wfn.org | Disciples peace, justice advocates call for peacemaking in the

[wshuffit@oc.disciples.org]

Middle East
>From nobody@wfn.org  Fri Nov  3 00:00:00 2000
 
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Date: November 3, 2000
00b-56 
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Grassroots peace and justice advocates of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) this week called the faith community
to "act as peacemakers" to help stop the escalating violence in the Middle
East. 

	The joint call to action, "Stopping the Spiral of Violence in the Middle
East," was released Nov. 1 by the Disciples Peace Fellowship and the
Disciples Justice Action Network.

	The communique calls attention to the anger that now divides warring
factions in the region and notes how easily the conflict could spread. The
Disciples peace and justice advocates urge "all people of faith to act as
peacemakers at this crucial moment in history."

	"Unless peacemakers act and act quickly, there is an ominous risk of
greater danger," reads the statement. "Individuals, congregations and
religious institutions can each take actions that can help stop the spiral
of violence and make a difference in the creation of peace in the Middle
East."

	In particular, church members are asked to challenge Israeli and
Palestinian leaders, United Nations officials and others to find peaceful
solutions, and to lobby U.S. government officials to support diplomatic
solutions to the violence.

	The Disciples Peace Fellowship is a historic peace group related to the
Indianapolis-based denomination. The Disciples Justice Action Network is a
four-year-old coalition of social activists.	

                                    	-- end --

Editor's note: The complete text to "Stopping the Spiral of Violence in the
Middle East" follows. 

	Stopping the Spiral of Violence in the Middle East

	A Joint Call to Action
                    	by
	Disciples Peace Fellowship (DPF)
	Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN)

	During Fall 2000, a spiral of violence in the Middle East has cost the
lives of more than 100 people. Anger among Palestinians caused, they would
say, by the arrogant injustice and dehumanization of Israeli powers, has
been heightened by recent inflammatory incidents in which Palestinians have
been victims. Most of the dead are their dead. This has prompted them to
continue to engage in strong and sometimes wild protests, approaching a
general insurrection. Israelis see a different side. Everywhere their
police are stoned. A Jewish holy site (the Tomb of Jacob) has been
desecrated and destroyed. The Israeli police, well-armed and reputedly
well-trained, have responded with what appears to neutral observers to be
excessive violence, killing dozens of Palestinians. Outraged crowds of
Palestinians attacked and killed (in a style some have called lynching)
three Israeli soldiers. Israel responded by launching rockets against
Palestinian targets. In a related event, an apparent terrorist attack in
Yemen on the USS Cole killed 17 American sailors. The United States is now
poised to retaliate once it can find a target. Even in the distant United
States, anger over events in the Middle East, has led to violent attacks
and confrontations.

	This spiral of violence has already had tragic consequences. Each side has
a collection of atrocity stories to tell; stories that release rage, prompt
additional atrocities, and documented by video clips. This abundance of
anger can move without warning in many directions, and there is no
guarantee where it will end or what the cost to the entire world may be.

	Those who have a commitment to peace and making peace, i. e. peacemakers,
must exert enormous energies immediately to interrupt this self-fueling
wildness before it spirals completely out of control.

•	Unless peacemakers step in, the spiral of violence may well result in a
general war between the Palestinians and Israel, thus undoing the important
progress toward peace that has been made in the past several years.  

•	Unless peacemakers step in, the spiral of violence could well result in a
regional war between Israel and its neighbors.

•	Unless peacemakers step in, the spiral of violence could well involve the
Unites States and other global powers in conflict.

•	Unless peacemakers step in, the spiral of violence escalates global
nuclear dangers because it is presumed that Israel has a significant
arsenal of nuclear weapons.

	Which way the fires of anger sweep we cannot predict.  We do know that
violence begets more violence. Unless peacemakers act and act quickly,
there is an ominous risk of great disaster.

	Disciples Peace Fellowship and Disciples Justice Action Network urge all
people of faith to act as peacemakers at this crucial moment in history.
Individuals, congregations and religious institutions can each take actions
that can help stop the spiral of violence and make a difference in the
creation of peace in the Middle East. There are things we can do.

1.	Contact world leaders such as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,
Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek urging
them to find peaceful solutions to the conflict and the establishment of a
permanent Middle East peace plan. Check this website for addresses: 
http://www.trytel.com/~aberdeen/.

2.	Contact U.S. governmental officials such as the President and members of
Congress urging them to do all they can to support diplomatic solutions to
the current crisis. Ask if the situation may not justify the presence of a
police force for a cooling off interval, a force to stand between two
peoples filled with rage. Encourage support (including financial backing)
for a permanent Middle East peace plan. Check this website for addresses:
http://www.peaceday.org/govt_em.htm.

3.	Investigate and, if you agree, support  "Call for a Shared Jerusalem," a
program of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), 110 Maryland Ave, NE,
Suite 108 Washington, DC 20002.

4.	Undertake a study of the Middle East, its problems and possible
solutions to the conflict.  A good resource is The Absence of Peace :
Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, by Nicholas Guyatt, St.
Martin's Press, 1998.  

5.	Pray regularly for the Middle East and its people.

6.	Include concerns for justice and peace in the Middle East in corporate
worship services.

7.	Engage in mission projects related to establishing the conditions for
justice and peace in the Middle East. Contact the joint United Church of
Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Global Board of Mission
to discover projects which are working to establish the conditions for
justice and peace in the Middle East. Check this website for information: 
http://www.globalministries.org/mee/index.html.

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