Meetings and Memories

Canon Dr Andrew White reflects on some of the striking people with whom he has struck up friendships during his many years of experience in the Middle East.

Andrew White is a man gifted in friendship: his first instinct is to reach out a hand, to establish a relationship. This has led to some surprising encounters, and he is trusted by those who trust very few. Some of his friends have proved delightful; others have been downright dangerous to know. Dr White has spent years in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, and during that time he has come to know and find space in his heart for individuals such as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat; Tariq Aziz, the former foreign minister of Iraq; Saaeb Ariekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator; and many more. Andrew is not naif: he knows what some of these men have done. The consistent factor is that he has managed to see past the reputation to the human being. The book will also include chapters on: Sheikh Immad Faluji (Original Founder of Hamas, key in Andrew's reconciliation work in Israel/Palestine) Grand Ayatollah Husain Al-Sader (Grand Ayatollah of Baghdad of the Khadameer Shrine) Sheikh Abdul Latif Humayeem (he is the Rais [President] of the Iraqi Sunni Qaf) Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior (Chief Rabbi of Norway; Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel who since 2002 has been one of Andrew's closest colleagues) Norman and Lola Coen (Jews originally from the Midlands, and now possibly Andrew's closest friends in Israel) Zvi and Sheila Raviv (Zvi was the former Chief of Staff to various senior dignitaries in the Jerusalem Municipality, including former PM Ehud Barak. Sheila is a popular journalist) Chaim and Yoshi Singerman (Chaim is one of the leading Messianic Jews in Jerusalem. Yoshi Singerman is Chaim's son, who has been an intimate friend of Andrew's. Both Chaim and Yoshi have participated in Andrew's reconciliation work between Jews and Arabs, even attending our residential meetings in Cyprus) 'The Clan' (A group of young people from Bethlehem who all attend the school in Beit Jala that Andrew started in 2002 after the Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem) Joseph the Carpenter (a maker of Bethlehem crosses ) Hanna Ishaq (Andrew's close colleague of over 23 years who has worked with him in many of the crises they have faced) Rabbi Shimon Naftali (an ultra-orthodox, Hasidic Rabbi who is very...