Features

A Wanderer in Palestine

Published

1 year ago

2025/02/2

Thilina Walpola

An account of a visit to Palestine over 60 years ago

(Excerpted from Selected Journalism by HAJ Hulugalle)

To grow oranges for profit and pleasure, was one of my prewar ambitions. And in the course of learning the business I met, at different times and places, some exceptional persons including Mustapha Kemal Pasha Ataturk, Emir Abdullah, King of Jordan, and Mrs. Golda Meir, now Foreign Minister of Israel.

By reading magazines and books on citriculture I had already become an arm-chair orange farmer, just as one becomes an armchair traveller by reading books of travel. But the appetite grows with what it feeds on and I persuaded myself that it was necessary for my purpose to visit a country where oranges were grown scientifically and successfully.

Of course it could not have been only a desire to learn how to grow citrus fruits that prompted me to take a tourist class passage to Port Said, and entrain for Jerusalem from El Kantara, a railway station on the Canal bank. Incidentally, it was easier to do this 25 years ago than it is today. There was no exchange control then, travel was relatively cheap and the whole of Palestine was a British mandate.

“To sail beyond the sunset” is an urge which anyone who has gone to school within sight of ships as we did at St. Thomas’s College, Mutwal, cannot readily resist. I set out with no plan but hope to inspect orange groves, acquaint myself with the cradle of three great religions, and observe some of the interesting experiments in agriculture and land settlement carried out by Jews in the sandy wastes of Palestine.

The train, which took me one morning up the holy hill of Zion, ran on the track which General Allenby had put down 20 years earlier to fight the Turks. Jerusalem is an interesting city seen from every approach to it, except the northern.

What I saw was a mediaeval town, capable of conjuring up Biblical images, and very different from what it is today. There were a few modern buildings like the splendid YMCA, King David’s hotel, the Jewish Agency headquarters and a bank or two.

Camel caravans still passed down the streets, and Bedouin from the desert strode with dust on their beards and eye lashes, tapping their staves on the ancient stones.

Jerusalem is now rent in twain. There are barbed-wire barricades, sentries mounting guard, neutral zones and watchtowers. One may not walk as I did, from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, when the almond trees are in bloom, stopping for a rest outside the reputed house of Lazarus at Bethany.

A few minutes after I had put my bag at my place of lodging, I set out with a sense of expectation, nay excitement, towards the Jaffa gate of the old wall city. I carried with me H.V. Morton’s recently published book called “In the Steps of the Master.”

I suppose the first place any civilized visitor to the Jordan side of Jerusalem would want to go to is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. You are as likely as not to see a peasant woman kneeling in prayer before the Tomb of Christ.

Walking along the narrow lanes, I reached the Gate of St. Stephen, and strolled through it under the gnarled olive trees of the Garden of Gethsamane. Later I climbed towards the Mount of Olives where lived the British High Commissioner, Sir Arthur Wauchope. It would not be possible to make these perambulations now.

On the second day of my visit, I called on an old Ceylon official, Mr. R. G. B. Spicer, formerly Superintendent of Police, Colombo. He was now Inspector-General of Police, Palestine, and wore a blue uniform, like that of a Turkish officer, complete with astrakhan cap. Mr. Spicer loved Palestine. He said that the climate in the spring, when the poppies came out, was like champagne. One could not but feel safe in a country in which the head of the police was your friend.

In those days there were few important cities in the world where a Ceylonese could not find a warm welcome from a fellow countryman. There was Mr. Kira in New York, Mr. Dean Ismail in Istanbul, Mr. Sarlis in Marseilles, and some near relations of Sir Mohamed Macan Markar in Cairo and Jerusalem.

Often I dropped in for a Ceylon meal at the house of Sir Mohamed’s nephew who was in charge of the family jewellery shop in King David’s hotel in Jerusalem.

One day, Mr. J. N. Arumugan and I were in the Winter Palace hotel in Jericho, after a visit to the Dead Sea, when the Emir Abdullah, king of Transjordania, saw us and invited us to take coffee with him. In the course of conversation he showed us a magnificent ruby which he had bought at Macan’s shop.

Every time I entered the Macan Markar house in Mamilia Road, I was greeted by a young Arab servant who kissed my hand. This is an old custom designed to make sure that the guest is not carrying a lethal weapon.

