. In everyday life in Lebanon, so-ciety is neatly divided into social classes.Africans and Asians are at the bottom ofthis ladder. Young women from the Phil-ippines and Ethiopia are house maids;

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Stories from the life of an international congregation

our National Evangelical Churchof Beirut (NECB) consists of anArabic- and an English-speaking

congregation. Both congregations haveintercultural families, although in theinternational congregation this is a rulerather than an exception. In some cases,the spouses have been married for overforty years and they have a happy lifebehind them. Other young couples arestill discovering what it means to have apartner from a completely differentbackground and they are strugglingwith the new challenges.

In an intercultural relationship no-thing can be taken for granted. The cou-ple has to analyse, discuss and decide oneven the simplest things of everyday life.At what time do they have their meals?How do they organise the space in theirhouse? Who does what? Behind these see-

Wilbert van Saane talking to a womanfrom the international congregation.

No bargaining,No bargaining,only gainingonly gaining

There is a significant difference betweenintercultural families in general and theChurch as an intercultural family. In

Church we do not ask pe-ople to part with any as-pects of their own cul-ture, nor do we ask themto adopt a new culture.For Christ is above all cul-tures. He confirms whatis good in them and jud-ges what is wrong inthem. It is in Christ thatwe find our true unity andour true identity. So whatwe try as an internatio-nal congregation is tobring out the best of thecultures of all our mem-bers so that we may allbenefit and learn to serveChrist in a new way. Wedo not regret cultural dif-

ferences. Instead we celebrate them sothat all may experience that “you are nolonger strangers and aliens, but you arecitizens with the saints and also mem-bers of the household of God.” (Ephesi-ans 2:19)

Wilbert van Saane comes from the Ne-therlands and is pastor at the Internatio-

nal Congregation of the National Evange-lical Church of Beirut.

and deported to Beit Sahour. Since thebuilding of the wall around Bethlehem,living together illegally has become evenmore difficult.

In 2006, the High Court of Justice de-cided that the law did not infringe fun-damental human rights and that the gainin security far outweighed any sufferingthat families had to endure. The Israelistate contends that the law is necessaryfor security reasons. Israeli human rightsorganisations object to this. They statethat the only reason for the law is to keepdown the Arabic percentage of the popu-lation in order not to endanger the Je-wish nature of the State of Israel. In theirview, the security argument is only usedbecause a demographic justification would be racist.

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Forbidden Families”: this is the titlethe Israeli human rights organisa-tions B’Tselem and HaMoked gave

to their publication about family reuni-fication in East Jerusalem. Since the year2003, families are “forbidden” if the hus-band or the wife comes from the Occu-pied Palestinian Territories. These spou-ses are not allowed to live in Israel or inEast Jerusalem which is annexed by Is-rael in breach of international law. Onthe other hand, according to Israeli mili-tary regulations, the Israeli or East Jeru-salem partner is not allowed to live inthe Occupied Territories. Before the lawwas enacted, it was possible to obtain atemporary permit for the spouse from theOccupied Territories, something whichwas not easy either.

About 20 percent of the Israeli popu-lation are Palestinians. Often they havefriends and relatives in the Occupied Ter-ritories. Sometimes this results in marri-ages between people from the differentterritories. During the Oslo Process,roughly 6,000 Palestinians were grantedthe right to reside in Israel.

The Law governing Nationality andEntry into Israel of 2003 particularly af-fects families in East Jerusalem, for exam-ple Hanan Jubran. The East Jerusalem wo-man is married to a construction workerfrom Beit Sahour and has seven children.Since 1995, she has been filing requestsfor family reunification, but all her at-tempts have been in vain. Her husbandcan only stay in the family home ille-gally. He has been arrested several times

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FEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY: A RICH GIFT OR A HEAVY BURDEN?

African men are generally cleaners or wor-kers. There was a time in our congrega-tion when people unconsciously startedimitating this pattern. The Europeans andthe Americans would sit at the front of

the Church, the Africans and the Asiansat the back. We felt that, in the body ofChrist, this should not happen for we areall members with equal rights. So we de-liberately tried to break the pattern bymixing the congregation and encoura-ging friendships across cultures. That wasnot easy because it is sometimes difficultto talk to someone who has a completelydifferent English accent. But when peo-ple deliberately started building friends-hips, things started to change.

“FORBIDDEN F“FORBIDDEN FAMILIES“ AMILIES“ IN JERUSALEM AND ISRAELIN JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL

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Intercultural daily life in Lebanon:(from right to left) Monika fromAustria together with her Leban-ese husband Raja and their Philip-pine maid Girly.

can be loaned from the German sectionof Pax Christi, he found Palestinian or-ganisations in Bethlehem and the sur-rounding area who were engaged in pre-serving the Palestinian culture. Inspiredby the flourishing Kythira network, theyadopted the idea for Palestine.

The highly professional multilingualpages live from the cooperation of its re-aders. For this reason, the website con-tains simple instructions on how to bu-ild a family tree on the web, for example.Just open the form, enter a person andgo on from there. Those who do not wantto work on their genealogy can enter in-formation on the country and its people,ranging from restaurants through to sportor photos. In addition, the interactivemedium offers a newsletter.

