wfn.org | Christmas Blessings from Bright Stars of Bethlehem

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

Christmas Blessings from Bright Stars of Bethlehem

A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of
Palestinian suffering

Introduction We, a group of Christian

Palestinians, after prayer, reflection and an exchange
of opinion, cry out from within the suffering in our country, under
the Israeli occupation, with a cry of hope in the absence of all hope,
a cry full of prayer and faith in a God ever vigilant, in God's divine
providence for all the inhabitants of this land. Inspired by the
mystery of God's love for all, the mystery of God's divine presence in
the history of all peoples and, in a particular way, in the history of
our country, we proclaim our word based on our Christian faith and our
sense of Palestinian belonging - a word of faith, hope and love.  Why
now? Because today we have reached a dead end in the tragedy of the
Palestinian people. The decision-makers content themselves with
managing the crisis rather than committing themselves to the serious
task of finding a way to resolve it. The hearts of the faithful are
filled with pain and with questioning: What is the international
community doing? What are the political leaders in Palestine, in
Israel and in the Arab world doing? What is the Church doing? The
problem is not just a political one. It is a policy in which human
beings are destroyed, and this must be of concern to the Church.
We address ourselves to our brothers and sisters, members of our
Churches in this land. We call out as Christians and as Palestinians
to our religious and political leaders, to our Palestinian society and
to the Israeli society, to the international community, and to our
Christian brothers and sisters in the Churches around the world .  1.
The reality on the ground 1.1 "They say: 'Peace, peace' when there is
no peace" (Jer. 6:14). These days, everyone is speaking about peace
in the Middle East and the peace
process. So far, however, these are simply words; the reality is one
of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, deprivation of our
freedom and all that results from this situation:

1.1.1 The separation wall erected on Palestinian territory, a large
part of which has been confiscated for this purpose, has turned our
towns and villages into prisons, separating them from one another,
making them dispersed and divided cantons. Gaza, especially after the
cruel war Israel launched against it during December 2008 and January
2009, continues to live in inhuman conditions, under permanent
blockade and cut off from the other Palestinian territories .

1.1.2 Israeli settlements ravage our land in the name of God and in
the name of force, controlling our natural resources, including water
and agricultural land, thus depriving hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians, and constituting an obstacle to any political solution.

1.1.3 Reality is the daily humiliation to which we are subjected at
the military checkpoints, as we make our way to jobs, schools or hospitals.

1.1.4 Reality is the separation between members of the same family,
making family life impossible for thousands of Palestinians,
especially where one of the spouses does not have an Israeli identity card.

1.1.5 Religious liberty is severely restricted; the freedom of access
to the holy places is denied under the pretext of security. Jerusalem
and its holy places are out of bounds for many Christians and Muslims
from the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Even Jerusalemites face
restrictions during the religious feasts. Some of our Arab clergy are
regularly barred from entering Jerusalem .

1.1.6 Refugees are also part of our reality. Most of them are still
living in camps under difficult circumstances. They have been waiting
for their right of return, generation after generation. What will be
their fate?

1.1.7 And the prisoners? The thousands of prisoners languishing in
Israeli prisons are part of our reality. The Israelis move heaven and
earth to gain the release of one prisoner, and those thousands of
Palestinian prisoners, when will they have their freedom?

1.1.8 Jerusalem is the heart of our reality. It is, at the same time,
symbol of peace and sign of conflict. While the separation wall
divides Palestinian neighbourhoods, Jerusalem continues to be emptied
of its Palestinian citizens, Christians and Muslims. Their identity
cards are confiscated, which means the loss of their right to reside
in Jerusalem. Their homes are demolished or expropriated. Jerusalem,
city of reconciliation, has become a city of discrimination and
exclusion, a source of struggle rather than peace .

1.2 Also part of this reality is the Israeli disregard of
international law and international resolutions, as well as the
paralysis of the Arab world and the international community in the
face of this contempt. Human rights are violated and despite the
various reports of local and international human rights'
organizations, the injustice continues.

1.2.1 Palestinians within the State of Israel, who have also suffered
a historical injustice, although they are citizens and have the rights
and obligations of citizenship, still suffer from discriminatory
policies. They too are waiting to enjoy full rights and equality like
all other citizens in the state.

