Forgiveness is key to Middle East peace, says bishop

The Bishop of Shrewsbury says Israelis and Palestinians must let go of past injustices if they are to have a chance of lasting peace.

Writing in a pastoral letter, Bishop Mark Rylands said that peace work was being hampered “as each generation sets about implanting in the next the memories of insults, injustices, age-old hatreds and suspicions”.

He added that remembering past hurts and bitterness would only cause “untold damage”.

“The revenge cycle keeps turning,” he said.

The bishop said a permanent peace deal would only come when both sides were prepared to forgive.

He said: “This month we are asked to remember with thanksgiving those who gave their lives in the two Great Wars to preserve freedom in Europe and the world. We remember how an evil regime that exterminated six million Jews was defeated. For this we are grateful.

“There are circumstances, however, when remembering is not always a positive experience. For instance, in the Holy Land, remembering the past too insistently has been a deeply divisive power and a constricting source of conflict in the present.

“If different people groups, in particular, cannot let go of past injustices, sufferings and tragedies then it makes it impossible to bring creative ideas for the future.”

He went on to say that forgiveness was the “only common sense way ahead” and that with Israelis and Palestinians taking “courageous” steps towards reconciliation in the latest round of peace talks, a permanent peace was “not just fantasy”.

“Perhaps the key is to realise that forgiveness must always be premature. As he was being nailed to the cross, Jesus cried out: ‘Father forgive them, they know not what they do’,” he said.

“With humans this type of forgiveness seems impossible, but with God’s strength and his love sustaining us we can be set free from the bitterness of other people’s wounding actions. We are able to forgive.”