Wiltrud Rösch-Metzler

www.palestine-family.net is a website forthe whole family in the truest sense ofthe word. You can browse through oldand new family photographs, read aboutPalestinian theatre, exhibitions and ar-chitecture or about village festivals. Thewebsite was launched in October 2006during a ceremony in Be-thlehem and has been con-stantly expanded ever since.During my internet search,between 135 and 175 userswere online at any one time.Most of them are just loo-king around just like me. Butsome of them also add newentries, especially in the fa-mily tree section. These areessential for the website. Thewebsite producers dream ofbeing able to reconstruct Pa-lestinian family trees datingback many centuries.

In addition, the pages are a chance ofcreating a network between the Palesti-nians living in the Diaspora and those li-ving in Israel and the Israeli-occupied ter-ritories.

The original idea came from James Pri-neas, an Australian photographer and de-signer living in Berlin: “My family origi-nally came from the Greek island ofKythira. But most of the islanders haveemigrated and are now scattered all overthe world,” he says. In a bid to find hisroots, he started the Kythira-Family.Neton the web. When he visited the Palesti-nian territories, taking photographs thereand compiling a photo exhibition which

CHANCES FOR IRAQI CHILDRENAmman (TSS). Together with Caritas Jor-dan, the Theodor Schneller School haslaunched a special school programme forIraqi refugee children. Since the begin-ning of the school year, about 300 girls

and boys aged between six and twelvehave been receiving lessons in differentschool subjects on the premises of theTSS on two afternoons a week. Most ofthe children have escaped from the warin their home country and are now li-ving in Jordan. Many of them do nothave the right administrative papers orthe financial means to attend a regularschool. Some of them have already mis-sed several years of school. Jordanian chil-dren are also taking part in this pro-gramme for reasons of integration.

TRAINING DEPARTMENT BREAKING NEW GROUND

Amman (TSS).There are many new de-velopments in the training departmentof the Theodor Schneller School (TSS) in

Amman. Firstly, Rakam Gharieb will bethe new head of car mechanics training.Gharieb only recently returned to Jordanfrom a year of further education in Ger-many. The car mechanics sector of theTSS is optimally prepared for the future.

They now have a new car re-pair workshop built next tothe administrative building,where client cars are alsoused for training and lear-ning purposes.

In addition, as far as theentire education and trai-ning sector is concerned, theTSS is no longer subordinateto the Department of Edu-cation but has recently beenput under the authority ofthe Department of Employ-

ment. This gives the school more free-dom in its training courses and helps tointegrate young people for whom theState curricula are too demanding.

NEW HEAD OF THE BOARDINGSCHOOL AT THE TSS

Amman (TSS). The boarding school atthe Theodor Schneller School (TSS) hasa new head. Sami Akroush, who has wor-ked as housemaster at the TSS for manyyears, takes over this post from NagibOdeh who has left the school. The boar-ding school at the TSS is divided into sixresidential groups, each comprising 20boys of school age, as well as a residen-tial group of young men undergoing trai-ning in craft trades. This school year,there are a total of 126 children and youngpeople living at the boarding school ofthe TSS.

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NEWS FROM THE SCHNELLER SCHOOLSFEATURE: MIXED MARRIAGES – INTERCULTURAL DIVERSITY

Preserving Palestinian culture

A WEBSITE FOR THE WHOLE FA WEBSITE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILAMILYYA walk through the web at www.palestine-family.net

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As part of the Ecumenical Volun-teer Programme of the EMS, Ka-tharina Breitenstein spent thepast school year at the TheodorSchneller School (TSS). In one ofher circular letters, she reflectson her role as a young womanfrom Germany in an Arab envi-ronment. We have printed herletter here in slightly abbrevia-ted form.

NEWS FROM THE SCHNELLER SCHOOLS

THE FOOLISH PRINCESSTHE FOOLISH PRINCESSStories from the life of a voluntary worker at the TSS

INTERNATIONAL PEACE PRAYERKhirbet Kanafar (JLSS). The Johann Lud-wig Schneller School (JLSS) organised anumber of campaigns to commemoratepeace in Lebanon. On 1 July, a joint pe-ace prayer was held together with theSwiss Association for the SchnellerSchools (SVS). While the Swiss friendsprayed for peace in Lebanon at the Churchof the Holy Spirit in Bern, the NationalEvangelical Church of Beirut, which spon-sors the JLSS, celebrated a worship ser-vice at the same time.

In addition, on 10 May as part of a Leb-anon-wide campaign for peace, the fourbells of St Michael’s Church on the schoolgrounds of the JLSS rang out. The orga-nisation “You are my brother” called uponall churches and mosques to ring the bellsor let the muezzin call to prayer for fiveminutes at lunchtime on this day.

One year after the war, these signs forpeace are more important than ever inLebanon. A stable peace has not yet re-turned. Time and again there are riots and

military conflicts, such as re-cently in the Palestinian re-fugee camp of Nahr-al-Ba-red. The population is stillsuffering from the severe po-litical instability which doesnot offer them any new per-spectives. The most affectedare the children. “They suf-fer from fear and insecuritystirred up time and againthrough acts of violence,” re-ports the United Nations

Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Althoughthere have been visible signs of recoverysince the war, we should not forget thatthe children bear the invisible scars,” saysRoberto Laurenti, head of UNICEF Leb-anon. “Curing the psychological damageoften takes more time than rebuildingstreets and bridges.”

