wfn.org | Swedish Women Address Letter to Women of Palestine, Israel, U.S.

[JerusalemRelOrgs@aol.com]

For further information contact:
Rev. Anna Karin Hammar
Handldggare fvr ekumenik - Ecumenical Officer
Svenska kyrkan - Church of Sweden
SE-751 70 Uppsala, Sweden
E-mail: anna-karin.hammar@svenskakyrkan.se

or
Rev. Sandra Olewine
United Methodist Liaison in Jerusalem
<A HREF="mailto:solewine1@yahoo.com";>solewine1@yahoo.com</A>

JERUSALEM, April 30, 2002--The general assembly of the women of the Church of
Sweden has addressed an open letter to women in Palestine, Israel and the
United States, calling for joint action to achieve peace in the Middle East.

The full text of the letter follows:

Open Letter to the Women of Palestine, Israel and USA

We, Church of Sweden Women, gathered for our annual General Assembly
in Uppsala, Sweden, April 20-21, 2002, send our condolences and our greetings
of solidarity to the suffering and struggling women of Palestine!

Women of Palestine!   We have listened to your cries from Jenin, from Nablus,
from Ramallah, from Bethlehem and even from the Nativity church, and we
embrace you in our hearts and our minds. May God give you strength to
continue struggling for the end of occupation and for life and dignity for
your community, for all of God4s people!

Women of Israel!   You too are the victims of violent aggression, having to
deal with fear of suicide bombings on the one hand and a government with
parties striving for ethnic cleansing (transfer) on the other hand. We ask
you to join the courageous peace witness of the peace groups Bat Shalom, Gush
Shalom and Women4s Coalition for a Just Peace!

Women of the United States!  Let us as sisters of the Western hemisphere join
hands with our brother the General Secretary Kofi Annan in his plea for a
United Nations peace mission to Israel and Palestine.  We see the need for a
UN peace-enforcing mission to Palestine/Israel in order to protect its people
and to make the UN resolutions materialize in a just peace.

As Christian women we join with all women of faith believing in a just peace
in Israel/Palestine!

Kajsa Wejryd,
chair
The General Assembly
Church of Sweden Women

-end-