I once spent a day with Sir Mohamed at Cairo, where he was visiting the family business in Shephard’s Hotel. We ate a lucullean Arab meal at his favourite restaurant, during which he told me that whenever he left Ceylon on a trip he took a precious stone and sold it. The proceeds were more than sufficient to cover all his expenses.

Although nobody spoke in those days about a future Jewish state in Palestine, there was evidence everywhere that the Jewish National Home was in fact a state within a state. The Jews had their own university, banks, education and health services, trade unions and cultural life.

It was a time of transition and, with the best will in the world, the British found it difficult to carry out the mandate to the satisfaction of any of the parties concerned. A minor example of this was the administration of justice in three languages. I was present in a law court where the Chief Justice was an Irishman and his colleagues were a Jew and an Arab. A Jewish advocate addressed the court in Hebrew and an Arab advocate addressed it in Arabic. The Attorney General spoke as `amicus curiae’ in English.

One day I went to the Jewish National Fund Offices in Jerusalem and gathered as much information as I could about Jewish activities in Palestine. I was then given a letter to Mrs. Golda Myerson who lived in Tel Aviv. She had just been appointed to the executive committee of the labour organization called Histadrut and was, according to my informant, a live wire.

I had already arranged to spend a fortnight in Tel Aviv and the Jewish farms in the neighbourhood. Tel Aviv itself had sprung up in a suburb of Jaffa (Joppa of the Bible). The housing squeeze in Jaffa had compelled the increasing number of Jews who were arriving in the country to build themselves homes

on the sand dunes near the Mediterranean coast. Hitler’s persecution of Jews was the main cause of the remarkable growth of Tel Aviv within a few years into a modern city, with its plag (a beach by the sea), concert halls, modern flats and a main street named after General Allenby. But it still had the features of a boom town.

The Myersons, husband, wife and two children lived in a half-completed house in a new area. I learned more about the aims and aspirations of the Zionist movement from Mrs. Myserson than from anyone else. Since then, I have followed her career with interest. She became the head of a Political Department of the Jewish Agency and, when Israel became an independent state, she went as ambassador to Russia. She held other offices before she became Foreign Minister in 1956. Mrs. Myerson has now shortened her name to Meir.

Three years ago (when this was written), I was appointed Ceylon Minister to Israel, but when I was about to leave for Jerusalem, I was instructed by cable not to proceed. It was a disappointment to me because I had looked forward to meeting the Foreign Minister whom I had known when she was in charge of a small labour office in Tel Aviv.

Walking from Tel Aviv to Rehovath, I stopped to watch a very intellectual looking young man washing the drains of a cowshed. I got into conversation with him and discovered that he was a Doctor of Science and the son of J.L. Magnes, the distinguished Rector of the Hebrew University at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. He was engaged in experiments directed at increasing the milk yields of Syrian cows by crossing them with Friesian bulls. As he employed no labourers he washed the cowsheds himself.

I also observed that students at the University not only made their own tennis courts but planted forests – a difficult operation in inhospitable soil – as a memorial to famous men and women.

I wandered about Palestine like a nomad, living sometimes in Jewish co-operative farms with names such as Nahalal, Degania. Peta-Tikvah and Bivath Brenner. I spent time in Bethlehem. Nazareth, Galilee and Carmel.

In the midst of all this activity I did not neglect my study of citriculture. I drank half a gallon of orange juice everyday. I saw orange heaps outside packing houses in Jaffa and elsewhere almost as large as coconut heaps in the Chilaw district.

The Israelis, by self-sacrifice, hard work and intelligence, have transformed their part of the country into a modern western state. But both they and the Arabs have many problems to solve.

I left for Damascus by the desert route to gain further knowledge about how to grow oranges.

(This article was first published in 1961)

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Features

Mannar’s silent skies: Migratory Flamingos fall victim to power lines amid Wind Farm dispute

Published

20 hours ago

2026/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Victims: Flamingos / Birds found dead in Mannar

By Ifham Nizam

A fresh wave of concern has gripped conservationists following the reported deaths of migratory flamingos within the Vankalai Sanctuary—a globally recognised bird habitat—raising urgent questions about the ecological cost of large-scale renewable energy projects in the region.

The incident comes at a time when a fundamental rights petition, challenging the proposed wind power project, linked to India’s Adani Group, remains under examination before the Supreme Court, with environmental groups warning that the very risks they highlighted are now materialising.

