News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 90 - Saturday, 11 August 2001
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
I
have already told you how much it is difficult to move from a place to another
in this big Island of small prisons called the Palestinian Authority areas.
Why? The answer is very simple: an endless number of checkpoints, tide closure of
all the villages and towns, many of the main and narrow roads are blocked with cement
blocks. The consequences are disastrous: impossibly to reach your destination, waste
of time and energy, increase of frustration and hatred in the hearts,
humiliation of a whole nation.
I am
not inventing these facts because you can come and see and experience that by
yourselves. I am now accustomed to such adventures because I believe that I
have the right to move everywhere I want, and I have to use all the possible
ways to fulfill my mission even if I have to challenge.
Allow
me to tell you today’s adventure because I feel that it is worthy to be told: I
was invited to give a talk to 40 young people who are part of Seeds of Peace
movement holding their five days workshop in Ramallah (16 Kms north of
Jerusalem). The adventure begins at nine am because I have to be there at 10
am, I tried all the ways possible and they didn’t let me in, then I discovered
that there is another long way around, I went but at the checkpoint the
soldiers refused to let me in, at that time arrived the car of the Italian
General Consul that I know very well, the Apostolic delegate Msgr. Pietro Sambi
was with him, and they were going to attend the meeting with Mr. Arafat in
Ramallah. Fortunately, they intermediate on my behalf and the soldiers let me
enter. But, the adventure didn’t finish, because after this checkpoints all the
other roads around Ramallah were blocked. Imagine two cars going from a narrow
road to another and return back and forth from a closed road to another. I
stop, and tell them: you see how easy is our life, it is not already
complicated to complicate it more and more?! And they laugh! I leave them
return back and I try find any other road and pass it difficultly with the dust
surrounding me in this very hot weather. Finally I arrive to Ramallah at 10.40
while the 40 young people were waiting me to talk about a nonviolent strategy
to resist the occupation.
We
spoke for two hours with endless questions they asked because it was very hard
to convince them of the utility of such strategy with a State using F16 against
civilians, with a world which is blind and don’t want to see, with the media
which is completely biased, with the United State which is supporting
unconditionally the State of Israel. I came out of this very interesting
discussion that there is such hatred in their hearts which make out of the
needed process of reconciliation a very hard job if not impossible. I was
astonished to see that Seed of Peace members are not ready to make out of the
enemy a friend in order to transform the whole situation of conflict and find a
solution.
I
had to leave them at 1.00 pm in a hurry without launch because I have another engagements
in Jerusalem. I wanted to return from the normal main road, but when I arrived
to Qalandia checkpoint I saw a lot of cars waiting in the queue and experience
my patience. I waited for two hours without passing, therefore I decided to
return to Ramallah and go back from the same narrow roads I came from. I took a
sandwich with a Cock to eat. This road took me another one complete hour and I
arrived to Jerusalem at 4.00 pm exhausted from the heat and the anger of this
life that we are oblige to live each single day.
You
see what the Palestinian people don’t have any other choice but to resist the
occupation, because it is the original sin and the source of all the violence
that you see and we experience. The occupation is the mother of all violence
and should end as soon as possible and once forever.
Please
help us to end the occupation if you want us to live as normal human being like
all the other people of the world.
You
will find in today’s Olive Branch three documents:
1)
Why
pilgrims should come and visit the Holy Land? I try to answer this question in
this difficult time. Imagine what can I say?!
2)
The
World Council of Churches in Geneva held a consultation about the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fr. Maroun Lahham our director of the Seminary
took part in it representing the Latin Patriarchate. You find the press release
they issued with interesting practical actions and decisions which we hope will
be implemented.
3)
I send
you the press release issued from the Orient House after it’s closure. This is
a key subject in these days which makes me sick.
Finally, I would
like to remind you that next Wednesday will start the campaign of prayer for
peace in Jerusalem. I invite you to joint us by taking part in it here or in
praying for us wherever you are. You can also send us your short prayers and
suggestions that we will take in consideration or read during the prayers in
our churches of Jerusalem. I will not forget to thank all those who have
already contacted us and wrote us expressing their solidarity, concern and
support, materially, morally and spiritually.
Best wishes from
Jerusalem the City of Prayer for Peace. Fr.
Raed Abusahlia
Why pilgrims
should come and visit the Holy Land?
Many people from
all over the world are asking us if they can come and visit the Holy Places. I
decided to formulate a complete answer to this question that I share with you
as it is, hoping that this will help you to encourage our dear brothers and
sisters to come and visit us in this difficult time.