1.3 Emigration is another element in our reality. The absence of any
vision or spark of hope for peace and freedom pushes young people,
both Muslim and Christian, to emigrate. Thus the land is deprived of
its most important and richest resource - educated youth. The
shrinking number of Christians, particularly in Palestine, is one of
the dangerous consequences, both of this conflict, and of the local
and international paralysis and failure to find a comprehensive
solution to the problem.

1.4 In the face of this reality, Israel justifies its actions as
self-defence, including occupation, collective punishment and all
other forms of reprisals against the Palestinians. In our opinion,
this vision is a reversal of reality. Yes, there is Palestinian
resistance to the occupation. However, if there were no occupation,
there would be no resistance, no fear and no insecurity. This is our
understanding of the situation. Therefore, we call on the Israelis to
end the occupation. Then they will see a new world in which there is
no fear, no threat but rather security, justice and peace.

1.5 The Palestinian response to this reality was diverse. Some
responded through negotiations: that was the official position of the
Palestinian Authority, but it did not advance the peace process. Some
political parties followed the way of armed resistance. Israel used
this as a pretext to accuse the Palestinians of being terrorists and
was able to distort the real nature of the conflict, presenting it as
an Israeli war against terror, rather than an Israeli occupation faced
by Palestinian legal resistance aiming at ending it.

1.5.1 The tragedy worsened with the internal conflict among
Palestinians themselves, and with the separation of Gaza from the rest
of the Palestinian territory. It is noteworthy that, even though the
division is among Palestinians themselves, the international community
bears an important responsibility for it since it refused to deal
positively with the will of the Palestinian people expressed in the
outcome of democratic and legal elections in 2006.

Again, we repeat and proclaim that our Christian word in the midst of
all this,
in the midst of our catastrophe, is a word of faith, hope and love.

2. A word of faith We believe in one God, a good and just God

We believe in a good and just God, who loves each one of his creatures.
We believe that every human being is created in God's image and
likeness and that every one's dignity is derived from the dignity of
the Almighty One. We believe that this dignity is one and the same in
each and all of us. This means for us, here and now, in this land in
particular, that God created us not so that we might engage in strife
and conflict but rather that we might come and know and love one
another, and together build up the land in love and mutual respect.

2.1.1 We also believe in God's eternal Word, His only Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ, whom God sent as the Saviour of the world.

2.1.2 We believe in the Holy Spirit, who accompanies the Church and
all humanity on its journey. It is the Spirit that helps us to
understand Holy Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, showing their
unity, here and now. The Spirit makes manifest the revelation of God
to humanity, past, present and future.   How do we understand the word
of God? 2.2 We believe that God has spoken to humanity, here in our
country: "Long  ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by  the
prophets, but in these last days God has spoken to us by a Son,whom
God appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the
worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2)

2.2.1 We, Christian Palestinians, believe, like all Christians
throughout the world, that Jesus Christ came in order to fulfil the
Law and the Prophets. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and
the end, and in his light and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we
read the Holy Scriptures. We meditate upon and interpret Scripture
just as Jesus Christ did with the two disciples on their way to
Emmaus. As it is written in the Gospel according to Saint Luke: "Then
beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the
things about himself in all the scriptures" (Lk 24:27)

2.2.2 Our Lord Jesus Christ came, proclaiming that the Kingdom of God
was near. He provoked a revolution in the life and faith of all
humanity. He came with "a new teaching" (Mk 1:27), casting a new light
on the Old Testament, on the themes that relate to our Christian faith
and our daily lives, themes such as the promises, the election, the
people of God and the land. We believe that the Word of God is a
living Word, casting a particular light on each period of history,
manifesting to Christian believers what God is saying to us here and
now. For this reason, it is unacceptable to
transform the Word of God into letters of stone that pervert the love
of God and His providence in the life of both peoples and individuals.
This is precisely the error in fundamentalist Biblical interpretation
that brings us death and destruction when the word of God is petrified
and transmitted from generation to generation as a dead letter. This
dead letter is used as a weapon in our present history in order to
deprive us of our rights in our own land.
Our land has a universal mission

> 2.3 We believe that our land has a
> universal mission. In this universality, the
> meaning of the promises, of the land, of the election, of the people
> of God open up to include all of humanity, starting from all the
> peoples of this land. In light of the teachings of the Holy Bible, the
> promise of the land has never been a political programme, but rather
> the prelude to complete universal salvation. It was the initiation of
> the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God on earth.

