For Bishop Riah this came across as an affront to the people of Palestine since Judah to them is the West Bank - the home of over 3 million Palestinians and territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six Day War. By symbolically joining Judah with Israel, said Bishop Riah, the play gave credence to the cause of Christian fundamentalists who support efforts by hardline Orthodox Israelis to annex the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Old Testament, said Bishop Riah, has been misused for over 50 years by Christian fundamentalists who see the creation of the modern state of Israel as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. These people, who are mostly American, he said, are more Zionist than Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. Bishop Riah said he was looking forward to the challenge of educating bishops of the conference on the situation of Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land.
Ignorance breeds indifference.
Paul Burbridge, who directed and helped script the play, said his team was aware of the theological connotations, but had no inkling of the play's political overtones. The script had been reviewed by theologians from Cambridge University. Mr. Burbridge said he would be meeting with Bishop Riah to offer his apology. On Monday night there was a service of Ecumenical Vespers, attended by many observers from other churches, and I will report further on that aspect of the conference and other issues tomorrow.