Profiles

John Lynes is a retired lecturer of the University of Lincoln’s School of architecture in Hull, now working with the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine.

On a brief trip back to the city where he lived and worked for many years, John paid us the honour of coming to the BBC Open Centre in Hull to speak about life as a CPTer.

Born into a Jewish family in 1928 but a Quaker for the past 50 years, John Lynes was never going to be the sort of person to spend his retirement basking on a beach in Benidorm. I doubt though, that even he would have believed it if you’d told him he’d be risking life and limb, well into his seventies, accompanying frightened Palestinians through occupied territories at the Eastern end of the Mediterranean.

The history of this region is complex and some would say reaches back as far as biblical times. Hebron is the second holiest Jewish city after Jerusalem and has a similar sacred status in Islam but it is the situation in Hebron today that John feels demands his presence and that of his fellow Christian Peacemakers. It is said that there are now 2,000 Israeli soldiers in Hebron protecting 400 settlers in a Muslim population of 140,000.

“It’s our job to provide a non-violent alternative to the continuing conflict between Palestinian civilians, Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank.” Said John. “We believe we should be ready to take the same risks and make the same sacrifices as a soldier.”

So what is life like in the day of a CPTer? “School starts at 7.45 so we’re out early watching the check points where Israeli soldiers might ‘detain’ teachers and children on their way to school and keeping an eye on corners where settlers may be tempted to attack.” Said John. “Later on we watch areas around mosques to reduce the risk of worshippers being harassed. Often Palestinians will ask for accompaniment in anxious situations.”

How can an elderly man possibly effect the situation? “We call it the Grandmother Effect.” Said John. “You know, things you don’t do if your grandmother’s watching. We’re recognised by our red hats and we always carry a camera and notebook so hotheads know that anything they do will be photographed and logged.”