wfn.org | WCC calls for immediate church action in

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

Israeli-Palestinian conflict 

World Council of Churches
Update, Up-02-05
For Immediate Use
15 March 2002

"To remain silent now can only be seen as complicity with the
violence"
WCC calls for immediate church action in Israeli-Palestinian
conflict 

cf. WCC Press Release, PR-02-06, of 11 February 2002
cf. WCC Press Update, Up-02-02, of 11 February 2002

The World Council of Churches' (WCC) Commission of the Churches
on International Affairs (CCIA) has today sent an open letter to
WCC member churches, regional and national councils of churches
and ecumenical partner organizations calling for an "immediate
common effort... to break through the stagnation of the
international community and to encourage action that corresponds
to words".  

Rev. Dwain Epps, CCIA director and coordinator of the WCC
International Relations team, states that in the current rapidly
deteriorating situation, "More than ever we must hear and respond
to the cries of the churches and  bring them to the urgent
attention of Christians, our communities, our media and our
governments".  

The letter comes in response to statements and urgent appeals,
particularly from local churches and Israeli and Palestinian
peace and human rights organizations. Epps highlights a 9 March
call by the heads of churches and Christian communities in
Jerusalem that expressed their deep distress at the increasing
bloodshed, and called upon Israeli citizens and the Israeli
government to "stop all kinds of destruction and death caused by
the heavy Israeli weaponry, [for the] way the present Israeli
government is dealing with the situation makes neither for
security nor for a just peace". The church leaders also urge the
Palestinian people to put "an end to every kind of violent
response".  

The open letter urges churches to strengthen their involvement
in the ecumenical initiatives of a 2002 campaign to "End the
Illegal Occupation of Palestine" and in the Ecumenical
Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, and to call on
governments to support proposals brought to the UN Security
Council and the deployment of a monitoring body in the region.
Prayers with the churches in Jerusalem and dialogue with
neighbours of other faiths are also vital actions for the global
church community, Epps notes.  

"To be silent now," Epps concludes, "can only be seen as
complicity with the violence, the systematic abuses of human
rights and the refusal, especially by the State of Israel, to
abide by its obligations under international law. Now is the time
for each one of us to speak out and act, fulfilling our Christian
vocation as peacemakers."  

The text of the letter follows:

We have all been watching with growing alarm as, hour by hour,
the violent conflict between Palestinians and Israelis
intensifies. The killings, bombings and destruction continue to
escalate in defiance of the repeated admonitions and appeals of
the United Nations, of governments and of people around the
world. Israel is rapidly re-occupying Palestinian lands by
military force, raiding Palestinian refugee camps and engaging in
mass indiscriminate detentions of civilian inhabitants under the
most degrading circumstances. Attacks on medical and rescue
staff, coupled with the severe new restrictions on access to
hospitals and other medical facilities, add to the systematic
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In
his address to the United Nations Security Council on March 12,
secretary-general Kofi Annan emphasized the critical need to end
the illegal occupation and the violence.  

The WCC is receiving regular eye-witness reports from
Palestinian church workers about invasions, occupation and major
physical damage or destruction of church-related and
internationally supported schools and other facilities. A number
of statements and appeals have also come to us from the Middle
East Council of Churches Department for Service to Palestinian
Refugees (MECC/DSPR) and from other Christian, Muslim and Jewish
religious groups and secular Palestinian and Israeli
organizations, pleading for determined international action,
including the deployment of UN monitors, to put a stop to the
escalating violence and to address dire humanitarian needs.  

The thirteen Patriarchs and Heads of Churches and Christian
communities in Jerusalem issued a statement on March 9,
expressing their deep distress at the increasing bloodshed,
joining their voices with every Palestinian and Israeli seeking a
just peace. Saying that "Israeli security is dependant on
Palestinian freedom and justice," they call upon Israeli citizens
and the Israeli government to "stop all kinds of destruction and
death caused by the heavy Israeli weaponry, [for the] way the
present Israeli government is dealing with the situation makes
neither for security nor for a just peace". The church leaders
also urge the Palestinian people to put "an end to every kind of
violent response", reiterating that the way to peace is through
negotiations. They appeal too, and in particular, to churches
around the world to contact their respective governments to seek
their active involvement in the quest for peace.   

The WCC, Action by Churches Together (ACT), APRODEV (WCC-related
development organizations in Europe) and the MECC/DSPR are all
seeking to respond to the humanitarian crisis, and all need your
help and support. Above all, however, an immediate common effort
is required to break through the stagnation of the international
community and to encourage action that corresponds to words. More
than ever, we must hear and respond to the cries of the churches
and bring them to the urgent attention of Christians, our
communities, our media and our governments. 

Our united message is clearly stated by the WCC Executive and
Central Committees: the illegal occupation of Palestine must come
to an end. It is at the root of the violence. Unless this is
addressed, there can be little hope for a just and lasting peace.
We therefore urge you to strengthen your efforts related to the
2002 focus of the Decade to Overcome Violence: "End the Illegal
Occupation of Palestine".   

The WCC has also initiated the Ecumenical Accompaniment
Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Through this, the
Council is organizing a continuing international ecumenical
presence in Palestine to monitor and report on human rights
violations, offer protection to individuals and communities, and
accompany local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli
peace activists in their efforts of non-violent resistance to
occupation, closures, and destruction of Palestinian homes and
sources of livelihood. Some Christians and others are already in
the area and have remained present through the current violence.
It is hoped that others will join them soon. We urge you to
contact your own national organizing bodies to offer
participation or other forms of support.   

In the present circumstances, however, this is not enough to
provide the immediate protection needed. Thus we urge you to
apply pressure on your governments to support proposals that have
been brought to the UN Security Council, and encourage the rapid
deployment of an intergovernmental monitoring body in Palestine. 

The churches of Jerusalem have also asked for prayers for peace.
The global fellowship of churches can join together in special
prayer vigils and services of worship with the Christians of
Palestine. A collection of prayers from the local churches has
been published by the WCC for use on such occasions. These
prayers and other materials related to the WCC initiatives are
available at
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/resourcepack.html or by
mail upon request.  

We are not alone in our faith commitments to the peoples caught
up in this tragic conflict. Thus wherever possible, we encourage
you to engage in dialogue and common actions with your Jewish,
Muslim and other neighbours who share a common longing for peace
and justice.  

This terrible tragedy of violence and injustice must end. To
remain silent now can only be seen as complicity with the
violence, the systematic abuses of human rights and the refusal,
especially by the State of Israel, to abide by its obligations
under international law. Now is the time for each one of us to
speak out and act, fulfilling our Christian vocation as
peacemakers.  

The full text of the call from the heads of churches in
Jerusalem to all the people in this Holy Land, Palestinians and
Israelis, can be found at:
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/9-3-02jerus-call.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
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