Editorials
Of Fences and Bridges
Augusta Victoria Complex Perpetuates Protestant Presence in Jerusalem
March 2, 2009
The gigantic square tower is an inescapable feature of the Jerusalem landscape. It stands imposingly on the Mount of Olives over the Old City, a stone's throw from the Hebrew University. Anyone visiting the site readily understands why the German Protestant community petitioned Kaiser Wilhelm II to build a rest home on this location. The cool breeze dispels the air of the city and the ancient trees provide refreshing shade.
In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II and his spouse dedicated the Church of the Redeemer in the Old City, and it was there the congregation presented its request. Barely 12 years later, the fortress-like Augusta Victoria Hospice and the Church of the Ascension stood on the approximately 19-hectare compound. It was, in the words of the architect Robert Leibnitz, a "proud symbol of German power and cultural expression."
When Pastor Michael Wohlrab takes visitors through the church, his astonishment regarding the magnitude of the investment at the time is visible. "No expense nor effort was spared: marble from Italy and a pneumatic action organ built by Sauer of Frankfurt an der Oder. The bells were cast in Apolda, Germany and were transported by boat from Hamburg to Jaffa. To transport them from Jaffa, the road to Jerusalem had to be widened and paved." Between 1988 and 1991 the church was restored and now gleams with new brilliance. The renovation of the adjoining church hall is planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the complex.
For those to whom the ceiling paintings and mosaics with their resurrected Christ and numerous saints seem rather Catholic, Rev. Wohlrab enjoys pointing to the medallion of Peter in the apse from which the word "saint" has disappeared from before the name "Peter" and the strong resemblance of the neighboring Paul a to a portrait of Martin Luther when he was Junker Jörg.
Today, Luther is just as present on the Mount of Olives as in the time of the Kaiser. Following the Second World War, the property, which belongs to the Kaiserin Augusta Victoria Foundation run by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), was placed under the trusteeship of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). In the former hospice, the LWF operates a hospital that had initially been set up by the Red Cross in 1948 for Palestinian refugees. The Protestant Center for Pilgrims and Tourists of the Kaiserin Augusta Victoria Foundation keeps the age-old German Protestant presence alive. The pastoral couple Michael and Ulrike Wohlrab receive groups of pilgrims, organize evening gatherings and provide ministerial care.
When the Wohlrabs arrived there two and a half years ago thoroughly committed to dialogue, their first experience was to witness the setting up of fences around the complex due to the construction on one side of the compound of a mosque and the presence of a radical Jewish settlement on the other. For Michael Wohlrab this geographical situation is emblematic of the plight of Christians in the country. "The question is: Are we going to be crushed in the middle or will we succeed in building bridges?"
Many of these potential builders of bridges are no longer in the city. Mark Brown, the LWF regional representative, knows the figures by heart: "In 1946, 31,000 Christians, 35,000 Moslems and 98,000 Jews lived in Jerusalem. In 2000, there were 440,000 Jews, 220,000 Moslems and 14,000 Christians." According to pessimistic estimates, the number of Christians in Jerusalem at present could be as low as 6,000.
The LWF, the Arabic-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and the EKD have therefore decided to build 84 apartments for Palestinian Christians on the foundation's premises. At least the shortage of affordable housing should not force people to move. Brown is certain that the project will also be approved by Moslem authorities. "The preservation of Jerusalem as a Moslem, Christian and Jewish city is important to everyone.
Tawfiq Nasser, the hospital's chief executive officer, is also strongly attached to the city's multifaith complexion. Through his hospital he hopes to help keep it alive. He is aware of how difficult roadblocks and checkpoints make it for many patients to get to the hospital. This was one of the reasons why the hospital in the early 90s shifted from the general medical treatment of Palestinian refugees to specialization in dialysis and cancer treatment. With difficult-to-obtain special passes, patients from the Gaza Strip can also be treated there.
Nasser's goal is to render the Augusta Victoria Hospital indispensable in the field of dialysis and cancer treatment. "We can look the Israelis straight in the eyes and say: you provide good medical care, we do too. The entire world must hear this other message from the Palestinians and see a stable nation capable of excellence." For this reason, the Anglican Christian and West Bank native feels closely attached to the history of the hospital as well: "We want to show that Christian institutions here we are still in the vanguard. Rather than merely maintain an historical presence, we want to show we are abreast of the times.