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World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 24/02/2005

ECUMENICAL ACCOMPANIERS IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE:
WORKING TO REDUCE VIOLENCE, IMPROVE PEOPLE'S LIVES

A new group of 12 "ecumenical accompaniers" last week joined four others
staying on in Israel and Palestine from previous groups within the
framework of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and
Israel (EAPPI). The new arrivals bring the total number of ecumenical
accompaniers now on the ground to 16.
The seven women and five men in the new group range in age from 23 to 75.
Five Danes head the list, including three participants who are medical
students, followed by three accompaniers from the United States, two from
Germany, one from Norway, and one from Switzerland. Two of the Americans
are ordained ministers: one from the United Church of Christ and the other
from the Presbyterian Church.

Ecumenical accompaniers, who serve a minimum of three months, work in
various capacities with local churches, Palestinian and Israeli NGOs, as
well as Palestinian communities to try to reduce the brutality of the
Occupation and improve the daily lives of both peoples. Accompaniers will
continue to be placed in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jayyous, Jerusalem, Ramallah,
Tulkarem and Yanoun.

One accompanier with journalism skills will be working with the Alternative Information Center (AIC), a joint Palestinian-Israeli initiative. The
three medical students will be working with the Ramallah-based Union of
Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC). Part of their work will
include accompanying mobile health clinics which bring medical attention
to people who can't get to hospitals or health care facilities due to the
restrictions on freedom of movement.

Since the programme was launched in August 2002, 180 ecumenical accompaniers have participated from more than 30 churches and ecumenical partners in
12 countries: Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Aotearoa-New
Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and
the United States.

For more information on the EAPPI:
http://www.eappi.org

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) was
launched in August 2002. Ecumenical accompaniers monitor and report
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support
acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim
Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through
non-violent presence, engage in public policy advocacy, and stand in
solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the
occupation. The programme is co-ordinated by the World Council of
Churches.

Additional information:
Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

This material may be reprinted freely.

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.