2.3.1 God sent the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles to this
land so that they might carry forth a universal mission to the world.
Today we constitute three religions in this land, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. Our land is God's land, as is the case with
all countries in the world. It is holy inasmuch as God is present in
it, for God alone is holy and sanctifier. It is the duty of those of
us who live here, to respect the will of God for this land. It is our
duty to liberate it from the evil of injustice and war. It is God's
land and therefore it must be a land of reconciliation, peace and
love. This is indeed possible. God has put us here as two peoples, and
God gives us the capacity, if we have the will, to live together and
establish in it justice and peace, making it in reality God's land:
"The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those
who live in it" (Ps. 24:1).

2.3.2 Our presence in this land, as Christian and Muslim Palestinians,
is not accidental but rather deeply rooted in the history and
geography of this land, resonant with the connectedness of any other
people to the land it lives in. It was an injustice when we were
driven out. The West sought to make amends for what Jews had endured
in the countries of Europe, but it made amends on our account and in
our land. They tried to correct an injustice and the result was a new
injustice.

2.3.3 Furthermore, we know that certain theologians in the West try to
attach a biblical and theological legitimacy to the infringement of
our rights. Thus, the promises, according to their interpretation,
have become a menace to our very existence. The "good news" in the
Gospel itself has become "a harbinger of death" for us. We call on
these theologians to deepen their reflection on the Word of God and to
rectify their interpretations so that they might see in the Word of
God a source of life for all peoples.

2.3.4 Our connectedness to this land is a natural right. It is not an
ideological or a theological question only. It is a matter of life and
death. There are those who do not agree with us, even defining us as
enemies only because we declare that we want to live as free people in
our land. We suffer from the occupation of our land because we are
Palestinians. And as Christian Palestinians we suffer from the wrong
interpretation of some theologians. Faced with this, our task is to
safeguard the Word of God as a source of life and not of death, so
that "the good news" remains what it is, "good news" for us and for
all. In face of those who use the Bible to threaten our existence as
Christian and Muslim Palestinians, we renew our faith in God because
we know that the word of God can not be the source of our destruction.

2.4 Therefore, we declare that any use of the Bible to legitimize or
support political options and positions that are based upon injustice,
imposed by one person on another, or by one people on another,
transform religion into human ideology and strip the Word of God of
its holiness, its universality and truth.

2.5 We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is
a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of
their basic human rights, bestowed by God. It distorts the image of
God in the Israeli who has become an occupier just as it distorts this
image in the Palestinian living under occupation. We declare that any
theology, seemingly based on the Bible or on faith or on history, that
legitimizes the occupation, is far from Christian teachings, because
it calls for violence and holy war in the name of God Almighty,
subordinating God to temporary human interests, and distorting the
divine image in the human beings living under both political and
theological injustice.

> 3. Hope

> 3.1 Despite the lack of even a glimmer
> of positive expectation, our hope
> remains strong. The present situation does not promise any quick
> solution or the end of the occupation that is imposed on us. Yes, the
> initiatives, the conferences, visits and negotiations have multiplied,
> but they have not been followed up by any change in our situation and
> suffering. Even the new US position that has been announced by
> President Obama, with a manifest desire to put an end to the tragedy,
> has not been able to make a change in our reality. The clear Israeli
> response, refusing any solution, leaves no room for positive
> expectation. Despite this, our hope remains strong, because it is from
> God. God alone is good, almighty and loving and His goodness will one
> day be victorious over the evil in which we find ourselves. As Saint
> Paul said: "If God is for us, who is against us? (?) Who will separate
> us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or
> persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is
> written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long" (?) For I am
> convinced that (nothing) in all creation, will be able to separate us
> from the love of God" (Rom. 8:31, 35, 36, 39).
> What is the meaning of hope? 3.2 Hope within us means first and
> foremost our faith in God and secondly our
> expectation, despite everything, for a better future. Thirdly, it
> means not chasing after illusions - we realize that release is not
> close at hand. Hope is the capacity to see God in the midst of
> trouble, and to be co-workers with the Holy Spirit who is dwelling in
> us. From this vision derives the strength to be steadfast, remain firm
> and work to change the reality in which we find ourselves. Hope means
> not giving in to evil but rather standing up to it and continuing to
> resist it. We see nothing in the present or future except ruin and
> destruction. We see the upper hand of the strong, the growing
> orientation towards racist separation and the imposition of laws that
> deny our existence and our dignity. We see confusion and division in
> the Palestinian position. If, despite all this, we do resist this
> reality today and work hard, perhaps the destruction that looms on the
> horizon may not come upon us.  Signs of hope 3.3 The Church in our
> land, her leaders and her faithful, despite her weakness
> and her divisions, does show certain signs of hope. Our parish
> communities are vibrant and most of our young people are active
> apostles for justice and peace. In addition to
> the individual commitment, our various Church institutions make our
> faith active and present in service, love and prayer.