We don't deny
that the situation is very difficult since more than 10 months, but the absence
of the tourists and pilgrims made it more and more difficult since 90% of this
sector is already dead, which means that thousands of employees have already
lost their unique source of income, and the Holy Places are empty and sad. You
have to take in consideration that 60% of those who are working in this sector are
from our small Christian community, which means that they are the most affected
from this crisis and many of them have already lift the country which decrease
our number and make of us very weak and we fear that the Holy Places will
become really a cold museum of dead stones without the living stones who are
the Christians... Therefore, we consider that the responsibility of our
important presence in the Holy Land is not only ours but shared with all our
brothers and sisters all over the world who were born here in Jerusalem which
is the Mother Church of all the Churches.
We don't need
anything from you but we need your immediate return with huge numbers, we need
at least some millions of pilgrims from the Christian world and we assure you
that their trip and stay will be as safe as ever for the following ten
reasons:
1) They will be
accommodated in 5 stars hotels with the cheapest prices ever.
2) They will be
able to visit 95% of the Holy Places if not 100% without any problem.
3) We will not
send them to hot spots or battlefields since the tour guides know very well
were to take them or not.
4) This is the
best sign of solidarity with our small Christian community which is passing
through a very deep economical crisis, they have to feel that they are not
alone and that they have brothers and sisters to care about them.
5) The presence
of the pilgrims is a good service to our both peoples and will help to calm
down the situation, because if we have pilgrims they will work and will not
have time to fight.
6) We are living
here and we are still alive and you will only share us 10 days of this
difficult time, if you don't come now when it is difficult it is better not to
come at all.
7) I never heard
that any pilgrim was ever hurt because everybody is concerned about his safety.
8) If it
happens, God forbids, that any one is hurt or dead, he will become a martyr and
will go straight to heaven (Just to joke).
9) If they are
still afraid to come, please, consider that they have brothers and sisters in
the Holy Land who need their support and solidarity and they can show it
through any small gift or contribution (See the Olive Branch Fund programme in
my homepage: http://go.to/nonviolence ).
10) We respect
their freedom of choice and understand their fear, but we assure them they will
be totally safe here.
I hope that
these reasons are good enough to help convince our brothers and sisters to come
and visit us, not only to visit the dead stones of the Holy Place (which are
very important of course) but also to visit the living stones which are our
Christian community, therefore, we are ready to collaborate with you and
arrange some meetings or prayers in our parishes or with any religious leader
in the country such as our Patriarch Michel Sabbah.
Best wishes from
Jerusalem which is sad without you!
World Council of
Churches
Press Update
150 rte de Ferney PO Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland
Fax: (+41 22) 798 1346; E-mail: ka@wcc-coe.org; Web: www.wcc-coe.org
Consultation
on Israeli-Palestinian conflict decides on coordinated ecumenical action
Painfully
aware of the urgent need for the churches to move from affirmation to action in
solidarity with the Palestinian people at this critical time, 50 participants
at an international ecumenical consultation on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
have identified seven potential areas for coordinated action as a beginning of
a joint process of ecumenical planning and strategizing for a concerted
international response.
The
6-7 August 2001 consultation on the Israeli-Palestinian issue was convened by
the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary at the Ecumenical Centre,
Geneva. The moderator of the WCC Central Committee co-chaired the sessions.
Building on long-standing WCC attention to the Palestinian question, the
consultation’s aim was to strengthen broad international ecumenical support for
a comprehensive peace, based on justice and security for the Palestinian and
Israeli people.
WCC
general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser noted at the conclusion of the meeting
that the exchange of ideas was important in “beginning to identify where the
particular dynamics, urge and competence for action lie among us”. He drew
particular attention to the recommendations contained in a report released on 6
August of an end-June WCC
delegation visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT),
saying that they would also help guide decisions on appropriate action.
Bishop
Riah Abu El-Assal of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the
preacher at the consultation’s opening worship, declared: “Thank God Jesus said
‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ He did not say ‘Blessed are the peace-talkers.’…
Peace, as all of you know, is not the absence of war nor the cessation of
hostilities. Peace is that relationship between the so-called enemies, from
which all the causes that made for war are no more. Making peace requires
greater courage than going to war.” Following this injunction, consultation
participants declined to draft a concluding communiqué in the form of a public
statement. “Action is not another statement, no matter how dramatic,” Raiser
affirmed. “We need to map out a way for us to actually work together.”