BEST MARKS IN THE APPRENTICES’ FINAL EXAMINATION

Khirbet Kanafar (JLSS).The Johann Lud-wig Schneller School (JLSS) takes specialpride in announcing that the two beststudents of the year at the central car me-chanics final examination come from theJLSS. We congratulate Rami Al-Taweel andAyman Al-Kak as well as their trainers onthis excellent result.

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Afew days ago, I set myself the task offinding a name for my status within theSchneller family. I think the “foolish

princess” might be the correct expression formy role here. The princess, Miss Katharina,is always held in high esteem by her subjects,the children. Her pockets are always full ofgames and her head is full of ideas. The prin-cess is fond of everybody and she is rarely an-gry. As a princess she is not allowed to cleanmuch in the family and she should get themost sweets of all. You are not allowed to an-noy the princess, and when it comes to im-portant decisions, she always has the finalsay. To act against that is like a personal in-sult and will be seriously punished by theKing (housemaster).

St Michael’s Churchat the JLSS

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NEWS FROM THE SCHNELLER SCHOOLS

Cologne (EVS). At the Church Congress this year, theEvangelical Association for the Schneller Schools (EVS)was present both at the Opportunity Bazaar and at theEvening of Encounters in the city centre of Cologne.Besides a lof of information, culinary highlights wereon offer: Arabian coffee, flat unleavened bread witholive oil and satar (Middle Eastern mixed thyme spi-ces), and pancakes with minced meat and baklavah(Middle Eastern sweet pastry). The stand was visitedby an unbelievable number of people who knew theSchneller Schools from their own visits or through theirparents and relatives. We would like to express our sin-cerest thanks to all association members who helpedus, especially to Mr and Mrs Rischmaui who preparedand donated most of the culinary delights themselves.

In 2006, more than 10,000 children took part in the “WorldwideSurprise” campaign. The international campaign is aimed at let-ting children make gift surprises to other children all over theworld. At the same time, they learn about other cultures andmake their contribution to justice in the world. Partnerships al-ready existing between congregations or schools can be usedor extended to include children.

The campaign uses fair trade hand puppets, so-called “Wich-tel” puppets, which can be obtained from Fair Trade Shops startingin autumn this year. These “Wichtel” puppets can then be painted or decoratedduring children’s mass, kindergarten or at school. The children can give the colouredpuppets to each other as Christmas present or send them to a group of children abroad.

In addition to the Advent campaign, “Worldwide Surprise” offers didactic materials forchildren’s groups wanting to learn something about fair trade or other cultures. Colouredfree workbooks, for example about the topic of fair bio bananas, can be obtained as apractical help.

“Worldwide surprise” is a campaign organised by the Protestant Churches in Baden, Hesseand Nassau, Kurhessen-Waldeck, the Palatinate and Wuerttemberg. The EVS, the gepaFair trading house and several mission societies are also taking part.

More information: weltweit wichteln, Vogelsangstrasse 62, D-0197 Stuttgart, tel.: +49(0)711 636 78 44, e-mail: starz@ems-online.org

pening and send troublemakers away.When we went to the cinema, I thereforehad the feeling that the boys did the ou-ting with me rather than vice versa.

The small boys have a different stra-tegy. For one thing, it is the that’s-my-miss-and-not-yours strategy or also theone-look-and-I-will-annoy-you-until-you-explode strategy. For example, du-ring an outing my pupils from the sixthgrade immediately realised that the busdriver wanted to keep me for himself. Theman asked nicely three times whether Iwould not fancy to talk to him alone. Heand his friend unfolded their blanket atthe edge of the picknick area and waitedfor me. So I took the whole gaggle of chil-dren and went there. When we sat downthe men demanded all children to get offthe blanket immediately. They probablyfelt my reluctance. And in the blink ofan eyelid, they all sat on the blanket again.The children were so wound up that theyinterrupted the men while they were spe-aking and gave incredibly stupid answers.In the end, the children danced in raparound the men who finished their breakvisibly annoyed.

The princess is “a bit foolish” becauseshe does not understand basic moral con-cepts that everybody knows. If, for exam-ple, former older pupils pass by for a vi-sit, she talks to them as nicely as to otherfamily members. And she does not evenknow those people, after all! In most ca-ses her solutions to a problem are verysilly. During important disputes, forexample, because a boy revealed the ot-her mother’s name, the foolish princessonly stares as if nothing had happened.

Besides that, all manual work has tobe snatched away from her because shecannot do it! And she is much too weak!Stupidly she just refuses to accept this so-metimes and still tries to do men’s work.You just have to run after her then andcorrect everything she does wrongly. Herstatus has not exactly improved by heroccasional maths errors when she givesout pocket money or when she is lost inher dreams or forgets things.

Who is protecting whom here?