At least two flamingos—believed to be part of the iconic migratory flocks that travel thousands of kilometres to reach Sri Lanka—were found dead after entanglement with high-tension transmission lines running across the sanctuary. Another bird was reportedly struggling for survival.

Professor Sampath Seneviratne, a leading ornithologist, expressed deep concern over the development, noting that such incidents are not isolated but indicative of a broader and predictable threat.

“These migratory birds depend on specific flyways that have remained unchanged for centuries. When high-risk infrastructure, like poorly planned power lines, intersect these routes, collisions become inevitable,” he said. “What we are witnessing now could be just the beginning if proper mitigation measures are not urgently implemented.”

Environmentalists argue that the Mannar region—particularly the Vankalai wetland complex—is one of the most critical stopover sites in South Asia for migratory waterbirds, including flamingos, pelicans, and various species of waders. The sanctuary’s ecological value has also supported a niche with growing eco-tourism sector, drawing birdwatchers from around the world.

Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice, Dilena Pathragoda, said the incident underscores the urgency of judicial intervention and stricter environmental oversight.

“This tragedy is a direct consequence of ignoring scientifically established environmental safeguards. We have already raised these concerns before court, particularly regarding the location of transmission infrastructure within sensitive bird habitats,” Pathragoda said.

“Renewable energy cannot be pursued in isolation from ecological responsibility. If due process and proper environmental impact assessments are bypassed or diluted, then such losses are inevitable.”

Conservation groups have long cautioned that the installation of wind turbines and associated grid infrastructure—especially overhead transmission lines—within or near sensitive habitats could transform these landscapes into lethal zones for avifauna.

An environmental activist involved in the ongoing legal challenge said the latest deaths validate earlier warnings.

“This is exactly what we feared. Development is necessary, but not at the cost of biodiversity. When projects of this scale proceed without adequate ecological assessments and safeguards, the consequences are irreversible,” the activist stressed.

The debate has once again brought into focus the delicate balance between renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation. While wind energy is widely promoted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, experts caution that “green” does not automatically mean “harmless.”

Professor Seneviratne emphasised that solutions do exist, including rerouting transmission lines, installing bird diverters, and conducting comprehensive migratory pathway studies prior to project approval.

“Globally, there are well-established mitigation strategies. The issue here is not the absence of knowledge, but the failure to apply it effectively,” he noted.

The timing of the incident is particularly worrying. Migratory flamingos typically remain in Sri Lanka until late April or May before embarking on their return journeys. Conservationists warn that if hazards remain unaddressed, larger flocks could face similar risks in the coming weeks.

Beyond ecological implications, experts also highlight potential economic fallout. Wildlife tourism—especially birdwatching—contributes significantly to local livelihoods in Mannar.

Repeated reports of bird deaths could deter eco-conscious travellers and damage the region’s reputation as a safe haven for migratory species.

Environmentalists are now calling for immediate intervention by authorities, including a temporary halt to high-risk operations in sensitive zones, pending a thorough environmental review.

They stress that protecting animal movement corridors—whether elephant migration routes or avian flyways—is a fundamental pillar of modern conservation.

As the controversy unfolds, one question looms large: can Sri Lanka pursue sustainable energy without sacrificing the very natural heritage that defines it?

Pathragoda added that for now, the sight of fallen flamingos in Mannar stands as a stark reminder that development, if not carefully planned, can carry a heavy and irreversible cost.

Features

‘Weaponizing’ religion in the pursuit of power

Published

20 hours ago

2026/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

President Donald Trump; miscalculating in M-E / Ayatollah Khomeini; Architect of Iranian Revolution

A picture of US President Donald Trump apparently being prayed for by supporters, appearing in sections of the international media, said it all loud and clear. That is, religion is being flagrantly leveraged or prostituted by politicians single-mindedly bent on furthering their power aspirations.

Although in the case of the US President the trend took on may be an exceptionally graphic or dramatic form, the ‘weaponizing’ of religion is nothing particularly new, nor is it confined to only religiously conservative sections of the West. For example, in South Asia it is an integral part of politics. The ‘South Asian Eight’ are notorious for it and it could be unreservedly stated that in Sri Lanka, the latter’s ethnic conflict would be more amenable to resolution if religion was not made a potent weapon by ambitious politicians of particularly the country’s South.

