Yvette Connell (Class of 1981), a Maryknoll lay missioner nurse, treats a wounded Palestinian youth at a rehab center in Bethlehem (Maryknoll photo by Eric Wheater).
As I watch the horrors of the war in Gaza on TV, I am pained to see how the conflict has gotten even worse since the time my husband and I lived there as Maryknoll lay missioners from 1988 to 1994.
I can relate to every bit of news and have been to all the places reported on. My heart is broken to see people starving with no medical aid — and all those buildings destroyed. Why all this death and destruction?
When my husband, Jack, and I first landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, we knew very little of the political issues in the country that had erupted in the First Intifada. But it did not take us long to see what was happening — road blocks with Israeli soldiers, schools closed, all public gatherings restricted to six people.
Jack Connell at Bethlehem University
Jack had a teaching position at Bethlehem University, but the campus was closed. Brother Joe (Brother Joseph Loewenstein, FSC, the vice chancellor of the university) told me that they needed help at a nearby center of what was then called the Bethlehem Arab Society for the Physically Handicapped.
I was welcomed, and I got to work. The patients at this rehab center suffered from gunshot wounds and beatings from the Israeli soldiers, many were hemiplegics, others quadriplegic.
We lived close to two refugee camps. The main road leading to some settlements passed right in front of the apartment where we lived. The children from the camps frequently would chase the buses and throw stones at them. The soldiers escorting the buses would chase the children, and if they were caught, the soldier would break the child’s arm.
With its campus closed, Bethlehem University found places where students could meet in small groups and take lessons. Jack would go to the university and then go out to the place that the students were assigned. He did not know where he was going until they gave him the address in the morning; sometimes it was a good walk, other times he took transport to Jerusalem. I was always happy to see him home in the evening.
The main cause of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians today is the issue of the illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. There are now over 100 illegal settlements on Palestinian land, some as large as small cities. Since 1947 the settlements have been taking Palestinian land, have destroyed olive trees, vineyards and wells and have forced landowners into refugee camps.
There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps — 58 official ones and 10 unofficial. The camps are crowded, and people are living in tiny dwellings — very, very sad.
The Israelis we knew understood the issues and did not support the government. I still remember a young Palestinian who told us, “I will fight. I can’t live like this, I would rather die.”
Yvette and Jack’s ministry in Palestine was featured in the September 1989 issue of Maryknoll magazine.
Yvette Connell (Class of 1981) and her husband, Jack, served as Maryknoll lay missioners for 16 years, working in Tanzania, Palestine and China. She now lives in western Canada.
Yvette, thank you for sharing your first-hand experience. Lately, I’ve been thinking about you and Jack and your willingness to serve God’s children, even in such uncertain and dangerous circumstances. You modeled for me what Maryknoll is all about, a willingness to say “yes” to wherever God calls you. Forever grateful for your example.
Beautiful 16 years, how many for you?
You have changed the lives of many, because of your dedication.
You are my example of faith and courage.
Thank you for the note.
Yes, I knew you and Jack in peaceful Tanzania and then visited you in Bethlehem in 1990. When I heard your stories, met Palestinians and experienced the interrogation and body search at the airport before leaving I was very upset. I said would never go back. The searches would have been much worse if I had told them I went to Bethlehem to visit you!
I asked an Egyptian Christian friend/pastor who works in Cyprus when all of this would end. He said never. My one Jewish friend here in Urbana is so distraught she can’t talk about it. But Sudanese Christians taught me to ‘never give up’. One day all will be well. Asante sana na Shokran jiden for all that you and Jack to make the world a better place!!!!
Thank you Susan, yes you understand. You know.
I am still in contact with a few people, one in Nazareth and Bethlehem University, it is all very sad.
Dear Yvette,
I think of you and Jack every time I ride the Bx12 bus on West Fordham Rd, passing near where you lived. And Tom and I thought of you when we prayed the livestream liturgy from Bethlehem this past Christmas Eve with its depiction of Christ being born in the rubble of Gaza.
Joining our voices with many in crying out for a permanent ceasefire and justice in the Holy Land.
I still get news from Bethlehem university, they are struggling, of course no classes being held, they are doing the best they can remotely. A Daughter of Charity whom Jack and I knew is working with a group and have been able to get some aid to Gaza.
Keep praying for Peace.
Thank you Cathy.