My role here is really something special:It’s a comic situation when the pupils le-ave the school with me, for example, togo to the cinema. All of a sudden theylook at me differently: I am no longer thechatterbox or the foolish princess but anadult person trying to find my wayaround in society. I am an adult girl whospeaks with women who are completelydifferent and who has to put up with me-n’s silly remarks and looks.

The children assume a new role too,then. The big boys act as protectors. Onthe bus or in the street, they form groupsaround me, keep an eye on what’s hap-

This new school year, therewill again be young peopledoing a voluntary ecumenicalyear at the Schneller Schools. Katrin Kaltenecker, ChristianKissling, Benjamin Klein undChristoph Pfeifer.

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THE EVS ATHE EVS AT THE CHURCH CONGREST THE CHURCH CONGRES SS

10,000 CHILDREN PARTICIPATED IN “WORLDWIDE SURPRISE”

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EVS FOUNDATION INVITATION

THIS MONEY IS NOT LOSTSchneller Foundation on the right track

Stuttgart (EVS). The Evangelical Association forthe Schneller Schools (EVS) has set itself an am-bitious aim. At the EVS Annual General Mee-ting on 11 November 2007, we want to set upthe “Schneller Foundation – Education for Pe-ace” with a starting capital of 1 million euros.The revenue from the foundation capital willbe a regular benefit for both Schneller Schoolsin Jordan and Lebanon. This will secure thelasting and much needed work of the Schnel-ler Schools in the long term. So far the aimof a starting capital of one million euros hasnot yet been completely reached. The EVS isstill looking for so-called endowment con-tributors to support the project with a mi-nimum amount of 2000 euros each.

Anna and Kurt Rommel from Weil derStadt have already decided to contribute

4000 euros. “We support this projectbecause we think the work of theSchneller Schools is really fascina-ting,” says Kurt Rommel, a retired pas-tor and editor who is well-knownthrough his songs in the hymnbook.He got to know the work of the Schnel-ler Schools during two journeys toAmman. “People are really creatingpeace there which is so necessary es-pecially in this region,” he says.“Young people are provided with a fu-ture.” They were attracted by the pos-sibility of endowment contributions,he explains, because this type of fi-nancial support – unlike a donation– has a sustainable effect. “Money doesnot only work when it is in a bank,”says Rommel adding: “This money issurely not lost.”

You can still join the commu-nity of foundation donors by 11November 2007. Each founda-tion donor chooses whether weplant a cedar or an olive forthem. You can order an infor-mation brochure from:

Rev. Andreas Maurer, EVS Managing Director, Vogelsangstrasse 62, D-70197 Stuttgart, tel.: +49(0)711 636 78 37 or maurer@ems-online.org.

Just like two years ago, the EVS hasfound a place for its annual meetingat the Saviour’s congregation inStuttgart North.

The service will start at 10.00 am.

The official annual general meeting will start at about 11.30.

Lunch will be provided at around 13.00.

The foundation ceremony for the “Schneller Foundation – Education for Peace” will begin at around 14.00. The ceremony will also be attended by guests from the Middle East. All friends of the Schnellerwork from far and near are cordi-ally invited.

INVITATION TO EVS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

How to get to the “Erlöserkirche”(Church of Our Saviour), Birkenwald-strasse 24, in Stuttgart by publictransport

At the main station take metro lines U5, U6, U7 or U15 (direction Pragsattel) to Türlenstrasse, then go on foot about a hundred meters tothe “Erlöserkirche”

or take bus No. 44 (direction Killesberg) to Postdörfle, which is about 50 meters past the “Erlöser-kirche” on the opposite side of the road.

EVS association memberswill receive a written invitation in good time forthe event.

The Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools (EVS) is inviting allits members and friends to the annual general meeting that will take

place on 11 November.

You can obtain further information on the life and works of Ogan Durjan:

from the commemorative volume on the occasion of the 85th birth-day of Ogan Durjan, published by Anne-Kristin Mai. In this vo-lume, the Leipzig singer and choirmistress not only describes thelife story of this impressive musician, she has also compiled nu-merous concert reviews, letters of congratulations to the maestro,as well as sheets of music, photos and quotations of Durjan in aninteresting and fascinating way. The commemoration entitled“Ogan Durjan’Narc – Conductor and Composer – Magnet, Vol-cano, Mystic” (ISBN 978-3-00-021511-7) is obtainable from Anne-Kristin Mai herself, tel.: +49 341 877 2034 or e-mail: akh.mai@web.de

on the internet at www.ogandurjan.com. In addition to hisbiography, you can also find excerpts from concerts and impressive interviews with Ogan Durjan.

In 1928, Hanna Chascho, a boy from Ar-menia who later was to call himself OganDurjan, entered the Galilean orphanage

in Nazareth, a branch of the institute in Je-rusalem. At that time, Rev. Carl Schaaf washead of school and also taught at the smallinstitute. He was supported by the deaconfrom the Karlshöhe, Gotthilf Rueß, whopaid strict attention that the pupils passedthe examinations as successfully as thosein Jerusalem. Jakob Dukkek, farmer and alsodeacon from the Karlshöhe, was head ofthe boarding school. He urged the pupilsto lend a regular helping hand in the houseand the school grounds in the afternoon.Something which surely was true for HannaChascho. On the other hand, Elise Dukkek,the housemother, took motherly care of thechildren and compensated for several diffi-cult situations.

first concert completely by heart and wasengaged to conduct additional concerts.After that, Hermann Schneller sent himto Zurich to Hermann Scherchen, a con-ductor and composer of modern music,for further training. This was where theformer Schneller pupil composed his firstworks.

