wfn.org | WCC UPDATE: Palestine/Israel, first bishop among peace-makers

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

World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org 
 
For immediate release: 22 September 2004

PALESTINE/ISRAEL: LARGEST-EVER GROUP, INCLUDING BISHOP, JOINS ECUMENICAL
PEACE-MAKING PROGRAMME

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) enters
its second year of operations by welcoming 25 new accompaniers, the largest
group since the project started in August 2002. Three have also stayed on
from the previous group, bringing the total number of accompaniers on the
ground to 28. 

For the first time in its history, the EAPPI group will include a bishop.
Continuing the programme's relationship with the South African Council of
Churches, SACC second vice president Bishop Lunga ka Siboto of the Ethiopian
Episcopal Church will be one of four accompaniers from South Africa joining a
countrywoman who is staying on for an additional term. 

"There was a time when we thought ours was the last struggle for liberty,"
said Siboto, who will be working in Bethlehem. "Suddenly one is struck by
what is happening here. If one can help to make a difference or can be a
friend in solidarity, it will be a step for the good of mankind." 

Siboto is one of four ministers in the new group; the other three are
ministers from the Lutheran Church in South Africa, the Baptist Church of
Denmark and the Evangelical Church in Germany. The insights of three
accompaniers who lived in Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall on life
in a divided city and country should also prove valuable as the Israeli
government continues the construction of its "Separation Wall" despite
international condemnation. 

The 15 women and 10 men, ranging in age from 26 to 69, come from seven
countries: Denmark, Germany, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, the United
Kingdom, and the United States. 

Ecumenical Accompaniers, who serve a minimum of three months, work in various
capacities with local churches, Palestinian and Israeli NGOs, as well as
Palestinian communities, to try to reduce the brutality of the Israeli
occupation and improve the daily lives of both peoples. Accompaniers will
continue to be placed in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jayyous, Jerusalem, Ramallah,
Sawahreh / Abu Dis, and Yanoun. Teams will also be working in Nablus and
Tulkarem. 

Accompaniers will also be working with various organizations including the
YMCA in both Beit Sahour and Tulkarem; the Women's Centre for Legal Aid and
Counselling (WCLAC) in Beit Hanina on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem
near where the "separation wall" is being constructed; the Alternative
Information Centre (AIC), a joint Israeli-Palestinian initiative; and the
Palestinian Working Women's Society for Development (PWWSD) in Ramallah. 

Since the programme was launched, 153 ecumenical accompaniers have
participated from more than 30 churches and ecumenical partners in 12
countries: Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway,
South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

- - -

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 coordinated
by the World Council of Churches (WCC).

For more information on EAPPI and photos: 
http://www.eappi.org 

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org 

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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 Samuel Kobia
from the Methodist church in Kenya.