wfn.org | Title: EAPPI welcomes largest group of volunteers

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches 7 Press Update 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 17/11/2003 - pu-03-46 

EAPPI welcomes largest group of volunteers 

Cf. WCC Press Release pr-03-34 of 10 November 2003 
Cf. WCC Press Update pu-03-35 of 12 September 2003 

Contact in Jerusalem: +972 (0) 67 379 766, eappi-co@jrol.com 

With the arrival of 21 new ecumenical accompaniers, the
Ecumenical 
Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)
continues to grow. 
The previous team of accompaniers numbered 19, so this is the
largest group 
since the programme began 15 months ago; the 21 new arrivals
will 
complement 10 volunteers who are staying on for longer terms of
service. 

EAPPI works with Palestinians and Israelis who are seeking an
end to the 
occupation through non-violent means, and a just solution to the
long 
conflict. Ecumenical accompaniers work with local churches,
Palestinian 
and Israeli NGOs, as well as Palestinian communities in various
capacities 
to try to reduce the brutality of the occupation and improve the
daily 
lives of both peoples. 

The current team of accompaniers comes from six countries
including, for 
the first time, a volunteer from New Zealand. Norway, Sweden,
Switzerland, 
the United Kingdom and the United States continue to be
represented. The 14 
women and seven men range in age from 24 to 72 years. The
minimum term of 
service will be three months. 

The current group will work in various sites. Eight accompaniers
will go to 
the West Bank Palestinian villages of Jayyous and Yanoun,
continuing the 
work of previous teams. Five have been assigned to the "Israel
Team", a 
group formed in September to work with Israeli peace and justice

organizations. Three accompaniers will be working with the
Lutheran Church 
and school, and refugee camps in Ramallah. Four will be in a new
placement 
in Sawahreh, a village split between East Jerusalem and the West
Bank and 
threatened by the continued construction of Israels "separation
fence" or 
wall. Two will be working in Hebron, accompanying children going
to school 
and monitoring the human rights situation. 

Since the programme was launched in August 2002, 80 ecumenical
accompaniers 
have participated from more than 30 churches and ecumenical
partners in 
nine countries: Canada, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway,
Sweden, 
Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

For more information on the EAPPI: www.eappi.org 

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
(EAPPI) was 
launched in August 2002. Ecumenical accompaniers monitor and
report 
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law,
support acts 
of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim
Palestinians 
and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through
non-violent presence, 
engage in public policy advocacy, and stand in solidarity with
the churches 
and all those struggling against the occupation. The programme
is 
co-ordinated by the World Council of Churches. 

For more information contact: Media Relations Office 
tel: (+41 22) 791 64 21 / (+41 22) 791 61 53 
e-mail:media@wcc-coe.org 
http://www.wcc-coe.org 

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now
342, in 
more than 120 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, Netherlands. Its staff is
headed by 
general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in
Germany.