From then on, he called himself OganDurjan and successfully conducted large

orchestras in Paris for several years. Hefound encouragement from his role mo-dels Furtwängler, Karajan and Toscanini.But his most important role models andteachers were the composers Bach, Beet-hoven, Brahms and Bruckner. He learnedall of their compositions by heart and con-ducted orchestras without any scores orbaton. He completely memorised the sym-phonies and concertos, and as conductor,he devoted himself completely to the mu-sic. According to critics, he was thereforeable to bring out completely new meaningfrom the compositions.

The major European cities were furthersteps in his concert life. From 1962 to 1969,he worked as a highly acclaimed conduc-tor for the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orches-tra. During the course of his life, he con-ducted 110 orchestras. Today, Ogan Durjanlives in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, thecountry of his ancestors. On 8 September,he celebrated his 85th birthday and wewould like to send him our sincerest con-gratulations.

Arno G. Krauß

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EXTRACT FROM THE HISTORY

Due to his talents at school, HannaChascho soon joined the seminary in Je-rusalem. Each seminarist had to learn howto play the recorder and the harmonium.Here, his talents in recorder playing andin musical theory soon became apparent.He also achieved a lot more than otherpupils in playing the basso continuo. Af-ter his final examination in 1938, HannaChascho worked as a teacher at the Sy-rian Orphanage and took up courses atthe Jewish Conservatoire. After passinghis examinations, he was accepted to con-duct for an audition with the PalestinianRadio Orchestra. There he conducted his

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In 1885, on the occasion of the 25th an-niversary of the foundation of the SyrianOrphanage in Jerusalem, Johann LudwigSchneller said: “We have brought up andtrained orphans as well as abandoned,blind and sick people with lots of loveand care. Some of them have becomeevangelists, teachers, merchants, doctors,chemists, lawyers, soldiers, tour guidesand many of them have become crafts-men, farmers, servants and day labourers.We have not brought up any devout pratt-lers or erudite beggars. We have educatedthem through lessons, work, games andGod’s word so that they can earn and eattheir bread honestly”. This is especiallytrue for Ogan Durjan, who started at theSchneller orphanage at the age of six andlater became a world-famous musician.

FROM THE ORPHANAGE TO CONDUCTOR’S AROUND THE WORLDComments on the 85th birthday of Ogan Durjan, conductor and composer

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Ogan Durjan at the beginning ofhis musical career.

Ogan Durjan conducting the LeipzigGewandhaus Orchestra.

says Daoud Nassar. “In this dry area it ta-kes a lot of time until a tree bears fruit.You have to water the trees thoroughlyfor two years,” he explains adding: “It’sthe same with peace.”

It’s these international contacts in theNetherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden,Israel, Switzerland or Germany that givethe family hope. Daoud Nassar receivedthe offer of the Sattler Peace Prize whenhe was “completely down” emotionally.The application for construction of aninternational meeting place in the viney-ard had been rejected. Yet he only wan-ted to pitch a “tent”. There was no buil-ding permission to connect power orwater to the site, either. At the same time,the surrounding Jewish settlements areconstantly expanding into small towns.“Since we are not allowed to build any-thing above ground, we have now set upunderground meeting places,” relates Da-oud Nassar.

In October 1991, he and Daher’s othergrandchildren found out for the first timethat the Isreali military administrationintended to confiscate more than 30 hec-tares of the orchards on the grounds thatthe land had not been cultivated for se-veral years. Despite possessing title deedsto the land, the Nassar family has beenfighting court battles to regain their landfor the past 16 years. But it is not Daou-d’s way of thinking to look back in grief.Quite the contrary, the graduate in busi-ness administration and tourist expertwho studied in Bielefeld, Germany, sym-pathises with the man “working with theplough who is not allowed to look back.”He says it helps “to channel our frustra-tion positively”.

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CHRISTIANS AND THE MIDDLE EAST

peace there”. Together with a group ofpeople, Krauß himself recently walked upthe track broken by heavy pieces of rock.They, too, saw the numerous Jewish sett-lements on the hills surrounding Dahe-r’s Vineyard. It is these settlers who havebeen making life insecure for the Nassarfamily for years. They break into the or-chards and destroy many of the trees plan-ted by the grandfather and his three sons.

Several times, settlers tried to build aroad through the vineyard. When a roadbuilt in 2002 had to be removed by courtorder, the settlers were so angry that theycut down 250 olive trees. When the Bri-tish-based organisation Jewish Voice fora Just Peace found out about this, it do-nated money to buy 250 new olive trees.“We started a tree planting campaign,”

HOW “DAHER’S VINEYARD” BECOMES THE “TENT OF NATIONS“ Daoud Nassar talks about work withthe children and young people and ab-out the fact that for many of them, itdoes not matter any more whether theyare dead or alive. A girl from the refugeecamp told him that she wanted to die.She was then told to take a camera andmake photographs which would be pres-ented to other people in the evening.“She felt that she was important,” says

Nassar. “We can only continue to havefaith because we know that there are pe-ople who think of us and pray for us.”And for him as a father of three children,this faith is the reason for his non-vio-lent attitude. “We don’t want to stay inthis vicious circle of violence.”

