We Are Brothers: A Life Story of Abraham in the Context of the Middle East Conflict

By John Hibbert

Who really owns this much fought-over piece of land we call Israel/Palestine?  Should Christians support Israeli occupation?  Is there a solution which is fair and just to both parties?

This book takes the reader back to the life story of Abraham in search of the answer to these and many other questions.  John Hibbert has once again produced a very moving and powerful account of the experiences of a man who made many mistakes, but, by faith, became the father of Jews, Arabs and Christians.  With profound psychological and spiritual insights he uncovers the flawed human being whose relationship with God carried him through to the fulfilling of the Divine purpose.  The love triangle which Abraham formed with Sarah and Hagar provides for an emotional and dramatic love story.  From the ancient city of Ur, with its disgusting and licentious worship of Nannar, to the amazing world of ancient Egypt, to the birth of Ishmael, father of the Arabs and the sacrificing of Isaac on Mount Moriah, this book shows the origin of a conflict which has torn two peoples apart for millennia, but appeals to both sides to acknowledge the one all conquering truth, that "We are Brothers."

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 15, 2009
• ISBN: 9781449014346

John Hibbert

John Hibbert is the son of a Yorkshire coal miner and since early childhood has had a passionate desire to serve God.  He is a husband, father, grandfather and company director, but above all, a preacher of the Gospel.  His world travels, together with his knowledge of the Scriptures, have inspired in him a godly compassion for his fellow men, together with an understanding of the views and feelings of others.  His love for Arab as well as Jew, enhanced by his visits to the region, are revealed in this controversial book.  This is his second semi-fictionalised work.  The first, "The Virgin & The Dragon", deals with the life of the Virgin Mary.

Book preview

Prologue

On 27th November 2007, the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Omert, took his place at the podium to address the Annapolis Conference in the USA. He spoke from a carefully prepared script in a controlled and apparently sincere manner. Translated from the Hebrew language he said,

"The honourable President of the United States, George Bush, my colleague, president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, heads of delegations, distinguished guests. I came here today from Jerusalem at your invitation, Honourable President, to extend on behalf of the people of Israel and the State of Israel, a hand of peace to the Palestinian people and to our neighbouring States, many of whose representatives are here with us in Annapolis. I had many good reasons for refraining from coming to this meeting. The memory of the failures of the near and distant past weighs heavily upon us. The dreadful terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian terrorist organisations, has affected thousands of Israeli citizens, destroyed families and attempted to destroy the lives of all the citizens of Israel. I witnessed it personally during my term as Mayor of Jerusalem, at the times of the bombing of cafes, buses and recreational centres in Jerusalem and other cities in the State of Israel.

The continued shooting of Qassam rockets against tens of thousands of residents in the south of Israel, particularly in the city of Sderot, serves as a warning sign; one which cannot be overlooked. The absence of governmental institutes and effective law-enforcement mechanisms, the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the ongoing activity of murderous organisations throughout all the territories of the Palestinian Authority, the absence of a legal system which meets the basic criteria of a democratic government – all these are factors which deter us from moving forward too hastily. I do not ignore all the obstacles which are sure to emerge along the way. They are right in front of me. I came here, despite the concerns and doubts and hesitations, to say to you, President Mahmoud Abbas, and through you, to your people and to the entire Arab world: it is time. We no longer and you no longer, have the privilege of clinging to dreams which are disconnected from the sufferings of our peoples, the hardships they experience daily and the burden of living under ongoing uncertainty, with no chance for change or hope. We want peace. We demand an end to terror, incitement and hatred. We are willing to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realise these aspirations. I came here today to settle historic accounts between us, on what caused the conflict and hatred and what, for many years, stood in the way of compromise and peace.

