wfn.org | Peace delegation meets with Israeli leaders

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Note #6306 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

14-December-2000
00450

Peace delegation meets with Israeli leaders, issues final statement at press
conference

by James Solheim
Episcopal News Service

JERUSALEM -- On its last day in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, an
ecumenical peace delegation of American church leaders met with the mayor of
Jerusalem, officials at the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the top Palestinian
leader in Jerusalem -- and issued a final statement at a press conference.

    	The final statement said that the delegation had "heard the voices of
people…seen the impact of Israeli settlements that strangulate and isolate
the Palestinian people from one another ... heard the terror in the voices
of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike ... We believe
that our faith calls us to tell the truth of what we have seen and that,
unless we share with the world what we have seen, the stones will cry out.
We are persuaded that the peace which must come for all-Israeli and
Palestinian alike-can only be achieved on a firm foundation of justice."

    	The statement made "an urgent plea that all parties heed the moral
imperative to do justice," and urges "the community of nations and all
people who love mercy to recognize and condemn this new apartheid that
oppresses the Palestinian people."

    	In order to achieve peace, the statement said, it is necessary that
Israel withdraw from Palestinian areas to the 1967 borders, in fulfillment
of the U.N. resolutions. It also offered some steps to achieve justice:
    
* both sides cease all acts of violence;
* Israeli forces end the use of disproportionate force;
* suspend current sales of U.S. attack helicopters to Israel;
* stop Israeli confiscation of land, house demolitions, closures,
destruction of agriculture  and expansion of settlements;
* provide immediate international protection for Palestinians;
* seek accountability for U.S. aid to Israel;
* provide humanitarian aid for the Palestinians; and
* devise a plan to share the city of Jerusalem.

	Press conference expands on statement
    
	At a press conference, members of the delegation described their encounters
during the visit and expanded on their statement.

    	Bishop Vincent Warner of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia (Washington)
said that his encounter with a nine-year-old girl in the area south of Gaza
City where the Israelis had bulldozed an orchard put a "human face on the
suffering." And that is why, he said, "the statement is passionate and
urgent."

    	In answering a question, Bishop Herbert Chilstrom of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said that the impression that American
churches tend to give greater support to the Israelis is "sometimes based on
a reading of Scripture that says that this land should belong to the Jews."

	On the other hand, he said that he has concluded that "this is a justice
issue." Palestinians whose families go back centuries are being uprooted.
"We are here to protect their rights while advocating the rights of the
Israelis," he said.

    	Bishop Edmond Browning, former presiding bishop of the Episcopal
Church, responded to a question about the delegation's strategy by stating
that members plan to contact members of Congress and "tell the story of what
we have witnessed." And the delegation is determined to raise the issue of
Palestinian suffering in the churches they represent, both nationally and
internationally, suggesting ways that the church can  be involved in the
search for peace.

    	Bishop Margaret Payne of the ELCA's New England Synod said that she had
seen "the damage that violence does to all parties," convincing her that
"all parties must cease violent acts" if there is any chance for peace.

	Jerusalem most tolerant city in world
    
	"No matter what, you can believe that the Israeli people will do everything
in their power to maintain religious freedom," Mayor Ehud Olmert said in
welcoming the delegation to the council room at City Hall. "It's our source
of pride."

    	Olmert said that "not a single city in the world hosts more churches,"
adding that it was his responsibility "to make sure that every Christian
believer can come to the city at any time to practice their religion without
restriction."

	He pointed out that the Old City's one square kilometer has "more holy
sites than other city in the world." And he said that, since the war in 1967
when Israel took the eastern part of the city, "we have protected religious
freedom in a glorious manner-the best in history."

    	Olmert argued that Ariel Sharon's controversial visit to the Temple
Mount area last September, an area dominated by two of Islam's holiest
sites, was an exercise of his religious freedom. "If Jews can't visit Temple
Mount, then what's the meaning of religious freedom?"

    	He said that "nothing was desecrated, not one stone was moved." While
the visit might have been a mistake, "the answer to this mistake is
shooting?" He added, "In the middle of war, there will be some problems…some
provocations," but that everything must be seen in context.

    	The mayor told his visitors that "you are our best partners,"
especially since "some societies in the region don't share our sense of
democracy."

    	He admitted that "we make mistakes. We are under pressure. We are
encircled by many whose tolerance is in doubt. It leads us to wrong
reactions."

	No reason for emigration
    
	The State of Israel is serious about freedom of religion, access to holy
sites, security and helping and assisting all religions, according to
officials at the Israeli Foreign Ministry who are in charge of religious
affairs.

    	When asked about the emigration of Christians, Ariel Kenneth said that
the phenomenon actually goes back to the seventh century when Muslims
captured the Holy Land, triggering an exodus of Christians.

    	The Christian population actually increased after the creation of the
State of Israel because they were offered a safe environment with good
education and a standard of living. In those areas under Palestinian
control, however, there has been significant emigration because of the
violence.

    	"There is no reason for emigration from Israel," said Avi Granot. In
fact, Israel has been absorbing a large number of Christians from places
like Russia and Ethiopia. He is convinced that "a whole heritage is being
lost when cities like Bethlehem become Muslim."

    	When asked about complaints by Christians about access to religious
sites and a perception that they are second-class citizens, Kenneth said,
"Israel doesn't want to cause any harm to the Christian population" but it
must apply some constrictions because of the war mentality.

    	"There is no freedom in the land when there is war," he said. "We hold
Arafat responsible for turning back to violence."

    	"You are talking about difficulty of movement during a time of war. Of
course there are limitations -- but without exception it is because of the
need for security." That is why, for example, only Muslims over the age of
45 are allowed to pray at the Dome of the Rock and al Aqsa in the Old City.

    	He said that the violence in Beit Jala, a town near Bethlehem that has
been the scene of shelling, is not the work of Christians or local
residents. Those who are shooting at the nearby settlement at Gilo are
actually hoping that Israel will respond, to gain some sympathy for the
Palestinian cause. Israel has the ability to pinpoint the source of
shooting, he said, and is capable of responding quickly.

    	Kenneth said that there are lists of Christians and Muslims and their
contributions to the intifada and "we may be doing the Christians a favor."

	Logic not violence

	"Our problem will not be solved by violence but by the power of logic,"
said Faisal Husseini in welcoming the delegation to Orient House in eastern
Jerusalem. But the Palestine National Authority's top representative in
Jerusalem said that "not only throwing stones and shooting are violence but
also the destruction of homes by soldiers is violence and the use of
identity cards that consider people as foreigners in their own city."

    	"There will be no solution, no stability, without solving the
Palestinian problem," Husseini warned. "And that means a Palestinian state."

    	Because small states seem less viable at this time in history, Husseini
envisions a regional cooperation. But that raises other obstacles in the
search for peace, including Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem,
return of Palestinian refugees, settling the property claims of both
Palestinians and Israelis.

    	Palestinians accept two states, even though it means that "Palestinians
are willing to settle for only 22 percent of what was our original
land-because we want a better life for our children."

    	The Israeli settlements, he said, are illegal and are "a time bomb that
could explode at any moment." Unless the issue is solved, "We could find
ourselves fighting each other like the Serbs and Bosnians." There is no way
that Palestinians could accept settlements in their state because "It would
cut the Palestinian state into islands."

    	On refugees, Husseini said that there are about four million
Palestinians living abroad and that Israel must accept the principle that
those Palestinians have a right to return. But that should be implemented in
a way that would not threaten the Israelis, he said. "There is still a
possibility for peace," he concluded, while making it clear that making
peace is very difficult.

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