Wiltrud Rösch-Metzler

A Palestinian family fights for its land

Land is like a mother. And I cannotsell a mother,” says the PalestinianDaoud Nassar, thus explaining why

he, his mother and his nine brothers andsisters have never given up their wearystruggle over the years for a piece of landnot far from Bethlehem. The land the 37year-old Palestinian speaks about is a 950m high hill where grapes, almonds, figs,pomegranates and olives grow. On top ofthe hill there is a fantastic view all theway to the Mediterranean Sea. His grand-father Daher still used the land purely foragricultural purposes. Today, “Daher’s Vi-neyard” has turned into the internatio-nal peace project “Tent of Nations”, whichwas recently awarded the Michael SattlerPeace Prize by the German Mennonite Pe-ace Committee.

“Blessed are those who do not use vio-lence for they shall possess the land,” theMennonite peace worker Wolfgang Kraußsaid during the presentation of prizes inRottenburg (Wuerttemberg, Germany) inMay this year. His wish for the projectwas “that nations should come and learn

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Daoud Nassar at the entrance of acave on the territory.

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Daoud Nassartogether witha group of visitors.

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DThe violent conflicts between Pa-lestinian militia in the Gaza Stripseveral weeks ago were foreseeable.

For example, as early as in April 2006, theUN Organisation OCHA warned: If theEU stops its payments to the PalestinianAuthority and the Israeli governmentwithholds the taxes due to the Palestini-ans, it would no longer be possible to paythe Palestinian police. Consequently, thePalestinian Authority would lose controlover them. The economy would collapseand three quarters of the population wo-uld soon be living in poverty. The halt in

finances would also have severe conse-quences on the public service sector, par-ticularly on the medical care system.

However, OCHA’s predictions couldnot prevent the EU, the US and other im-portant financial backers from stoppingtheir payments one and a half years ago.This was intended to enforce the threecriteria set by the Middle East Quartet,i.e. non-aggression, recognition of Israeland recognition of the hitherto existingagreements. But while the EU implemen-ted a financial embargo against the Pa-

lestinian Authority, it failedto urge the Israeli govern-ment to refrain from viola-ting international law andhuman rights. In July 2006,for example, the Israeli mili-tary forces destroyed the cen-tral power station of the GazaStrip leaving hundreds ofthousands of Palestinians wi-thout power or fresh water.But instead of bringing Israelto terms for the consequen-ces of its military act, the EUsupplied fuel. This is only oneexample of the ambivalent at-titude of the West.

The fratricidal war bet-ween Hamas and Fatah hasnow calmed down. Interna-tional payments to the Fatahgovernment in West Jordanhave started . Hamas has pre-vailed in the Gaza Strip. Theborder with Israel is blocked

off. This together with the financial em-bargo has had disastrous consequencesfor the people in Gaza. In the meantime,many hospitals lack vital medication andsurgical materials. This is the case withthe Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Thishospital of the Episcopal Church in Je-rusalem and the Middle East, a memberchurch of the EMS and sponsoring churchof the Theodor Schneller School in Am-man, treat sick and injured persons irres-pective of their religion. But numerousoperations have had to be cancelled dueto the lack of anaesthetics.

“While we lack food and medicine, weare still under Israeli occupation,” writes

Suheila Tarazi, doctor and manageress ofthe hospital in a letter to the EMS. “On27 June, Israeli tanks attacked the Sha-jaeya quarter in the east of Gaza City aswell as the village of Khoza’a, east of Kha-nyounis.“ In the attack 13 people diedand more than 40 were wounded, amongthem women and children. “A team ofemergency doctors from the Ahli ArabHospital worked round the clock with ad-ditional staff,” writes Suheila Tarazi.

Those responsible in the Ahli Arab Hos-pital refuse to be prevented from doingtheir job. Twice a week, a mobile clinicprovides medical care to the poor popu-lation in the villages. The social depart-ment of the hospital supplies around 300poor families a week with food and com-modities. The hospital also continues itstraining programmes for doctors and nur-ses in training. In a call for help, SuheilaTarazi writes to the EMS: “In order to beable to cope with the present challenges,the Ahli Arab Hospital needs financial re-sources for medication, medical articles,sutures, fixators for bone fractures andscrews.” “In addition, we need money topay for the salaries of additional emer-gency staff, for food for people in needand diesel for the power generator.”

Wiltrud Rösch-Metzler

Two women with their babies obtaining medical advice at the Ahli Arab Hospital.

EU FINANCIAL EMBARGO HITS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN GAZA

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Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City asks for donations

THE EMS IS ASKING FOR DONATIONS.