I wish to say, from the bottom of my heart, that I know and acknowledge the fact that, alongside the constant suffering which many in Israel have experienced because of the history, the wars, the terror and the hatred towards us – a suffering which has always been part of our lives in our land – your people have also suffered for many years, and some still suffer. For dozens of years, many Palestinians have been living in camps, disconnected from the environment in which they grew up, wallowing in poverty, neglect, alienation, bitterness, and a deep, unrelenting sense of deprivation .........We are not indifferent to this suffering. We are not oblivious to the tragedies you have experienced......... I believe that there is no path other than peace. I believe that there is no just solution, other than the solution of two national states for two peoples. I believe that there is no path which does not involve painful compromise for you, Palestinians, and for us Israelis......... I believe it is time. We are ready. I invite you, my friend Mahmoud Abbas, and your people, to join us in this long, tormenting and complex path, for which there is no substitute. Together we start. Together we will arrive."

On the same day that Prime Minister Olmert pleaded the case for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, back in Jerusalem, Rabbi Dov Lior, head of the Yesha Rabbis council and chief rabbi of Hebron, called an emergency meeting of his people. He addressed them with the passion of unadulterated hatred and called for the ethnic cleansing of the land. With obvious reference to Ehud Olmert he said, No leader, in any generation, has the right to give away Eretz Israel (1). We call on the Jews abroad, and especially on community leaders and rabbis, to join us in this, that peace will only be achieved by cleansing the country of Arabs and resettling them in the countries which they came from.

Three days later, at a binational convention in Jerusalem, Amichai Cohen rose to address an assembly of moderates, who believe in the idea of a single, binational state, allowing Jews and Arabs to live together in peace under one democratic government. Although slight of stature and of unassuming demeanour, when he began to speak, his words portrayed the yearning which he felt for peace. With his opening words he gave reassurance to those who were to the right of moderate opinion.

"I am by upbringing and persuasion a supporter of Eretz Israel. I believe in the fundamentals of Judaism and in the ancient prophecies which relate to the future of our nation. I do believe that this land is that which was promised to our father Abraham and his descendants and that the return of the Jews to Palestine was orchestrated by Divine providence. I am, however, perpetually troubled by the continuing hatred and bloodshed, which has become part of everyday life in our beloved land. The land described by our ancestors as a land of milk and honey, has become the land of bloodshed and violence. Jerusalem, the city of peace, has become the symbol of conflict and our people are born, live and die in an atmosphere of fear and hatred. I ask the question, is it not time for us to cast away the racial and religious bigotry which tears us apart? Our people have suffered too much. We have been bombed and maimed and persecuted. More than 400 were killed in suicide attacks in the 1990’s and 1000 more since the second intifada of 2000. Our people have suffered greatly, but not exclusively. Fellow Jews, we are not without guilt in this matter. We should remember that the establishing of our homeland cost 750,000 Palestinian villagers their homes. Palestinians who live amongst us have been imprisoned by our system of checkpoints, terminals and social discrimination. Innocent people are robbed of their identity and treated as second class citizens. A complete generation of villagers in the Golan Heights have suffered severance from their loved ones just across the border in Syria, their children deprived of proper education, their vineyards starved of irrigation and their national identity insulted by our flag floating proudly above their communities. I believe that we are in danger of producing a non-democratic system of apartheid, as serious as that which proved to be so destructive in South Africa. Is it not time to put away our partisan ambitions and treat our fellow human beings as we wish to be treated ourselves? The bombs will never fall silent until the hatred which produces them is defused.

I heard a story recently of a young couple who fell passionately in love, one of them Jewish, the other, an Arab. One evening they made love and lay together in each other’s arms and listened to the sounds of the coming night. The young man then said to his beloved, Do you hate the Jews? The girl thought for a moment and then replied, Your mother Sarah drove my mother Hagar into the desert. You know, that’s true! But let me point out another truth which that one brings to our attention – the children of Sarah and Hagar were from the same husband, Abraham! That means that their offspring were brothers. The young couple were from the same forefather!