Decisions
The
main outcome of the consultation was the decision to form a small consultative
group to develop realistic proposals for action with local and international
partners in seven areas:
·
· coordinating
advocacy with governments
·
· boycotting
goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
·
· strengthening
the “chain of solidarity” through prayer vigils
·
· resisting
the destruction of property and uprooting of people from their homes and land
·
· encouraging
and enabling the presence of ecumenical monitoring teams
·
· improving
communication, interpretation and media reporting on the conflict and its
causes
·
· increasing
church, ecumenical, and interreligious delegations to and from Israel and the
OPT.
It
was also agreed that, together with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
and local churches, the WCC will develop a coordination point for ecumenical
action in Jerusalem, and explore the possibility of linking it with an
international coordination centre.
Picking
up on a recommendation of the visiting delegation, it was agreed to propose to
the WCC Executive Committee meeting 11-14 September that it consider a special
focus on “ending the violence of occupation in Palestine” in the framework of
the Decade to Overcome Violence, and possibly to call for an international
conference on the subject. As Jean Zaru of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation
Theology Centre in Jerusalem noted, “Occupation is violence, and in the Decade
to Overcome Violence, we have to expose the structural violence of occupation.”
The
specific contribution to peace and reconciliation of churches and religious
communities was emphasized throughout the consultation. “Being members and
representatives of faith communities entails a commitment to a basic moral,
ethical stance, to an integrity of the rights approach… that we hope will
rescue the conflict from becoming totally embroiled in a pure power struggle,”
Raiser noted in his concluding remarks.
Sharing
Participants
shared news on local and international initiatives being planned or underway
related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They also heard from a
representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Darka Topali, who reported on
actions and mechanisms in relation to human rights in Israel and the OPT.
In
addition, Professor John Dugard, chairperson of the Human Rights Inquiry
Commission and newly-appointed Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human
Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, reviewed his mandate
and emphasized the unique legal environment in which human rights violations in
the context of military occupation are addressed.
Professor
Richard Falk, a member of the Human Rights Inquiry Commission, summarized the
findings and recommendations of the Commission. Respect for existing human
rights and humanitarian legal norms, he said, needs to be part of and not an
outcome of the peace process.
Consultation
participants included moderators and members of the WCC governing and advisory
bodies, Jerusalem church leaders, representatives of WCC member churches and
ecumenical partners from around the world, and a selected number of partners
working on peace initiatives in Israel and the OPT. The permanent observer of
the Holy See to the UN office in Geneva also participated in the session.
Several Palestinian participants were unable to attend due to travel
restrictions imposed by the Israeli government.
Summing
up the value of the meeting, WCC Central Committee member Bishop Aldo Etchegoyen of the Evangelical Methodist
Church of Argentina said: “Many people have lost hope in this moment.
Many people think peace is impossible. Hope is necessary because this is more
than a programme, this is our commitment in favour of life, justice, peace and
people.”
Photos are available through Photo
Oikumene on http://wcc-coe.org/photo/events/events.html
International
Ecumenical Consultion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Convened
by the World Council of Churches
6-7
August, 2001, Geneva, Switzerland
Participants:
Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
Mr Erik Ackerman, ICCO, The
Netherlands
Mr Ian Alexander, Church of
Scotland
Monsignor Maroun Al-Laham, Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem
Mr George Awad, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan
Rev. Canon Trond Bakkevig, Church of Norway, member of WCC Central Committee
Ms Clarissa Balan/ Ms Ghada Haddad, World YWCA
Mr Marwan Bishara, Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate, member of the Commission of the Churches on
International Affairs
Ms Judy Blanc, Bat Shalom
Mr Jaap Breetvelt, Uniting
Churches in the Netherlands
Rev. Mark Brown, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, Churches for Middle East Peace USA, member of
ecumenical delegation to Israel and the OPT in June
Very Rev. Emmanuel Clapsis, Ecumenical Patriarchate, member of the Decade to Overcome Violence
reference group, member of ecumenical delegation to Israel and the OPT in June
Rev. Jean Arnold de Clermont, president, French Protestant Federation
Bishop Aldo M. Etchegoyen, Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina, member of the WCC Central