Donations Account: Account No. 124 at the EKK StuttgartBank Sort Code 600 606 06

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The subscriptionmagazine “Da-rum” opens up thebroad horizon ofthe mission andecumenical mo-vement. Everytwo months, anew A4 issue (36

pages) is published featuringup-to-date reports, interviews and arti-cles about the world-wide commitmentof Christians to passing on the gospel,supporting peace and vouching for pe-aceful coexistence between the diffe-rent religions. Every issue contains the“darum journal” which reports on thework of the Association of Churchesand Missions in South Western Ger-many of which the Evangelical Associ-ation for the Schneller Schools is amember.

An annual subscription costs EUR15.00and can be ordered from the

EMS, Abo-Service, Vogelsangstrasse 62, D-70197 Stuttgart

or by sending the advertisement cardwhich is included in this issue of the

Schneller Magazine.

MEDIA

Pia de Simony,Marie Czermin: Elias Chacour – Israeli, Palästinen-ser, Christ (Israeli,Palestinian andChristian)Herder PublishingHouse, Freiburg

2007, 224 pages, EUR19.90

CHRISTIANS AND THE MIDDLE EAST

A great textbookElias Chacour has taken the gospel se-riously. The Archbishop of the MelkitePalestinians and Israelis is the born“friend of Abraham”. When the Mosqueof Ibillin was struck by lightning in lateautumn of 1971 and it was about to col-lapse, he asked Sheikh Ahmad, prayer le-ader of the Muslim congregation, to cometo the church. Sheikh Ahmad could prayin the church, he said, until the mosquewas rebuilt. The Sheikh asked: are you re-ally inviting us? Elias Chacour repliedthat Christians and Muslims worship thesame God, after all. From this momenton, the relationship between the two re-ligious communities improved.

Chacour became known for his perse-verance in setting up the Elias School inIbillin in Galilee. The construction wasillegal up until its completion and, if Cha-cour had not been so famous, his buil-ding would have been destroyed. The cen-trepiece of the book is the meeting withseven alternative rabbis talking abouttheir experience with young Palestinians.“It could be so nice in Israel if all Jewsacted and thought the way these open-minded rabbis do!“ And: “How closelyrelated is the fate of the Jews to the fateof the Palestinians?” Chacour talks ab-out this in a wonderful book, a blueprint

of a future decade of peace between Is-rael and Palestine: “They are blood brot-hers. Whether the Jews and Palestinianswant it or not, they can get along witheach other.“

A solution has to be found and there-fore this book is also an excellent politi-cal textbook.

Rupert Neudeck

PAPER FLOWERS FOR GIRLS IN INDIA

Beirut (NECB). After a forced stoppagelast year, the National Evangelical Churchof Beirut (NECB) has again implementedits traditional holiday programme forchildren and young people focusing ona project from the world-wide commu-nity of the Association of Churches andMissions in South Western Germany(EMS). Last year, the NECB had to can-cel all activities of this kind due to thesummer war.

As part of the EMS project entitled “Youshall be a blessing – Mission supports girlsin India”, 46 children aged between se-ven and thirteen made paper flowers forexploited and discriminated girls in In-dia. On the paper flowers they wrote theirwishes for these children. These flowerswere sent to India together with 200 dol-lars which the children had collectedamong themselves.

For the NECB, the resumption of the chil-dren and youth camps is an important

sign of hope. Last year, those responsi-ble were in despair when they were for-ced to cancel all activities due to the war.It had taken them several years to buildup the church’s children and youth workagain after the civil war. By and by theyhad got through to an increasing num-ber of children and young people withtheir programmes. Above all, there werealso children from families who had emi-grated to other countries and had retur-ned to their home country during thesummer. The great interest shown thisyear is a sign that the war did not des-troy the groundwork achieved in the past.

ECUMENICAL BISHOP DELEGATIONVISITS LEBANON

Stuttgart (EVS).At the end of June, Ca-tholic and Protestant church delegatesfrom Germany visited Lebanon to meetreligious representatives in the country.Besides representatives of the Evangeli-cal Church in Germany (EKD) and theCatholic German Bishops’ Conference,delegates from the Catholic mission so-ciety Missio and the German Associationof the Holy Land also took part in the vi-sit to the Middle East. The objective ofthe journey, which also took the groupto Cairo afterwards, was to strengthenties with the Christian churches in theMiddle East and to obtain a better un-derstanding of the situation in whichChristians have to live in this region. TheLebanese side expressed their great ap-preciation that the Protestant-Catholicdelegation from Germany had come des-pite the continuing crisis.

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Volume 122, Issue 3, September 2007

Publisher: Evangelischer Verein für dieSchneller-Schulen e.V. within the Evan-gelisches Missionswerk in Südwest-deutschland e.V. (Evangelical Associa-tion of the Schneller Schools withinthe Association of Churches and Mis-sions in South Western Germany)

Editors: Katja Dorothea Buck (editorin chief.), Andreas Maurer, Birte Peter-sen, Wiltrud Rösch-Metzler

Editorial assistants: Margrit BachLayout: Steffen Grashoff, Julia Theilmann

Translation: Gudrun Drees

Address: Vogelsangstrasse 62, 70197 StuttgartTel.: +49(0)711 636 78 -0 Fax: +49(0)711 636 78 -55 E-mail: info@ems-online.org www.ems-online.orgSeat of the Association: Stuttgart

Printing: J.F. Steinkopf Druck GmbH,Stuttgart, circulation: 15,800

Contact address in Switzerland:Rev. Jost Keller, Kirchgasse 12, CH-7000 ChurSchweizer Verein für die Schneller-Schulen im Nahen Osten (Swiss Asso-ciation for the Schneller Schools inthe Middle East), Zurich. PC Account 40-11277-8

A paying-in slip with an imprinted re-ceipt for donations is attached to a li-mited edition. The complete editionincludes a “darum” advertising flyer.