The more enlightened sections of Christian believers in the US may not have been able to contain their consternation at the sight of the US President apparently being ‘blessed’ by pastors claiming adherence to Christianity. Any human is entitled to be blessed but not if he is leading his country to war without exhausting all the options at his disposal to end the relevant conflict by peaceful means.

More compounded would be his problem if his directives lead to the death of civilians in the hundreds. In the latter case he is stringently accountable for the spilling of civilian blood, that is, the committing of war crimes.

However, the US along with Israel did just that in the recent bombings of Iran, for instance. The majority of the lives lost were those of civilians. If the US President is endowed with a Christian conscience he would have paused to consider that he is guilty of ordering the taking of the life of another human which is forbidden in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the ‘pastors’ praying over the US President should have thought on the above lines as well. May be they were in an effort to curry the President’s favour which is as blame-worthy as legitimizing in some form the taking of civilian lives. Apparently, the realisation is not dawning on all Christian conservatives of the US that some of these ‘pastors’ could very well be the proverbial false prophets and the latter are almost everywhere, even in far distant Sri Lanka.

However, the political reality ‘on the ground’ is that the Christian Right is a stable support base of the Republican Right in the US. Considering this it should not come as a surprise to the seasoned political watcher if the Christian Right, read Christian fundamentalists, are hand-in-glove, so to speak, with President Trump. But it is a scathing indictment on these rightist sections that they are all for perpetrating war and destruction and not for the fostering of peace and reconciliation. Ideally, they should have impressed on their President the dire need to make peace.

That said, political commentators should consider it incumbent on themselves to point out that religion is being ‘weaponized’ in Iran as well. Theocratic rule in Iran has been essentially all about perpetuating the power of the clerical class. The reasons that led to the Islamic Revolution in Iran are complex and the indiscreet Westernization of Iran under the Shah dynasty is one of these but one would have expected Iran to develop from then on into a multi-party, pluralistic democratic state where people would be enjoying their fundamental rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example.

Moreover, Iran should have taken it upon itself to be a champion of world peace, in keeping with its Islamic credentials. But some past regimes in Iran had vowed to virtually bomb Israel out of existence and such regional policy trajectories could only bring perpetual conflict and war. Considering the current state of the Middle East it could be said that the unfettered playing out of these animosities is leading the region and the world to ‘reap the whirlwind’, having recklessly ‘sowed the wind’.

However, religious fundamentalism-inspired conflict and war has spread well beyond the Middle East into almost every region since 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. So much so, knowledgeable opinion now points out that religious identity has come to replace nationalism as a principal shaper of international politics or “geopolitics”, as quite a few sections misleadingly and incorrectly term it.

Elaborating on the decisive influence of religious identity, the well known and far traveled Western journalist Patrick Cockburn says in his authoritative and comprehensive book titled, ‘The Age of Jihad – Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East’ at page 428 in connection with the war in Chechnya ; ‘If nationalism was not entirely dead, it no longer provided the ideological glue necessary to hold together and motivate people who were fighting a war. Unlike the Islamic faith, it was no longer a belief or a badge of identity for which people would fight very hard.’ (The book in reference was published by VERSO, London and New York).

In his wide coverage of Jihadist Wars the world over Cockburn goes on to state that today a call from a cleric could motivate his followers to lay down no less than their lives for a cause championed by the former. The 9/11 catastrophe alone should convince the observer that this is indeed true.

However, as often pointed out in this column, there is no alternative but to foster peace and reconciliation if a world free of bloodshed and strife is what is being sought. Fortunately we are not short of illustrious persons from the East and West who have shone a light on how best to get to a degree of peace. Besides Mahatma Gandhi of India, who was the subject of this column last week, we have former President of Iran Mohammad Khatami, who made a case for a ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’ rather than a ‘Clash of Civilizations’.

The time is more than ripe to take a leaf from these illustrious personalities, for, the current state of war in the Middle East has raised the possibility of a war that could transcend regional boundaries. The antagonists are obliged to exhaust all the peaceful options with the assistance of the UN system. Besides, war cannot ever have the blessings of the sane.

