wfn.org | Griswold alerts Powell to Episcopal school's troubles in Ramallah

[ENS@bread.ecunet.org]

2001-359

Griswold alerts Powell to Episcopal school's troubles in Ramallah

     (ENS) Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has written a letter to US 
Secretary of State Colin Powell, an Episcopal layman, informing him of 
the difficulties faced by students at an Episcopal school near Jerusalem 
as a result of ongoing violence in Israel.

     The Arab Evangelical School in Ramallah, founded in 1954, belongs 
to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Currently it has 568 students 
in grades from kindergarten to high school. Seventy percent of the 
students are Christians and 30 percent are Muslims. 

     On December 13, Israeli military forces dug a 6-10 foot trench 
across the main road, adjacent to one side of the school. According 
to Nancy Dinsmore, development officer for the Jerusalem diocese, 
the trench made the road "impassable." On the other side of the school, 
she reported, there are a number of tanks blocking the road and preventing 
access to the school. Students were prevented from entering the school and 
the Israeli military has advised the administration that the school 
was closed until further notice. A nearby Christian family, supporters 
of the school, was evicted from their home, which is serving as a 
barracks for 30 Israeli soldiers.

     Israeli troops began withdrawing from positions on the West Bank 
near Ramallah on December 20. The army took the positions after suicide 
bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa. 

     "While I am altogether sympathetic to the needs of Israel to 
protect herself against terrorist attack, I and many other Episcopalians 
are deeply concerned by what appears to be an overstepping of the 
requirements for security," Griswold's letter said, after quoting 
Dinsmore's account. "The victims in this case are Christian and Muslim 
children who are being taught the art of peace-making as an integral 
part of their overall curriculum."

     Griswold led a delegation of church leaders who visited Powell 
in June to discuss peace in the Middle East.

     Ramallah is located about 10 miles north of Jerusalem on a road 
which runs from the Galilee in the north to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and 
Hebron in the south. Before the establishment of the State of Israel 
in 1948, the town's population was 100% Christian Arab.

     The Arab Evangelical School is funded in part by the Jerusalem 
2000 project, an appeal to Episcopalians and Anglicans worldwide, 
which is raising money for a new secondary school building, classrooms, 
labs and equipment. The Jerusalem 2000 campaign, Building Presence, 
Building Peace, is a collaborative effort of the Episcopal Church in 
the USA and the rest of the Anglican Communion.