3.3.1 Among the signs of hope are the local centres of theology, with
a religious and social character. They are numerous in our different
Churches. The ecumenical spirit, even if still hesitant, shows itself
more and more in the meetings of our different Church families .

3.3.2 We can add to this the numerous meetings for inter-religious
dialogue, Christian-Muslim dialogue, which includes the religious
leaders and a part of the people. Admittedly, dialogue is a long
process and is perfected through a daily effort as we undergo the same
sufferings and have the same expectations. There is also dialogue
among the three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as
different dialogue meetings on the academic or social level. They all
try to breach the walls imposed by the occupation and oppose the
distorted perception of human beings in the heart of their brothers or
sisters.

3.3.3 One of the most important signs of hope is the steadfastness of
the generations, the belief in the justice of their cause and the
continuity of memory, which does not forget the "Nakba" (catastrophe)
and its significance. Likewise significant is the developing awareness
among many Churches throughout the world and their desire to know the
truth about what is going on here.

3.3.4 In addition to that, we see a determination among many to
overcome the resentments of the past and to be ready for
reconciliation once justice has been restored. Public awareness of the
need to restore political rights to the Palestinians is increasing,
and Jewish and Israeli voices, advocating peace and justice, are
raised in support of this with the approval of the international
community. True, these forces for justice and reconciliation have not
yet been able to transform the situation of injustice, but they have
their influence and may shorten the time of suffering and hasten the
time of reconciliation.

> The mission of the Church

3.4 Our Church is a Church of people who pray and serve. This prayer and
service is prophetic, bearing the voice of God in the present and
future. Everything that happens in our land, everyone who lives there,
all the pains and hopes, all the injustice and all the efforts to stop
this injustice, are part and parcel of the prayer of our Church and
the service of all her institutions. Thanks be to God that our Church
raises her voice against injustice despite the fact that some desire
her to remain silent, closed in her religious devotions.

3.4.1 The mission of the Church is prophetic, to speak the Word of God
courageously, honestly and lovingly in the local context and in the
midst of daily events. If she does take sides, it is with the
oppressed, to stand alongside them, just as Christ our Lord stood by
the side of each poor person and each sinner, calling them to
repentance, life, and the restoration of the dignity bestowed on them
by God and that no one has the right to strip away.

3.4.2 The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Kingdom of God, a
kingdom of justice, peace and dignity. Our vocation as a living Church
is to bear witness to the goodness of God and the dignity of human
beings. We are called to pray and to make our voice heard when we
announce a new society where human beings believe in their own dignity
and the dignity of their adversaries.

3.4.3 Our Church points to the Kingdom, which cannot be tied to any
earthly kingdom. Jesus said before Pilate that he was indeed a king
but "my kingdom is not from this world" (Jn 18:36). Saint Paul says:
"The Kingdom of God is not food and
drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"
(Rom.14:17). Therefore, religion cannot favour or support any unjust
political regime, but must rather promote justice, truth and human
dignity. It must exert every effort to purify regimes where human
beings suffer injustice and human dignity is violated. The Kingdom of
God on earth is not dependent on any political orientation, for it is
greater and more inclusive than any particular political system.

3.4.4

Jesus Christ said: "The Kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17:21).
This Kingdom that is present among us and in us is the extension of
the mystery of salvation. It is the presence of God among us and our
sense of that presence in everything we do and say. It is in this
divine presence that we shall do what we can until justice is achieved
in this land .

3.4.5 The cruel circumstances in which the Palestinian Church has
lived and continues to live have required the Church to clarify her
faith and to identify her vocation better. We have studied our
vocation and have come to know it better in the midst of suffering and
pain: today, we bear the strength of love rather than that of revenge,
a culture of life rather than a culture of death. This is a source of
hope for us, for the Church and for the world.

