Anglican Archbishop tells Middle East to Pursue Dialogue and Learn the Lessons of the TRC

Parties to the Middle East conflict should learn the lessons of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, instead of 'futile' argument about whether parallels outweigh the differences with apartheid, said Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, yesterday (1 July), at the UN African Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Rabat, Morocco. One of the most important lessons was that true dialogue must provide adequate opportunity for every voice to be respectfully heard. He called for the perspective of Palestinian Christians not to be overlooked.

Addressing the religious and cultural significance of Jerusalem, Dr Makgoba called on faith communities outside the region to focus on how best to help direct parties to the conflict find a just, sustainable, lasting peace, and to draw on the resources of religion, including generic religoius values. He argued for far greater sensitivity in use of language, especially around the name Jerusalem, since religious, historic, political and other connotations, many symbolic, were often interwoven in confusing and misleading ways.

(Press Release by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and used with permission.)