The Schneller Magazine is publishedfour times a year. The purchase priceis included in the membership fee.

IMPRINT

Comments on the information brochure pu-blished by the “Schneller Foundation – Edu-cation for Peace”, which can be ordered fromthe EVS, Vogelsangstrasse 62, D-70197 Stutt-gart (see also page 20).

May I express my appreciation for the portraitof a serious Schneller child on the advertisingbrochure of the foundation. The serious smallface speaks volumes! Of course, all childrenshould be allowed to grow up cheerfully, as usu-ally depicted, but this boy has not yet shakenoff the burden of his origin. Only one thing isfor sure: he wants and is allowed to attend agood school.

Hedwig Roberts, Stuttgart

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Reader, We look forward to receiving your feed-back on articles published in theSchneller Magazine and on the Schnel-ler work. You can send your letters bypost to: Redaktion Schneller-Magazin,EVS, Vogelsangstrasse 62, 70197 Stutt-gart or by e-mail to: info@ems-on-line.org. Due to the lack of space we re-serve the right to edit your letters.

Comments on the letter by Gunnar Zwingconcerning the article “Fundamentalistsfor Israel” in the Schneller Magazine1/2007

Dear Mr Zwing, Your objections are pre-mature as your opinion is very one-sided.The fact is that it was the Australian Chris-tian Dennis Michael Rohan who set fireto the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969. It took

hours to extinguish the fire. Rohan was con-vinced that Christ would return as soon as theTemple Mount would be “liberated”. On theone hand, Israel’s public was relieved that theculprit was not a Jew but a Christian; on theother hand, these facts did not hinder Mus-lims from maintaining that Rohan was an “Is-raeli Jew”. The biased rumour caused consid-erable unrest in the Muslim world.

Since that time, there have been several at-tempts by Jewish extremists to blow up Isla-mic holy shrines. But one should not ignorethat during the so-called Millennium Period,the Israeli authorities felt obliged to expel nu-merous foreign Christian fundamental apo-calyptists – they had come to Jerusalem anddue to their attitude, they represented a sa-fety risk. In other words, it is evident that therisk potential with respect to Temple Mountmust be attributed to both Jewish and Chris-tian extremists.

Dr Martin Kloke, Berlin

Comments on the issue 1/2007 of the Schnel-ler Magazine on the topic of water

Although it is some time ago that Issue 1/2007was published, I would still like to send a fewcomments. In this issue you illustrated theproblem of water to your readers very clearly.Among other things the report entitled “Tou-rism in arid regions” made me very annoyedand I am preoccupied by the question whet-her we as readers can do anything about it;first of all, of course, we should rethink ourholiday plans! Secondly: could you perhapsorganise a petition addressing the persons res-ponsible in the tourist industry as well as po-liticians? Measures taken by UNESCO andUNEP are already providing a small “ray ofsunshine”.

Ingeborg Schubert, Weißenburg

EVS-INTERNAL

AcknowledgementWe wish to acknowledge with many thanks thereceipt of donations from unknown donors andthose who do not wish for individual thanksas well as those whose names were unfortuna-tely illegible.

Deceased The following male and female friends of thework of the Evangelical Association for theSchneller Schools (EVS) have departed fromus:

Doris Krempel, 70619 Stuttgart

Sister Johanna Sundermeier, 60322 Frankfurt

Edith Dohn, 93059 Regensburg

Elisabeth Metzger, 71696 Möglingen

Siegfried Rapp, 71263 Weil der Stadt

Greeting cardswith biblicalverses in Ara-bic calligraphy

and a calendarfor 2008 with Christian sites in the

Arab world can be ordered from:

Evangelische Ausländerseelsorge (Postfach 63, D-71550 Weissach,+49(0)7191/903525, info@arabic-church.com).

Cards and calendar sheets include expla-nations on the churches and on Eastern-Christian symbolism as well as on the ar-tistic Arabic writing. (1 card: EUR1.00; 7cards of choice: EUR5.00; calendar:EUR3.00.)

MEDIA

Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools (EVS), Member of the Association of Churches andMissions in South Western Germany (EMS)

Vogelsangstr. 62 | 70197 Stuttgart | Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)711 636 78 -0

Fax: +49 (0)711 636 78 -45

E-Mail: info@ems-online.org

Visit us on the Internetwww.ems-online.org

Bank account of the EVS: EKK-Stuttgart, bank sort code 520 604 00,

Account No. 407 410

“MY TIMES ARE IN YOUR HANDS.“(PSALM 31,16)

We welcome your support forthe work of the SchnellerSchools with your donation.