3.5 The Resurrection is the source of our hope .Just as Christ rose in
victory over death and evil, so too we are able, as each inhabitant of
this land is able, to vanquish the evil of war. We will remain a
witnessing, steadfast and active Church in the land of the Resurrection.

4. Love The commandment of love 4.1 Christ our Lord said: "Just as I
have loved you, you also should love one another" (Jn 13:34). He has
already showed us how to love and how to treat our enemies. He said:
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and
hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in
heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous (?) Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:4547).  Saint
Paul also said: "Do not repay anyone evil for evil" (Rom. 12:17). And
Saint Peter said: "Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but
on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were
called" (1 Pet. 3:9).

> Resistance 4.2

This word is clear. Love is the commandment of Christ
our Lord to us and
it includes both friends and enemies. This must be clear when we find
ourselves in circumstances where we must resist evil of whatever kind .

4.2.1 Love is seeing the face of God in every human being. Every
person is my brother or my sister. However, seeing the face of God in
everyone does not mean accepting evil or aggression on their part.
Rather, this love seeks to correct the evil and stop the aggression.
The aggression against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli
occupation, is an evil that must be resisted. It is an evil and a sin
that must be resisted and removed. Primary responsibility for this
rests with the Palestinians themselves suffering occupation. Christian
love invites us to resist it. However, love puts an end to evil by
walking in the ways of justice. Responsibility lies also with the
international community, because international law regulates relations  between
peoples today. Finally responsibility lies with the perpetrators of
the injustice; they must liberate themselves from the evil that is in
them and the injustice they have imposed on others.

4.2.2 When we review the history of the nations, we see many wars and
much resistance to war by war, to violence by violence. The
Palestinian people has gone the way of the peoples, particularly in
the first stages of its struggle with the Israeli occupation. However,
it also engaged in peaceful struggle, especially during the first
Intifada. We recognize that all peoples must find a new way in their
relations with each other and the resolution of their conflicts. The
ways of force must give way to the ways of justice. This applies above
all to the peoples that are militarily strong, mighty enough to impose
their injustice on the weaker .

4.2.3 We say that our option as Christians in the face of the Israeli
occupation is to resist. Resistance is a right and a duty for the
Christian. But it is resistance with love as its logic. It is thus a
creative resistance for it must find human ways that engage the
humanity of the enemy. Seeing the image of God in the face of the
enemy means taking up positions in the light of this vision of active
resistance to stop the injustice and oblige the perpetrator to end his
aggression and thus achieve the desired goal, which is getting back
the land, freedom, dignity and independence.

4.2.4 Christ our Lord has left us an example we must imitate. We must
resist evil but he taught us that we cannot resist evil with evil.
This is a difficult commandment, particularly when the enemy is
determined to impose himself and deny our right to remain here in our
land. It is a difficult commandment yet it alone can stand firm in the
face of the clear declarations of the occupation authorities that
refuse our existence and the many excuses these authorities use to
continue imposing occupation upon us.

4.2.5 Resistance to the evil of occupation is integrated, then, within
this Christian love that refuses evil and corrects it. It resists evil
in all its forms with methods that enter into the logic of love and
draw on all energies to make peace. We can resist through civil
disobedience. We do not resist with death but rather through respect
of life. We respect and have a high esteem for all those who have
given their life for our nation. And we affirm that every citizen must
be ready to defend his or her life, freedom and land.

4.2.6 Palestinian civil organizations, as well as international
organizations, NGOs and certain religious institutions call on
individuals, companies and states to engage in divestment and in an
economic and commercial boycott of everything produced by the
occupation. We understand this to integrate the logic of peaceful
resistance. These advocacy campaigns must be carried out with courage,
openly sincerely proclaiming that their object is not revenge but
rather to put an end to the existing evil, liberating both the
perpetrators and the victims of injustice. The aim is to free both
peoples from extremist positions of the different Israeli governments,
bringing both to justice and reconciliation. In this spirit and with
this dedication we will eventually reach the longed-for resolution to
our problems, as indeed happened in South Africa and with many other
liberation movements in the world.

4.3 Through our love, we will overcome injustices and establish  foundations
for a new society both for us and for our opponents. Our future and
their future are one. Either the cycle of violence that destroys both
of us or peace that will benefit both. We call on Israel to give up
its injustice towards us, not to twist the truth of reality of the
occupation by pretending that it is a battle against terrorism. The
roots of "terrorism" are in the human injustice committed and in the
evil of the occupation.