Committee
Prof. Richard Falk, Princeton
University, member of the Human Rights Inquiry Commission
Mr Uffe Gjerding, Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Denmark, DanchurchAid, member of ecumenical delegation to
Israel and the OPT in June
Dr Christa Grengel, Evangelical
Church in Germany (EKD), Germany
Ms Katia Delay Groulx, Swiss
Interchurch Aid (EPER)
Mrs Claudette Habesch,
Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees/Middle East Council of Churches
Mr Jeff Halper, Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions
Rev. Dr Bernice Powell Jackson, United Church of Christ, member of the WCC Central Committee and a
member of the ecumenical delegation to Israel and the OPT in June
Rev. Dr Riad Jarjour,
general secretary, Middle East Council of Churches
Ms Jorunn Kapstad, Norwegian
Church Aid
Mr Adam Keller, Gush Shalom
Amb. Bethuel Kiplagat,
Anglican Church of Kenya, moderator of the Commission of the Churches on
International Affairs
Fr Paul Lansu, Pax Christi International
Dr Victor Makari, Presbyterian
Church, USA
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, permanent observer of the Holy See to the UN Office in Geneva
Rev. Dr Maake Masango,
University of Pretoria, South Africa; member of the WCC Executive and Central
Committees and a member of the ecumenical delegation to Israel and the OPT in
June
Ms Sumaya Naser, Birzeit
University
Mrs Fadwa Abla Nasir,
general secretary, YWCA Palestine
Mr Daniel Ntoni-Nzinga,
Inter-Ecclesial Committee for Peace in Angola
Dr Judo Poerwowidagado, rector,
Krida Wacana Christian University, Indonesia
Mr Peter Prove, Lutheran
World Federation
Dr Audeh Quawas, Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate, member of the WCC Central Committee
Mr Goran Rask, Church of
Sweden Aid/Mission
Fr George Tsetsis, Ecumenical
Patriarchate, member of the WCC Executive and Central Committees
Ms Sue Turrell, Christian
Aid
Mr Rob van Drimmelen,
general secretary, APRODEV (Association of WCC-related development
organizations in Europe)
Mr David Weaver, Church World
Service/National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
Mr Peter Weiderud, Church of
Sweden, member of ecumenical delegation to Israel and the OPT in June
Mr David Wildman, General
Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church
Ms Glenda Wildschut, Anglican
Church, South Africa; member of the Commission of the Churches on International
Affairs
Ms Jean Zaru, presiding
clerk, Society of Friends; Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre,
Jerusalem
For
further information, please contact Media Relations Office, Tel: (+41.22) 791.61.53
PRESS RELEASE FROM ORIENT HOUSE
August 10, 2001
In an unprecedented step, the Israeli occupation forces raided last night the
Orient House, the headquarters of the Palestinian team to the Peace talks, and
the seat of the multilateral talks.
At around 1:30 am, large numbers of Israeli forces besieged the area of the
Orient House and broke into the premises of the headquarters, disregarding all
the understandings and agreements reached at the eve of Madrid Peace
conference. The Palestinian flag was pulled down and the Israeli flag was
hoisted in its place, in an attempt to reinforce their reoccupation to East
Jerusalem. Eight employees were arrested in the raid. Moreover, all files
related to the negotiations, along with other classified documents and the portrait
of the martyr Faisal Husseini, were also confiscated. The raid and closure of
the Orient was conducted upon orders, which also included the closure of other
Palestinian institutions linked to the Orient House.
Furthermore, the Arab Chamber of Commerce, Prisoners Society, and The Higher
Council of Tourism are among the other Palestinian institutions sealed off by
an order from the Israeli Minister of Internal Security Uzi Landau.
The Orient House considers the Israeli step as a fatal blow to all agreements
and efforts, which have been geared in the past towards achieving peace and
stability in the Middle East.
The Orient House calls upon the international community to assume its
responsibility and interfere for the benefit of protecting and maintaining the
achievements that have been made so far in the context of the peace process.
The Israeli authorities step is a clear sign that reflects Israeli lack of
interest or concern for the peace process.
|
Important note to our dear readers We really hope
that you enjoy what we try to send you and find it useful, and if you need
any further information, please feel free to contact us:
nonviolence@writeme.com * But, you have to take in consideration
that this newsletter is not an official newsletter of the Latin Patriarchate
of Jerusalem; * Only the documents signed by the
Patriarch himself, express an official position, but all the other news,
articles and documents express the personal opinion of their authors; * I remain the only responsible of the
presentation and the editorials of this newsletter, which is wanted to be a
simple instrument of information without any pretension; * We don’t side with anybody, we only
side with the truth, and strive for human rights, justice, peace and
reconciliation for everybody as usual. Thank you for your understanding & Best wishes from Jerusalem Fr. Raed Abusahlia |