Citizens of Israel, when I call for a binational system for Israel/Palestine I do not seek to force together two diverse ethnic groups, into an unnatural bond. We are brothers. We both have Abraham to our father. We also need to recognise that, as brothers, we both have a legitimate claim to this land; our Arab neighbours, the progeny of Ishmael, son of Hagar, because he was the firstborn, and the Jews, the descendants of Isaac by Sarah, because God gave to him the promise of the land. If we believe that the promise supersedes the rights of the firstborn son, and personally I hold to that opinion, then can we not leave the outworking of it to the Almighty, who we claim to believe in? Does He need our help in the fulfilling of His promises, by the promotion of hatred and violence? Is the Creator inadequate in the performance of His purposes? Rabbi Lior promotes his fanatical ideology by seeking the ethnic cleansing of Arabs from Eretz Israel. Unfortunately he finds support from many of the world’s Christian leaders, who, despite their claim to trust the God of Israel, deny their faith by supporting the expulsion of innocent people from the land of their ancestors and by failing to trust Him to fulfil His own plans. I say, let us cease our meddling in that which is too big for us and live together in peace; in the words of the hated Arafat, ‘In one democratic state where Christian, Jew and Moslem live in justice, equality, fraternity and progress’. Let us inhabit this beautiful land of history, culture and religion in the fraternity of true brotherhood, for when all is said and done – we are brothers!"

Mr Cohen sat down to enthusiastic applause from almost everyone in the audience, but not all. There was one individual at the back of the hall who appeared troubled. He quietly left his seat and, pulling his coat collar high around his neck, silently slipped out into a bitterly cold winter’s night. His name was Benyamin Chofetz, a supporter of Rabbi Lior and a lifelong hater of Arabs and their cause. He was deeply disturbed by the speech he had just heard. Chofetz was brought up in an extreme right wing religious environment and was dedicated to the removal of every last Arab from Israeli soil. Tonight, however, this man Cohen had rocked his boat. There was something about the man which he envied. To him compassion was not a weakness and compromise, not always an evil. He heard things in that short address which he had not heard before. He knew that Jews and Arabs all looked to Abraham as their father, but it had never penetrated his mind before, that they were actually brothers. The story of the young lovers and their two ancestral mothers, lodged in his conscience. He walked the cold streets of Jerusalem pondering the words of a Jewish believer, who, without hatred in his heart, cared about his Arab brothers. Suddenly he wanted to know! He experienced a surge of desire to turn back the pages of history and understand about Abraham and Isaac and Ishmael. He wanted to dispense with the indoctrination of his lifetime and discover for himself how all this had come about. Why had there been friction between the two sons of Abraham from the very beginning? Did the Arabs really have any legitimate claim to this historic piece of land? Where was right and wrong in the great conflict between these two great Peoples and, if he could comprehend the truth, was it possible that he might find an answer that would enable him to make a contribution to bringing peace to the Middle East?

The following morning found Benyamin Chofetz in the history section of the Bloomfield Library in Jerusalem.

Chapter One

In 1927 AD, the celebrated archaeologist, Charles Leonard Wooley and his expedition, a combination of experts from the British Museum and the University Museum of Pennsylvania, finally realised their dream and pulled back the curtain of history which had, for more than two thousand years, hidden from human view the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldees. They were working in what is now southern Iraq, about 230 miles south of Baghdad, half way between the capital and the tip of the Arabian Gulf. There, in what was known in ages past as Mesopotamia, beneath a huge mound of dried-out silt, they discovered the evidence of the long-lost culture of the Sumerian people, who inhabited this land from as long ago as 3000 BC. Wooley unearthed the ruins of an ancient world of astonishing and fascinating achievements, a city of architectural and artistic wealth, which experts found difficult to believe were in existence in an era 5000 years ago. Painstaking labour revealed the ruins of houses and streets, an entire civilisation, which existed and prospered in a time so long ago it seemed almost sacrilege to expose it. Perhaps Wooley’s most exciting find was the Royal Cemetery of the Sumerian Kings, which revealed elaborate tombs as breathtaking as anything ever found in Egypt. The contents of the Royal burial chambers revealed treasures and works of art beyond imagination. Leonard Wooley later described a city surrounded by beauteous gardens, with groves of figs and dates and tall palm trees, standing by mathematically straight irrigation channels, a city of Temples and warehouses, workshops and schools, spacious villas and the towers they call ziggurats, all within a great wall overlooking the waters of the Euphrates.

It was here, in the year 2035 BC that a man-child was born to one Terah, son of Nahor, of the tribe of Shem, and his father named him Abram.