These must be removed if there be a sincere intention to remove
"terrorism". We call on the people of Israel to be our partners in
peace and not in the cycle of interminable violence. Let us resist
evil together, the evil of occupation and the infernal cycle of
violence.  5. Our word to our brothers and sisters 5.1 We all face,
today, a way that is blocked and a future that promises only
woe. Our word to all our Christian brothers and sisters is a word of
hope, patience, steadfastness and new action for a better future. Our
word is that we, as Christians we carry a message, and we will
continue to carry it despite the thorns, despite blood and daily
difficulties. We place our hope in God, who will grant us relief in
His own time. At the same time, we continue to act in concord with God
and God's will, building, resisting evil and bringing closer the day
of justice and peace.

5.2 We say to our Christian brothers and sisters: This is a time for
repentance. Repentance brings us back into the communion of love with
everyone who suffers, the prisoners, the wounded, those afflicted with
temporary or permanent handicaps, the children who cannot live their
childhood and each one who mourns a dear one. The communion of love
says to every believer in spirit and in truth: if my brother is a
prisoner I am a prisoner; if his home is destroyed, my home is
destroyed; when my brother is killed, then I too am killed. We face
the same challenges and share in all that has happened and will
happen. Perhaps, as individuals or as heads of Churches, we were
silent when we should have raised our voices to condemn the injustice
and share in the suffering. This is a time of repentance for our
silence, indifference, lack of communion, either because we did not
persevere in our mission in this land and abandoned it, or because we
did not think and do enough to reach a new and integrated vision and
remained divided, contradicting our witness and weakening our word.
Repentance for our concern with our institutions, sometimes at the
expense of our mission, thus silencing the prophetic voice given by
the Spirit to the Churches.

5.3 We call on Christians to remain steadfast in this time of trial,
just as we have throughout the centuries, through the changing
succession of states and governments. Be patient, steadfast and full
of hope so that you might fill the heart of every one of your brothers
or sisters who shares in this same trial with hope. "Always be ready
to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting for
the hope that is in you" (1 Pet. 3:15). Be active and, provided this
conforms to love, participate in any sacrifice that resistance asks of
you to overcome our present travail ..

5.4 Our numbers are few but our message is great and important. Our
land is in urgent need of love. Our love is a message to the Muslim
and to the Jew, as well as to the world.

5.4.1Our message to the Muslims is a message of love and of living
together and a call to reject fanaticism and extremism. It is also a
message to the world that Muslims are neither to be stereotyped as the
enemy nor caricatured as terrorists but rather to be lived with in
peace and engaged with in dialogue.

5.4.2 Our message to the Jews tells them: Even though we have fought
one another in the recent past and still struggle today, we are able
to love and live together. We can organize our political life, with
all its complexity, according to the logic of this love and its power,
after ending the occupation and establishing justice.

5.4.3 The word of faith says to anyone engaged in political activity:
human beings were not made for hatred. It is not permitted to hate,
neither is it permitted to kill or to be killed. The culture of love
is the culture of accepting the other. Through it we perfect ourselves
and the foundations of society are established .

6. Our word to the Churches of the world 6.1 Our word to the Churches
of the world is firstly a word of gratitude for the
solidarity you have shown toward us in word, deed and presence among
us. It is a word of praise for the many Churches and Christians who
support the right of the Palestinian people for self determination. It
is a message of solidarity with those Christians and Churches who have
suffered because of their advocacy for law and justice .
However, it is also a call to repentance; to revisit fundamentalist
theological positions that support certain unjust political options
with regard to the Palestinian people. It is a call to stand alongside
the oppressed and preserve the word of God as good news for all rather
than to turn it into a weapon with which to slay the oppressed. The
word of God is a word of love for all His creation. God is not the
ally of one against the other, nor the opponent of one in the face of
the other. God is the Lord of all and loves all, demanding justice
from all and issuing to all of us the same commandments. We ask our
sister Churches not to offer a theological cover-up for the injustice
we suffer, for the sin of the occupation imposed upon us. Our question
to our brothers and sisters in the Churches today is: Are you able to
help us get our freedom back, for this is the only way you can help
the two peoples attain justice, peace, security and love?