Features

Venerable Rahula Thera’s 35-year green mission and national Namal Uyana

Published

20 hours ago

2026/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Venerable Rahula Thera

It was 35 years ago, on March 28, 1991, that Venerable Rahula Thera, then a young monk, embarked on a journey to the Na forest in Ulpathagama, Palagama, in the Anuradhapura District. Today, three and a half decades later, this mission stands as living proof of the enduring bond between Buddhist philosophy and the natural world.

Marking the 35th year of this green mission, Rahula Thera’s relentless dedication has transformed the National Namal Uyana into an environmental landmark admired not only across Sri Lanka but around the globe, as well.

When studying the life of Venerable Rahula Thera, one cannot ignore the profound connection between Buddhism and the environment. Buddhism is a philosophy deeply attuned to nature. The historical use of the sacred “Na Ruka” by all four Buddhas: Mangala Buddha, Sumana Buddha, Revata Buddha, and Sobhita Buddha — for enlightenment —demonstrates that from time immemorial, Buddhism has maintained a sacred bond with the Na tree. From the birth of Siddhartha to his enlightenment, the propagation of the Dharma, and even the great Parinirvana, all of these milestones unfolded in verdant, living landscapes.

Venerable Rahula Thera did not embark on the Namal Uyana mission seeking government support or personal gain. His commitment sprang from a deep devotion to the Buddha’s teachings on grove cultivation. A grove cultivator is one who spreads compassion for nature. As the Vanaropa Sutta teaches:

Venerable Rahula Thera reclaimed Namal Uyana which was then under the control of timber smugglers and treasure hunters. The term “Wanawasi” does not merely mean living in a forest; it signifies finding rest and enlightenment through nature, free from the destructive roots of greed, sin, and delusion.

Another defining aspect of Venerable Rahula Thera’s 35-year mission is the purification of the human mind. He has consistently taught the thousands who visit Namal Uyana that a person who loves a tree will never harm another human being. As the Dhamma proclaims:

It is important to remember that Venerable Rahula Thera devoted his life, without fear, speaking the truth and taking necessary action, tirelessly advancing the national mission he began. From 1991 to the present, he has worked with every government elected by the people, maintaining impartiality and independence from political ideology. Yet, he never hesitated to raise his voice fearlessly against any individual, of any rank or party, who committed wrongdoing.

Religious and Social Mission

The National Namal Uyana is not merely a forest; it is a magnificent heritage site, dating back to ancient times. Scattered across the landscape are boundary walls, the remains of ancient monastery complexes, and stone carvings believed to date back to the reign of King Devanampiyatissa. In earlier centuries, this sacred land had served as a meditation sanctuary for hundreds of monks. The name “National Namal Uyana,” by which this ecological and archaeological treasure is known today, was introduced by Venerable Rahula Thera in 1991. The government’s later recognition of the site as the National Namal Uyana stands as a significant achievement for both religion and national heritage.

Venerable Rahula Thera is a monk who has lived a life of renunciation. A striking example of this is his decision not to assume the position of Chief Incumbent of the National Namal Uyana Viharaya, instead entrusting the temple to the Ramanna Nikaya and its trustees. In doing so, he set a precedent for the contemporary Sangha. The Thera himself stated that he was merely the trustee of Namal Uyana, not its owner.

Legacy and Continuing Inspiration

The 35th anniversary of Venerable Wanawasi Rahula Thera’s arrival at Namal Uyana is not merely the commemoration of a period of time; it is a message of nature to future generations. Through his work, the Thera revived the ancient Hela tradition of loving trees and venerating the environment as something sacred. This religious and environmental mission remains unforgettable.

The revival experienced by Namal Uyana, after the arrival of Venerable Wanawasi Rahula Thera, is beyond simple description. Some of the major accomplishments achieved under his leadership include:

* Securing and protecting the largest Rose Quartz (Rosa Thirivana) reserve in South Asia.

* Restoring the Na forest spread across hundreds of acres, providing shelter to numerous rare plants and animal species.

* Transforming the area into a living centre for environmental education, offering practical learning experiences for thousands of schoolchildren and university students.

* Drawing the attention of world leaders and international environmentalists to Sri Lanka’s unique environmental heritage.

In recognition of his immense contribution to environmental conservation, Venerable Rahula Thera was honoured with the Presidential Environment Award and the Green Award in 2004—a significant moment in his life. Yet the Thera himself has always remained devoted to the work rather than the recognition it brings, making such appreciation even more meaningful.