It was a time before time, when humankind lived to be of great age, when one was a mere youth at forty years old, in middle-age at seventy years and could live for as long as two hundred years. It was a world of superstition and mysticism and idolatry. It was an era of polygamy and intermarriage within families, when laws of sterility did not apply and the growth of population was essential for the survival of mankind.

Abram was the eldest of three brothers who were born in successive years, Abram, when his father was seventy, Haran a year later and Nahor a year after him. Terah was a man of considerable ingenuity and a skilled worker of the land. As a result of his expertise in devising clever irrigation systems for his farm, his crops were plenteous and his business prospered. His home was an extensive brick built building consisting of a central courtyard with living quarters constructed in a two storey square around it. Ground floor windows faced into the courtyard, whilst the upper storey windows faced out over the land. The internal floors were tastefully tiled and great attention was given to cleanliness. Cleverly thought out drainage systems channelled water from the roof into the courtyard, which sloped gently into its centre, forming a pool in the rainy season, which was left to soak away naturally. The house was complete with lavatory and bathing facilities.

Abram’s childhood was comfortable and he developed a keen hunger for knowledge and understanding of the world around him. He grew into a strong and intelligent youth, both enterprising and ambitious for advancement. He was of medium build with a rather slim and hawkish face. His protruding nose and deep set eyes produced what appeared to be an expression of perpetual surprise, but there was an unmistakable light of intelligent perception in his dark eyes. His overall appearance was enhanced by his black curly hair and closely trimmed beard and his charismatic personality made him popular amongst his peers. He had a good relationship with his brothers and for most of the time the house of Terah was a happy and stable environment.

Abram was never still, perpetually on the move, always working and constantly wanting to explore life and learn as much as he could. He visited the cities which grew up in the Euphrates Valley, places like Nippur, Shuruppak and Eridu, and then further afield as far as Babylon to the north. He loved Babylon. He stood in awe of the city’s proud walls, which stood eighty feet high and twenty feet thick and was intrigued by the imposing Temple of Marduk, with its gold sheathed winged statues, where astrologers studied the mysteries of the stars. He revered the great Eteme-an-ki ziggurat, which rose to the amazing height of 296 feet. His astute business acumen saw opportunities for trade between the twenty-five cities which dominated Mesopotamia and by his twenty-sixth year he was becoming rich through his energetic enterprise. That was also the year that he met the woman who was to be his wife. His brother Haran was already married with a baby son called Lot.

It was the day of the sand-storm. Abram was returning from the sheep-market when a sudden hot wind, blowing in from the desert, attracted his attention to the western skyline. A huge, black, swirling cloud filled the horizon and, although he instantly increased his pace, he knew that this time he was caught. He hated the accursed sand-storms with a passion. They were not only extremely unpleasant but potentially deadly. The idyah was moving in with horrendous speed and within a few minutes it would be lashing him with its stinging fury. He paused for long enough to soak his head-dress with water from his water-skin and then wrapped the material tightly around his face. The light was fading by the second and the wind velocity was building ominously. A strange whirring sound hung in the cloud and then it was dark. Ur was plunged into the blackness of an unnatural, moonless night and Abram was whipped by a cyclone of angry sand. He bowed his masked face into the wind, shielded his eyes from potential blindness and groped his way in the general direction of home. Before long he found the city wall, sat down at its foot and, bending his head between his knees, forced himself to breathe slowly through his sand-clogged face cloth. There he stayed until light returned in the wake of the receding storm, whereupon he moved thankfully along the wall, to pass through the open gates and head for home. As he did so he tripped and fell headlong over what proved to be the sand covered body of a young girl, who lay prostrate by the bulwark of the wall. He knelt at her side and brushed the sand away from her face. At first he believed that she was dead, but as he prized the grit from her lips and mouth, she stirred and tried to speak. He carefully lifted her limp body in his strong arms and carried her the half mile to the family home, where he gave her over to the care of the servants, with instructions to bathe her, give her water to drink and provide her with fresh clothes to wear. He then went aside to refresh his own sand-stained body, whilst the