6.2 In order to understand our reality, we say to the Churches: Come
and see. We will fulfil our role to make known to you the truth of our
reality, receiving you as pilgrims coming to us to pray, carrying a
message of peace, love and reconciliation. You will know the facts and
the people of this land, Palestinians and Israelis alike.

6.3 We condemn all forms of racism, whether religious or ethnic,
including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and we call on you to
condemn it and oppose it in all its manifestations. At the same time
we call on you to say a word of truth and to take a position of truth
with regard to Israel's occupation of Palestinian land. As we have
already said, we see boycott and disinvestment as tools of non
violence for justice, peace and security for all.

> 7. Our word to the international community

7. Our word to the

international community is to stop the principle of "double
standards" and insist on the international resolutions regarding the
Palestinian problem with regard to all parties. Selective application
of international law threatens to leave us vulnerable to a law of the
jungle. It legitimizes the claims by certain armed groups and states
that the international community only understands the logic of force.
Therefore, we call for a response to what the civil and religious
institutions have proposed, as mentioned earlier: the beginning of a
system of economic sanctions and boycott to be applied against Israel.
We repeat once again that this is not revenge but rather a serious
action in order to reach a just and definitive peace that will put an
end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories
and will guarantee security and peace for all.

8. Jewish and Muslim religious leaders 8. Finally, we address an
appeal to the religious and spiritual leaders, Jewish
and Muslim, with whom we share the same vision that every human being
is created by God and has been given equal dignity. Hence the
obligation for each of us to defend the oppressed and the dignity God
has bestowed on them. Let us together try to rise up above the
political positions that have failed so far and continue to lead us on
the path of failure and suffering.

9. A call to our Palestinian people and to the Israelis 9.1 This is a
call to see the face of God in each one of God's creatures and
overcome the barriers of fear or race in order to establish a
constructive dialogue and not remain within the cycle of never-ending
manoeuvres that aim to keep the situation as it is. Our appeal is to
reach a common vision, built on equality and sharing, not on
superiority, negation of the other or aggression, using the pretext of
fear and security. We say that love is possible and mutual trust is
possible. Thus, peace is possible and definitive reconciliation also.
Thus, justice and security will be attained for all.

9.2 Education is important. Educational programs must help us to get
to know the other as he or she is rather than through the prism of
conflict, hostility or religious fanaticism. The educational programs
in place today are infected with this hostility. The time has come to
begin a new education that allows one to see the face of God in the
other and declares that we are capable of loving each other and
building our future together in peace and security.

9.3 Trying to make the state a religious state, Jewish or Islamic,
suffocates the state, confines it within narrow limits, and transforms
it into a state that practices discrimination and exclusion,
preferring one citizen over another. We appeal to both religious Jews
and Muslims: let the state be a state for all its citizens, with a
vision constructed on respect for religion but also equality, justice,
liberty and respect for pluralism and not on domination by a religion
or a numerical majority.

9.4 To the leaders of Palestine we say that current divisions weaken
all of us and cause more sufferings. Nothing can justify these
divisions. For the good of the people, which must outweigh that of the
political parties, an end must be put to division. We appeal to the
international community to lend its support towards this union and to
respect the will of the Palestinian people as expressed freely.

9.5 Jerusalem is the foundation of our vision and our entire life. She
is the city to which God gave a particular importance in the history
of humanity. She is the city towards which all people are in movement
- and where they will meet in friendship and love in the presence of
the One Unique God, according to the vision of the prophet Isaiah: "In
days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as
the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all
the nations shall stream to it (?) He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords
into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more" (Is. 2: 2-5). Today, the city is inhabited by two peoples of
three religions; and it is on this prophetic vision and on the
international resolutions concerning the totality of Jerusalem that
any political solution must be based. This is the first issue that
should be negotiated because the recognition of Jerusalem's sanctity
and its message
will be a source of inspiration towards finding a solution to the
entire problem, which is largely a problem of mutual trust and ability
to set in place a new land in this land of God.

> 10. Hope and faith in God

> 10. In the absence of all hope, we cry out
> our cry of hope. We believe in God,
> good and just. We believe that God's goodness will finally triumph
> over the evil of hate and of death that still persist in our land. We
> will see here "a new land" and "a new human being", capable of rising
> up in the spirit to love each one of his or her brothers and sisters.