wfn.org | Christian Palestinians in the Holy Land

["Sheila Mesa" <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release, PR-01-26
For Immediate Use
6 August 2001

What would it mean for the world if there were no Christian
Palestinians left in the Holy Land?

cf. WCC Press Release, PR-01-19, of 25 June 2001
cf. WCC Press Update, Up-01-12, of 17 April 2001
cf. WCC Press Update, Up-01-06, of 28 March 2001
cf. WCC Press Release, PR-01-09, of 16 March 2001

A WCC delegation which visited Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories 27 June through 1 July is asking this
question in a report made public today at an international
ecumenical consultation in Geneva. The consultation is attempting
to strengthen broad international ecumenical support for a
comprehensive peace, based on justice and security for the
Palestinian and Israeli peoples.  

The report emphasizes that the delegation was not on a
"fact-finding mission". Its mandate was to help develop an
international ecumenical response to the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict by exploring local ecumenical needs, strategies and
plans of action. In particular, it reviewed the feasibility of
facilitating an ecumenical "witness for peace" programme that
might support non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation
and provide an international ecumenical presence for protection,
monitoring and reporting.   

The report notes with alarm that more and more Palestinian
Christians - two to three families per week - are emigrating
because of the violence and economic crisis. Palestinian
Christians make up only about three percent of the population in
the Occupied Territories. "The fear that the holy sites of
Christianity become museums is a very real one," the report
states.  

The report suggests that this is a "kairos moment" for the
church community in Palestine and world-wide: deep despair
resulting from the recent escalation of violence has also
deepened the desire of both Palestinians and Israelis for a "just
and durable peace". Statements by churches world-wide have been
important it notes, but the "time for statements seems to be
over".  

The report makes several recommendations that will be considered
by the over 40 participants at the international ecumenical
consultation. Among them is the development of a comprehensive
accompaniment and solidarity programme, a cooperative response to
the humanitarian crisis, coordinated advocacy and support for
international law and particularly United Nations resolutions as
the basis for peace negotiations, assistance to local churches,
and lifting up "alternative and moderate voices" on both sides of
the conflict.   

The consultation, being held today and tomorrow at the
Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, has been convened by the general
secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in response to a
February 2001 recommendation of its Central Committee.    

The consultation brings together leaders from the churches of
Jerusalem, representatives of WCC member churches and ecumenical
partners from around the world, including the permanent observer
of the Holy See to the United Nations (UN). Among those
contributing to the consultation will be a member of the Human
Rights Inquiry Commission, a representative of the office of the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the newly-appointed UN
special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, as well as a
selected number of partners working on peace initiatives in
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.  

The consultation is being co-chaired by the moderator of the WCC
Central Committee, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia,
and the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser.  

By providing a space for sharing, consultation and joint
planning and strategizing on ecumenical initiatives, the
consultation is expected to develop action strategies and
facilitate better coordination and cooperation in the future.  

The report can be found on the WCC web site at 
<http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/july01-visit.html>

For further information, please contact Media Relations Office, 

Tel.:  (+41.22) 791.61.53 

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, 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, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
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Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

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